rasmesfin

Leaving for London in six weeks. Can anyone give me the approximate taxi fare from Paddington to the Morgan Hotel at 24 Bloomsbury Street? The hotel website says the journey is about 15 mins. We will be arriving about 3pm. Thanks.

janisj

Are you arriving at Heathrow and taking the train to Paddington??

If so - I have what is probably a better and definitely a cheaper option. Book a car service like justairports.com or others. It will be more convenient than schlepping bags to the HEX, then from the HEX to the taxi rank at Paddington and then paying for a taxi.

for less ££ you can have a car service meet you in the arrivals hall and drop you at your hotel.

W9London

I would assume anywhere from £12-18, as it usually costs me £9-10 from Paddington to my office near Bond St. Shouldn't be that hard to queue for a cab at that time.

Car service is one option, esp if you have luggage, but you may have to pay for overtime charges if your flights are delayed.

W9London

Also if you're taking Heathrow Express, make sure you get tickets online to get the best price.

Alternatively, if you are not in a hurry, take Heathrow Connect (much cheaper, runs on the same track albeit not non-stop and less frequent).

If you don't have bulky luggage, you can take Heathrow Connect to Ealing Broadway, connect to tube (Central Line), get off at Tottenham Court Road.

Londonres

A shared transfer from the airport could be a good bet, from £17.50 each. Check out:

http://www.dot2.com/Home.aspx

janisj

if you are taking the train you have to each pay the fare - whereas w/ the car service it is one price for the car (not per person).

In all the times I've used car services from LHR (probably 8 or 10) I have never paid a penny of overtime charges even the couple of times the flight was quite late. The car service usually monitors arrival times on-line and shows up about 10-15 mins before you should be exiting customs. Of course something out of the ordinary could always happen - just never has for me.

If you take the HEX plus a Taxi and there are 2 of you - then you will pay £14.50 each and approx £15 for the taxi. The car service approx £30 total.

If you take the Heathrow Connect it is £6.90 each plus the taxi. So about the same cost as a car service - but w/ luggage hassles getting to/from the train.

janisj

Meant to add - if luggage isn't an issue - you could just take the tube all the way from LHR to either Holborn or Russell Square. Though it is a bit of a walk from either tube station around to the Bloomsbury Street side of the museum where the Morgan is.

W9London

Londonres,

I don't think the cab shar scheme would work--my recollection is it is only in the morning.

Londonres

Dot2Dot is not a cab share,it's a new National Express service that uses minibuses.

W9London

Interesting--I saw an advert on a bus stop the other day. So this looks more like Supershuttle.

Hmmm... for a family of 4, central London to LHR is £56 (discounted, vs full price of £70), not a good value to £35 we pay for a local minicab. You can probably do better with a minicab if there are more than 2 people travelling--esp if you consider the sharing (read, additional pick-up) time.

Also, it looks like their Gatwick service only takes you to Victoria, then you'll have to take a rip-off Gatwick Express. Amounts to £80 for a family of four.

Plus they charge £3 for additional luggage in excess of 1 carry-on/1 suitcase.

Londonres

For singles and couples new to London, who want a pre-booked door-to-door transfer from LHR, it looks like a reasonable deal.

janisj

not the way I figure - any car service will cost less and be door to door . . . .

AAFrequentFlyer

For single? don't think so....

janisj

Since the OP says &quot;<i><b>We</b> will be arriving . . . </i>&quot; I don't think a single fare is relevant

rasmesfin

Thanks for all the replies. And yes we are three persons arriving at Heathrow with probably one rolling small bag apiece and a carry-on. I'm sure my companions would love to spring for a car service. I will definitely look into it.

traveller69

I certainly figured out in a hurry that for more than one person the car service is the only way to go. We will be dead tired after an overnight flight so finding the Heathrow express and then a taxi its just not worth it. The other thing - if you are returning to the airport at some point the car services have a discount if you use them both ways. Janisj has given a lot of good advice so I'm sticking to whatever she says.

rasmesfin

janisj: On the justairports.com website the approximate cost for airport to hotel transport and return to airport was 66 pounds, which seems reasonable especially when split three ways. This was with a saloon car which I'm assuming will hold our luggage. If we decide to go this route about how much should the tip be? Of course this trip I'm traveling with friends, on my previous trip my husband lugged most of our luggage on the tube and to the hotel and up the stairs. He also carried my water bottle and an extra pair of shoes in a heavy backpack all over London with never a complaint. My friends have assured me that they will not be doing the same for me this trip. Thanks for your reply.

janisj

A 10% tip is more than adequate - maybe a bit more if you have lots of luggage. But if you have LOTS of luggage you'll probably need an estate (station wagon) which would cost a bit more. Just another good reason to pack light Be sure to ask about their discount for cash payment.