train to/from London airports

[skyboy]

We will be arriving at Gatwick airport. We want to stay in London for the night and we have an early flight out of Heathrow in the morning. I know that we can take a train to Victoria station from Gatwick but can we go from Victoria station to Heathrow? Also, I know we can go easily by train from Paddington station to Heathrow but can we get there from Gatwick?

We are trying to find a reasonable hotel where we can get to and from the airports by train so any suggestions will be helpful. Thanks

[sddsddean]

The Gatwick Express will take you from Gatwick South Terminal to Victoria Station. The Heathrow Express will take you from Paddington Sta to (surprise, surprise) Heathrow, but you will have to get yourself between Victoria and Paddington. However, they are only about 1 mile apart, so if you take a taxi to a hotel in the evening, you can easily take one to Paddington the next morning.

 

Simon

[Rickey 88]

Depending where you stay overnight, another option may be the Underground. The Picadilly line runs to Heathrow, starting at 5 am and running every 3-7 minutes. Travel time is about 45-60 minutes depending upon the time of day.

 

There is room in the cars to store your luggage, but it's your responsibility to get off at the right terminal and get you and your bags up to the check-in counter.

[lord of the seas]

It's 2.6 Miles from Victoria Station to Paddington Station unless you are a crow. :)

[banditoo]

Are there easy routes from Waterloo station to Heathrow (with luggage)?

[Fifty Dollar Bob]

Have you looked at a coach transfer or car transfers?

 

I'd suggest staying at Heathrow, so that you get the travel over and done with before you need to be there.

[jcl410]

Several years ago I had a similiar situation. In this case, however, I was arriving from Paris via the Eurostar. I took a taxi from Waterloo(this is 1999), to my hotel, which was 1 block from Paddington station. The next morning, I walked to Paddington, and took the Heathrow Express to the airport.

 

 

 

John

[Twickenham]

A few years ago I did the same thing - train to Victoria, then taxi to Paddington and the Heathrow Express to LHR. Taxi cost about 7 pounds. Tons of taxis there, even at 6am! Remember, however, that you can also just take the Underground from Victoria - it's a direct link, no transferring, so if you can get your luggage down the stairs, it should be fairly straightforward.

[skyboy]

Thanks for the info. We do want to stay in London for the night as we want to see a show and don't want to take the tube at night to an airport hotel. Anybody know of a reasonable hotel near Paddington Station?

[c-to-sea]

Depending on what your hotel budget is, there is everything from the Hilton

right at Paddington Station (and another just a couple of blocks away) to

B&B's. We just returned and saw rows and rows of small hotels on every

street in the area. Try Expedia or Travelocity or hotels.com. The Heathrow

Express from Paddington is the fastest but there is another, less direct train,

also from Paddington that costs less.

 

http://www.heathrowconnect.com/

[Globaliser]

We will be arriving at Gatwick airport. We want to stay in London for the night and we have an early flight out of Heathrow in the morning. I know that we can take a train to Victoria station from Gatwick but can we go from Victoria station to Heathrow? Also, I know we can go easily by train from Paddington station to Heathrow but can we get there from Gatwick?

We are trying to find a reasonable hotel where we can get to and from the airports by train so any suggestions will be helpful.

I don't know what time you arrive at Gatwick, nor where from, nor how much you need or want to be in London proper.

 

If you arrive late into Gatwick, you may be better off all round if you skip going into London, and just get the National Express coach from Gatwick to Heathrow and going to a hotel at Heathrow - particularly if your flight from Heathrow is early in the morning.

 

This is also an option even if you do want to go into town, as you could go there, check-in and then take the Tube into town for the evening.

Depending where you stay overnight, another option may be the Underground. The Picadilly line runs to Heathrow, starting at 5 am and running every 3-7 minutes. Travel time is about 45-60 minutes depending upon the time of day.

Remember, however, that you can also just take the Underground from Victoria - it's a direct link, no transferring, so if you can get your luggage down the stairs, it should be fairly straightforward.

I always suggest that the minimum requirements for taking the Tube are that you are able to pick up and carry (or wheel) all your luggage in one go without shuttling backwards and forwards, that you can carry it up or down stairs to the extent of about one storey at a time, and that you can carry or wheel it at least several tens of yards under your own steam. If you can't do that, then the Tube is not really for you. There are many stations and platforms that have access only by stairs, and there are many more places where you need to use an escalator.

 

To get from Victoria to Heathrow, take the District Line to Barons Court and change there to the Piccadilly Line. That's an easy cross-platform change. If particularly wet or windy, Hammersmith is an alternative which is more sheltered. Not every District Line train goes to Barons Court and Hammersmith from Victoria; make sure you don't get on a Wimbeldon branch train. Not every Piccadilly Line train goes to Heathrow, and those that do alternate between calling at T4 then T123, and calling at T123 then T5.

[Globaliser]

Are there easy routes from Waterloo station to Heathrow (with luggage)?

No, not really.

 

Are you coming from Southampton? The better public transport route from Southampton to Heathrow is to take the National Express coach directly to the airport.

[Globaliser]

The Heathrow

Express from Paddington is the fastest but there is another, less direct train,

also from Paddington that costs less.

 

http://www.heathrowconnect.com/

It's important to look at the likely overall travel time when choosing between the Heathrow Express and the Heathrow Connect. The former takes 15 minutes every 15 minutes; the latter takes 30 minutes every 30 minutes. So the average platform-to-platform time is 22.5 minutes on the HE, and 45 minutes (ie double) on the HC. These times are to the central terminal area (Terminals 1, 2 and 3).

 

For many people, by the time you've factored in the time getting to Paddington, it would have been just as easy and fast to take the Tube as to take the HC - if luggage does not pose an issue.

 

One other consideration is which terminal you're going to at Heathrow. The Heathrow Connect goes to Terminal 4. The Heathrow Express does not; if you're going to T4, you have to change from the HE at the T123 station. So this is a factor in favour of the Heathrow Connect, if you have the time and patience to take the slow train.

[banditoo]

As an alternate to the train from central London to Heathrow, does anyone know what approximate taxi fare would be from the County Hall area? Is there hotel shuttle service to Heathrow?

[blackwing]

I know that there is the Heathrow Express (not sure how much that costs) but unless you are staying right at Paddington, you will then have to either take the Tube or a taxi to get to/from your hotel to Paddington.

 

Definitely the cheapest way to go is to take the Tube. Two pounds from central London to Heathrow. Not the fastest, but if you have the available time, it's a good option.

[Globaliser]

As an alternate to the train from central London to Heathrow, does anyone know what approximate taxi fare would be from the County Hall area? Is there hotel shuttle service to Heathrow?

If traffic is not bad, it'll probabaly be something like £50-60 for a normal taxi.

 

I very much doubt that there will be hotel shuttle service. It takes too long from central London, and the airport has banned hotel shuttles from the central terminal area (Terminals 1, 2 and 3) anyway.

Definitely the cheapest way to go is to take the Tube. Two pounds from central London to Heathrow. Not the fastest, but if you have the available time, it's a good option.

It's £2 if you are travelling on a pre-pay Oyster card, and "off peak" (ie not during the day on weekdays). This is one of the best ways of paying for using the Tube, but I don't want anyone reading this thread to get any nasty surprises.

 

From central London, I reckon that the Tube is maybe 10-15 minutes slower than Tube+HEX, and much much cheaper.