Southampton-London Transfers - Airport (LHR/LGW) - NEW THREAD!

[Carlos A.]

Has anyone used this service?
Would recommend it?

https://www.heathrowshuttle.com

[CRUISIN2X2]

On 3/27/2024 at 8:00 AM, CRUISIN2X2 said:

 

We decided to stay the night at a hotel and fly out the next morning. We took a tour from the ship which worked out great since we could not check in until mid afternoon, the tour dropped us at Gatwick Airport and we walked (2 minutes) to the hotel which was attached to the airport. In the morning we walked to the airport (2 minute walk inside hotel) Decided the stress was not worth it and not sure we would have made it . Sofitel London Gatwick was the hotel, great experience.

Edited April 22 by CRUISIN2X2

[CRUISIN2X2]

We booked our train tickets for May 8th, we now see a notice that they are striking May 7-9th. Any thoughts on this regarding should I cancel and book another travel method or wait it out? We don't have a train system where I live so unfamiliar with this. Below Copied from news site.

Members of Aslef union at 16 rail companies will walk out on different days from 7 to 9 May.

Additionally, all members will refuse to work any overtime from 6 May to 11 May.

Here is a full list of the services affected by strikes and when.

Rail strike dates

Tuesday 7 May

Strikes will affect c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

Wednesday 8 May

Strikes will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Thursday 9 May

Strikes will affect LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express.

Overtime ban dates

From Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May union members will not work overtime.

Overtime bans, an action short of a strike, means some services may not be running or may be reduced as drivers refuse to work their rest days.

 

Thanks for all the great advice I have received and read on here, I am probably not the only one wondering what this means. Thanks in advance.

[Globaliser]

8 minutes ago, CRUISIN2X2 said:

We booked our train tickets for May 8th, we now see a notice that they are striking May 7-9th.

 

Assuming that you've booked a direct train from Southampton Central to Gatwick Airport, your train is operated by Southern. The strike there is on 7 May, so I think you should be fine for 8 May. I think that the worst that is likely to happen from this industrial action is that you'll have to take a different direct train from the one you've booked, if your booked train is cancelled for some reason. And because South Western Railway's strike is also on the previous day (ie 7 May), on the day that you travel you will also have a backup route of going to London and coming back out again using SWR trains.

[CRUISIN2X2]

41 minutes ago, CRUISIN2X2 said:

We booked our train tickets for May 8th, we now see a notice that they are striking May 7-9th. Any thoughts on this regarding should I cancel and book another travel method or wait it out? We don't have a train system where I live so unfamiliar with this. Below Copied from news site.

Members of Aslef union at 16 rail companies will walk out on different days from 7 to 9 May.

Additionally, all members will refuse to work any overtime from 6 May to 11 May.

Here is a full list of the services affected by strikes and when.

Rail strike dates

Tuesday 7 May

Strikes will affect c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

Wednesday 8 May

Strikes will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Thursday 9 May

Strikes will affect LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express.

Overtime ban dates

From Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May union members will not work overtime.

Overtime bans, an action short of a strike, means some services may not be running or may be reduced as drivers refuse to work their rest days.

 

Thanks for all the great advice I have received and read on here, I am probably not the only one wondering what this means. Thanks in advance.

additional information...Our train is London to Southampton

[CRUISIN2X2]

28 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

Assuming that you've booked a direct train from Southampton Central to Gatwick Airport, your train is operated by Southern. The strike there is on 7 May, so I think you should be fine for 8 May. I think that the worst that is likely to happen from this industrial action is that you'll have to take a different direct train from the one you've booked, if your booked train is cancelled for some reason. And because South Western Railway's strike is also on the previous day (ie 7 May), on the day that you travel you will also have a backup route of going to London and coming back out again using SWR trains.

Sorry, I was not clear, we booked London to Southampton.

[Globaliser]

18 minutes ago, CRUISIN2X2 said:

additional information...Our train is London to Southampton

 

Then it's the same answer, as SWR's strike is also the day before you travel. I would expect the route from London to Southampton (and beyond) to be a priority for SWR.

[Cotswold Eagle]

3 hours ago, CRUISIN2X2 said:

We booked our train tickets for May 8th, we now see a notice that they are striking May 7-9th.

You can also keep an eye on this page - as the notification was only made today, it doesn’t yet have any service impact information, but will be updated.  
I’m with Globaliser - there will be trains on your route on 8th, but service recovery after a strike and the overtime ban may affect frequency of services.  If you have ‘Advance’ tickets and the service you are booked on happens to be cancelled, you will be able to switch to another at no cost. 

[Ponder This]

Can anyone with experience provide a little advice?  We (family of 4 with 2 school-aged children from the USA) will need to go to Southampton from Heathrow Terminal 5.  I see that the National Express coach is by far the best and cheapest option.

 

Our flight is scheduled to land at about 12:00 PM.  There is a National Express departure at 2:20 PM.  Assuming "normal" operations, is this enough time to clear immigration/customs and get our luggage from baggage claim?  Of note, we are seated at the very rear of the plane (a 777) and expect to be among the last to disembark.

 

We'll obviously spend the extra fee for the Change & Go service in case of unexpected delays.  The next coach departs 2 hours later, so while not the end of the world if we miss the 2:20 PM, it would make for a tougher afternoon and evening with the children after a long flight to have an extra 2 hours waiting at the airport.

 

The other option is a private transfer (which is annoyingly difficult to get a quote for without providing personal information), and appears to be in the range of 3-4x more expensive.

[gumshoe958]

6 hours ago, Ponder This said:

Can anyone with experience provide a little advice?  We (family of 4 with 2 school-aged children from the USA) will need to go to Southampton from Heathrow Terminal 5.  I see that the National Express coach is by far the best and cheapest option.

 

Our flight is scheduled to land at about 12:00 PM.  There is a National Express departure at 2:20 PM.  Assuming "normal" operations, is this enough time to clear immigration/customs and get our luggage from baggage claim?  Of note, we are seated at the very rear of the plane (a 777) and expect to be among the last to disembark.

 

We'll obviously spend the extra fee for the Change & Go service in case of unexpected delays.  The next coach departs 2 hours later, so while not the end of the world if we miss the 2:20 PM, it would make for a tougher afternoon and evening with the children after a long flight to have an extra 2 hours waiting at the airport.

 

The other option is a private transfer (which is annoyingly difficult to get a quote for without providing personal information), and appears to be in the range of 3-4x more expensive.

How old are your children?

 

If they’re 10 or over, and you all have biometric US passports, you can all use the automated e-gates to clear the UK border, which should speed things up.

 

If they’re under 10 or you don’t have biometric passports you’ll have to see an immigration officer which may slow things down if there’s a line.

 

The other unknown is baggage reclaim, but even on a bad day (not unknown at LHR) I’m still confident you’ll comfortably make the 2:20 coach.
 

The coaches stop right outside arrivals at T5 so there are no long walks involved and there are a couple of cafes in arrivals once you’re through customs if you find yourselves with time to kill.
 

Sensible move to buy the Change & Go upgrade though.

[John Bull]

I agree with everything in @gumshoe958's post.

 

For a private transfer, what personal details are you being asked to provide?

The operator will need to know the number of adults & the number and ages of the children.

And the number of cases - usually the number of checked cases & cabin cases, and any other luggage, because with four passengers that will impact on whether an estate car (station wagon, if you still use that term) will suffice or you need a small minibus (don't say "van" because in the UK that's what you'd call a panel van 😵) .

They will also want your e-mail address.

And details of your flight so that they can track it's arrival.

Payment with booking usually means card brand (Visa or M/C or - if accepted, Amex or Diner's), card-holder's name, the long number on the card, expiry date, and the last three numbers of the CVV on the reverse side of the card. The driver may want to see the card when you arrive 

 

A cell-phone number is also very useful (and you should carry their phone number with you) in case of difficulties in meeting).

 

They shouldn't need your passport details, address, other names of passengers, etc., and certainly not your PIN.

 

Current price range for a car is about £130 to £150, I'm not up-to-date on van prices.

 

JB 🙂

[Carlos A.]

What private transfers do yo recommend? from Heathrow to Southampton and from Southampton to London

[Ellis1138]

I was just given a quote of £197.50 from Gunwharf for an SUV to take us from Heathrow to Southampton. I hope they're a good company.

[John Bull]

29 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

I was just given a quote of £197.50 from Gunwharf for an SUV to take us from Heathrow to Southampton. I hope they're a good company.

 

I've seen them recommended by CC members who've used them.

 

JB 🙂

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Ellis1138 said:

I was just given a quote of £197.50 from Gunwharf for an SUV to take us from Heathrow to Southampton. I hope they're a good company.

 

42 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

I've seen them recommended by CC members who've used them.

 

JB 🙂

Isn't Gunwharf one of the ones based in Southampton? Wouldn't it be better to use a London based company from Heathrow to Southampton?

[Ellis1138]

28 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

 

Isn't Gunwharf one of the ones based in Southampton? Wouldn't it be better to use a London based company from Heathrow to Southampton?

 

The London based ones were giving similar quotes. I would assume that Gunwharf will drive someone from Southampton to Heathrow after they disembark a ship and then come pick us up and return to Southampton.

[mousefan73]

we are arriving on July 24th on the Disney Dream, (Horizon terminal). How bad is the walk to the station? google maps says only ,6 miles is it flat and safe? My mom is 73 mobile, but slow so I am wondering do cabs drive such a short distance? 

 

also we are thinking of heading to Windsor with rail. 2 stops via Reading and Slough. But we might overnight in Slough. how are those stationsa to connect? elevators?? and do trains have washrooms?  

 

we are considering a private transfer straight to LHR but are considering one night to see Windsor. via Train... 

Just wondering how stressul the train is. 

[Carlos A.]

I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but seems that my questions are being ignored and I don't understand why or what I did wrong.

 

I've been looking for private transfer for 6 and these are the companies I've found.

 

I would really appreciate any recommendation, info or feedback anyone have about any o these options:

 

https://www.british-airport-transfers.co.uk/

https://www.britwayairporttransfer.co.uk/

https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/

Thanks!

[gumshoe958]

6 hours ago, mousefan73 said:

we are arriving on July 24th on the Disney Dream, (Horizon terminal). How bad is the walk to the station? google maps says only ,6 miles is it flat and safe? My mom is 73 mobile, but slow so I am wondering do cabs drive such a short distance? 

 

also we are thinking of heading to Windsor with rail. 2 stops via Reading and Slough. But we might overnight in Slough. how are those stationsa to connect? elevators?? and do trains have washrooms?  

 

we are considering a private transfer straight to LHR but are considering one night to see Windsor. via Train... 

Just wondering how stressul the train is. 

You’ll have no problem getting a cab to take you from the terminal to the station. The walk, while short and perfectly doable, involves crossing a couple of very busy roads and isn’t particularly pleasant. YMMV.

 

There are two ways to get from Southampton to Windsor by train. Via Reading & Slough, as you’ve found, which will almost certainly involve using elevators to change platforms at both those stations.
 

The other, which I’d recommend, is via London, which has direct trains every 30 minutes both from Southampton Central to Waterloo and from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside. It’s a single, level, easy change of trains at Waterloo with no stairs or elevators involved. So that might be easier, if a bit slower and maybe pricier.

 

Yes, the trains have washrooms.

 

If you do go via Slough, it’s not a lovely place despite its proximity to Windsor. I wouldn’t really recommend staying the night there if you don’t have to.

[gumshoe958]

2 hours ago, Carlos A. said:

I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but seems that my questions are being ignored and I don't understand why or what I did wrong.

 

I've been looking for private transfer for 6 and these are the companies I've found.

 

I would really appreciate any recommendation, info or feedback anyone have about any o these options:

 

https://www.british-airport-transfers.co.uk/

https://www.britwayairporttransfer.co.uk/

https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/

Thanks!

You haven’t done anything wrong, but presumably no-one here has used these companies. I haven’t heard of any of them.

 

Have you looked them up on trustpilot? The third one is very highly rated. The first one definitely is not.

[Carlos A.]

Thanks! I've looked the google reviews and all seemed fine but with Trustpilot it seems that the third one is the best option.

[mousefan73]

22 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

You’ll have no problem getting a cab to take you from the terminal to the station. The walk, while short and perfectly doable, involves crossing a couple of very busy roads and isn’t particularly pleasant. YMMV.

 

There are two ways to get from Southampton to Windsor by train. Via Reading & Slough, as you’ve found, which will almost certainly involve using elevators to change platforms at both those stations.
 

The other, which I’d recommend, is via London, which has direct trains every 30 minutes both from Southampton Central to Waterloo and from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside. It’s a single, level, easy change of trains at Waterloo with no stairs or elevators involved. So that might be easier, if a bit slower and maybe pricier.

 

Yes, the trains have washrooms.

 

If you do go via Slough, it’s not a lovely place despite its proximity to Windsor. I wouldn’t really recommend staying the night there if you don’t have to.

Thanks great tips!

[Ponder This]

On 5/5/2024 at 11:15 PM, gumshoe958 said:

If they’re under 10 or you don’t have biometric passports you’ll have to see an immigration officer which may slow things down if there’s a line.

 

Thank you.  This is type of additional information that's helpful.  It looks like we will have additional waiting at immigration due to age of the children, which I was not expecting, but good to know it is probably still going to work out.

 

On 5/6/2024 at 4:35 AM, John Bull said:

For a private transfer, what personal details are you being asked to provide?

 

Sorry, I should have specified.  For reserving/booking the transfer, I'd expect to provide all the information you mentioned.  For a quote, they should only need to know pickup location, arrival time, destination, and number of pax/luggage.  There's no reason to collect name, e-mail, phone at the quote stage.  Out of principle, I try to avoid companies that do that.

 

[nini]

5 hours ago, Carlos A. said:

I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but seems that my questions are being ignored and I don't understand why or what I did wrong.

 

I've been looking for private transfer for 6 and these are the companies I've found.

 

I would really appreciate any recommendation, info or feedback anyone have about any o these options:

 

https://www.british-airport-transfers.co.uk/

https://www.britwayairporttransfer.co.uk/

https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/

Thanks!

 

It would be helpful to know the origin and destination of your transfer. Blackberry Cars is also popular on this forum.

 

[Blue and Green]

7 hours ago, Carlos A. said:

I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but seems that my questions are being ignored and I don't understand why or what I did wrong.

 

I've been looking for private transfer for 6 and these are the companies I've found.

 

I would really appreciate any recommendation, info or feedback anyone have about any o these options:

 

https://www.british-airport-transfers.co.uk/

https://www.britwayairporttransfer.co.uk/

https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/

Thanks!

I am not familiar with any of the companies you mention. We have used Blackberry Cars for transfer between Heathrow and London several times and recommend them. Some people on CC recommend Jewels Airport Transfers, but we do not have any experience with them yet.

 

When needing a transfer that includes Southampton, we will use Gunwharf Executive Travels or West Quay cars. Aqua Cars is another service that is often mentioned for Southampton.

 

As @nini above mentioned, it really depends on your origination and destination.