I have about a 5 hour layover in Heathrow, terminal 3. Flight arrives at 1:35 pm and next one leaves at 7:15pm.
Do I have time to dash to downtown London for some quick site seeing and make it back?
The teenagers are interested to see Big Ben and/or Parliament.
How much time should I allow for security on a Saturday for a flight to Spain?
Thanks for your help and ideas.
Sorry, more cold water ---
The fastest train to London takes 15 minutes $50 per person rt
That gets you to Paddington Station 3 miles from Big Ben-- 20 minute ride, once on the "tube" - or 15-30 minutes by taxi one way
This occurs after you have cleared passport control which will take xx time?
Even assuming your inbound flight arrives on time, you will not have an inordinate amount of boredom time at the airport
5 hours may seem like a long time, but it will get eaten up surprisingly quickly
To answer your original question "no"
David is incorrect. With a flight to Europe, the recommended check in time is 2 hours - it is 3 hours to the States. I have never had it take 2 hours to get through immigration, but it could take over an hour.
Best case scenario, your flight is on time and the queues aren't too bad at immigration, so say through at 2.45.
It will take time to use left luggage unless you want to drag it round with you.
Wait for the Heathow Express then take the train and the underground to Westminster (Bakerloo then Jubilee lines) is say 75 minutes including buying tickets. So 4.15 there plus any time to drop your bag at Heathrow.
Another 75 minutes back to Heathrow. That's 5.45 without any stopping at Parliament. You need to be back at Heathrow by 6pm absolute latest. That gives you 15 minutes to view Parliament IF everything is running to time. Too risky. A taxi will be very expensive and may not be much quicker.
There are restoration works ongoing at the Queen Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), so the Tower maybe covered in scaffolding at the time of your visit.
Osterley Park is often recommended for people who just want to take a breath of fresh air from the airport as it is only a few stops away. Even this though might not be worth the hassle of going landside if you aren't particularly interested.
Unfortunately no.
I rather doubt the UK border control agents would even let you process into the country since you are just transiting the airport for 5 hours and your final destination is another EU country.
Absolutely not...for all of the reasons outlined above.
Thank you all. You saved me from a bunch of problems. I really appreciate it.
No!
I went through Heathrow a few months ago with a 5 hour layover. I have dual citizenship, so my Irish passport helps get me through the faster "EU citizen" immigration line - the non-EU line is SLOWER. I do this layover often. Last month I didn't even have time for my typical leisurely big lunch with glass of wine. I got a coffee and muffin and RAN to the connecting plane.
Sorry!
Susan
Waterville, Ireland
Also, there's no such thing as "downtown London". Firstly it's not a phrase the British tend to use and the whole of London could be construed as being "downtown".
