London Heathrow to Southampton

In August we have a cruise departing from Southampton. We wil be flying in a day early and will spend the night before the cruise in Southampton. Is there an affordable option for transportation from heathrow to southampton? I priced a few private cars and they were out of our price range. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheapest is a National Express Coach direct to Southampton Coach Station. This will cost about £17.50 per person and you should add around £10 for a taxi to the dock. Coaches run every two hours and the journey takes about 2½ hours depending on traffic.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

As per Bob's post, cheapest & pretty simple is the direct bus service by National Express.

You're strongly advised to pre-book - when a bus is full it's full, they don't lay on extra buses for high demand.

You'll need to know your Heathrow terminal https://www.heathrow.com/airport-guide/which-terminal

Your destination is Southampton coach station.

For travel from airports only, your bus ticket is transferable - so if your aircraft is late or airport formalities take longer than you anticipate you can switch to a later bus (subject to availability).

Journey time is about 2 hours.

 

By train from Heathrow to Southampton is a little difficult, it involves a RailAir bus from Heathrow to a suitable main-line station then a direct train. Because of that complication it also takes about 2 hours, and at over £40 per person it's expensive.

But trains are frequent & no need to pre-book, so it's a useful Plan B if your other arrangements go belly-up.

 

Cruise lines only run their (payable) transfer coaches on sailing day, so that's not an option for you

 

You say you checked car prices & found them too heavy. That'll depend where those prices came from - you should be able to get a car for under £100.

If you've been quoted higher than that, seek quotes from

www.smithsforairports.com and www.aquacars.co.uk and www.westquaycars.com

All are based at the Southampton end, all are frequently recommended on Cruise Critic.

Journey time is 90 minutes plus.

 

Some Southampton city hotels are easily walkable from the coach & train stations, none of the hotels on this map (or a few others not listed) are more than a £10 taxi ride. Ditto hotel to cruise terminals.

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

(Other excellent London & Southampton info on that website, but don't seek quotes for a private transfer - over-priced cars are one way in which they're able to offer such a useful website ;))

 

JB :)

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Cheapest is a National Express Coach direct to Southampton Coach Station. This will cost about £17.50 per person and you should add around £10 for a taxi to the dock. Coaches run every two hours and the journey takes about 2½ hours depending on traffic.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

Thank you very much for this information.

We used Smiths and it was about £80 for the 3 of us. We were arriving super early, so we didn't want to wait around for the bus. It worked out perfect for us! It was so nice to have the private car (well, van in our case), and the driver. He gave us some tips, gave us advice on what to do for our day and then took us there too. Very professional and worth it, IMO.

 

And we stayed at the Holiday Inn, so we didn't have to worry about finding a way to the docks, we just walked over.

Hi All,

Arriving at LHR about 830pm Friday June 22. Planned to stay at an airport hotel to then catch transit to Southhampton the next day. Return on July7th with a flight time at 6pm

1. Should we stay at the Hilton friday night that is walkable so we don't have to deal with the dreaded hoppa? Would another airport hotel be better?

2. National express bus in the morning seems easy and cost efective

3. On the return we currently have Princess transit that includes a stonehendge visit - this is not cheap

4. I have an inquiry to Smith's for the cost of round trip transit and a stop which would alleviate some of the hotel angst.

Other options I should be considering? 2 adults and one adventuresome 7 year old! Thanks

1. Should we stay at the Hilton friday night that is walkable so we don't have to deal with the dreaded hoppa? Would another airport hotel be better?

It partly depends on which "Heathrow" you're arriving at. So far as airport hotels are concerned, there might almost be three different LHRs (T2/3, T4, and T5) - the answer to the question could well be different for each of them.

 

If you're arriving at T4, then the Hilton is a good option. You can also now walk to the Premier Inn at T4, which you may prefer if you don't need luxurious bells and whistles for crashing out overnight.

 

If you're arriving at any of the other terminals, then there are different or more options.

 

The other question is when your cruise departs, and therefore whether your current plans are to stay overnight (or more) in Southampton. If the reality is that you have two or more pre-cruise nights, then my advice would be to seriously consider not staying in either Heathrow or Southampton, but spending the time in central London instead and travelling to Southampton on the morning of cruise departure.

Sorry I wasn't clear - our cruise departs on June 23rd so we arrive via air the night prior. We arrive at terminal 2

1. There are plenty of options that would allow you to avoid the Hoppa:

 

- Stay at a hotel near a regular bus stop within the free travel zone that surrounds LHR: https://www.heathrow.com/file_source/Company/Static/PDF/Heathrowcommuter/travel_around_Heathrow.pdf

 

-Take a taxi, which wouldn't be expensive for this short a hop

 

-Forget staying at LHR and stay in Central London - I still contend the most convenient LHR hotel is the Hilton Paddington, which can be reached from LHR by the Heathrow Express in 15 minutes. And your adventuresome 7-year-old will appreciate being within walking distance of Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, where many adventures await... :D

 

2. If you stay in Central London, you can still catch the National Express bus, this time from Victoria Coach Station; or you have the option of train from Waterloo (faster but more expensive) or Victoria (cheaper but slower). Both are easy to reach from Paddington by underground, or a taxi wouldn't be hugely expensive.

Arriving at 8.30 the night before (and add at least another 40 minutes to get your bags and go through passport control) means all three of you will be pretty tired so I'd stay at an Airport hotel. As others say, a taxi won't cost much as most of the hotels are pretty close. We usually take the free public bus to the Renaissance but sometimes you have to wait ages for it but worth a go if you see it coming! Then it'll be easy to get the coach to Southampton the next day. Well, that would be my preference. ;-)

Because of your fairly late arrival I would stay at an airport hotel. The Hilton Garden Inn is very close to Terminal 2 and is we found it very comfortable when we stayed there last year. We took the Hoppa to it and you get dropped off at the front door. (I know some people aren't fans of the Hoppa service but we have always found it perfectly ok.) You can then get straight off to Southampton the following day from the coach station.

Arriving at 8.30 the night before (and add at least another 40 minutes to get your bags and go through passport control) means all three of you will be pretty tired ...

On the assumption that the OP is arriving on UA934 from Newark at 2040, that's only a 7:10 flight and their bodies will still think it's mid-afternoon. It will have been an early start that morning, but I'm not sure that they will necessarily be pretty tired.

 

Part of me therefore wonders whether, given that they're prepared to do a private transfer, they might not be better off pushing on to Southampton the same evening. They should be there by midnight UK time (7 pm New Jersey time), and then they could sleep in for as long as they like the next morning (which is what jet lag will to do them) before going to the ship.

 

One problem with an off-airport airport hotel and then getting the National Express coach to Southampton in the morning is that in addition to getting there from T2 on arrival, there is just as much pain trying to get back to T4, T5 or the Central Bus Station to get the coach. That's something that I'd rather plan to avoid; the Hilton, the Premier Inn or the Sofitel would all take one step out of the transfer hassle.

 

The Hilton Garden Inn is very close to Terminal 2 ...

This is the old Jurys Inn, isn't it? By Hatton Cross Tube? If so, it's a bit further away from T2 than most of the northside hotels. It does have the advantage of only being about 300 yards away from the station, though, if one were prepared to transfer from T2 to Hatton Cross by Tube to get there.

That's the one - (was a Jury's & now a Hilton & some of the signage at the airport still uses the name Jury's ) but a pretty decent hotel for an overnight stay and not far from the terminal.

 

Good point about travelling to Southampton the same night .....hadn't thought of that option!

On the return we currently have Princess transit that includes a stonehendge visit - this is not cheap

 

We very much enjoyed our Princess transfer via Stonehenge -- it was easy to do; we happened to get a very good guide for the drive (engaging narration -- I learned lots) and very much enjoyed the drive thorough the New Forest; and everything was arranged that we arrived at Stonehenge early (before crowds) and had adequate time to explore with our audioguides.

 

However, yes, it would be pricey for 3 people, and although you pass through Salisbury and Windsor, you can't really see Salisbury Cathedral, and all we got of Windsor Castle is a glimpse in the distance -- which was fine with me as I've visited both previously, but if you want to explore more, you might want to consider a private transfer.

Altho I can't help with precisely which Heathrow hotel to use, your pre-cruise plans make perfect sense.

I don't like the Heathrow area, it's all cloned hotels in a sea of carparks but that makes no odds for simply an overnite.

There's no point in going from Heathrow into central London late that evening since you need to head for Southampton next morning.

And if you headed straight to Southampton that evening you'd get there sometime around midnight, long after restaurants & even hotel kitchens are closed, and after a day of airplane food I don't think a motorway sandwich or burger will be very welcome.

 

And the Nat Express bus to Southampton next morning can also make sense, even though you'd have to get back to either Heathrow central bus station or T4 or T5 to catch it. (Unless your choice of hotels makes T4 or T5 more suitable I'd suggest central bus station - it's the first Heathrow pick-up so best choice of seats).

 

But do you have a price from Smiths for a transfer to Southampton that morning?

I'd expect it to be around £75.

With Nat Express you'd have to add the cost of the Hoppa (or alternatives) and a taxi from Southampton coach station to ship at about £8, so the price differential might be worthwhile.

 

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Only you can decide whether Princess' tour-transfer back to Heathrow is worth the cost - independently-operated tour-transfers don't suit your flight time.

You'd surely achieve more with a private tour-transfer, but bear in mind that Princess includes admission to Stonehenge -you'd need to add that cost (and my strong recommendation to pre-purchase timed tickets) to Smiths' price.

 

With a private tour-transfer, have you considered Windsor rather than Stonehenge?

It's close to Heathrow, so your departure time from Windsor can be more-accurately gauged than from Stonehenge - no need for so much wiggle-time to get to the airport. And almost-certainly more interesting for Junior. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any left-luggage facility in Windsor, otherwise it's be a lot cheaper to have Smiths drop you in Windsor & then take a local taxi to Heathrow.

 

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You mention a round-trip transit with Smiths.

Can you clarify?

 

JB :)

I can't offer any advice as to LHR hotels, but I think you have gotten some excellent advice here regarding that.

 

As to the Princess transfer to LHR, have you looked at International Friends thru London Toolkit? They offer a transfer with stops at Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and Windsor castle. Here is a link, off to the right of the page you can select LHR drop-off or hotels in London. Looks like about the same price as Princess but you see more. Link:

 

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/white/londontk/southampton-cruise-tour-transfer-to-london.html

 

We were going to do this tour when we go in May, but it will be a Sunday and you can't go in Salisbury Cathedral on Sundays, due to services. Maybe this will work for your timetable? I have read you get a bit of a discount if you book thru London Toolkit site.

 

Good luck

ML

We are going to book a flight from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to London for a cruise that departs from Southampton on May 4, 2018. Does it make a difference if we land at Heathrow or Gatwick? We plan to take the National Express coach bus to Southampton. We will have luggage and also a small lightweight mobility scooter so if taking the scooter on the bus is a problem I will ask Smiths about a private van.

 

Any advice appreciated before we book our flight. We will be doing the reverse on May 26th but plan to stay in London for one or two nights before flying home.

I can't see any problem with a "small lightweight mobility scooter" on the coach. They have a luggage weight limit of 20kg per item but they don't actually weigh it.

We are going to book a flight from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to London for a cruise that departs from Southampton on May 4, 2018. Does it make a difference if we land at Heathrow or Gatwick? We plan to take the National Express coach bus to Southampton. We will have luggage and also a small lightweight mobility scooter so if taking the scooter on the bus is a problem I will ask Smiths about a private van.

 

Any advice appreciated before we book our flight. We will be doing the reverse on May 26th but plan to stay in London for one or two nights before flying home.

 

It makes little odds whether you fly into LHR or LGW.

LGW is a little further, thus all forms of transfer to Southampton are just a little more expensive but the difference is chickenfeed so don't worry which London airport - instead choose the most convenient or best-value flights.

But don't choose a London hotel until you've fixed your flights - around Paddington is good for Heathrow (train), around Victoria is good for either (LHR bus, LGW train), around St Pancras/Kings Cross, Blackfriars, London Bridge for LGW (train)

 

Yes, the Nat Express bus from LHR to Southampton is cheap, comfortable & direct.

From LGW you have the choice of direct Nat Express bus or direct train (train station is in Gatwick's south terminal). Only exception is sundays, when there's no direct train service Gatwick to Southampton, so Nat Express is def the better choice.

 

Southampton to central London you have several choices

 

- Train. Very variable fares depending on when you book, what time of day you travel, how flexible you are - check out the website. Walk-up fare is a whopping £40+ per person!! Frequent direct trains to London Waterloo, journey time about 90 minutes. Also hourly direct trains to London Victoria - dog-leg route, so journey time 2.5 hours

 

- Nat Express bus. Broadly hourly service to London Victoria, journey time 2.25hrs, cheap at well under £10 pp.

 

- ship's transfer bus. Usually the drop point is in Victoria, sometimes also St Pancras. Tends to be poor value.

 

- private transfer. About £120 the car.

 

- International Friends' tour-transfer. See NoWhiner's post - no good for the OP (they have an early flight on disembarkation day) but could suit you. Includes entrance fee for Stonehenge. Starts at your cruise terminal & takes you & your luggage to your central London hotel (or if not your hotel, a hotel close by). But book it at https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_to_london_shared_bus.html

For whatever reason it's a few £ cheaper on the London Toolkit website rather than direct with Int Friends.

BTW that website has excellent logistical & tourist info about London, its airports & its seaports.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

JB :)

It makes little odds whether you fly into LHR or LGW.

LGW is a little further, thus all forms of transfer to Southampton are just a little more expensive but the difference is chickenfeed so don't worry which London airport - instead choose the most convenient or best-value flights.

But don't choose a London hotel until you've fixed your flights - around Paddington is good for Heathrow (train), around Victoria is good for either (LHR bus, LGW train), around St Pancras/Kings Cross, Blackfriars, London Bridge for LGW (train)

 

Yes, the Nat Express bus from LHR to Southampton is cheap, comfortable & direct.

From LGW you have the choice of direct Nat Express bus or direct train (train station is in Gatwick's south terminal). Only exception is sundays, when there's no direct train service Gatwick to Southampton, so Nat Express is def the better choice.

 

Southampton to central London you have several choices

 

- Train. Very variable fares depending on when you book, what time of day you travel, how flexible you are - check out the website. Walk-up fare is a whopping £40+ per person!! Frequent direct trains to London Waterloo, journey time about 90 minutes. Also hourly direct trains to London Victoria - dog-leg route, so journey time 2.5 hours

 

- Nat Express bus. Broadly hourly service to London Victoria, journey time 2.25hrs, cheap at well under £10 pp.

 

- ship's transfer bus. Usually the drop point is in Victoria, sometimes also St Pancras. Tends to be poor value.

 

- private transfer. About £120 the car.

 

- International Friends' tour-transfer. See NoWhiner's post - no good for the OP (they have an early flight on disembarkation day) but could suit you. Includes entrance fee for Stonehenge. Starts at your cruise terminal & takes you & your luggage to your central London hotel (or if not your hotel, a hotel close by). But book it at https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_to_london_shared_bus.html

For whatever reason it's a few £ cheaper on the London Toolkit website rather than direct with Int Friends.

BTW that website has excellent logistical & tourist info about London, its airports & its seaports.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

JB :)

Such great information. Thank you very much. Will make our planning so much easier with all this good info.

We have booked our flights to London with Air Canada. We arrive at LHR at 10:25 a.m. on Thursday, May 3rd at Terminal 2. I will want to get to Southampton to a hotel that day.

 

Due to some time constraints we have decided to return on the day the ship docks in Southampton so we have to get a bus to take us to Heathrow airport. It will be on Friday, May 25th. The flight leaves LHR at 4:25 p.m. at terminal 2 . That should be plenty of time to get to the airport because the ship docks in the early a.m.

 

We need a hotel in Southampton (close to the cruise port) for May 3rd and I had written down a recommendation for Premier Inn Quayside 96 Harbour Parade that someone posted on cruise critic but now I don't find it listed on any hotel web sites. Any suggestions for something not too far from the cruise terminal and preferably within walking distance of pubs for dinner or shopping? (I had note that the Premier Inn was 1/8 mile to Grand Indoor Mall that sounded good).

 

Suggestions welcomed and appreciated .

We need a hotel in Southampton (close to the cruise port) for May 3rd and I had written down a recommendation for Premier Inn Quayside 96 Harbour Parade that someone posted on cruise critic but now I don't find it listed on any hotel web sites. Any suggestions for something not too far from the cruise terminal and preferably within walking distance of pubs for dinner or shopping? (I had note that the Premier Inn was 1/8 mile to Grand Indoor Mall that sounded good).

 

Suggestions welcomed and appreciated .

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn. It's super easy to walk to the dock from there. Then it was about a 15-20 minute walk to the Mall with tons of shopping and eating options. But I'd rather have the close walk for the ship with the luggage.

We have booked our flights to London with Air Canada. We arrive at LHR at 10:25 a.m. on Thursday, May 3rd at Terminal 2. I will want to get to Southampton to a hotel that day.

 

Due to some time constraints we have decided to return on the day the ship docks in Southampton so we have to get a bus to take us to Heathrow airport. It will be on Friday, May 25th. The flight leaves LHR at 4:25 p.m. at terminal 2 . That should be plenty of time to get to the airport because the ship docks in the early a.m.

 

We need a hotel in Southampton (close to the cruise port) for May 3rd and I had written down a recommendation for Premier Inn Quayside 96 Harbour Parade that someone posted on cruise critic but now I don't find it listed on any hotel web sites. Any suggestions for something not too far from the cruise terminal and preferably within walking distance of pubs for dinner or shopping? (I had note that the Premier Inn was 1/8 mile to Grand Indoor Mall that sounded good).

 

Suggestions welcomed and appreciated .

You need to go to the Premier Inn website: http://www.premierinn.com to find and book that hotel.

I had written down a recommendation for Premier Inn Quayside 96 Harbour Parade that someone posted on cruise critic but now I don't find it listed on any hotel web sites. Any suggestions for something not too far from the cruise terminal and preferably within walking distance of pubs for dinner or shopping? (I had note that the Premier Inn was 1/8 mile to Grand Indoor Mall that sounded good).

 

Suggestions welcomed and appreciated .

 

The name of that particular Premier Inn is Premier Inn West Quay.

And yes, it's on Harbour Parade.

Probably even less than 1/8th mile from West Quay Mall - the multi-storey carpark for the Mall is directly behind the hotel.

Also only a short level walk of 5 to 10 mins, even with luggage, from City Cruise Terminal (if that's where your ship ports) and from the Nat Express coach station. Rail station is a further 5 mins beyond the coach station.

 

Premier Inns often don't appear on hotel booking websites, and when they do they're no cheaper than booking direct.

So use the Premier Inn link provided by marylizcat

 

For other options here's a précis, with useful sketchmap at the bottom

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

 

JB :)

The name of that particular Premier Inn is Premier Inn West Quay.

And yes, it's on Harbour Parade.

Probably even less than 1/8th mile from West Quay Mall - the multi-storey carpark for the Mall is directly behind the hotel.

Also only a short level walk of 5 to 10 mins, even with luggage, from City Cruise Terminal (if that's where your ship ports) and from the Nat Express coach station. Rail station is a further 5 mins beyond the coach station.

 

Premier Inns often don't appear on hotel booking websites, and when they do they're no cheaper than booking direct.

So use the Premier Inn link provided by marylizcat

 

For other options here's a précis, with useful sketchmap at the bottom

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

 

JB :)

John Bull is correct about Premier Inn. The best way to book your room from the website. They only release a few room at a time to the booking websites once those are gone they are gone until Premier Inn releases more (whose knows when the next would be).

 

We booked our room through a booking website after that we did not see the availability on the same hotel for a very long time.

 

Good luck and enjoy your stay.