Our US to UK travel experience ​✈️​ ​🚄​ ​🚌​​🚕​ ​🍻​

[mets07]

In case of it is of assistance to anyone, here is a quick summary of our recent trip to London enroute to back-to-back cruises from Southampton. We spent 3 nights in London after flying from Newark, New Jersey.  My focus here is primarily transportation, with a few other things thrown in.

 

Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport and picking up our luggage, my husband and I took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station and from there the Underground to Waterloo station. We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Waterloo which was a block or two from the Waterloo station. It was convenient and included a breakfast typical of Hilton hotels. We got there early morning, so they held our luggage until our room was available.

 

We had been to London before (me, once, and my husband several times), so we did non-touristy things that involved a lot of walking to various neighborhoods, etc. 

 

One thing we did do which was recommended here on CC was visit Sky Garden. This is a gorgeous space about 38 flights up with tremendous views, cafes, gardens, etc. Make a reservation about a month before a visit. It is free. I believe it is on Mondays that they release tickets. Check their website.

Sky Garden photo:

 

 

We brought about $200 worth of British pounds with us, but most places accepted credit cards. There was no problem using our US Visa credit card. No PIN was required. Enough places took cash that we were able to use most of the British pounds we brought with us. 

 

Two old pubs we enjoyed in London were Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and The Old Wine Shades.  🍺🍷

 

We took South Western Railway from Waterloo to Southampton. We did not make advance reservations, so paid full fare. We bought the tickets and were on the train within about 30 minutes. We walked to the cruise terminal when we got off (there are youtube videos showing you the roads to follow), but simply take a taxi if preferred. 

 

On turnaround day between our two cruises we explored Southampton and visited the Sea City Museum (Titanic exhibits) - excellent - and the Dancing Man Brewery. 

Photo of Dancing Man Brewery (2nd floor, 1st floor was crowded so we decided to go up there and have lunch).

 

When we departed the second cruise, we took the National Express Bus/Coach to London Heathrow Airport. We took a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Coach station. Taxi was about 7 BP. Bus (coach) was about 40 BP or less for both of us. We reserved the bus in advance.  We took the 9:45AM bus and our flight was at 4PM. We were at the airport around Noon. 

 

Enjoy! 

Cheers!

 

 

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, mets07 said:

In case of it is of assistance to anyone, here is a quick summary of our recent trip to London enroute to back-to-back cruises from Southampton. We spent 3 nights in London after flying from Newark, New Jersey.  My focus here is primarily transportation, with a few other things thrown in.

 

Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport and picking up our luggage, my husband and I took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station and from there the Underground to Waterloo station. We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Waterloo which was a block or two from the Waterloo station. It was convenient and included a breakfast typical of Hilton hotels. We got there early morning, so they held our luggage until our room was available.

 

We had been to London before (me, once, and my husband several times), so we did non-touristy things that involved a lot of walking to various neighborhoods, etc. 

 

One thing we did do which was recommended here on CC was visit Sky Garden. This is a gorgeous space about 38 flights up with tremendous views, cafes, gardens, etc. Make a reservation about a month before a visit. It is free. I believe it is on Mondays that they release tickets. Check their website.

Sky Garden photo:

 

 

We brought about $200 worth of British pounds with us, but most places accepted credit cards. There was no problem using our US Visa credit card. No PIN was required. Enough places took cash that we were able to use most of the British pounds we brought with us. 

 

Two old pubs we enjoyed in London were Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and The Old Wine Shades.  🍺🍷

 

We took South Western Railway from Waterloo to Southampton. We did not make advance reservations, so paid full fare. We bought the tickets and were on the train within about 30 minutes. We walked to the cruise terminal when we got off (there are youtube videos showing you the roads to follow), but simply take a taxi if preferred. 

 

On turnaround day between our two cruises we explored Southampton and visited the Sea City Museum (Titanic exhibits) - excellent - and the Dancing Man Brewery. 

Photo of Dancing Man Brewery (2nd floor, 1st floor was crowded so we decided to go up there and have lunch).

 

When we departed the second cruise, we took the National Express Bus/Coach to London Heathrow Airport. We took a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Coach station. Taxi was about 7 BP. Bus (coach) was about 40 BP or less for both of us. We reserved the bus in advance.  We took the 9:45AM bus and our flight was at 4PM. We were at the airport around Noon. 

 

Enjoy! 

Cheers!

 

 

We also brought pounds and were able to use them, but if we had not visa would have always came through.

 

Our first stop was Amsterdam, and we brought Euros. And they were difficult to spend as most places only wanted cards and refused Euros.

[mets07]

5 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Our first stop was Amsterdam, and we brought Euros. And they were difficult to spend as most places only wanted cards and refused Euros

Thanks for your feedback. We also bought some Euros as one of the cruises took us to Spain, Italy, and Portugal .... and we were able to spend them at smaller stores, some cafes, other random places. You certainly don't need a lot. 

[MeHeartCruising]

I loved the Sky Garden.  I went early and pre-reserved a table to enjoy a Coke Lite and a pastry.  With a view.

[markeb]

Sounds like a nice trip. We're in London in November and may have to go to the Sky Garden. I've heard a lot of great things about it.

 

One question: I'm guessing (assuming) you bought your HEX tickets well in advance?

 

For anyone who didn't buy the most deeply discounted tickets, it's a little longer travel time, but it would be worth considering the Elizabeth Line to Bond Street and transferring to the Jubilee Line. Curious what our resident experts thing about that option? It's not going to be a cross platform transfer, but neither is HEX. Walk up fare on the Elizabeth Line is less than a walk up fare on HEX. Google Maps shows the Piccadilly line as being quite a bit longer travel time, and for that hotel requiring a bus as well.

[Thejuggler]

Pleased you enjoyed Sky Garden.  Definately worth visiting and the food in the bistro is also excellent.

 

Elizabeth line is a cheaper option and if staying in central London you can use your savings to pay for a black cab from the nearest Elizabeth line station to the hotel.  Far more convenient than changing tube lines and then walking from tube station to hotel.

[9265359]

Personally I feel that the Sky Garden has the ambience of an airport lounge, and that if you want cityscape views then the 10th floor viewing platform at Tate Modern (which is now reopened) on the other side of the river is a better choice.

 

[Globaliser]

6 hours ago, markeb said:

For anyone who didn't buy the most deeply discounted tickets, it's a little longer travel time, but it would be worth considering the Elizabeth Line to Bond Street and transferring to the Jubilee Line. Curious what our resident experts thing about that option? It's not going to be a cross platform transfer, but neither is HEX. Walk up fare on the Elizabeth Line is less than a walk up fare on HEX. Google Maps shows the Piccadilly line as being quite a bit longer travel time, and for that hotel requiring a bus as well.

 

3 hours ago, Thejuggler said:

Elizabeth line is a cheaper option and if staying in central London you can use your savings to pay for a black cab from the nearest Elizabeth line station to the hotel.  Far more convenient than changing tube lines and then walking from tube station to hotel.

 

Those of us who routinely travel from this part of town to/from Heathrow know that the Piccadilly Line is absolutely not "quite a bit longer travel time". No bus is required for getting to the OP's hotel. Nor does there need to be much of an issue when changing between Tube lines. And I suspect that Google Maps may not fully take into account frequency: from central Heathrow the HEX is only 4 tph, and I think that the EL is only about 6 tph. In contrast, the Tube is about 12 tph, so you're probably saving about 5 minutes already by choosing the Tube.

 

For the OP's destination, my routing would have been Piccadilly Line to Barons Court, District Line to Westminster, Jubilee Line to Waterloo. It's a cross-platform change at Barons Court, and Westminster has both lifts and escalators for an easy change with short walks.

 

The OP's route, which involved taking the Tube from Paddington to Waterloo, would have been best done with a (nearly) cross-platform change from the Bakerloo Line to the Jubilee Line at Baker Street. You could take the Bakerloo Line directly from Paddington to Waterloo, but the exit from the Bakerloo Line is not step-free, while the exit from the Jubilee Line onto Waterloo Road is both step-free and also much more conveniently located for the OP's hotel.

[Globaliser]

50 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

Personally I feel that the Sky Garden has the ambience of an airport lounge, and that if you want cityscape views then the 10th floor viewing platform at Tate Modern (which is now reopened) on the other side of the river is a better choice.

 

You are, however, overlooking the Sky Garden's absolute number one benefit: You can't see the Walkie Talkie from there.

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, mets07 said:

Thanks for your feedback. We also bought some Euros as one of the cruises took us to Spain, Italy, and Portugal .... and we were able to spend them at smaller stores, some cafes, other random places. You certainly don't need a lot. 

We had bought 100 pounds for a pre-cruise day in London and 100 pounds for a port stop in Amsterdam. As I previously wrote we spent the 100 pounds but really did not need any as the credit card would have covered it. As for the Euros, we mostly went to museums and all but one only took cards, and even that one would have preferred a card. We ended up with Euros left over. (We did use a few rather that dollars to tip a guide in Norway.)

[mets07]

8 hours ago, markeb said:

One question: I'm guessing (assuming) you bought your HEX tickets well in advance?

 

Hi, no, there was an employee of Heathrow Express there. We bought something called a "Two Together" ticket which I think provided a small discount. In any case, I know there are many options for traveling about in London. This one was fine for us. 

[mets07]

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

Those of us who routinely travel from this part of town to/from Heathrow know that the Piccadilly Line is absolutely not "quite a bit longer travel time". No bus is required for getting to the OP's hotel. Nor does there need to be much of an issue when changing between Tube lines. And I suspect that Google Maps may not fully take into account frequency: from central Heathrow the HEX is only 4 tph, and I think that the EL is only about 6 tph. In contrast, the Tube is about 12 tph, so you're probably saving about 5 minutes already by choosing the Tube.

 

For the OP's destination, my routing would have been Piccadilly Line to Barons Court, District Line to Westminster, Jubilee Line to Waterloo. It's a cross-platform change at Barons Court, and Westminster has both lifts and escalators for an easy change with short walks.

 

 

Thank for all this feedback. I am sure it may help others. From Paddington Station, I believe we took the Bakerloo line to Waterloo Station. 

 

In any case, our method was simple enough and worked for us. 

[markeb]

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

Those of us who routinely travel from this part of town to/from Heathrow know that the Piccadilly Line is absolutely not "quite a bit longer travel time". No bus is required for getting to the OP's hotel. Nor does there need to be much of an issue when changing between Tube lines. And I suspect that Google Maps may not fully take into account frequency: from central Heathrow the HEX is only 4 tph, and I think that the EL is only about 6 tph. In contrast, the Tube is about 12 tph, so you're probably saving about 5 minutes already by choosing the Tube.

 

For the OP's destination, my routing would have been Piccadilly Line to Barons Court, District Line to Westminster, Jubilee Line to Waterloo. It's a cross-platform change at Barons Court, and Westminster has both lifts and escalators for an easy change with short walks.

 

The OP's route, which involved taking the Tube from Paddington to Waterloo, would have been best done with a (nearly) cross-platform change from the Bakerloo Line to the Jubilee Line at Baker Street. You could take the Bakerloo Line directly from Paddington to Waterloo, but the exit from the Bakerloo Line is not step-free, while the exit from the Jubilee Line onto Waterloo Road is both step-free and also much more conveniently located for the OP's hotel.

 

Thanks. Google was showing 1:13 for Piccadilly versus 53 minutes for Elizabeth to Jubilee. It's an inexact planner. And there are nuances (like where to easily transfer) that it's not going to account for at all! They were both 9:02 departures from Terminal 2 & 3, so that would also miss any lost time if you didn't catch the first train.

 

The bus seemed strange. Just looked again and I used the hotel as the destination. The planner was taking you as close as possible to the hotel by public transportation. No bus if going to Waterloo Station, as you say. Another caution on using a trip planner too literally!

 

Of course, HEX and the Elizabeth line both are air conditioned. I believe they're replacing cars on the Piccadilly over the next year with air conditioned cars. Summers have gotten brutal in the UK!