Heathrow Help

[Ste. Michelle]

Sailing Capetown to Capetown on 2/7. We have a 10 hour layover at Heathrow. We are looking at Yotel in Terminal 4 for a short stay before our 11 hour flight to Johannesburg. We arrive and depart from Terminal 1. I am assuming we will need to go through Immigration upon arrival and through security after returning to Terminal 1. Has anyone done this? How much time to travel from Terminal 1 and Terminal 4, and how much time should be allowed to transit Security and return to our boarding gate?

 

Thanks in advance!

[drron29]

Personally I avoid Heathrow if I can.

Have been through there 3 times-I was lucky the first time as a medical emergency on our flight and I was the only medico on board.Our plane was allowed to be first to land in the morning so straight through immigration.

Second time-flying BA Dubaia-LHR-Paris.had a 4 hour transit.Even though our flight into London was on time we ended up having to run to the gare just getting there before they closed the doors-security can be horrendous.

Third time had to do the transfer 4 to 1.Transfer itself was OK but you have to go through security again.Because I wear a knee support I was strip searched so again quite a delay.

 

So definitely leave enough time to come back through security.

[RachelG]

Have been throughLHR more times than I can count, but mostly terminals 3 and 5. You will definitely have to go through security again. How long that takes is highly variable depending on time of day. I have found early morning to be fastest for some reason, but you definitely need to allow a good amount of time just in case. The terminals are connected by buses and a train system. Both are pretty efficient. Try to get your luggage checked all the way through so you don't have to reclaim then recheck it.

Edited January 12, 2014 by RachelG

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Between T1 and T4 there are free trains every 15 minutes between 0500 & 0000, just follow the signs for the Heathrow Express as they run from the same platform. Journey time once on a train is barely five minutes.

[Poppy1966]

The Heathrow airport website has a section called 'Heathrow Airport Guide'. If you click on this link there is a whole section called 'Travelling between terminals' with information on travelling between the various terminals and estimated timings etc. Hope this helps.

[patnlcc]

Ste Michele, have you been in the Yotel before? We had 'passes' to go there from Delta. It is not attractive, in fact we took one look and left. I'd suggest that if you don't have access to any of the airline lounges, that you head straight to your next terminal and pre-book time in one of the non-airline lounges. We paid £30 to use the Number One lounge in T3. While not amazing, it was certainly a lot more comfortable than sitting in the public areas. Only problem is, the pre-paid lounges limit your time in there. You'll find all the information online.

[spuds]

I was going to suggest the same thing (Airport Lounge). I think there is a Servisair lounge in Terminal 1 that you can buy access to... we did this in Gatwick once and it was quite good.

 

Another option (depending on what time you are getting in and leaving) is the Day Rate at the Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5. I know it's going between Terminals again but it's a very nice comfortable hotel where you can relax. I think the day rate is approx. 200.00 USD (including taxes). We needed to stay overnight and really enjoyed the hotel... but we arrived and departed from Terminal 5 so it was very convenient for us.

 

We considered the Yotel when travelling through Heathrow as well... but I read reviews that it is not very nice and can be very noisy so you do not get a good rest.

[RachelG]

We have stayed at the hilton and been quite pleased. Sometimes not that expensive, but provably one of the lounges would be less.