Car Rental-Heathrow

I am looking at all my options to get from Heathrow Airport to Harwich the day before our cruise.

Choices include:

Cruise line sponsored transfer (the day of the cruise)-not ideal in our book

Hire a private car service/limo

Hire a car and self drive one way.

I was on the Europcar website and in actuality, this looks like a viable option as we like the idea of stopping to see the sites along the way, and it actually looks to be more affordable than the service hire, yes, even with a one way option.

Being from the states I am not familiar with this company. Can anyone give input?

Thank you!

Yes, on a number of transfers in the UK a one-way car rental can work out as a viable option.

But be aware that the route is quite boring & tedious, half of it on the M25 London orbital motorway which is often clogged with traffic. Deviation off the direct route can add significantly to the time, especially inside the M25 orbital & you certainly wouldn't want to drive into central London. And there aren't too many sights close to the route - although its not a corner of England that I know well, I can't think of anywhere of interest other than Windsor (which is less than a dozen miles from the airport), and the countryside is pretty featureless. Do you have anywhere in particular in mind?

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Europcar is a long-established & respectable company, one of the biggest half-dozen car hire (rental) operators in the UK and Europe. Reliable modern cars, same as the other major players.

Not singling them out in particular, but there are terms & add-ons that can push up a basic rental price in the UK, same as in the States.

So watch out for:

CDW excesses and excess-waiver costs.

Airport surcharge.

Child or booster seat add-ons (legal requirement in the UK if carrying kids)

Fuel policy - check that the terms are full-to-full, as they should be for a hiring of 3 days or less. With full-to-empty you might be caned on company's fuel prices, over-stated gas tank sizes & un-used fuel.

Gas in the UK is around £1.32 per litre, I'll leave you to do the maths.

Credit card charges - though they're now capped by law around 2%, and not normally charged on car rentals.

Sat-nav (GPS) is normally charged extra. The basic route is pretty simple - M25 for 56 miles, A12 for 40 miles, A120 for 16 miles. All well-signed. A basic paper map is all you'll need unless you want to stray off-route. Or if you're forced off the motorway by a closure or massive snarl-up.

Rental cars in the UK (and the rest of Europe) are normally shift-stick, if you need an automatic be sure to specify.

JB :)

John Bull, thank you for your detailed reply. We actually don't have any particular places in mind to stop at along the way. You do bring up many good points about hiring a car and I appreciate these points, believe me! We have never driven outside the US and Canada.

I think we will wait to find out the cost of cruise line sponsored transfers and go from there. The issue at hand being that we want to spend the night before the cruise in Harwich. It is a safety net thing. We don't have our airfares yet so we will play everything by ear and weigh the pros and cons.

Thanks again sooo much for your response!

John Bull, thank you for your detailed reply. We actually don't have any particular places in mind to stop at along the way. You do bring up many good points about hiring a car and I appreciate these points, believe me! We have never driven outside the US and Canada.

 

I think we will wait to find out the cost of cruise line sponsored transfers and go from there. The issue at hand being that we want to spend the night before the cruise in Harwich. It is a safety net thing. We don't have our airfares yet so we will play everything by ear and weigh the pros and cons.

 

Thanks again sooo much for your response!

I can understand the reasoning for wanting to stay in Harwich the night before the cruise. However, taking the train from London to Harwich on the day of sailing shouldn't be discounted. Harwich International train station is right beside the cruise terminal and trains are frequent - certainly miles more efficient than anything we have here in North America. There's a hotel right beside Liverpool Street station, where you would take the train in the morning, so an easy transfer.

That said, I don't hate the car rental idea, although if you go that route I would try to get off the M25 ASAP. One thing that did just occur to me: if you're talking driving after a TA flight, don't. Really, even the strongest people suffer jetlag, and trying to drive on the left will be challenging, to say the least.

Twickenham, you have also made excellent points. If it were just DH and myself, we could probably go for the train. Unfortunately, one of our party has some mobility issues and the train would just not work out.

You also make a valid reminder about TA flights. I had not considered this aspect and certainly does make some good causes for choosing a private limo service .

Thank you for your advice.

Thanks to everyone for your input. In looking at all aspects of this transfer we have decided against car hire.

Now looking at transfer services by vehicle. Is anyone familiar or has used 247Airport Transfers? This company seems to have reasonable prices and only positive reviews so far. Looking at Hummingbird as well.

Any input appreciated.

Beware ! - Adelphi Executive Hire- Darren Parsons, proprietor

If you are considering using this firm, be aware of the difficulties you may encounter, and then be kind to yourself and look elsewhere.

We hired him and then found he outsources his work to third parties, without fully informing them of the clients’ needs. When he arranged for a pick up at the airport, the driver arrived with too small a car for four people and luggage. A cab was called, Darren saying he’d reimburse the cost of, but never did. On the return trip, he again sent too small a vehicle and we had to hold luggage on our lap for two hours back to the airport.

Beware ! - Adelphi Executive Hire- Darren Parsons, proprietor

If you are considering using this firm, be aware of the difficulties you may encounter, and then be kind to yourself and look elsewhere.

We hired him and then found he outsources his work to third parties, without fully informing them of the clients’ needs. When he arranged for a pick up at the airport, the driver arrived with too small a car for four people and luggage. A cab was called, Darren saying he’d reimburse the cost of, but never did. On the return trip, he again sent too small a vehicle and we had to hold luggage on our lap for two hours back to the airport.

Thank you for sharing. I am sorry you had a bad experience .

Established private transfer operators based at the ports tend to offer a much better & more reliable service than those based at airports. Smaller family-run businesses, and high percentage of their clientele is regular locals flying out of the UK.

Harwich taxis has been recommended by CC members on this forum, check them out:

http://www.harwichtaxis.com/

JB :)

Thank you,John. I have contacted Harwich Taxis. I have read several positive reports on them. I have also seen several positive reports on Eddie Manning Limo. Are you familiar with them? Their pricing is pretty competitive with Harwich Taxi.

Thanks again.

Yes, on a number of transfers in the UK a one-way car rental can work out as a viable option.

But be aware that the route is quite boring & tedious, half of it on the M25 London orbital motorway which is often clogged with traffic. Deviation off the direct route can add significantly to the time, especially inside the M25 orbital & you certainly wouldn't want to drive into central London. And there aren't too many sights close to the route - although its not a corner of England that I know well, I can't think of anywhere of interest other than Windsor (which is less than a dozen miles from the airport), and the countryside is pretty featureless. Do you have anywhere in particular in mind?

 

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Europcar is a long-established & respectable company, one of the biggest half-dozen car hire (rental) operators in the UK and Europe. Reliable modern cars, same as the other major players.

 

Not singling them out in particular, but there are terms & add-ons that can push up a basic rental price in the UK, same as in the States.

So watch out for:

CDW excesses and excess-waiver costs.

Airport surcharge.

Child or booster seat add-ons (legal requirement in the UK if carrying kids)

Fuel policy - check that the terms are full-to-full, as they should be for a hiring of 3 days or less. With full-to-empty you might be caned on company's fuel prices, over-stated gas tank sizes & un-used fuel.

Gas in the UK is around £1.32 per litre, I'll leave you to do the maths.

Credit card charges - though they're now capped by law around 2%, and not normally charged on car rentals.

Sat-nav (GPS) is normally charged extra. The basic route is pretty simple - M25 for 56 miles, A12 for 40 miles, A120 for 16 miles. All well-signed. A basic paper map is all you'll need unless you want to stray off-route. Or if you're forced off the motorway by a closure or massive snarl-up.

 

Rental cars in the UK (and the rest of Europe) are normally shift-stick, if you need an automatic be sure to specify.

 

JB :)

Great advise, John,

We rented a car from Thrifty last May, after our BI cruise on Infinity. The price was pretty good. We had it for three days until our flight departed. The dropoff was at the site of our hotel, the Heathrow Sheraton, which was convenient. It all worked out rather well, except our drive on the M25, which was on a Friday. We spent about four hours on the slow moving parking lot of the M25.

DW had lived in Lakenheath (USAF base NE of London) and wanted to go back there, which was nice. We loved the East Anglican countryside. However, we hit the M25 trying to go counterclockwise from the NE of London to the SW of London where Heathrow is located.

I believe if we had gone directly in the AM, traffic would have been much better, still, if you plan such a trip, be aware that auto travel on or close to the M25 may be your worst nightmare.