Arriving in Heathrow, what to do first?

Arriving lhr 09/04 745am TERMIANAL t3, OUR NATIONAL EXPRESS RESERVATIONS ARE 1130AM. Question, we are seniors & need to take our time, where are bathroom & breakfast facilities available on arrival? Do we get our luggage first our take our time?

There are good maps of the terminals on line. I check them out when unsure of airport layouts.

The airport is huge. But you have plenty of time to take care of bathroom breaks and to find your way to your bags and bus area. There is good signage and remember asking for help is perfectly acceptable.

Not positive about the layout of T3, but there are plenty of bathrooms between your arrival gate and the arrivals area at Heathrow. As far as food is concerned, you're going to be looking post customs; the "transit" area is designed to get you to passport control and customs. The arrivals area typically has ATMs, food service, retail, etc.

 

The typical flow through Heathrow is arrive. Exit the plane and enter the transit space. Follow the signs for arrivals. T3 may or may not have a shuttle (train) to the main terminal. Again, there are normally plenty of bathrooms before boarding any shuttles. The shuttle will take you to the arrivals hall where you'll clear passport control/immigration. You'll be given a paper arrivals card by the airline during the flight. Once through immigration, you'll collect your bags, and, barring an extremely unusual situation, go through the green line at customs and exit into the arrivals area. Again, that's where you'll find airport services once again.

 

Heathrow is a fairly easy airport to navigate, although it is huge. You should be fine.

Arriving lhr 09/04 745am TERMIANAL t3, OUR NATIONAL EXPRESS RESERVATIONS ARE 1130AM. Question, we are seniors & need to take our time, where are bathroom & breakfast facilities available on arrival? Do we get our luggage first our take our time?

 

Where will you be flying from? On our recent trans-Atlantic flight , we were served a small snack an hour before landing. We weren't the least bit interested in breakfast.

 

Again, assuming an international arrival, youll need to deal with all your arrival issues before you think about breakfast. (I'd even recommend you use the bathroom facilities at the last possible minute on the plane as the options are fewer in the arrival corridors and passport control hall compared to an ordinary airport concourse.) I don't know T 3 as well as T2, but the walk from the gate to passport control was one of the longer ones in memory . If the same is true of T 3, consider being met by a wheelchair.

 

After passport control go to the appropriate baggage claim. Chances are the line through passport control will take long enough that your luggage already will be on the belt. Again using the T2 example, the only thing to do is to exit. Once past customs, you'll find stores and presumably, food options.

 

Finally, pay attention to shouted instructions waiting in line at passport control. Sometimes there's a call for holders of passports of certain nationalities to be processed faster. We were in the next to the last snake in the line when we heard a call for holders of Norwegian and US passports to come forward. Saved us a bit of time on line.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

Good advice here already - although there is no shuttle train at T3, that poster may have been thinking of T5. Some of the gates at T3 are on spurs, so a long walk (there are moving walkways to assist). You are arriving at a busy time, so you will probably have no choice but to take your time!

 

As you come out of the baggage reclaim/customs area you will see a Marks and Spencer supermarket food store on your left. If you turn right and back on yourself you will find a 'Bite' (a cafe) and a pub, both of which will serve you breakfast. Carry on straight and over to the right instead from the customs exit and you will find Cafe Nero, a coffee shop.

 

One last thing to mention - your coach will leave from the central bus station, not the stands immediately outside the terminal, so a further walk, I'm afraid. Give yourself plenty of time to walk through and find the right stand.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Cotswold Eagle

Question, we are seniors & need to take our time, where are bathroom & breakfast facilities available on arrival? Do we get our luggage first our take our time?

I would recommend this: Use the bathroom after you collect your bags but before you clear customs. It should be easier for you to do this in turns, with the other person finding a seat and waiting with the bags. You will be safer doing this here compared to being in the melee of the T3 meet and greet area, and this will be the last chance while you are still airside.

From the aircraft, follow the herd (or the signs, in the unlikely event that there's no herd to follow) to immigration.

Immigration might involve a long line - a matter of luck whether you arrive there just after passengers from a couple of jumbos.

Then follow the herd/signs to the baggage hall - yes, quite possible your luggage will be there on the carousel before you.

Collect your baggage (plenty of trolleys) & exit thro Customs using the green "nothing to declare" channel to the arrivals hall. No line at Customs, passengers are not delayed at all except for the few who are asked by Customs to step to one side.

 

There are no refreshment facilities between aircraft & arrivals hall, but there'll be several washrooms. They're clean & spacious and no line - rather more pleasant than an aircraft toilet at the end of a long-haul flight ;)

In the arrivals hall there's a restaurant/pub if you want a breakfast or a M&S store if you want a take-away sandwich, and a newspaper/book store if you want reading material etc.

 

There's also a Nero's coffee shop in that arrivals hall and another in central bus station, but that's the only refreshment facility in the bus station & Nero's outlets usually offer little more than over-priced muffins. You'll likely have a lot of time on your hands, and the arrivals hall is much more comfortable than central bus station.

 

From arrivals hall to central bus station is a well-signed walk of about 10-15 minutes, but for peace-of-mind give yourselves double that time.

 

Here's a map of the arrivals hall

http://maps.heathrow.com/index.php?lat=51.47142141169153&lng=-0.45866483080856346&zoom=15&area=62&utm_source=heathrow_main&utm_medium=retailer_instance_restaurant&utm_term=bite-t3-arrivals&utm_content=text&src=heathrow_main-retailer_instance_restaurant

 

And a video of central bus station

http://www.londontoolkit.com/blog/airports/heathrow-central-bus-station/

 

It all sounds a lot more complicated than it is.

No worries. :cool:

 

The whole routine is likely to take about 90 minutes.

And you've given yourselves 3 hrs 45 minutes.

So it'd take something pretty catastrophic for you to miss your bus - in fact you're likely to be kicking your heels for a couple of hours.

 

JB :)

 

ps - yes, it might be a long walk from aircraft to immigration, but your aircraft won't be at the furthest gate - that gate always seems to be reserved for when I fly :rolleyes: :D

Edited July 13, 2015 by John Bull

Good advice here already - although there is no shuttle train at T3, that poster may have been thinking of T5. Some of the gates at T3 are on spurs, so a long walk (there are moving walkways to assist). You are arriving at a busy time, so you will probably have no choice but to take your time!

 

 

Yes. T5 was my last experience at LHR, as a transit passenger. I've tried to block those memories. I think I last flew through T3 3 years ago while T2 was under renovation and the Star Alliance was using T3. If memory serves T2 is a total over the river and through the woods experience. Haven't been in T3 post renovation. We'll be in T2 in a 9 days...

Thank you all for the great advice, we are departing from Newark via Ft Lauderdale on UA. As I have made reservations on National Express at 1130 to Southampton I imagine we will have to kill some time. Does anyone know if National has any facilities at T3?

Thank you all for the great advice, we are departing from Newark via Ft Lauderdale on UA. As I have made reservations on National Express at 1130 to Southampton I imagine we will have to kill some time. Does anyone know if National has any facilities at T3?

 

You'd better doublecheck your plans. As of last June, all United flights operate out of Terminal 2, not 3. Are you on a code share? If you're on the UA 29 EWR to LHR, I believe you're arriving at T2. (I actually thought all US bound Star Alliance flights went into and out of T2.)

National Express station at Victoria - London and Southampton, they charge you to use the bathroom.

 

We will coming from Terminal 2 to Central Coach Station to take National Express to Victoria to Dover.

 

Anybody know about Central Coach station if they charge?

We will coming from Terminal 2 to Central Coach Station to take National Express to Victoria to Dover.

 

Anybody know about Central Coach station if they charge?

It's a 5 minute walk from T2 to the central bus station at Heathrow. Instead of worrying about whether you'd be charged to use the bathroom at the central bus station before you board your coach to Victoria, why don't you use the free ones in T2?

Yes. T5 was my last experience at LHR, as a transit passenger. I've tried to block those memories. I think I last flew through T3 3 years ago while T2 was under renovation and the Star Alliance was using T3. If memory serves T2 is a total over the river and through the woods experience. Haven't been in T3 post renovation. We'll be in T2 in a 9 days...

 

T2 wasn't renovated, it was demolished and an entirely new terminal built on the same site. The geography of LHR Central still means quite a walk, especially if you arrive at one of the 2B gates, but it should flow much better than the old one :)

Thank you all for the great advice, we are departing from Newark via Ft Lauderdale on UA. As I have made reservations on National Express at 1130 to Southampton I imagine we will have to kill some time. Does anyone know if National has any facilities at T3?

 

As markeb has said, United are in T2 not T3. But both T2 and T3 are served by the central bus station, so it matters not in that sense. In either case use the facilities in the arrivals hall - there's plenty of places to sit and wait, or have a coffee etc.

You'd better doublecheck your plans. As of last June, all United flights operate out of Terminal 2, not 3. Are you on a code share? If you're on the UA 29 EWR to LHR, I believe you're arriving at T2. (I actually thought all US bound Star Alliance flights went into and out of T2.)

 

Thank you, I will check it out.

Thank you, I will check it out.

 

As markeb has said, United are in T2 not T3. But both T2 and T3 are served by the central bus station, so it matters not in that sense. In either case use the facilities in the arrivals hall - there's plenty of places to sit and wait, or have a coffee etc.

 

Fortunately, it appears to be a difference that makes no difference!

Fortunately, it appears to be a difference that makes no difference!

 

Called UA & yes we will be going to T2, is it necessary to inform National Express of the change?

Called UA & yes we will be going to T2, is it necessary to inform National Express of the change?

 

According to Cotswold Eagle, it's the same Central Bus Station, and I believe you're getting yourself there? That would suggest no, but it's probably easy enough to let them know.

Central Bus Station serves Terminals 1, 2 and 3 so no need to advise National Express. Toilets are free at the Bus Station.

Thank you.

Central Bus Station serves Terminals 1, 2 and 3 so no need to advise National Express. Toilets are free at the Bus Station.

 

Just for the sake of complete accuracy, there is no Terminal 1 anymore. It closed a couple of weeks ago and will be demolished to make way for the next phase of T2 :)

True re T1 having been closed down, I am just so used to mentioning 1,2 and 3 together. Good to get it right.

Is it possible to buy the Oyster card in Heathrow and use it for tube to get to London ?

Is it possible to buy the Oyster card in Heathrow and use it for tube to get to London ?

 

Yes, absolutely.

Is it possible to buy the Oyster card in Heathrow and use it for tube to get to London ?

Yes, absolutely.

And any Tube station at Heathrow would seem to be a good place to buy one!