My husband and I are flying British Airways from Chicago to Dubrovnik in November. On the return flight home, we will fly into Gatwick at around 5:00 p.m. and leave out of Heathrow the next morning around 9:30 a.m.

We've been to London, but its been about 4 years ago. We know we won't have time to do much, but we were planning on dinner and then just strolling through the neighborhoods for a few hours.

Would you stay near the airport or in the city?

Thanks!
Tracy

We face a similar question in 2003 - - landing in Stansted, and departing from Heathrow. We originally planned to relocate to the area near Heathrow and stay in Southall, the area sometimes known as "Little India" for its abundant population of fantastic Indian restaurants (and inhabitants), as I understand it - - see also http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34484980 - - as it turned out, there were some other compelling reasons for us to stay near Stansted instead, but the information on www.anightinn.com and nearby restaurants (see the other thread) might be useful to you. It's certainly an economical alternative to going in to London.

Best wishes,

Rex

Normally I recommend staying in London - perhaps near Paddington since it is where the Heathrow Express leaves from. The HEX only take 15 mins to LHR. And that about how long it takes on the Hotel Hoppa from the hotels at the airport.

But w/ an early morning flight I sometimes do stay near the airport. In your case you won't be into Central London/Paddington until probably around 7 p.m. or later And you will likely be too jet lagged to do much out on the town. In your situation I'd probably just head over to LHR on the airport coach and stay there.

Thank you both for your replies. I really appreciate it.

Rex, thanks for the suggestion! I am looking into it. It certainly would be a cheaper option than central London, and the area looks interesting.

janisj, thanks for your comments as well. If we do decide to stay in London, we were planning on staying around the Heathrow Express, as its definitely the fastest way to get to the airport in the morning. I don't think we will be too jet-lagged, as we will be coming from Croatia and its only about a 2-hour flight, but I know we won't have much time in London itself.

Thanks!
Tracy

Oops - I missed that you were talking about the return flight. My jet lag comments were based on arriving from Chicago.

since you are are flying a relatively short distance - I would stay in London.

If you stay round Paddington (whence the HEX leaves), it's just as quick to Heathrow as from Southall.

The problem is that Paddington's a busy station area: OK and convenient to get to (and the evening Arab passegiata along the Edgware Rd is fascinating) - but little else that interesting immediately nearby of an evening.

It's a 10 minute tube ride to Piccadilly Circus, usually regarded as the city's centre. I'd stay as close to Paddington as possible (and you can't get closer than the Hilton), and spend my evening in the middle of town.

I will not argue about the access times from Southall versus anywhere close to the Heathrow Express.

Our situation was different - - for unrelated reasons, we knew that we would have/need a car. Southall was the more attractive option than in the city for that reason alone - - not to mention the cost savings.

I should have been more specific; we would prefer not to stay in central London prior to going to the airport. I was thinking of a small town no more than, say, an hours drive from the airport (weekday rush hour applies).

I think that Southall meets your requirement.

I am taking my 88 yr old able bodied mother to Czech Rep and Croatia in April on BA out of Chicago. The fly in the oinment of going into Prague and traveling south , ending in Dubrovnik, is returning from Dubrovnik direct to London and dealing w/the overnight stay. This talk chain makes it sound not too bad, but I just didn't think I'd want to deal w/London where I've never been for overnight. The flights from Dubrovnik to Prague or Vienna that I have found are almost $500 +. We may need to go to Vienna for more info on relatives so that may be a better option, but how best to get there? I guess Dubronik is not a "must do", since we really only need to go to Vodice, approx 50 miles west of Split, but flying out of Split on BA is the same problem. But how best, fastest to get back to Vienna? Looking at 11 Apr to 28, but flexible, over the Easter weekends. Thanks for any info. Ever heard of Pathfinders out of Prague?

genevi: Since this thread is basically about logistics/where to stay in London -- instead of tacking your questions about Dubrovnik, Vienna, Prague, Split, etc here, you will get better results if you start a new thread.