i_am_kane

europeannovice, It's good to hear from someone who (I assume) never took this bus route previously...you make it sound like a walk in the park!

europeannovice

http://airline.oxfordbus.co.uk/timet...e-heathrow#map

Yes--that was our second trip to the UK but the first trip to Oxford so we had never taken that bus before. I attach the link above for the bus company. You just follow the signs to the central bus station at Heathrow and look for the Oxford bus. There are many buses so you have to go to the right area but it was easy enough to find. The ride was pleasant and it took a little over an hour if I recall correctly.

Enjoy your trip and please write a trip report when you return.

PalenQ

Plus the bus is a whole lot cheaper than the rail links.

historytraveler

If arriving at T5, you don't need to go to the central bus terminal. Upon entering arrivals hall just go out the doors straight ahead and it's stop #10.

i_am_kane

Europeannovice and historytraveler. Helpful and much appreciated information.

PalenQ - there you go...more money to spend on other stuff!

PalenQ

PalenQ, thank you for your opinion - we almost exclusively rely on the trains when traveling in Europe. However, time will be short for this England-Ireland trip.>

Obviously when time constraints dictate it it is smart to fly - I was responding to flanner's erather myopic IMO stance that anyone suggesting to take the train - ferry was "mad" - locals just cannot put themselves at times into the shoes of ordinary foreign travellers but think what they would do - as jaded Brits not interested at all in seeing the countryside they are probably bored with by now - should be done by foreign travellers who also want to see the Britain between cities - no not 'mad' to me nor Man in Seat 61 who I presume flanner includes in his 'mad' remark.

i_am_kane

Hello, I'm back again now that I have better dates to work with - so this is what I THINK we should do in March, 2014 to get from Oxford to Dublin for a short vist:

Thanks to Flanneruk - take the train from Oxford to Birmingham International Airport (departures every hour). Fly Ryan Air from BHI to DUB. Reverse the route two days later.

Back in England, our GD will stay at Oxford University, and we will continue on by bus to Heathrow Airport, then take a shuttle to an airport hotel (possibly on Bath Rd.) Our return flight to Miami will be the next morning.

How am I doing?

janisj

Looks doable.

But - do you have to return to Oxford w/ your GD? If not, she can return to Oxford and you can fly directly from DUB to LHR.

bilboburgler

"RED wine and some smoked salmon canapes" shock!

mjdh1957

Make sure you read about the idiosyncrasies of flying with Ryanair. And if you don't follow the rules (some of which may seem quite arbitrary) be prepared to pay extra.

annhig

one of those Ryanair rules is that you can't "pool" your luggage allowances ie for luggage in the hold, the limit is 15 kgs, and if there are two of you, each of you has to be on or below the limit, you can't have one of you weighing in at 14kgs and the other at 16kgs.

you also HAVE to check in on line, and use the baggage drop.

good luck and have a great trip!

flpab

http://www.dublinpass.ie/gettingArro...FUpnOgodWkYAOA

i_am_kane

bilboburgler, "RED wine and some smoked salmon canapes" shock! I don't get it.

Anyway, thanks to all the new replies, now it's time to celebrate Christmas. See you in the new year.

bilboburgler

well it should be white but standards are getting lower everywhere. ;-)

i_am_kane

flpab,

Thank you for the link you posted...I'm sure it will provide me with lots of information that I/we need for the trip.