I am landing at Heathrow and traveling to Bath (to join a RS tour). Which is a better option: taking a bus from the airport to Reading and then catching the train to Bath or taking a National Express bus from Heathrow to Bath?
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5326 posts
Which terminal are you arriving at? It does have a bearing on the relative merits.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
295 posts
The National express bus might be the best option. Its direct and after a long flight might be the easiest because you don't need to transfer or go into London. There are 10 buses a day and it takes about 2.12/ to 4 hours. www.nationalexpress.com You could also do the rail/bus combo into Reading- its quicker but could end up being more money. Both of these trips can be purchased in advance. Also, since you are a tour member contact the tour department and then can send you all the information on the best way to get to your tour. tour@ricksteves.com
Posted by
OP
Puyallup, Washington, USA
4 posts
Marco - Thanks for your response. I'm not sure of the arrival terminal for my flight. It's a Delta flight. The Heathrow website shows Delta flights arriving at terminal 4, but when I looked up the flight arrival information for today, it said terminal 3. How does the arrival terminal affect my decision about transportation to Bath?
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5326 posts
Terminal 4 is a pain for getting to anywhere apart from London so it is good that you are no longer going to arrive there.
My personal recommendation from Terminal 3 would be to check out the timetable and your arrival time plus allowance for immigration etc. If a direct coach shows in the appropriate time book it; if not go via the Reading coach/bus route. So I am more or less in line with Keith.
If you miss a booked coach you can travel on a space availability basis on a later one for an additional £5.