How do you take the tube from Heathrow to Embankment in the Whitehall district? Is it feasible for 4 adults and 2 children, 10 & 12?

Justairports.co.uk offer a service for circa 30GBP - that is probably cheaper than a tube, and even if it isn't, it's far easier.

There's usually a painless cross-platform connection from the Piccadilly line in from Heathrow to the Circle and District Lines at Hammersmith.

I can't quite understand why you would think it might NOT be feasible with two children. The English for what the Tube offers is "public transport" - ie transport for everyone. Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren their age use the tube every day - mostly without their parents.

Whether getting your luggage from Embankment tube to your hotel is easy (the last few vertical feet require stairs, not an escalator) and whether it might be cheaper for four to order a car anyway are different matters.

The financial calculus on all this would defeat Einstein, given that you'll probably be buying a family travelcard which makes the real cost of the journey in from Heathrow close (but not quite equivalent) to zero. I suggest you hire your friendly neighbourhood supercomputer.

Though most 10 year olds cando the sums just as easily.

I can not tell you exactly which trains as i had been there a while ago but I can tell you it is an efficient and easy to travel system.

We take the tube in from Heathrow all the time. As long as you are able to handle all your luggage, it's an inexpensive way to get into town.

To Embankment, it will take about an hour and you can change from the Piccadilly line to the Circle or District line at Acton Town, Hammersmith, Gloucester Road or South Kensington. Avoid changing at Earls Court (the District line is very confusing there.)

<font color="blue">Transport for London 101</font>

At the Heathrow Tube station, you will want to buy Family Travelcards, which provide unlimited use of all the Underground, Bus, Tram, and most of the railroad services in London for one calendar day. The only limitation is that children must be accompanied by an adult, and conversely. So you can travel as two groups of two adults and one child, or one or two adults with one or two children, but neither the adults nor the children are supposed to travel without the other.

There's lots of good lore, maps, and fares at

http://www.thetube.com

To Flanneruk: You must have had raw meat for breakfast. No mention was ever made of cost. This will be our 6th time in 4 years to London, so we do know our way around. My concern was the stairs, carrying luggage with children. Find a new hobby.

Travelpat -

To be fair, no mention was made in your post of stairs, either. It only asked if the trip was &quot;feasible for 4 adults and 2 children, 10 &amp; 12.&quot; I think flanneruk's reply was perfectly appropriate in tone. I think &quot;find a new hobby&quot; was not.

Agreed, Robespierre. The original post sounded like the big concern was taking a 10 &amp; 12 year old on the tube.

I hope flanneruk doesn't get a new hobby. I want him/her available to provide such helpful answers the next time I have a question.

Keith

I suggest you change from the Piccadilly line to the District line at Hammersmith or Barons Court, where you simply walk 8 yards across the platform. At Gloucester Road or South Kensington you have stairs, and to change at Acton Court gives you four extra stops on the District Line

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I really think you owe flanneruk an appology. He gives some of the most useful info here -- AND his aside about the cost was obviously aimed at m_kingdom's silly post about justairports being cheaper than the tube.

Why go off the handle like that??

Kayb95 posted a helpful reply which was further refined by Ben Haines. Thanks, travelpat, for asking the question as it will help me next month.

Flanneruk gives cogent advice often partnered with an unpleasant dose of taking the piss out of the (usually US) OP. I also intrepreted his mini treatise on schoolchildren using the tube as a putdown to the original question. Whether he meant it that way or not is irrelevant. Suggesting that an apology is in order is ludicrous. It's the internet, afterall, and the sport of snotty putdowns on fodors.com is alleged to be part of the entertainment value of the site.

That's funny -

I took the schoolchildren riff as a good-hearted demonstration of how very easy it is to use the Tube system, not a retort of any sort. I guess the rubric would be &quot;so simple a child can do it.&quot;

&quot;..so simple a child can do it.&quot; Sure, one assumes, after a child has been instructed how to do it. Plop any of those kids (and their parents) down in DC, NY, or Chicago and they would reasonably be asking the same kind of question as Travelpat.

Are flanneruk's comments goodhearted? If you think so, fine. We can agree to disagree.

Our children were 14, 11, and 9 when we travelled to London. The 9-year-old needed help occasionally with her luggage, but the other two wre just fine on their own. The trick is to not pack more than will fit in a wheeled carry-on and school backpack for each child.

You're telling me that travel from Heathrow to &quot;Whitehall district&quot; for four adults and two childrens is well under thirty pounds - I'm estimating it to be around 20GBP!

&gt;You're telling me that travel from Heathrow to &quot;Whitehall district&quot; for four adults and two childrens is well under thirty pounds - I'm estimating it to be around 20GBP!

You have some other definition of &quot;well under 30 pounds?&quot;

Keith

The tube is acceptable for the Heathrow-to-central London trip IF you have limited luggage AND you travel during non-rush hours AND you know where you are going. Otherwise, with kids in tow, it can be a challenge for visitors. I'd opt for a car service or even take the Heathrow Express to Paddington rail station and a dependable--albeit expensive-- London taxi to your final destination (assume a hotel, right?).

My advice is based on travel in London with two children...and a few struggles with lugging luggage and getting lost along the way...

Dave White
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I agree, travel in London is much more difficult if you don't know where you're going.

I disagree with all the rest.

kidstolondon...

I don't even think the rush hour business is that big a deal as you are getting on the train at Heathrow, the first stop which means you are guaranteed to get a seat, the carriages have room for luggage and the train doesn't really get crowded until it hits central London.

With the price of a family travelcard, the trip in on the tube costs next to nothing; a hell of a lot better than the charge for the Heathrow Express and the reality is that the Heathrow Express doesn't save that much time given the additional costs and time of getting from Paddington to wherever.

The part about luggage is the determining factor. If each person has one suit case on wheels and is able to walk up a moderate amount of stairs and yes I agree stairs cannot be avoid completely the tube is a perfectly good way to get into London.

As I have said previously and gotten flamed for saying it and this is not meant sarcastically in the slightest, one thing you must always bear in mind is that the language in the UK believe it or not is a variant of the same language Americans speak with slightly different accents and a few words are spelled slightly differently. But if you have to ask staff for assistance, if you have to buy tickets at a booking office or whatever, you will not have the slightest difficulty in making your needs known. I don't think it's all that difficult to understand a sign that says WAY OUT is an exit and quite frankly the signs in the London Underground are as clear as day and yes a school child (please no bricks at me) can easily navigate it even if they are doing it for the first time.