Overwhelmed with data
 

I have been reading info here for a couple of weeks, and I had decided to do a car hire from Heathrow to my hotel near the Tower only because it seemed easier than trekking with trains tube bus with luggage for over an hour.

Now I am chagrined to report that I realize it's a per person fee so the cost of the car is twice what I thought. I'm rethinking it all.

I am overwhelmed with all of the public transport, I will be travelling with a mid 60s friend, and I will need to get to the hotel on a Friday morning. We land around 6 am.

Is there a simple cost effective way to do this? :) Sorry to be dense but all of this research has my head spinning at the moment!

While we're on the subject, we'll need to get from central Windsor back to Heathrow about 5 am on Thursday the 19th.

I'm a newbie traveller and I know some of this is repetitive for you experienced ones and I'm sorry for the inconvenience!

Thanks!

You will probably get a better response if you change your post title to "Heathrow transport options" or something similar.

"Overwhelmed with data" sounds like you're asking a computer question.

yes - your title is pretty vague.

But I don't quite understand -- a car service charges per car -- not per person.

The LAST THING you want to do is rent a car from Heathrow and drive it into the city! It is 100x worse than renting a car from JFK and driving it into Manhattan. Apart from the cost of rental car and congestion charge (for driving into Central London), the streets in London don't make sense, and you'll be driving on the "wrong" side of the streets after an overnight flight.

Just book a car service (such as JustAirports) - they'll meet you outside the terminal and drop you off at your hotel.

From Windsor to Heathrow, you should also book a car service ahead of time.

It's really simple and you're just overthinking.

yk - I assumed Lindathenurse meant a car service when she wrote "a car hire".

If not and she really meant renting a car - you are right, renting a car is absolutely crazy!

Ooops. I guess I misunderstood you when you wrote "car hire". I thought you meant you want to rent a car and drive. But I suppose you just want to do a car service. It really is the best way (car service) to get to your hotel if you're not comfortable w/public transport after your overnight flight. And like janis said, the car service charge is per car, not per person.

There are other shuttle service that do charge per person, such as the National Express Dot2Dot, but if 2 of you travelling together, you'll be better off doing the JustAirports.

You could hop the Heathrow Express train to Paddington (20 mins) then take a cab to your hotel - painless - Heathrow Express is a plush non-stop service from all Heathrow terminals to Paddington where cabs are waiting

PQ - That doesn't make much sense. Do you have ANY idea how much a cab from Paddington to Tower Hill would cost? About as much as the transatlantic airfare (a <i>slight</i> exaggeration but you get the idea)

The HEX (which does charge per person) plus a cab would easily be twice the cost of a car service - maybe more.

Do you have ANY idea how much a cab from Paddington to Tower Hill would cost? &gt;

no i do not since i never take cabs -so how much would a perhaps 4 mile cab ride cost?

i also have no idea what a car hire would cost - OP seemed to suggest that it was outrageous so i thought a shorter cab ride, etc.

you are probably right, no doubt

TFL's taxi fare guide suggests a taxi from Paddington to the Tower could be around &pound;20 - &pound;25 (on top of Heathrow Express fares):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/...axis/1140.aspx

And it would be in the morning rush hour.

So too would a car service - but they would be cheaper than that, and I don't believe a good one would charge per person.

The train ride would be a long-ish journey, but the luggage aspect only occurs at each end - change at Hammersmith for an eastbound District Line, and you only have to cross the platform. But the chances are the trains would start to fill up with rush hour crowds during your journey, and you would have stairs at Tower Hill, to to mention the need to find your hotel from the station.

So it comes back to a good car service.

OK thanks everyone; sorry about the vague title. It was late at night here and my head was exploding. I didn't think enough about the title.

The car services I found on a tourist website (I think Londontown.com) were charging about 23 pounds or so per person. I'll check into the Justairports you mentioned for better luck.

I am just not up for driving in Great Britain on my first overseas trip. So I really do not consider that an option even before factoring in the traffic and whatnot!

Thanks again for your help! The information provided in here has proved such a great help!

Linda:


First trip overseas, to London?

Please start the trip off while still keeping your senses and nerves in tact. SPLURGE at least just this once. Take a taxi from Heathrow to your hotel near the tower. It will cost you about &pound;50-60...we just did that with a taxi arranged by our Bloomsbury hotel, and it was &pound;90 round trip (five days later we returned to Heathtrow to rent a car for the countryside).

You're going to spend $2 for every &pound; while in England anyway...get used to it at the outset.

The next best alternative is a shuttle service ...which will cost nearly as much as the taxi (remember, it's per person by shuttle!)

Avoid nightmares...spend these extra &pound;'s on the first day when your jet-lagged, anxious and overwhelmed..., IMO it's worth every &pound;.

As I've stated several times on this forum, a few months after you return home, he expenditure will just be a vague memory and not make a helluva lot of difference in your lives.

Stu T.

I would book through Justairports - would be cheaper than a cab - I would guess around 35 pounds - whcih would be cheaper than Heathrow Express plus a cab

Ray skinner is 44 GBP for up to 3 passengers heathrow to your hotel. He is a very nice gentleman who will answer all your questions. http://www.london-transfers.com/

We take the express and a cab , but it's only about a 6 GBP fare from paddington to our apt.

No way would I use the tube..too old and too tired after a TA flight.

Stu, Wombat, Avalon: Thank you so much. I feel better. I need to consult my travel companion to see what she is comfortable with, we are splitting costs. Personally, I'm inclined to just pay the driver to take me to the hotel. It's an overnight flight, we've never been, and I would like to do what's easiest.

I am so very excited about this trip, all of the planning and web crawling researching everything has been exhausting but fun. You all have been a wonderful resource, you don't know how grateful I am.

Can't wait to see the sights!

:)

Sorry to disagree w/ tower/Stu, but -- a car service like justairports will meet you as you exit arrivals. No need to search for the taxi ranks. A car service is much the easiest way and will cost quite a bit less than a taxi. Even the more expensive car services will cost &pound;20 less than a taxi.

I have NO idea what you found on LondonTown - but a true car services charges per car - not per person.

Oh my now I am confused. We will arrive in London the end of June. My budget does not include a $180 taxi ride from the airport. It can't possibly cost that much. If taking the Heathrow express and then taxi to Regents Park area hotel cost the same as a taxi how does anyone get around unless you've won the lotto. That is more than the Eurostar train tickets for two to Paris. Yikes.

Clea

&quot;<i>how does anyone get around unless you've won the lotto</i>&quot;

If you are on a budget and can handle your luggage - you take the tube (from LHR only - not LGW).

If you can spend a bit more you can take a car service for about &pound;25-&pound;35 for a car into central London (again - only from LHR)

If LGW - then you can take a train into LOndon and then a bus or the tube to your hotel.

If you did win the Lottery - then you can take a taxi or the HEX and a taxi.

Clea - where in Regents Park? If you aren't taking too much luggage, you can take Heathrow Connect to Paddington instead of Heathrow Express (same route, just a few extra stops which take a few extra minutes, but cheaper); then at Paddington change for the tube and take the Bakerloo line to Regents Park tube stop.

For Clea:

No, no...if you re-read my post above, I said the taxi from LHR to wherever your hotel is in Central London should be between 50-60&pound;. We paid 90&pound; for a roud trip cost, that is $180 (for two), but that included a return to LHR five days later. With the Dot-to-Dot shuttle, the cost would have been 37&pound;, or 74&pound; round trip($148 ). No brainer to make it far easier for yourselves and bite the bullet for a pain-free taxi experience, door to door.

Dragging your luggage on the tube during morning rush is hell on earth. Back during my youth (relatively spaking) we did this a few times..never again.

stu T.

I'm confused, are you staying near Regents Park or near the Tower--they are not close to each other.
I understand your pedicament because a private car or taxi will be at least 90 quid (that's with a 10% tip) to perhaps much more if you are stuck in traffic. Someone mentioned 60 quid as the cost of a cab/taxi, that might get you as far as Covent Garden.

IF your hotel is near the Tower I would get on the tube at Heathrow (they have trolleys for your luggage which you can take almost to the door of the tube carriage and most carriages are equipped with space for luggage). By starting at Heathrow, you have virtually a 100% chance of getting a seat. Take the tube all the way to Bank Station. Take a cab from there. If you are very intrepid, change at Bank for Tower Hill, if that is indeed the closest tube stop to your hotel--please ask your hotel.

The cheapest way to get to the Regents Park area from Heathrow is to take the tube straight in to Picadilly Circus and either take a cab from there or change to the Bakerloo line to the Regent's Park tube stop. I don't think there's a cheaper way to do it (maybe by bus but there would probably be more changes). Changing tube lines is not extra charge as long as it's the same onward journey.

An excellent online planner is www.journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk--once you know where your hotel is, you can use this before you leave to get acquainted with the various tube, bus and train options in and around the city. You can search by fastest route, cheapest, fewest changes, etc.

And, oh, BTW, get an oyster card for discount travel on the tube.

&quot;Dragging your luggage on the tube during morning rush is hell on earth. Back during my youth (relatively spaking) we did this a few times..never again.&quot;

Well, I just did this from Russell Square to Heathrow during the morning rush hour and I'm 60. Certainly not as pleasant as a car service, but not hell on earth either. Of course, I only had one backpack and one daypack to deal with. There's no way I'd pay the kind of prices you're talking abut just to get to the airport.

I am nearing 6-0 and not that fit but I've done the tube in from Heathrow and the whole time I just keep thinking about the money I'm saving. I admit I usually stay very near Holborn tube which means no changes and a very short walk from the tube.

cathinjoetown: &quot;<i>I'm confused, are you staying near Regents Park or near the Tower--they are not close to each other.</i>&quot;

They are two different posters - Lindathenurse is staying near the Tower and Clea is staying near Regents Park. (sometimes you need a scorecard)

BTW, those directions for the tube are not correct - the Piccadilly line does not go to Bank. To get to Bank from LHR they would change to the Central line at Holborn. But why go to Bank anyway? If one was to take the tube in from LHR they would go to Hammersmith, walk across the platform, and catch a District line train to Tower Hill.

tower: Why would one want to pay &pound;50-&pound;60 one-way into central London when justairports will take you for about &pound;30 give or take and about &pound;55 R-T?

janis:

&gt;&gt;&gt;tower: Why would one want to pay &pound;50-&pound;60 one-way into central London when justairports will take you for about &pound;30 give or take and about &pound;55 R-T?&lt;&lt;&lt;

The OP will have a friend with her....I assume they would split the taxi fare...amounting to about 25&pound; each...probably slightly less for a return to LHR...making it less expensive than the shuttle.


stu t.

tower: Once again - We are not talking about a shuttle . . . . . . A <u>Car Service</u> does not charge per person, but per car. In my math &pound;30 for a car service is less than &pound;50-&pound;60 for a taxi.

Don't know how to make it any more understandable . . . . .

I appoligized for piggybacking on another post, but when I read the cost from LHR to central London, I almost stopped breathing.

Thanks Janisj and YK, with one piece of luggage I will try the tube, but will check my lotto ticket before I leave!

Cathinjoetown, thanks for the helpful link!

Clea

Clea - if you're taking the tube, you can go to tube's website and use the &quot;journey planner&quot; tool. You can type in your final destination, and it'll tell you what the best route is.

If you're going to REgents Park tube station, you CAN take the tube all the way from Heathrow - but you'd need to change in Piccadilly Circus which I think involves steps. However, taking the tube all the way is the cheapest method.

If you don't mind spending a bit more, then look into the option of Heathrow Connect to Paddington + tube to Regents Park.

CLea, I suggest checking the esxact address of the hotel on www.streetmap.co.uk or similar sites, and looking to see what the nearest tube station might be. It might not be Regent's Park - the term might be used for quite a wide area.

Connections may be easier than trying to get to Regent's Park tube. For instance, if it's nearer stations on the Circle Line (which is entirely possible), you can take the tube to Hammersmith, take a few steps across the platform for an eastbound District Line train, change at Earl's Court (same platform again) for an Edgware Road or High St Kensington station, and change to the Circle (same platform again). Slow but cheaper than Heathrow Express + onward tube or taxi travel.

janisj--Thanks for correcting me about the tube directions. Lindathenurse, hope you diregard my post and read janisj's directions.

Janisj:

You are right..I've been talking taxi vs. shuttle..was not considering car service which I did not investigate during our planning stages...yes, you have made that quite clear...

&gt;&gt;&gt;Don't know how to make it any more understandable &lt;&lt;&lt;

Then again, have you noticed that this forum has become a much more testy place..which is much too sad.

Stu T.

tower - several of us tried (multiple times) to explain that a car service was cheaper. You posted at least 3 times that a taxi would be cheaper and easier. After the 3rd time I just figured a 2 x 4 upside the heard was the best way to get your attention . . . . . .

make that upside the <u>head</u>

Exactly what I mean....and I don't feel the need to be addressed with this kind of moderate rancor,..a rather unattractive streak which you've shown before on these postings. I don't peruse this forum with a magnifying glass...much to busy to do so...I only post when think I can be of some service, or if I have a legitimate question, and as a few minutes daily respite from my writing deadlines and associated research. When I'm wrong with information, I'll readily admit it, which in this case I did. You seem to be the resident London expert...I wish I knew that before booking the taxi with my hotel..so be it and thank you for your service.
Janis dear, if you feel the need for further remarks (I don't) please write to my e-mail or regular address which I freely post here from time to time...


2724 Angelo Drive
Los Angeles 90077
[email protected]

OK everyone, thanks very much for your help. After consulting with my friend, we have agreed to use a service to take us from Heathrow to the hotel. I am investigating companies now, thus far the best rate is 37 pounds from airportscars.co.uk. I am awaiting a response from another company.

At this point I don't recall if I've already checked justairports.com so I'm going to check with them again!

Thanks very much for your most kind assistance!

Thank you for the info on just airports. My daughter and I took the Heathrow Express last summer and enjoyed the adventure of transfers, etc. However, I didn't realize we could hire a car for approximately the same price. Since we are headed to an apartment this year, this sounds like a good alternative since it would deliver us to our door. I have bookmarked and will consider using a service this year.