3 hour layover in London

[amkras]

Probably a stupid question but here goes:

 

We have a 3 hour wait in London for our flight to Venice. If I want to purchase a bit of food or water do I need to have British pounds or will euros or dollars be accepted?

[francesam]

Probably a stupid question but here goes:

 

We have a 3 hour wait in London for our flight to Venice. If I want to purchase a bit of food or water do I need to have British pounds or will euros or dollars be accepted?

 

Will be best with British £s but most will take Euro,although you won't get the best price for them. You should be able to get a smallish amount from a cash machine. No doubt if i am wrong somebody will put me right. :D

Enjoy London.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Most if not all of the shops/food shops/ etc take credit cards. I have charged even small amounts if I was just passing through and did not have pounds.

[John Bull]

With just 3 hours, you're going to be confined to the airport.

Bus transfers between terminals are free.

For odd little purchases at the airport, credit card is the way to go. Only Visa or Mastercard are universally accepted.

In town it's pretty silly to use a card for just, say, a coffee - but staff at airports are used to it, given the circumstances.

If you're going to have a leisurely meal, mebbe desserts, mebbe coffee or beers to follow, you can run a tab by allowing the outlet to swipe your card with your first order, then settle up at the end with a single transaction.

Allow your card to be charged in sterling, don't accept any offer to charge it in the currency of your card, cos your card company will give you a better exchange rate.

JB :)

[Globaliser]

If I want to purchase a bit of food or water do I need to have British pounds or will euros or dollars be accepted?

I'd also recommend a credit card, no matter how small the amount. I doubt you would have trouble using an Amex at the airport.

 

You will find that most shops there will take Euro and US dollar notes in payment, but they will probably give you a lousy exchange rate and then will give you your change back only in sterling. So you'd probably end up with a uselessly small amount of sterling and the whole thing would cost you more than if you used a credit card.

 

Do you know your transfer route through Heathrow? This is dependent on the operating airlines for your flights and your origins/destinations.

[amkras]

"I doubt you would have trouble using an Amex at the airport."

 

Good, I have that. And Visa.

 

 

Do you know your transfer route through Heathrow? This is dependent on the operating airlines for your flights and your origins/destinations.

 

No, we are going from American Airlines to British Airways which will take us to Venice.

 

Thank you all fro your replies.Today went to the bank to order euros for the rest of the trip.

[Globaliser]

No, we are going from American Airlines to British Airways which will take us to Venice.

You will arrive at Terminal 3. Follow the purple signs for Flight Connections Terminal 5. (Do not follow the signs for Arrivals.) Initially, the signs will lump all the terminals together, but gradually the routes separate. You will be taken to a bus stop. The bus will take you across the airfield to Terminal 5. You will go up an escalator into the immigration/flight connections hall. Don't clear immigration. Instead, use one of the flight connections desks for international connections. Your onward boarding pass will be scanned to check its validity. Then you will be routed upstairs through security into the main departures area where the restaurants and shops are. Don't be in a rush to get to the gate particularly early, because the best facilities are in the main area, and the journey time to the gate is highly predictable.

[amkras]

Thank you Globaliser. This is helpful to know. Since I've never done this before I wondered how it would work.