Best way to get from London to Southampton...

[pnhmrk]

I wonder why they've made it so difficult for international travelers.

 

Garry - If it's any consolation it's not just international travellers. I have never managed to buy a rail ticket on line - I have always had to ring up to check something and be given a correct fare - sometimes as much as GBP 40.00 (USD 80.00) cheaper!

[southwestie]

Unfortunately, those are all sites that cater exclusively to European or UK residents, as they require paper tickets to be shipped or a UK billing address in order to even make the purchase.

 

I wonder why they've made it so difficult for international travelers. I am beginning to agree with the skeptics that say it is done on purpose in order to force walk-up fares on those of us who could otherwise pre-book.

 

BritRail.com does *seem* like it should work, since the website appears to be targeted towards international travelers.

 

 

Ha Ha.

Dont be into that one, I can buy a cruise on line and airline ticket online and a megatrain ticket BUT a train ticket from anywhere is a mine field.

 

price for a 90 min train from london to soton are from £16 to £230.

what I think I would do is to go to london enjoy your your stay-while there go into waterloo and buy ask for the cheapest 1 way tick to southampton-try for a £16 but pay no more than £29 .

 

if it going to cost more get the tube across to victoria and buy a coach ticket from national coachs .

 

you wont have a problem getting to southampton-just how much it will cost

 

rob

[paulista1950]

When I read threads on going from London to Southampton or from Southampton to London I always wonder if I was the only one here to have considered taken the bus (I did it and liked it very much).

 

After reading all those posts on the luggage issue,

 

"... as long as I know there is room for luggage"

"is the luggage area at all secure"

"There is no way to secure luggage on a British train"

"Smaller cases, in fact, do fit on the luggage racks, but only smaller ones"

"... but do be prepared to wrestle with what you bring yourself as there was no "red cap" to help."

 

I was thinking on sugesting the coach but since rob6852 did it first, I back the idea and ask Gary,

Where did you heard that those are all sites that cater exclusively to European or UK residents, as they require paper tickets to be shipped or a UK billing address in order to even make the purchase?

I bought mine from www.nationalexpress.com and printed them myself.

 

 

[southwestie]

When I read threads on going from London to Southampton or from Southampton to London I always wonder if I was the only one here to have considered taken the bus (I did it and liked it very much).

 

After reading all those posts on the luggage issue,

 

"... as long as I know there is room for luggage"

"is the luggage area at all secure"

"There is no way to secure luggage on a British train"

"Smaller cases, in fact, do fit on the luggage racks, but only smaller ones"

"... but do be prepared to wrestle with what you bring yourself as there was no "red cap" to help."

 

I was thinking on sugesting the coach but since rob6852 did it first, I back the idea and ask Gary,

 

Where did you heard that those are all sites that cater exclusively to European or UK residents, as they require paper tickets to be shipped or a UK billing address in order to even make the purchase?

 

I bought mine from www.nationalexpress.com and printed them myself.

 

 

 

There you go- national express are the best way I think.-low cost if you want save money-they go to southampton and a taxi is 10 to 15 mins ride, you can book on line and print them out, worst thing that can happen is you buy them in london when you get here, phone them and ask for the options.

 

bags are placed in a secure storage and safe.

 

ok people on here have not heard of bags being stolen and neither have I, BUT you dont want to be the 1st

 

im off to NYC today so will look in on this thread when we get there and wish you well

 

most of DONT worry and enjoy that wonderful crossing

 

rob

[clydecruiser]

Unfortunately, those are all sites that cater exclusively to European or UK residents, as they require paper tickets to be shipped or a UK billing address in order to even make the purchase.

 

I wonder why they've made it so difficult for international travelers. I am beginning to agree with the skeptics that say it is done on purpose in order to force walk-up fares on those of us who could otherwise pre-book.

 

BritRail.com does *seem* like it should work, since the website appears to be targeted towards international travelers.

 

Gary

 

From 9:35am onwards a cheap day single from London to Southampton is £26.70 per person you should be able to buy this at the station.

 

If you can find others travelling from London to Southampton for your cruise on these boards why not meet up and use Groupsave. Basically 3 or 4 people travel for the price of 2. Therefore you could potentially half the price of travel. You can buy these tickets at the station on the day of travel.

[rebeccalouise]

I did the train from Victoria Station to Southampton with a change along route. It took a total of about 2 hours.

 

I went to Victoria station the day before to buy tickets and the man at the ticket counter said that there was no need to buy tickets in advance.

 

We had no problem. There were people to help with bags when getting on and off the trains and people helped carry the bags for us to the next track, etc.

 

It was great. I loved the train.

[ocngypz]

US residents may purchase point to point tickets online at Rail Europe.

[YankeeClippr]

Hi ... Did exactly this during the summer of 2006. It's "dead easy" as my English friends say.

1. There are a couple of trains each hour from Waterloo Station to Southampton. [be sure to book to Southampton CENTRAL, not Southampton Airport Parkway]. You can buy your ticket just before you leave. Check for off-peak rates, but be aware that you cannot go onto the platform until after the "offpeak" moment... (I think it's 9am, but please check).

NB: "Megatrain" service is VERY limited and difficult to book from the US. You're spending several thousand dollars on the cruise ... I wouldn't risk problems with this scheme, personally.

Also, as I recall, the "Virgin" trains shown in the timetable don't actually go to Southampton, you have to change somewhere ...

The journey takes about 1.5 hours, as I recall.

2. Southbound trains in the morning will not be full at London, but will get full(er) as the train proceeds.

3. You should not really need to buy 1st class ... which I often do on other trips, but only to ensure a seat, not necessary here. Standard Class service is extremely comfortable, and the trains all seem to be new.

4. There are plenty of taxis at Southampton ... just walk off the train, through the "lobby" and out to the taxi-stand/ car-park. The fare to the Cunard Terminal is about 5 or 6 GBP plus tip. Trip takes less than 10 minutes.

5. Have fun...hope this helps.

YankeeClippr

[BrianI]

If you are travelling on Cunard, P&O or Princess, they operate a coach service from central London (Victoria) and Heathrow direct to the ship in Southampton. (and from other parts of the UK).

Once your luggage is on board the coach, you don't see it again until it is in your cabin.

http://www.cunard.co.uk/Planner/Default.asp?plan_active=Joining

 

http://www.eaveswaytravel.com/home.htm

 

Brian.

[crossponder]

I want to second, or is it third, the National Express recommendation. Do NOT think Greyhound - it is much nicer and more reliable. You do not have to haiu your bags on and off and you know they are safely stowed. No worries and a pleasant 2 to 2 1/2 hour ride; most coaches make a quick stop in Winchester so you even get a taste of that.

Please throw aside any built-in aversion to bus travel. Yes, car service is the best option - until you price it. The train is fine but a hassle (and seems more subject to strikes).

Easiest of all is to get on Nat Express right from Heathrow - cancel your hotel! Or, alternatively, spend more time in London - why bother going there at all (for your first time) if you only spend a night...

[garykool81]

Thanks again for all the feedback and answers!

 

Someone had asked why I was having a problem booking through the UK rail sites, such as South West or National Rail, etc. The problem is that the E-Ticket feature only works at stations that have the self-ticketing machine. While I am sure that Waterloo (being a large station) has one, it is not listed from the pull-down menu on any of these websites when you are asked where you will be picking up your E-ticket from. Victoria is listed, however, I don't want to add an extra 30-minutes of travel time to Southampton just to use an e-ticket.

 

On websites such as Virgin, they require you to create a profile before purchasing a ticket on their website -- and ONLY users with a UK mailing address are able to create a profile. It will not recognize US zip codes.

 

I'll probably just show up at Waterloo around late morning and hop on a train down to Southampton with a same-day ticket.

 

Thanks so much for everyone's assistance!

[garykool81]

I want to second, or is it third, the National Express recommendation. Do NOT think Greyhound - it is much nicer and more reliable. You do not have to haiu your bags on and off and you know they are safely stowed. No worries and a pleasant 2 to 2 1/2 hour ride; most coaches make a quick stop in Winchester so you even get a taste of that.

Please throw aside any built-in aversion to bus travel. Yes, car service is the best option - until you price it. The train is fine but a hassle (and seems more subject to strikes).

Easiest of all is to get on Nat Express right from Heathrow - cancel your hotel! Or, alternatively, spend more time in London - why bother going there at all (for your first time) if you only spend a night...

 

Well, we both want to spend some time in London (even if briefly) to get a bit of a taste for the city. I am sure if we plan a future crossing that we will allocate at least a few days. I also cannot cancel the hotel, since I booked a non-refundable room at a steep discount. I was able to book a 4-star hotel in the Kensington area right near Hyde Park for just $130US per night!

 

I think if I had to do it all over again, I'd still book a hotel in London. I really want a chance to see the city (even if just for a few hours), since we've never been to the UK before.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Well, we both want to spend some time in London (even if briefly) to get a bit of a taste for the city. I am sure if we plan a future crossing that we will allocate at least a few days. I also cannot cancel the hotel, since I booked a non-refundable room at a steep discount. I was able to book a 4-star hotel in the Kensington area right near Hyde Park for just $130US per night!

 

I think if I had to do it all over again, I'd still book a hotel in London. I really want a chance to see the city (even if just for a few hours), since we've never been to the UK before.

 

You've only got a day in London, so do it like a tourist. Take one of those hop on/hop off double-decker bus rides. It's a great way to get an overview of the city. Do some reading in advance, and make a list of the top 10 things you'd like to see in London. Put the list away for a few days and then revisit it. Look again, put the places in order of preference, and accept that fact that you can't do them all. Don't let that frustrate you--think of it as a start on planning your next trip to London. ;)

 

If you really want to book train tickets in advance, go through the 'journey planner' at the national rail site, check the price, check the times. When you know exactly what you want, go to the site for South West Trains and find a telephone number. Use one of those 10-10 numbers to phone SWT directly, and buy your ticket, to be collected from a machine at Waterloo. (This is how I was able to buy a ticket from Leeds to London from GNER)

 

However, I'm pretty sure that SWT does not offer advance fares. If so, you might as well buy the ticket day-of-travel. Leave plenty of time--Waterloo is a huge station.

 

BE VERY VERY CAREFUL of US-based sources of train tickets. They only sell full fare tickets. The advanced fare from Leeds to London is around $40 per ticket. The day-of-travel fare is around $140. So you can see why I wanted to book my ticket in advance. When I couldn't buy on line, I asked GNER's customer service for help, which was not at all helpful. They suggested a US website, so I checked it out. Even though it was early enough to qualify for the $40 advance fare, the only fare the US site offered was the day-of-travel full fare. That's when I decided to phone directly.

 

Kathy

[paulista1950]

"Someone had asked why I was having a problem booking through the UK rail sites, such as South West or National Rail, etc."

 

But I was refering to the National Express site. I'm glad there are more people who think it's a good option.

[juliecat]

I want to second, or is it third, the National Express recommendation. Do NOT think Greyhound - it is much nicer and more reliable. You do not have to haiu your bags on and off and you know they are safely stowed. No worries and a pleasant 2 to 2 1/2 hour ride; most coaches make a quick stop in Winchester so you even get a taste of that.

Please throw aside any built-in aversion to bus travel. Yes, car service is the best option - until you price it. The train is fine but a hassle (and seems more subject to strikes).

Easiest of all is to get on Nat Express right from Heathrow - cancel your hotel! Or, alternatively, spend more time in London - why bother going there at all (for your first time) if you only spend a night...

 

I have used National Express several times and have been quite pleased. Do be sure to book in advance; I've never seen an empty seat on the coach. In addition to cruise passengers, you'll see lots of Southampton University students onboard, and if it is the beginning of term the coaches will be full or overbooked. Just book online and go to the coach bay as soon as the route appears on the electronic board (at least for Heathrow).

 

Julia

[exlondoner]

Honestly, the train is six times nicer than the coach.:)

[bob brown]

No one mentioned the possibility of a one-way auto rental from Heathrow to Southampton. Any idea of what that would cost for an economy car?

[3rdGenCunarder]

No one mentioned the possibility of a one-way auto rental from Heathrow to Southampton. Any idea of what that would cost for an economy car?

 

OP asked about London to Soton, for which a car would not be a good idea--do you really want to drive out of central London? :eek:

 

I don't think there are any rental drop-off places on the pier. We have rented a car in England several times, and found that Hertz does not charge a one-way penalty on a weekly rental. No idea what a one-day one-way would cost. For Hertz, there's only a downtown drop-off, which means you have to get a cab to the pier. For other rental companies, the only location might be Soton airport, which is a fairly long cab ride--longer than the ride from the train station.

 

For a direct trip from Heathrow to Southampton, I would not suggest renting a car. If we haven't added any extra time to a cruise, we take Cunard's airport transfer service.

 

Kathy

[Oslo Dutch]

Last year I took the Megatrain to Southampton. The carriage was almost empty and it was very comfortable. Make sure you keep you self print ticket with you as it is scanned when you leave the station.

 

On the way back I disembarked, took a cab to National Express bus station and wnet straight to Heathrow. Very comfortable too.

 

Cunard charged a very expensive fare something lien 70 pounds for this while I just paid around 10 pounds.

 

Reint

[calikak]

Bentley and driver, naturally.

 

A car service will be the easiest. Prices vary, depending on a lot of things. Woodford cars, who are based in Southampton, are reliable. They have varied cars going all the way to a Rolls Royce.

 

Matthew

 

We used Woodford a few years back, they were great. Driver was really friendly and arrived promptly (as I recall he was even a bit early, which was great for us). We found it to be the best deal for our group of 6, even cheaper than the train, but for a couple it would be pricier.

[garykool81]

We found it to be the best deal for our group of 6, even cheaper than the train, but for a couple it would be pricier.

 

Definitely -- 80GBP/pp for car versus 25GBP/pp for train is a pretty large price difference :-)

[cunardqueen]

Iv always found the train the best option, as long as you arrive in plenty of time, and can secure a luggage trolley (a very rare thing these days), Waterloo seem to have nice large ones that can hold 3 or 4 cases.

Of course in the olden days the Boat Train was the only way to arrive at the QE2, place the luggage in the baggage car at Waterloo and take a seat in the train, they only charged £10.50 in those days.

Though generally l find these days trains are not geared up for cruise passengers, or maybe its that we carry to much luggage?.

At Kings Cross station on my homeward journey, l made a fuss about the lack of help at the 1st class lounge and a nice man gave me a helping hand with my cases all the way to the guards van, then owing to the weight of them he enlisted the help of the guard as they were to heavy for him to lift onboard (quoting health and safety etc etc), l didnt think they were so heavy... and when they asked what l had in them, l just flashed a quick smile, pressed something into their hands and thought quietly of the cruise and said "Oh just a few souvenirs" and retraced my steps back to the realms of 1st class.

[southwestie]

Honestly, the train is six times nicer than the coach.:)

 

 

only 6 times nicer??

 

yes it nicer but he is having problems booking the train, the best deal is megatrain 45 days in advance, the train is good but if cost is a factor then the coach is ok

[3rdGenCunarder]

Last year I took the Megatrain to Southampton. The carriage was almost empty and it was very comfortable. Make sure you keep you self print ticket with you as it is scanned when you leave the station.

 

On the way back I disembarked, took a cab to National Express bus station and wnet straight to Heathrow. Very comfortable too.

 

Cunard charged a very expensive fare something lien 70 pounds for this while I just paid around 10 pounds.

 

Reint

 

Did you get something with a bar code on it? I just have an email with a reservation number. Do I need to go back to megatrain and print something else?

 

Kathy

[transat_jon]

Well, how to get to Southampton?

 

Here is my opinion, most options listed with links for you all : http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/greatmindspace/port/southampton_uk.htm.