General Questions

I would never book the train so close to your arrival... you can be an hour getting through immigration.. or longer. ( remember hundreds of planes arrive daily.. you might just arrive right after another huge plane and be in a long long line up )
Then you have to find your luggage ..

And then where exactly to catch the train. Have you done this before?

I would allow two hours minimally myself.. maybe more .

I am in process of doing some last minute bookings myself and I allowed us almost 3 hours .. I would rather go to the bathroom, buy a snack, and relax with a coffee in the airport for an extra hour then be rushing my butt off all stressed out after a long flight when I usually have brain fog as it is.

"Would it be too much of a risk to book myself on the 12:55 bus since I have to go through customs?"

Just for your information, terminology is different in the UK. Customs is when they check your baggage (unlikely), immigration is what will likely hold you up depending on how many Border Control officers are on duty and how many plane land in a short space of time.

"I will be in London for eleven days. Some people swear by the Visitor Oyster Cards, others say they are a waste."

Visitor oyster card: You can't load travelcards onto it (electronically), you don't get your £3 purchase price back and you will pay postage to the US.
Normal oyster card: £5 refundable deposit and you can load travelcards onto it. Just buy one when you get here.

For the destinations in southern England that you plan to visit, any discounts available for booking rail tickets in advance will probably not be worth losing the flexibility. The exception would be Bath, which I would recommend buying tickets in advance for especially if you are travelling from London.

I agree that one hour from your flight to the National Express bus at Heathrow is too short. My experience is that National Express staff are not especially concerned about you being on the exact booked journey unless they are extremely busy, so if you do get through immigration and baggage reclaim fast enough to get to the 1255 bus, it would be worth turning up for it and asking the staff if you can board.

National Express used to have a concession where if you missed a booked coach at the airport they allowed you on a space available basis onto the next service with payment of an admin fee of around £5.

This seems to have disappeared - you now have to book a flexible add-on at the time of the original booking which makes the ticket flexible for 12 hours in either direction. Otherwise if the departure time passes the ticket becomes worthless.

NE recommend 90 minutes as a minimum.

I would not book and prepay with only that amount of time between landing and departing on the bus. Even if your flight arrives on time (and we've been as much as two hours late arriving) the time to "clear" the terminal can be very long. It will probably cost more to wait until you arrive, but if you have a gambling spirit and the prepay cost is low (and there is little to lose) then book and prepay but try to get a little more connection time.

First tip on international travel, expect delays. Whether its you flights arrival or departure, expect delays. Or at least prepare for it. May not happen but for your first visit abroad understanding it could occur lessens the anxiousness . Heathrow is an international flight hub and is busy, busy, busy pretty much 24/7. Long lines at immigration are the norm rather than the exception. You also need to be prepared for the 10-20 minute walk from your arrival gate just to get to immigration ( passport control).
If you've checked baggage that takes time. Once you've retrieved your luggage you will then go thru customs and unless you have something to declare that's a simple walk thru the properly labeled doorway into the massive arrival hall. I find it convenient and practical to withdraw 40 pounds from an ATM while at HEATHROW. Means I can have a nosh, get some coffee, freshen up and then take public transport into London or as you are doing, traveling to Brighton. NO need to waste time in line at currency exchange window simply locate the closest TravelEx ATM, use a debit or credit card and get 40 pounds. BTW, ATMS are the easiest way to get funds while in England. Use bank ATMs and understand its your bank and the credit card companies that charges the transaction fee. Fees can add up, so before you decide which debit or credit cards to take with you call and find out what their transaction fees will be. I think you'll see that booking a bus in advance that leaves only an hour after you've arrived isn't smart, especially if the National Express buses leave every hour.

The Oyster Card is the Key to the city. Buy it there. Uncertain how you are traveling from Brighton into London but purchasing an Oyster card can be done at any of the Train stations as well as virtually all underground stations.
I've never been to Brighton so can't comment on accommodations but I'd be looking NOW and pre book before you leave the states. Believe there are suggestions in Rick's guidebook, otherwise check AirBnB, and Trip Advisor for possibilities. This will save you time, possibly money and angst.
As far as Trooping of The Color I like walking over the the Horse Guards parade grounds and standing there or at the very least on the corner of the Mall and Horse Guards Road looking towards St James Park. There are steps beneath the Duke of York Column if you are short. Have only done this in November when huge crowds were non existent. Can't speak for what crowds will be like at the end of May. Go early. Enjoy St. James park, looking at memorials, statues, etc. Charing Cross or Westminster are the closet underground stations. When you are getting your Oyster Card look for or ask for one of the small pocket sized tube maps. Carry it with you.
Have a great first time visit to England.

Just for your information, terminology is different in the UK.
Customs is when they check your baggage (unlikely)

US terminology is the same - customs is goods (your luggage)

Immigration/Border control/Passport control is people (you)

"US terminology is the same - customs is goods (your luggage)

Immigration/Border control/Passport control is people (you)"

BUT most Americans on this and other travel forums call both "customs".

Thank you all for the responses. I will book a later bus and pay the fee to be flexible. I was just thinking about getting off the plane and getting to Brighton. I really didn't think about using the bathroom, finding an ATM, or getting something to eat.

I thought customs was like security, all bags were searched. In defense of my terminology of "going through customs," my bag has to get through it therefore I have to get through it.

Thanks for the information on the Oyster Card.

Amanda

In the UK (and returning to the US) they only search bags when they believe there is a reason to do so. Either because you've declared something they'd like to see (most times they just want to ask you questions, or see the actual item, they don't want to go through your entire bag) or they have some sort of suspicion about you.

In either case, you and your bags will "go through customs" after passport control. Either you'll get directed to pass through without needing to do anything else or consult anyone else (in which case you may not even be aware you've just passed through customs) or you'll be directed to stop & talk to someone & possibly have a closer look taken at your items/bags.

"I thought customs was like security, all bags were searched"

As said, your bags will only be searched if they believe your trying to smuggle something into the country (or if you're unlucky a random check) . I can't remember the last time I actually saw a customs officer, must have been years ago. Security is where your hand luggage is x-rayed and you can be frisked if you set off the metal detector.

I can't remember the last time I actually saw a customs officer

Me either. But just because you can't see them doesn't mean they can't see you. We are so used to cameras everywhere we don't even notice them, nor do we look behind the mirrored glass.

Great information, harleydonski & emma Thank you!

We saw a customs officer on our return to the US in December, but that's just because we declared interesting goods (Icelandic hot dogs) and they wanted to ask us questions. They never actually asked to see the hot dogs themselves (commercial hot dogs are allowed from Iceland into the US) but they did have us send all our bags through a scanner. We were on our way in less than 10 minutes. And the customs officials were quite nice and friendly.

Panda, you might want to check out a map of Heathrow to locate where you will arrive and where you need to go to catch the bus as well as to do all the things you need to before you get on it -- http://www.heathrow.com.

Interesting info from the UK group! I love this kind of information!

I came in thru Heathrow a couple of years ago and as I passed thru the nothing to declare doors that lead to the small corridor (before you are dumped out in to the Arrivals Hall) there was a line-up of perhaps a dozen Customs folks on either side of the hall. They were very definitely on the look out for something and pulled one guy ahead of me with one of those humongous suitcases over to the big room on the left. I made eye contact, nodded and walked on by. They were not really interested in old, gray-haired women travelers with RS carry-ons, lol.

Security, immigration, and customs are three different things, and it sometimes is confusing (particularly when changing planes) which ones you will encounter when. It's also true that Americans often say "customs" to mean one of the others.

Leaving the US, you will go through security. Airline personnel will make sure you have your passport, but you will not go through passport control. There is no customs inspection leaving the US.

When landing in Heathrow from the US, you will first go through immigration, and the lines (sorry, "queues") for this can be very long. How long it will take depends on how many officers are on duty and how many other flights just landed. But Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports and is always hopping, so assuming a quick time through immigration is never wise.

You then pick up your checked luggage (if any) and leave through the "nothing to declare" lane. Unless you have been "randomly selected for additional screening" (and as said above, it does happen, albeit rarely), you go directly to your bus.

When you fly home, after check in you will go through security, then passport control (unlike the US, they stamp you out as well as in). There is no customs on departure, but if you are trying to get VAT refunds, you may deal with customs for getting your paperwork stamped.

Upon return to the US, at your first US airport (regardless of your final destination), you will go through immigration, then pick up your checked luggage, then go through customs. There is no separate "nothing to declare" line - everyone has to wait in line to hand their form in to the agent, who may select you for additional questioning or inspection. However, if you are not selected, you don't have to open your bags.

If your first US airport is your final destination, upon leaving customs you proceed home. If you are making a connecting flight, you go to it, and you will have to go through security again (since you've left the secure area).

Actually doing all of this is easier than it sounds - just follow the herd and the signs.