We just completed an excellent Rick Steves tour of “The Best of Southern England”. The tour ended in Bath. We decided to spend an extra day in Bath on our own. We hired Bath Private Car Service to pick us up at our hotel and deliver us to London Heathrow Terminal 5. Excellent service and driver. Less expensive that many other firms advertised on line.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
Sounds like you were happy with your transportation choices at both the start and finish of your tour. I am glad these worked well for you.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Every situation is different. We are senior citizens with some mobility issues and managing luggage and switching between two trains enroute the airport was not viable for us. The convenience and peace of mind were worth it for us.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2320 posts
Good for you ahkline - thanks for posting this as it is useful information for others who may want to do this. Not everyone wants to take the train!!!
Posted by
West Virginia
134 posts
Thanks for your recommendation. It’s always helpful to have alternative modes of transportation. Especially when your travel plans happen to coincide with rail strikes or repairs.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
What Concerned Local said.
Being of a certain age myself and having used the bus from Heathrow to Bath in 2016, I was curious about the company recommended. Last night I sent them this hypothetical question via the email link on their website:
"I have no specific time or date. I'm just looking for a ball park cost for 1 person with a 2-wheeled carry-on and small backpack from Bath train station to Heathrow Terminal 5 on a Wednesday afternoon in November.
Can you provide that?
The last time I went from LHR to Bath was in May, 2016. I took the bus. Last summer I took a train/bus combo from Cardiff to a hotel at LHR. Now in my late 70's, I'm considering trying a private car/taxi for those kinds of airport transfers in the future."
This is the response I had waiting for me this morning:
"Cost from Bath to Heathrow is £170.
Regards,
Steve"
I don't know if that's a trip cost for one person or for a full taxi. I'm not even sure it's the same company, so it could be one of the expensive ones with a similar name. This is the link to the website for Bath Private Car Hire: https://www.bathprivatecarhire.com/
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Same firm. That’s what we paid for two passengers and four pieces of luggage.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
That is pretty much the par amount now. You can find private hire car people who may be just a little bit cheaper & there are "executive" services that are rather more. The cost of airport cars have gone up disproportionately after COVID mainly through lack of drivers.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
True. We had quotes for 170-320 GBP from Bath to Heathrow. The drive took only 90 minutes.
Our car service from Heathrow to Canterbury on arrival in the UK was even less, 130 GBP via Canterbury Airport Transfers. That trip was during one of the train strikes. In the past we used the excellent UK train system from the airport to our destination. This trip was an exception for a special occasion.