Travel between London and Southampton

[stevenr597]

We will be doing a Trans-Atlantic on Regal Princess, leaving Southampton and sailing to Fort Lauderdale.  My wife and I will be arriving three days before we sail, at Heathrow and plan to spend two days at Southampton. 

What is the best way to travel from Heathrow to Southampton?

[Stockjock]

26 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

We will be doing a Trans-Atlantic on Regal Princess, leaving Southampton and sailing to Fort Lauderdale.  My wife and I will be arriving three days before we sail, at Heathrow and plan to spend two days at Southampton. 

What is the best way to travel from Heathrow to Southampton?

I've been in Southhampton twice since September, but only on port calls. 

While I didn't do the train, that would be my best guess.  We did do a bus to and from London, but I suspect that a train would be a nicer way to travel.

[reedprincess]

Blackberry Cars or Smith's for Airport. Door to door transport, excellent customer service, clean comfortable spacious cars..

 

[ldubs]

I don't think there is a direct train from LHR to Southampton.  

 

Normally we do a ship transfer to the port.   This past Sept we stayed in Southampton prior to the cruise.   We used the National Bus from LHR to Southampton.  Then a taxi from the bus depot to our hotel.  Easy, comfortable, and inexpensive.     If you are looking for a more luxurious door-to-door transport then a car service, as already suggested by ReedPrincess, might be "best".    

[Kgills]

I used West Quay Cars (westquaycars.com) this past November for travel between Heathrow and Southampton.  Communication was great and they were easy to work with.  I plan to use them again this Fall for my next transatlantic 🙂

[sewgood]

We stayed a week in London near Waterloo Station before our last European cruise in October 2019.

So for us it was easy to catch the train from Waterloo to Southampton.

There were taxis waiting at Southampton station to take us to our hotel.

On the plus side we enjoyed the scenery from the train, the seats were comfortable (first class) and the train ran on time.

What we didn't like was that there was nowhere to put your suitcases so we just jammed them in between seats and luckily the train our carriage was not full.

We purchased our tickets before leaving Australia and got them for a much cheaper rate.

[mrmarklin]

Princess has a bus service from Victoria station to your ship in Southampton. Go to the website. 

[sewgood]

2 hours ago, stevenr597 said:

plan to spend two days at Southampton. 

There is a great little airplane museum near the centre of town run by volunteers.

It's worth going to if you have time.

We came across it while following the old wall around the town.

[nini]

32 minutes ago, mrmarklin said:

Princess has a bus service from Victoria station to your ship in Southampton. Go to the website. 

That is only available on sailing day.

[Stockjock]

While this is plainly not London or Southampton (although it was our prior port of call), this shows our experience taking the train between Paris and Le Havre.  I suspect the experience between London and Southampton is similar and likely faster.

https://youtu.be/-yPXA9rmDzQ

[Stockjock]

Just now, Stockjock said:

While this is plainly not London or Southampton (although it was our prior port of call), this shows our experience taking the train between Paris and Le Havre.  I suspect the experience between London and Southampton is similar and likely faster.

https://youtu.be/-yPXA9rmDzQ

BTW, we used Trainline to book our train tickets and it looks like they also offer inexpensive tickets between London & Southampton.  I do recommend Trainline and you might consider downloading their app, which is free.

https://www.thetrainline.com/train-times/london-to-southampton-central

[PurpleTraveller]

The National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton is very easy and inexpensive. 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

From the bus station in Southampton it is possible to walk to some hotels such as the Premier Inn West Quay, depending on how much luggage you have and your mobility. Otherwise you can get a taxi to your hotel.

 

[phabric]

9 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

The National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton is very easy and inexpensive. 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

From the bus station in Southampton it is possible to walk to some hotels such as the Premier Inn West Quay, depending on how much luggage you have and your mobility. Otherwise you can get a taxi to your hotel.

 

I took a taxi from National Express Southampton station under £10 to Premier Inn West Quay.  My sister & Brother in law decided to walk.  My BIL is used to walking & biking long distance and ended up pushing the luggage and my sister huffed and puffed to the hotel.

 

A taxi under £10 taxi to Princess dock the next day.

[ldubs]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

While this is plainly not London or Southampton (although it was our prior port of call), this shows our experience taking the train between Paris and Le Havre.  I suspect the experience between London and Southampton is similar and likely faster.

https://youtu.be/-yPXA9rmDzQ

 

There is no direct train service between LHR and Southampton. If changing trains once or twice in route is OK, then it would be a viable option.   

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

The National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton is very easy and inexpensive. 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

From the bus station in Southampton it is possible to walk to some hotels such as the Premier Inn West Quay, depending on how much luggage you have and your mobility. Otherwise you can get a taxi to your hotel.

 

 

25 minutes ago, phabric said:

I took a taxi from National Express Southampton station under £10 to Premier Inn West Quay.  My sister & Brother in law decided to walk.  My BIL is used to walking & biking long distance and ended up pushing the luggage and my sister huffed and puffed to the hotel.

 

A taxi under £10 taxi to Princess dock the next day.

 

We had the same experience with Taxi's.

 

When we took the National Express Bus from LHR to Southampton this past Sept, it was less than 1/4 full.   They put our luggage in the undercarriage place.  It was a very easy and comfortable ride.  From LHR there was one stop enroute.  Once reaching Southampton, there is a stop at a college or university, then at the National Bus terminal.  

[John Bull]

As per Idubs' post, there's no direct train service between LHR and Southampton - the two train options (into London, cross the centre & back out, or RailAir bus to the Southampton-line at Woking or Reading) are both awkward, expensive and time-consuming. 

 

Options are

- a pre-booked private transfer, Others on this thread have suggested names- but Smiths for Airports is defunct, a victim of the pandemic. Cost about £120 to £140

- booking a National Express coach to Southampton coach station. Comfortable, in-seat wifi, bathroom, wheelchair-friendly. Do pre-book, and allow  2 hours from aircraft's scheduled arrival to the bus station or bus stop. Some hotels are walkable, others in the city centre are a taxi hop £7 to £10 https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

Easy direct trains or buses to Southampton from central London.

 

JB 🙂

Edited February 7, 2023 by John Bull

[Pather]

Good info. How about traveling from central London to Southampton. Did it several years ago and took some type of bus. Still available?

[phabric]

2 minutes ago, Pather said:

Good info. How about traveling from central London to Southampton. Did it several years ago and took some type of bus. Still available?

It is the National Express Coach from London Victoria station to Southampton Coach station 

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, Pather said:

Good info. How about traveling from central London to Southampton. Did it several years ago and took some type of bus. Still available?

Yes, National Express coaches run every 60 to 90 minutes from Victoria coach station and take roughly 2 hours 30 minutes.

 

Trains are quicker and more frequent - the fast services from Waterloo usually run every 30 minutes and take roughly 1 hour 15 minutes.

[SakeDad]

On 2/7/2023 at 12:54 PM, gumshoe958 said:

Yes, National Express coaches run every 60 to 90 minutes from Victoria coach station and take roughly 2 hours 30 minutes.

 

Trains are quicker and more frequent - the fast services from Waterloo usually run every 30 minutes and take roughly 1 hour 15 minutes.

We are staying in London a few days pre-cruise an plan on taking the bus from Victoria Station on the morning of the cruise. As I have never been the sights from London to Southampton will be like another excursion to me. 

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, SakeDad said:

We are staying in London a few days pre-cruise a plan on taking the bus from Victoria Station on the morning of the cruise. As I have never been the sights from London to Southampton will be like another excursion to me. 

Fair enough - I hope you enjoy the delights of the M3 motorway, Basingstoke and a big car park somewhere near Winchester!
 

Personally I’d make sure I take a good book … 

[SakeDad]

15 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Fair enough - I hope you enjoy the delights of the M3 motorway, Basingstoke and a big car park somewhere near Winchester!
 

Personally I’d make sure I take a good book … 

The trains are also much more expensive and we are in no rush nor need to spend more than necessary.....we are on a leisurely vacation.

[gumshoe958]

4 minutes ago, SakeDad said:

The trains are also much more expensive and we are in no rush nor need to spend more than necessary.....we are on a leisurely vacation.

That’s absolutely fine.

 

Just as long as you’re aware that if you’re expecting a scenic drive through majestic English countryside, you’ll be disappointed.
 

Once you’ve cleared the seemingly never-ending suburbs of west London it’s pretty much motorway (the UK equivalent of an Interstate) all the way. But yes, it’s good value.

[Simon-t]

37 minutes ago, SakeDad said:

The trains are also much more expensive and we are in no rush nor need to spend more than necessary.....we are on a leisurely vacation.

National Express Coaches are fine and are much better value than the train. Leg room can be a bit tight if you are tall, but no more so than on train. UK trains are notoriously expensive, and can often be very crowded.

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, SakeDad said:

We are staying in London a few days pre-cruise an plan on taking the bus from Victoria Station on the morning of the cruise. As I have never been the sights from London to Southampton will be like another excursion to me. 

 

 

Not that it should have a big influence your choice, but as per Gumshoe's post the coach route to London isn't scenic - it's 95% boring motorway.

But it's not a scenic part of England, the scenery from the train is better but not special

 

JB 🙂