Pre cruise London

[luv2tvl]

Hello!

 

My aunt and I will be sailing from Southampton on 6/3. We are flying into LHR around noon the day proir. Right now we have booked the Marriott right by LHR and had planned on going into London proper to do a HOHO bus with our free afternoon.

 

Is this going to be too much for our small amount of free time? I'm assuming we'll need to take a taxi into London since I'm sure there is no train station nearby.

 

I'm just trying to figure out all the logistics and it's starting to overwhelm me!

 

Any help would be appreciated!

[petsgalore]

You can take the Heathrow Express into London (buy ticket on the internet before you leave home). Very speedy service and runs every 15 mins. It will get you to Paddington Station and then you can take the tube to wherever you would like to go in London.

[Bruin Steve]

Hello!

 

My aunt and I will be sailing from Southampton on 6/3. We are flying into LHR around noon the day proir. Right now we have booked the Marriott right by LHR and had planned on going into London proper to do a HOHO bus with our free afternoon.

 

Is this going to be too much for our small amount of free time? I'm assuming we'll need to take a taxi into London since I'm sure there is no train station nearby.

 

I'm just trying to figure out all the logistics and it's starting to overwhelm me!

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Doable, but certainly not ideal...

 

First, which Marriott?--There are two at or near Heathrow--The Heathrow Marriott and the Heathrow/Windsor Marriott...We've stayed at the second...it is in Slough, a little bit away from LHR...The other one is closer... but, either way, you will have to get back over to Terminal 5 to pick up the train, so that will require a taxi or shuttle...

 

The ride into London Paddington Station takes about 20 minutes...So, it's not bad...

 

But, you also need to consider that even getting in at noon, it will take you some time to get off the plane, collect your luggage, go through customs, get a ride to your hotel and get checked in...THEN the taxi back to Terminal 5, then the train ride into Paddington ...and, whew!, you no longer really have an afternoon to explore...more like an evening...and, remember, you will likely be "jet-lagged" and off-schedule, several time zones removed from your home...

 

And, also remember, it will take quite a bit of time to get from Heathrow to the port in Southampton in the morning--minimum an hour and a half by car...if you go fast and have no traffic nor delays...Really figure on around 2 hours + to be safe...If you go by train or bus, figure you will also need a taxi from the station to the port...

 

I might be a little on the cautious side, but I like to be IN Southampton at least the night before (this July, I will be there two nights in advance!)...

 

Good luck...

[luv2tvl]

Thanks for all the information!

 

I realize I'm totally biting off more than I should with my time in London, but I hate to travel ALL that way and see nothing while I'm there. I actually misspoke, we are staying at the Renaissance Heathrow.

 

So if I'm understanding, we'll take the Hopper bus from the hotel to Terminal 5, then the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station.... got it.

 

We are both young and while I know we'll be exhausted we should be able to make it all work. Boy, will we sleep good that night. :)

 

We are taking the National Express from our hotel to Southampton on the 3rd, which is already lined up so I have no worries there.

 

Thanks again!!!

[chaz2010]

If you're not already set, I would look into the Hilton at Paddington Station. Same or better quality than Marriott. Get on the Heathrow Express as noted above. Hilton is attached to Paddington by sky bridge. Check in, see London that day, and the next day take Heathrow express back to the airport for your bus or take taxi to Victoria Coach station for bus there to Southhampton.

[tom_uk]

Hello!

 

My aunt and I will be sailing from Southampton on 6/3. We are flying into LHR around noon the day proir. Right now we have booked the Marriott right by LHR and had planned on going into London proper to do a HOHO bus with our free afternoon.

 

Is this going to be too much for our small amount of free time? I'm assuming we'll need to take a taxi into London since I'm sure there is no train station nearby.

 

I'm just trying to figure out all the logistics and it's starting to overwhelm me!

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Go for it.

 

Have you had a look at this webpage? Full of useful stuff. In particular the 'Heathrow Connect' train might be your friend: a bit slower than the Heathrow Express but a lot cheaper. It goes to Paddington, the same as the Express.

 

I'm not a fan of HOHO buses anywhere so that wouldn't be my first choice. If it were me, I'd get the tube (or a bus) from Paddington to Westminster, walk across Westminster bridge, perhaps go on the London Eye if the queues aren't too long, and then walk eastward up the river as far as Tate Modern. On a good day that's a fabulous walk.

 

For getting around in central London a one-day off-peak TravelCard for zones 1 & 2 is what you would need - you could buy it at Paddington. That will be good for as many tube journeys as you want in central London, plus buses. However, it wouldn't get you back to Heathrow by tube.

[Twickenham]

Thanks for all the information!

 

I realize I'm totally biting off more than I should with my time in London, but I hate to travel ALL that way and see nothing while I'm there. I actually misspoke, we are staying at the Renaissance Heathrow.

 

So if I'm understanding, we'll take the Hopper bus from the hotel to Terminal 5, then the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station.... got it.

 

We are both young and while I know we'll be exhausted we should be able to make it all work. Boy, will we sleep good that night. :)

 

We are taking the National Express from our hotel to Southampton on the 3rd, which is already lined up so I have no worries there.

 

Thanks again!!!

 

Actually, I would suggest the following revisions to your transport:

 

-LHR to Renaissance: there is a bus 'free fare zone' around LHR, meaning you can ride any of the city buses free of charge within that zone, shown on this map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/heathrowterminals123-13970.pdf. No need to pay for the Hoppa bus.

-Renaissance to London: while the HEX is the fastest way into Central London from LHR, it's relatively expensive, and debatable whether it's really fastest from your hotel when you factor in time to get to LHR and time from Paddington on the other end to get to where you want to visit in London. From the Renaissance, you can take a free city bus ride to the Hatton Cross underground station, from which you can ride into the city - you'll be in the heart of Central London in about 45 minutes/1 hour, easy-peasy.

 

Personally, I'd be staying in Central London that night and going to Southampton from there, but if your LHR-Soton bus is already booked, it's certainly doable to visit London from the Renaissance.

 

ETA:

 

For getting around in central London a one-day off-peak TravelCard for zones 1 & 2 is what you would need - you could buy it at Paddington. That will be good for as many tube journeys as you want in central London, plus buses. However, it wouldn't get you back to Heathrow by tube.

 

No, but you can buy a Zone 1-6 Travelcard that does include the tube to LHR.

[luv2tvl]

Well, all of your VERY helpful information helped change my mind and we now have a hotel booked right off the Shepard's Bush station.

 

My question now is do we still take the Heathrow Express to get from LHR into London? Not sure of the most economical way to get into that part of the city with all of our luggage. I know Shepard's Bush is a little further west than Paddington Station where the Heathrow Express stops.

 

Thanks again for all your help!!

[tom_uk]

Well, all of your VERY helpful information helped change my mind and we now have a hotel booked right off the Shepard's Bush station.

 

My question now is do we still take the Heathrow Express to get from LHR into London? Not sure of the most economical way to get into that part of the city with all of our luggage. I know Shepard's Bush is a little further west than Paddington Station where the Heathrow Express stops.

 

Thanks again for all your help!!

 

The cheapest way of doing this would be by tube from Heathrow to Shepherd's Bush, but that will be hard work, very fiddly - at least one change - and slow. The easiest way would be by taxi all the way from Heathrow, but that would be very expensive. I would have thought that the Heathrow Connect service would be fast enough, not too expensive, and would get you to Paddington. From there I would get a taxi the comparatively short distance to your hotel.

[Twickenham]

Well, all of your VERY helpful information helped change my mind and we now have a hotel booked right off the Shepard's Bush station.

 

Good move!

 

My question now is do we still take the Heathrow Express to get from LHR into London? Not sure of the most economical way to get into that part of the city with all of our luggage. I know Shepard's Bush is a little further west than Paddington Station where the Heathrow Express stops.

 

Thanks again for all your help!!

 

If you want to take the train into town, you have 2 choices:

-Take the Heathrow Express/Connect (Connect is half the price, 10 minutes longer due to it stopping en route) to Paddington, then taxi to hotel;

-Take Heathrow Connect to Ealing Broadway (slightly cheaper than Paddington), than Central Line underground to Shepherd's Bush. Ealing Broadway isn't a terribly large station, and although I seem to remember some stairs it shouldn't be a horribly difficult transfer.

[luv2tvl]

We leave tomorrow afternoon and I think I have everything all taken care of. We are ready to GO!

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your help - I really couldn't have figured this all out with out your assistance. :)