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Fastest and cheapest transport between Heathrow T5 & Marylbone Sta / Chiltern Rail?

Posted by on

I am hoping our UK train and transport experts can answer my query.

We 2 adults are excited to travel straight to Stratford upon Avon after arriving at Heathrow T 5, August 13th at 12:30 pm . We purchased online 2 advance tickets leaving from Marylebone Station/ Chiltern Rail at 3:18 pm the same Thursday afternoon.

Assuming the flight arrives on time, immigration is normal, there are no transport strikes or construction delays, I would guess we could be ready to leave Heathrow by 1:30 pm. We travel only with carryon.

  1. if we took the Tube to Marylebone Station, (estimating 50 mins travel time and arriving at MYB at 2:20 pm give or take ) would we make our train or is this cutting it too close for a Thursday afternoon. Or would you advise us to bite the bullet and get 2 Heathrow Express tickets to Paddington, then Tube to MYB? We always travel with the least amount possible so we Boomers are prepared to walk and climb Tube stairs with our luggage.

  2. if taking the Tube is a good option, will it save us time and "jet-laged" stress to get a visitor oyster card online and sent to us in the States? Any downsides to doing this?

  3. Frequency of transport away from Heathrow......am I correct that the Tube trains leave T 123 every 10 minutes weekdays after 12:00 p.m. vs. every 15 mins for Heathrow Express and something less often for Heathrow Connects from the same general area?

  4. Am I missing anything else in pre-planning our get away?

  5. FINALLY......When purchasing take-away food to eat on the train, would you recommend we wait until we get to Marylebone Station to buy something at the station? I see there is a M & S simply food at the station.

Thanks so much for helping us navigate and plan our transport time.

Posted by
4684 posts

I would suggest travelling by train from Heathrow to Paddington, by either the fast Heathrow Express or slower but cheaper Heathrow Connect. Between Paddington and Marylebone you can take the Bakerloo Line underground or the frequent 205 bus route. The tube will be faster but there are long escalators at both stations with no elevators, so if you are afraid of heights the bus may be easier.

The cheapest route would be by tube all the way, taking the Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus and the Bakerloo to Marylebone. However, this will take considerably longer and I would avoid using it for such a tight connection.

Posted by
4684 posts

Your comments on frequency are correct, Heathrow Connect runs every 30 minutes.

As for your food question, M&S Simply Food is good, but if you are hungry enough for it to affect your alertness I'd suggest getting something at the airport or Paddington.

Posted by
5452 posts

This ship has already sailed for you as you have bought the advances but it is a bit quicker not to do the route you have already booked, as you can avoiding London by traveling via Reading/Oxford.

The underground is more frequent than the Express but is slower and the connections are poor, reflecting Marylebone being just on the Bakerloo line. Think around double the time, at around 1 hr+

You haven't said whether you have any use for Oyster cards later in your trip. If possible use a contactless card or other method such as Apple pay.

Posted by
8 posts

Thank you Phillip & Marco for weighing in on the matter of taking something other than to tube to make our our train connection to Stratford upon Avon. We'll likely opt for HE to Paddington. Thanks for the suggestion to bus to Marylebone. Sigh.....Marco, I had spotted some reference to traveling via Reading/Oxford while looking online but I was never able to re-cover that information in time.

Phillip, thanks for the suggestion to consider eating lunch at the airport or Paddington. British Air sandwich (or whatever ) prior to 12:30 pm touch down likely will not fill us up.

As for using the oyster card, perhaps it is not needed because......we return to London after 3.5 days in SUA on Sunday afternoon. From Marylebone we ride to Green Park to join our Rick Steves tour group in Mayfair. We have no free time between arriving at our hotel and joining our group. The tour will likely give us Oyster cards for the coming 7 days. On our last day in London we only have enough time for an unrushed breskfast at the hotel then time to catch a 3:30 pm return flight out of Heathrow T5.

Which type of transport ticket should we get. As I see it now the only need would be transport for two adults, from Paddington to Marylebone Thursday afternoon. And again on Sunday afternoon following. Going from Marylebone to Green Park. Two separate days with no plans for anything more than a one way trip to our next stop. Not seeing how day passes would pencil out. Is there a good cheap way to cover the bases?

Thank you for your comments.

Posted by
5452 posts

If all you are thinking about is paying for single journeys between Paddington and Marylebone one day, and Marylebone and Mayfair on another, you may as well forget the underground and take a cab for convenience.

Since you are returning to Heathrow, buy the duo saver ticket online for the Heathrow Express - £50 for a round trip for a couple, equivalent to £12.50 for 4 single journeys.

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