Easiest Way To Get To Southampton From Savannah, GA

[napria]

I know this is a very specific question, but just to say, like many in the US, I can’t get a nonstop flight from the US to Europe. I’ll have to fly to New York, Atlanta, etc and change planes.  Then I’ll have to get transportation from Heathrow or Gatwick to the cruise terminal (actually to a hotel in Southampton the night before), or fly into Amsterdam or Dublin to get a flight to Southampton.

 

What is the easiest way to get from my point A to point B? I know there’s lots of options but I’m looking for the easiest.

[CruiserBruce]

No real way to avoid a connection in the US side. So fly SAV to whichever airport gives you a reasonable connecting time...say 2-2.5 hours. Then on to LHR.

 

I would use one of the recommended car services to Southampton. They will pick you up outside Customs/Baggage claim, and take you direct to your hotel. 

 

Look around the board... lots of info to help.

[napria]

30 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

No real way to avoid a connection in the US side. So fly SAV to whichever airport gives you a reasonable connecting time...say 2-2.5 hours. Then on to LHR.

 

I would use one of the recommended car services to Southampton. They will pick you up outside Customs/Baggage claim, and take you direct to your hotel. 

 

Look around the board... lots of info to help.

So flying to Heathrow is preferable to flying to Southampton, regarding ease?  I dread sitting in a car for 1 1/2 to 2 hours after the long flight.

[CruiserBruce]

32 minutes ago, napria said:

So flying to Heathrow is preferable to flying to Southampton, regarding ease?  I dread sitting in a car for 1 1/2 to 2 hours after the long flight.

Just what I would do...I don't know the flight schedules, but believe flying to SOU would add to your travel times with connections.

[Globaliser]

34 minutes ago, napria said:

So flying to Heathrow is preferable to flying to Southampton, regarding ease?  I dread sitting in a car for 1 1/2 to 2 hours after the long flight.

 

The competing considerations are discussed in this thread from just two days ago:

 

 

[gumshoe958]

56 minutes ago, napria said:

So flying to Heathrow is preferable to flying to Southampton, regarding ease?  I dread sitting in a car for 1 1/2 to 2 hours after the long flight.

In which case it’s a minimum of two connections. The obvious route is SAV-ATL-AMS-SOU which can be done with Delta/KLM. Just note there are only a couple of flights a day from Amsterdam to Southampton so there may be some long connections.

[Globaliser]

18 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

In which case it’s a minimum of two connections. The obvious route is SAV-ATL-AMS-SOU which can be done with Delta/KLM. Just note there are only a couple of flights a day from Amsterdam to Southampton so there may be some long connections.

 

I wonder whether HHH might also work as an origin for the OP. A quick look suggests that an HHH-ATL-AMS-SOU routing is viable. Alternatively, AA via CLT and DUB also came up as an option.

 

Either way, after getting off "the long flight", it'll be either sitting in a car for 1½-2 hours between Heathrow and Southampton, or sitting in a European airport for 1½-2 hours before sitting on an hour's flight to Southampton.

[edinburgher]

3 hours ago, napria said:

I know there’s lots of options but I’m looking for the easiest.

And remember that the more connections you have on your journey, the more opportunities therre are for your luggage, or some of it, to go astray somewhere along the way, as luggage also needs good connecting times .

[TheOldBear]

4 hours ago, napria said:

I know this is a very specific question, but just to say, like many in the US, I can’t get a nonstop flight from the US to Europe. I’ll have to fly to New York, Atlanta, etc and change planes.  Then I’ll have to get transportation from Heathrow or Gatwick to the cruise terminal (actually to a hotel in Southampton the night before), or fly into Amsterdam or Dublin to get a flight to Southampton.

 

What is the easiest way to get from my point A to point B? I know there’s lots of options but I’m looking for the easiest.

Easiest, but not the quickest, way would be Savannah to NY, then board the QM2 for a sailing to Southampton 😉

 

[napria]

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

I wonder whether HHH might also work as an origin for the OP. A quick look suggests that an HHH-ATL-AMS-SOU routing is viable. Alternatively, AA via CLT and DUB also came up as an option.

 

Either way, after getting off "the long flight", it'll be either sitting in a car for 1½-2 hours between Heathrow and Southampton, or sitting in a European airport for 1½-2 hours before sitting on an hour's flight to Southampton.

HHH is actually closer but fares are often substantially higher than flying out of Savannah, which isn’t too much further.

 

As for sitting in an airport vs. riding in a  vehicle, it’s really six to one, half a dozen to the other.  They both have drawbacks for me.  So ultimately I think it’s going to come down to which way is faster and or less expensive.  Too bad the immediate voyage prior on QM2 isn’t a TA crossing.

[Cotswold Eagle]

5 hours ago, napria said:

What is the easiest way to get from my point A to point B? I know there’s lots of options but I’m looking for the easiest.

 

6 minutes ago, napria said:

I think it’s going to come down to which way is faster and or less expensive

Your criteria seem to be shifting 😉

 

I think it is objectively easier to let someone drive you on the third leg rather than add in an extra flight - I haven't done a search, but I wold suspect the padding you should reasonably add in to a connection at another European hub would end up with a longer journey in any case. And risk is a key factor here - services to SOU are limited and if you miss a connection what happens then? Heathrow is one of the easiest airports in the world to reroute to in case of disruption. 

[napria]

Thanks Cotswold Eagle. Good points.

[mommb]

My husband and I have taken morning flights from the US to Heathrow that arrive in the evening. We then stayed at Heathrow and went to London or Southampton in the morning. We liked that because we didn't need to sleep on the plane to be well-rested the next day. The downside, of course, is that we lost a full day to travel.

 

You could take a tour that stops at Stonehenge or Windsor in the way to Southampton the next day. It's even better if you can arrive at least a full day before your cruise. We did that last year -- International Friends picked us up at our hotel, we had a few hours at Stonehenge, and we arrived in Southampton in early afternoon. That give us some time to walk around and still get a good night's sleep before our cruise the following day.