Arriving at Heathrow

[Busman723]

We are arriving  at Heathrow Terminal 5. We are taking the National Express bus to Southampton. After we get through Customs and immigrations, then where do we catch the bus. Any and all help is appreciated .

[Cotswold Eagle]

Assuming you have booked the bus from Terminal 5, it's very easy - the stop is just outside the terminal. As you exit the secure area, you will see an exit directly opposite you - go through that, past the lifts (elevators) for the car parks and out to the road. Turn left and look for bus stops (stands) 13-16, which is where National Express services call. 

 

You will want to wait inside the terminal, as there is hardly any seating outside - there are a couple of coffee shops with seating just inside the terminal building.. 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Turn left and look for bus stops (stands) 13-16, which is where National Express services call. 

I hate to correct you, but only because I looked into this earlier today. The National Express website states that pickup from Terminal 5 is stops 11-15.

[Cotswold Eagle]

20 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I hate to correct you,

Why? It’s important we are accurate on matters of fact.  I was going from memory and an outdated reference on the Heathrow website 😀 But the T5 map (last page is landside arrivals) agrees with National Express. 

OP - my route is still applicable and you’ll find stands 11 and 12 roughly two coach lengths before stand 13, just outside the exit. 

 

[Busman723]

thanks, that what I need..I would hate to just wander around lost and miss a bus and have to wait for another...

[CruiserBruce]

The smart thing to do is look for the signs that say "Ground Transport" or something similar. These signs will be alongside baggage claim signs, and then as you clear baggage claim (and Customs) the Ground Transport signs will be a bigger presence. Then, as you get closer, more specifics will appear on the sign...certain bus companies, or certain destinations...things like that. This is true of every major, and even moderate sized airport I have been in, and I have been in a few.

[Globaliser]

3 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The smart thing to do is look for the signs that say "Ground Transport" or something similar. These signs will be alongside baggage claim signs, and then as you clear baggage claim (and Customs) the Ground Transport signs will be a bigger presence. Then, as you get closer, more specifics will appear on the sign...certain bus companies, or certain destinations...things like that. This is true of every major, and even moderate sized airport I have been in, and I have been in a few.

 

I doubt that the OP will see such signs at Heathrow.

 

There will be yellow signs saying "Arrivals" and "Baggage Reclaim"; there will also be purple signs for "Flight Connections", but the colour makes it clear that these are not relevant to the OP. At baggage claim itself, the only relevant signs may be the yellow ones saying "Exit", and then the red and green portals for the two Customs channels.

 

As far as I can tell, this is a Heathrow policy: reduce the number of different words to the minimum to avoid confusion. After all, for a very large proportion of Heathrow passengers, English is a foreign language, so the fewer words that the passenger needs to translate as they move through the airport, the faster they will understand where they need to go.

 

Only after exiting from Customs will there be more specific signs. For the OP, I think that the relevant signs will be yellow ones saying "Buses".

[Cotswold Eagle]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The smart thing to do is look for the signs that say "Ground Transport" or something similar. These signs will be alongside baggage claim signs, and then as you clear baggage claim (and Customs) the Ground Transport signs will be a bigger presence. Then, as you get closer, more specifics will appear on the sign...certain bus companies, or certain destinations...things like that. This is true of every major, and even moderate sized airport I have been in, and I have been in a few.

This generalised and, in terms of the Heathrow arrivals flow signage, inaccurate advice is perhaps less helpful than the specific directions to the correct bus stops already provided….

[CruiserBruce]

Specific info is great. Just wanted to let the OP know that one can navigate most any airport in the world...they have very similar styles of lay out. Are they all the same...No. But most have the varieties of ground transport... buses, taxis, trains, rental cars, etc, and they essentially all direct you through Baggage claim (and where appropriate, Customs) to get there.

 

Even easier in LHR, as the signage will be in English (obviously for a primary English speaker) only. No need to be worried about being confused by signage in a different language, though many airports have signage in both English and the local language.

 

Just trying to give some confidence to a less experienced traveler. One can navigate through a foreign airport...people do it for the first time every day.

[sddsddean]

To help you know what you're looking for, this gives you an idea. The exit from T5 is behind the camera; you walk over a little paved area.

 

Simon