National Express Coach Questions

Does anyone know whether you need to reserve tickets for the National Express Coach from Heathrow to Southampton ahead of time? If so, how much time is a good estimate to get through immigration and luggage from time of arrival? I don't believe the tickets are exchangable in case you miss the reserved time. Is this accurate? Thanks for your help.

Does anyone know whether you need to reserve tickets for the National Express Coach from Heathrow to Southampton ahead of time? If so, how much time is a good estimate to get through immigration and luggage from time of arrival? I don't believe the tickets are exchangable in case you miss the reserved time. Is this accurate?

If you are early, you may be able to get on an earlier service. If you are late, National Express will do what they can to re-accommodate you, but with no guarantees. They are more flexible at airports than elsewhere (and say so), for obvious reasons.

We took National Express in June from Heathrow to Southampton. We arrived at 6:30am and was at the bus station for the 10am bus. However, we had tickets for the 11am bus. They told us its up to the driver if he can take us at 10am. That bus was full and we waited until 11. I felt I would rather wait for a bus then miss a bus. Also, you probably will find some cheap tickets if you book in advance. On our return, we were 4 people and took a taxi from the pier to the bus terminal. The taxi driver offered to drive us direct to the hotel in London for 100 pounds. We felt that was a great price, since we needed taxis from the pier to the bus station, then from the bus station to the hotel and the price of the bus ticket.

Good Luck

You also need to factor in which Terminal you are arriving at at Heathrow.

Southampton coaches depart from the Central Bus Station, which is connected by underground walkways to Terminals 1,2 and 3 - a journey of no more than 10 minutes.

For Terminals 4 and 5 you need to catch the Heathrow Connect / Heathrow Express trains to the central area, a journey of only 5 minutes but both trains run only every 15 minutes.

In my view its best to take the tactic of the above post, reserve on-line with a conservative schedule. If you're early you may well get on an earlier bus.

By doing this you have a guaranteed seat and may possibly get a discounted ticket.

If you do choose to pay on the day, its worth seeking out the National Express kiosks in the terminals, the main ticket office at the bus station often has very long queues.