Travel from Heathrow to Southampton

I am taking a princess cruise and am finding it is quite costly and a little awkward to get to the Southampton cruise port. One option I'm considering is going via Southampton Cruise Ship Shared Transfer Buses. They offer one direct trip and one that stops at Stonehenge on the way. Have any of you used them and what did you think. I found their site at London Toolkit site. Thanks for your help.

If you do a search on this forum, you'll find loads of posts about transfering to Southampton. There is National Express which go direct from Heathrow to Southampton for a reasonable cost, also numerous private transfer companies, plus also the train.

http://www.natioanlexpress.com

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Not sure of the transfer companies, but a quick search on here will find them. The Southampton based companies are normally cheaper.

Here's one thread that will help.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974931

Here is another link that explains the various options. https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_london_transfers.htm

Your decision will probably depend on how much time you have. If you are on a flight that land mid morning, I suggest that you would do best to go directly to Southampton. If there is a little time to spare, you could take a more scenic route (the motorway is pretty boring) but just as a drive-by. You need to be landing early to get any benefit from a Stonehenge visit, and you should bear in mind that you have just spent the night on a plane and will have "lost" up to 8 hours, depending where you fly from.

For a direct personal car at a reasonable price, try http://www.smithsforairports.com/index.html

Thanks --I am flying in on a Thursday so will have one night before the cruise. Am thinking to stay one night at a Heathrow hotel and then take this shuttle and see Stonehenge on the way.

Thank for the info. We are planning to rent a car for four weeks and tour England and Wales prior to taking a transatlantic out of Southampton.

My research indicates that if you elect to rent a car at Heathrow and then drop it off at Southampton, the price per day goes up quite a bit, so we will likely return our car to the same location, Heathrow and use transport such as this thread provided to Southampton.

National Express is a good way of transport, with free wifi and UK power plugs at the seats (not all buses but a lot). Worked well for us from Southampton to London/Heathrow.

Thanks --I am flying in on a Thursday so will have one night before the cruise. Am thinking to stay one night at a Heathrow hotel and then take this shuttle and see Stonehenge on the way.

That overnite at Heathrow is important if you want to take the cruise tour/transfer bus - it's too risky to tie it in with a same-morning flight.

Tickets are a little cheaper through the London Toolkit site than direct with the operator (International Friends).

Buy your Stonehenge admission with your tour tickets - same price as at the gate but your ticket is timed & avoids being held up at the gate if the place is over-subscribed.

Because of check-in time at the port, the cruise bus in that direction only visits Stonehenge - for those spending post-cruise time in London the Southampton to London tour is much more comprehensive and only a few pounds more expensive.

Other options:

- A National Express bus (pre-booking strongly recommended) from the airport direct to Southampton takes around 2 hours & costs only about £17 pp, plus a taxi hop to your ship costing no more than £10.

- Ships' transfers collect from all Heathrow terminals on the morning of the cruise & take you to the pier. You'd have to make your way from hotel to an airport terminal, different cruise lines charge different ships' transfer prices, so do check carefully.

- the train from Heathrow isn't a great choice because it costs £40 pp and involves a shuttlebus from the airport to a nearby main-line station for a Southampton train. Total journey time also about 2 hours. Frequent service & no need to book, so it's a useful Plan B if your other arrangements go belly-up.

- a private transfer will cost around £85 the car, journey time 90 minutes plus. http://www.smithsforairports.com and http://www.westquaycars.com and http://www.aquacars.co.uk are all used by CC members & all have excellent reputations

Papa - double-check that one-way car rental charge, & mebbe check out other agencies. The one-way charge is usually a straight £50 or thereabouts and would avoid doubling-back & other transportation costs.

JB :)

That overnite at Heathrow is important if you want to take the cruise tour/transfer bus - it's too risky to tie it in with a same-morning flight.

Tickets are a little cheaper through the London Toolkit site than direct with the operator (International Friends).

Buy your Stonehenge admission with your tour tickets - same price as at the gate but your ticket is timed & avoids being held up at the gate if the place is over-subscribed.

Because of check-in time at the port, the cruise bus in that direction only visits Stonehenge - for those spending post-cruise time in London the Southampton to London tour is much more comprehensive and only a few pounds more expensive.

 

Other options:

- A National Express bus (pre-booking strongly recommended) from the airport direct to Southampton takes around 2 hours & costs only about £17 pp, plus a taxi hop to your ship costing no more than £10.

- Ships' transfers collect from all Heathrow terminals on the morning of the cruise & take you to the pier. You'd have to make your way from hotel to an airport terminal, different cruise lines charge different ships' transfer prices, so do check carefully.

- the train from Heathrow isn't a great choice because it costs £40 pp and involves a shuttlebus from the airport to a nearby main-line station for a Southampton train. Total journey time also about 2 hours. Frequent service & no need to book, so it's a useful Plan B if your other arrangements go belly-up.

- a private transfer will cost around £85 the car, journey time 90 minutes plus. http://www.smithsforairports.com and http://www.westquaycars.com and http://www.aquacars.co.uk are all used by CC members & all have excellent reputations

 

Papa - double-check that one-way car rental charge, & mebbe check out other agencies. The one-way charge is usually a straight £50 or thereabouts and would avoid doubling-back & other transportation costs.

 

JB :)

Thanks for the great advise John.

I ran the car hire search on kayak as well as a few auto rentals. I will do a more thorough search. Most of the car hire drop off options include the Southampton airport and train station, not the cruise terminal.

50 pounds for a drop off charge would make it worthwhile to use that option.

Thanks for the great advise John.

I ran the car hire search on kayak as well as a few auto rentals. I will do a more thorough search. Most of the car hire drop off options include the Southampton airport and train station, not the cruise terminal.

 

50 pounds for a drop off charge would make it worthwhile to use that option.

"Southampton airport" (Avis, mebbe one or two more) is quite inconvenient, about 8 miles away.

"Southampton station" almost certainly doesn't mean "Southampton station" ;), there are no agencies at the station itself.

It means their city depot - the major ones, Hertz, Alamo, Europcar, National & others have depots between station and City Cruise Terminal - reasonably convenient for cruisers. Usual routine is to first head for your cruise terminal & drop luggage, then with or without your passengers return the car to the rental agency. Agency can call you a cab (under £10 to any cruise terminal) or might even give you a lift in the car that you returned. Or from those depots that I mentioned you could walk in ten minutes if your ship is at City terminal

JB :)

I am taking a princess cruise and am finding it is quite costly and a little awkward to get to the Southampton cruise port. One option I'm considering is going via Southampton Cruise Ship Shared Transfer Buses. They offer one direct trip and one that stops at Stonehenge on the way. Have any of you used them and what did you think. I found their site at London Toolkit site. Thanks for your help.

We took the National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton last August.

It was $62 for both of us. Bought the tickets online before we left. It took 2 hour and 15 minutes. Very easy and very good. You are better off spending the night in Southampton instead of the Heathrow area. Better restaurants and pubs and nicer area in general. Have been to Stonehenge three times so the cruise bus is never an option for going to Southampton. I believe you have to get to one of the Heathrow hotels to get the cruise bus and the National Express bus station is in the airport.

Does anyone know what terminal do you catch the National express coach to Southampton from Heathrow airport. ?? Thank you

Does anyone know what terminal do you catch the National express coach to Southampton from Heathrow airport. ?? Thank you

All depends which terminal you're flying into. T1,2,3 are served by the central bus station which is linked to them all. T4,5 is from bus stops directly outside the terminals which will be clearly signposted.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

All depends which terminal you're flying into. T1,2,3 are served by the central bus station which is linked to them all. T4,5 is from bus stops directly outside the terminals which will be clearly signposted.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Just confirming Dave's info :)

JB :)

We're arriving Heathrow at 6:50 on a Friday morning. Should we be able to catch an 8:30 bus to Southampton? We're flying BA which I believe arrives at terminal 5.

That could be a bit tight. You only need a hiccup in the immigration queue or in the baggage hall to miss that coach. I would book the one after, BUT if you get out of the arrivals hall in time to get the 8.30 (say you got out at 8.10) when you come out of arrivals, turn left along the concourse and there is a National Express office. They will help you change your ticket and might do it for free (especially if you play the dumb tourist card!) or they are supposed to charge £5 per person to change it. It is only a 2 minute walk from their office to the bus stop outside on the concourse. Otherwise chill out and have a coffee whilst waiting for your coach.

Simon

We're arriving Heathrow at 6:50 on a Friday morning. Should we be able to catch an 8:30 bus to Southampton? We're flying BA which I believe arrives at terminal 5.

Always difficult to predict flight arrival times and the time taken for formalities at airports.

But the gods are on your side...........

- the north Atlantic jet-stream generally means east-bound flights arrive early, even if they're a little late taking-off.

- it's quite early in the day, so hopefully no build-up of delays at immigration -usually the only pinch-point.

- the National Express bus stops at T5 are on the nearest service road on the concourse immediately outside the terminal exit, bus stops 9 to 15 on this diagram

http://www.heathrow.com/file_source/Heathrow/Static/PDF/Transport_and_directions/HeathrowT5_Stop_Allocation.pdf

So you should have no problem making the 8.30. :)

However, if you should be delayed & miss it, you can go to the Nat Express office (noted on that diagram) and get your reservation switched to the next available bus. It'll cost you a small admin fee (about £5)

Alternatively you can book a later coach (10.15) and switch that to the 8.30 if seats are available, but the time taken to switch might be those crucial couple of minutes that make the difference.

(nb switching coach times is only available for journeys from airports. For all other Nat Express journeys, including those to airports, if you miss your coach you throw away your tickets & start again.)

In the unlikely event that it all goes belly-up - you miss your ticketed coach & there are no seats available on others - you'll not be stranded at Heathrow. You can buy a RailAir train ticket at about £40. This involves a shuttlebus from T5 to the nearest station (usually Woking, sometimes Reading), where you switch to a direct train to Southampton. Total journey time is about 2 hours (similar to the Nat Express coach), very frequent (about 3 per hour), no need to pre-book, unlimited capacity. Not ideal, but you'll comfortably make your sailing.

JB :)

Edited to add re Simon's post. Simon & I are on the same wavelength, but suggesting different tactics - (me) book 8.30 & switch if you're late, (Simon) book 10.15 & switch if you're early.

To mis-quote Dirty Harry, " do you feel lucky, punk?" ;)

Thanks for the excellent information. Our cruise leaves Sat. So we are not in a rush, however I'd really like to make the 8:30 bus. Hmm, do I feel lucky... Probably.

Do I understand correctly that it's possible to take the National Express bus directly to Southhampton from Heathrow without any stops and then spend the night before the cruise there?

Do I understand correctly that it's possible to take the National Express bus directly to Southhampton from Heathrow without any stops and then spend the night before the cruise there?

Yes

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Do I understand correctly that it's possible to take the National Express bus directly to Southhampton from Heathrow without any stops and then spend the night before the cruise there?

Yes, it's a direct (no changes) journey of something under 2 hours.

Being pedantic, it does make a couple of stops on the way to pick up / drop passengers at Basingstoke or Winchester and Southampton University (depending what time coach).

Your destination is Southampton coach station, in the city centre - some hotels are walkable even with luggage, or a taxi to any city centre hotel will cost no more than £10.

The coach station, cruise terminals, & most city centre hotels are on the little sketch map at the bottom of

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

You are strongly advised to pre-book.

Note that Southampton has only one "h", the National Express website won't recognise it if it's misspelt.

JB :)

Yes, it's a direct (no changes) journey of something under 2 hours.

Being pedantic, it does make a couple of stops on the way to pick up / drop passengers at Basingstoke or Winchester and Southampton University (depending what time coach).

Your destination is Southampton coach station, in the city centre - some hotels are walkable even with luggage, or a taxi to any city centre hotel will cost no more than £10.

 

The coach station, cruise terminals, & most city centre hotels are on the little sketch map at the bottom of

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

 

You are strongly advised to pre-book.

Note that Southampton has only one "h", the National Express website won't recognise it if it's misspelt.

 

JB :)

After I posted this it looks like we can get flights directly to Southampton and totally bypass London. This sounds like a great idea as we have been to London many times and don't have any plans to spend time there during this cruise,(looking at Norway itineraries.) How far is the airport to the port? DH is handicapped, so we are looking at the easiest option for him.

After I posted this it looks like we can get flights directly to Southampton and totally bypass London. This sounds like a great idea as we have been to London many times and don't have any plans to spend time there during this cruise,(looking at Norway itineraries.) How far is the airport to the port? DH is handicapped, so we are looking at the easiest option for him.

Where are you flying from to Southampton? I was not aware that any US flights flew into Southampton!

After I posted this it looks like we can get flights directly to Southampton and totally bypass London. This sounds like a great idea as we have been to London many times and don't have any plans to spend time there during this cruise,(looking at Norway itineraries.) How far is the airport to the port? DH is handicapped, so we are looking at the easiest option for him.

Like the Alaskan, I'm guessing this is a flight into Southampton from Europe.

Do bear in mind that budget airlines use Southampton - their prices are fluid, and do run a dummy booking to see the total price including luggage etc.

Southampton airport is about 8 miles from the city centre & cruise terminals. There are bus & train options but it sounds like your best bet is a taxi. One from the rank at the airport will cost about £20, or pre-book with http://www.westquaycars.com for about £5 less.

JB :)

"Southampton airport" (Avis, mebbe one or two more) is quite inconvenient, about 8 miles away.

 

"Southampton station" almost certainly doesn't mean "Southampton station" ;), there are no agencies at the station itself.

It means their city depot - the major ones, Hertz, Alamo, Europcar, National & others have depots between station and City Cruise Terminal - reasonably convenient for cruisers. Usual routine is to first head for your cruise terminal & drop luggage, then with or without your passengers return the car to the rental agency. Agency can call you a cab (under £10 to any cruise terminal) or might even give you a lift in the car that you returned. Or from those depots that I mentioned you could walk in ten minutes if your ship is at City terminal

 

JB :)

I have been checking car rental sites and am having no luck finding a Southampton airport offsite car rental open on Sunday (when our ship returns from a cruise) or on Wed. evening around 8 pm (20:00) when we would return the car. We are limited on a time to return the car because of our return ferry schedule in Portsmouth from Cherbourg. Can you suggest car rental companies in Southampton (not airport) that are open Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Do these companies have key drops so we can return the car if the location is closed? Thanks for any information.