london airport transportation
 

We are a family of 5 arriving in London mid day at Heathrow. What is the best and least expensive way to get into town?

Cheapest by far is the Tube. To quote their website (http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/faq/t...heathrow.asp):

"The Piccadilly line connects Heathrow Airport to central London and the rest of the Tube system. It is the cheapest way to central London. There are trains every few minutes from approximately 0500 (0550 Sundays) to 2345 (2250 Sundays). A single ticket into central London (Zone 1) costs £3.80. Journey time to Piccadilly Circus is about 50 minutes. There are two underground stations at Heathrow Airport, serving Terminal 1-3 and Terminal 4.

Please note that from 7 January 2005 until September 2006, Heathrow T4 station will be closed and so a special repalcement bus will take passengers to/from Hatton cross station. This is to allow construction of the Piccadilly Line extension to the new Heathrow Terminal 5 . "

Depends where in London you are staying and which terminal as the tube station at Terminal 4 is currently shut. Basicly you have two public transport options:

1) Tube - Piccadilly Line takes just under an hour and stops at places like Gloucester Road, South Kensington, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Russell Square and Kings Cross. Single journey costs £3.80. You can get to most stops with no more than one or two changes. Check out www.tfl.gov.uk for journey planning.

2) Heathrow Express. This takes just 15 minutes but costs £13.00 per person. Arrives at Paddington so handy for hotels in that area and around Bayswater.

Good luck and please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Adam C
[email protected]
In the middle of the day the tube should be fine.

For around 30GBP justairports.co.uk offer a pick up service, far easier than messing around on the tube!

tube is not all that easy if you havn't been on it - can be very packed by the time it creaks into London - especially if you have to change - with luggage, etc. Consider air buses as an alternative and these serve most hotel districts - or Heathrow Ex to Paddington then cab to hotel.

My choice would be the Heathrow Express ... clean, comfortable, fast, and Picadilly is fairly central in location. Take the tube from there to wherever you need to go. Have done London many times and would not dream of travelling around town in any other way ... even with luggage ... of course you will be packing light! Last Spring went from Heathrow via the Picadilly Line to Waterloo Station (change of trains at Embankment) with backpacks packed for three weeks of travel through Europe. No problem!

Least expensive is the Tube. "Best" is subjective - I guess it depends on who comprises the family of 5 and how much luggage you'll be handling. Also depends on where you're staying.

If your group does not have any young children and everyone can handle their own luggage themselves easily, then Heathrow Express or the tube could work for an inexpensive option.

If you have large or bulky luggage - or it cannot be handled easily, then I would suggest some sort of car or shuttle service instead. Even when it's not peak commuting time, certain Tube stations can still be crowded.

Our last trip we used Swiss Cottage Cars - we were picked up in a minivan and I believe it cost around 35 GBP (excluding tip) from the County Hall area to Heathrow.

The <b>least expensive</b> way to get around London is on the bus. It's kind of fun, but only if you're in no great hurry.

A 7-day Season Ticket Bus Pass is
&pound;11 for adults
&pound;4 for children 11-15
Free for under 11.

There is only one kind of ticket, and it covers the entire Greater London area (unlike the &quot;Travelcards&quot; which are sold by geographical zones.)

You can get to all the most popular sights using this map:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf</b>

By the way, if you DO decide on the Tube, look into the Family Travelcards. They get you unlimited travel on Underground, buses, DLR, and urban trains.

Zones 1-2 (Central out to Greenwich)
&pound;3.10 Adults
&pound;.80 Children 5-15 (free SaSu)
Free Children under 5

Zones 1-6 (Heathrow)
&pound;4 Adults
&pound;.80 Children 5-15 (free SaSu)
Free Children under 5

The only drawback they have is that they aren't valid until 9:30 on weekdays.

Thank you so much for the info! We are staying in Kensington and we only have carry on luggage. Each of us can carry our own.
It sounds like the tube is the way to go. I will check out the sites for routing that were suggested!