Night arrival at Heathrow
 

We are scheduled to arrive at Heathrow after 8 at night in late October. We then plan to rent a car and drive through the countryside. Any suggestions as to where to pick up the car and when ? We are not too sure about driving at night our first night. Thanks.

There are plenty of rental car offices at the airport. Personally if I was arriving that late at night I would not try to drive anywhere. Driving is hard enough over there anyway (especially if it is your first time) and you will be exhausted from your flight. By the time you clear immigration and customs. and get your car it will be 11 pm. A little late to be starting a drive through the countryside. I would suggest getting a good night's sleep at an airport hotel and then picking up your car in the morning.

Unless you are skilled in driving on the left, in the dark, with jetlag you would be crazy to attempt this. It will take an hour at least to collect baggage and go through customs, by that time your best bet would be to go to a Heathrow Airport hotel (there are lots of them) and pickup your rental car in the a.m. when it's daylight and you are more alert. Traffic is always bad around Heathrow and countryside driving is not to be done at night if you are a novice. Many of the secondary type roads are quite narrow (highways -- or dual carriageways as they call them) are fine, but it's not a good idea to start off driving that late at night. We've been told by rental car people at Heathrow that the majority of accidents that people have with rental cars happen right near the a/p and because they get off a plane and think they are fit to drive. Get a nights sleep first!

I picked up a car at heathrow last time and I will never do it again. But then I fly from the west coast through 8 time zones so I am beat when I arrive. If you are an east coaster that will not be such a problem. I do have a question though, where are you planning to drive to at 11:00pm?

I should have been more specific. We have no intention of driving that night. We wondered whether after staying at or near the airport, whether it is better to pick up the car at Heathrow or take a train somewhere else to get a car. Are there any nearby small towns we could stay and sightsee the next day rather than stay at an airport hotel? Previous posters have mentioned Windsor. I wondered if there are any other suggestions. We are leaving from Boston, so the jet lag won't be too bad.

Our plan this time since we are arriving at Gatwick is to train through to Cambridge the first night and pick up a car there after seeing the place for a day. From Heathrow there is a bus service to Oxford so that is an option for you. You don't want a car in Oxford, just when you are ready to leave, so the rental savings offsets the higher cost of staying centrally.

Pat-- Rand's advice sounds good to me. I picked up a car at Heathrow and drove straight to Oxford, and while we got it done, it was the most stressful part of the trip. Partly beacuse style of driving was new, partly confusing area-- who knows? But if going to Oxford first suits your agenda, it's a good solution. <BR> <BR>PS-- In general I'm a huge fan of driving, and otherwise had good and painless experiences in that area!

Very good suggestion to take the Oxford Express, stay in Oxford and then rent the car to explore the Cotswolds, Bath, Salisbury etc. You could even go into Wales a bit or up to Stratford. You do need a car for the Cotswolds and it's helpful for Wales and Stonehenge if they are on your itinerary.