Getting to Harry Potter Studio Tour from Victoria Station

It seems that the Studio has a deal with a bus company to provide a bus that goes hourly from Victoria Station, although naturally you have to pay (£59 for the bus + tickets, or £29 just for the bus) - http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/en/your-visit/bus-transfers

Failing that, you can take the Victoria Line from Victoria Station to Euston Station (both stations also have underground stops that are well signposted), which should take 6 or 7 minutes, then at Euston, take the direct train to Watford Junction (c. 20mins). From there, there is apparently a shuttle bus (run by Mullany's Coaches) that will take you to the studio (around 15mins journey) - to board you apparently need your ticket or booking confirmation. According to the studio website, you should plan to get to Watford Junction 45 mins before the time on your ticket. http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/en/your-visit/getting-here

Thanks Alex. I checked out the bus tour but I'm a little concerned because they only give you 3 1/2 hours at the studio tour. I'm afraid it won't be enough time but it may be the best option rather than having to take the tube, a train and a bus when I'm not familiar with the procedures. Thanks for the info!

It really isn't difficult to do it yourself. Many people from all over the world do it every day. I expect that this won't be the very first thing you will do on London transportation because you will be jetlagged the first day. So from your hotel make your way to Victoria station. Just outside is the Victoria Underground station. Go down the stairs - use your Oyster - and find the northbound Victoria Line. There are signs everywhere. Go 4 stops. Get off at Euston. Go upstairs (just a few stairs and then 2 escalators) and you go straight up into the station. Ahead of you is a huge departure screen showing all the trains leaving in the next hour or so. Look for a London Midland train which shows that it stops in Watford Junction. Don't bother looking at the Virgin trains. They are inter city trains and don't let people off at Watford Junction. Don't look at London Overground trains. They are too slow. London Midland trains with the destination of Tring, Milton Keynes, Northampton, or Birmingham will stop at Watford Junction, and will get you to Watford Junction in 20 minutes plus or minus. Always check the departure board to make sure of the Watford Junction stop because there are a handful of exceptions in the 24 hours but usually those I have mentioned will stop there. It is a very frequent service. Use your Oyster card, or you can buy tickets from the ticket office, but expect a queue. Relax and enjoy the journey. When you get to Watford (depend on which service how many stops, no more than 3) follow the crowd to the front of the station. Go outside and just across the drive, just to the left is the stop for the bus to the studio. It is very clearly marked, and when the bus arrives it will be very well marked, and you won't be the only tourists heading for it. Enjoy the studio. On your way back you will be pro's.

Thanks so much Nigel! No,it definitely won't be the first thing I do. We arrive early on a Sunday morning. I'm going to save your instructions. It sounds like we should be ok as long as we allow for a couple of hours to get there.

It is not difficult to do, and Nigel helped me with instructions about a year ago. You will be fine and do not need to pay the extra money for a special bus. Just keep your wits about you and pay attention to where you are. Once you gt to Watford Junction, you can not miss the double-decker bus plastered with Harry Potter. And if you are not there at exactly your reserved time slot, you should be ok. We were early and they let us go after the majority of people for the slot before us were in. They continued to let 9:00 people in after 9:30. I think their website does say that you need to be there on time, so try to be, but the folks at the tour are really nice and helpful. I think it took us just over an hour to get there from Charing Cross, but I'm pretty sure we were on an express train from Euston to Watford Junction. And I would recommend more than 3 and a half hours there. I think we were there for 6 and I felt rushed at the end.

We,re both 60+, and thoroughly enjoyed the WB/Harry Potter tour. We were easily there almost six hours and it wasn't long enough. Be sure your camera is charged and you have an extra memory card. We'll worth the trip.

If you aren't sure where to go, just ask. Everyone there is super helpful. You'll be fine.

This thread is making me want to skip the Golden tour and just do it myself. I think I would prefer the flexibility. What Zone is the Warner Brothers Studio in? I was going to get a Zone 1/2 travelcard for the 2-for-1 but I'm guessing that getting a higher zone travelcard won't be worth it just for this one trip.

For some people the 3 1/2 hours may be enough, but for the cost of admission, I would rather decide myself how much time I want to spend there.

As for the train tickets, I don't think you have to add another zone to your travel card. I was just going to go to the counter and buy round trip tickets for that trip. At least that's how I understood it. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Watford Junction is not in a numbered zone, it is in a special zone all by itself beyond zone 10 (Heathrow, on a different line, is only in zone 6). Best to do as you already have and then do as suggested above, just buy a ticket for the train. If you are in the middle of the day you can use a Cheap Day Return which is cheaper than an Anytime ticket.

I looked into train tickets from Euston to Watford, round trip. For those that are curious, its about 10 pounds, round trip, per person. That doesn't include any "flex" options eluded to by our wonderfully helpful UK and US board members above. Certainly cheaper than the extra money and loss of flexibility of the golden tour, in my opinion. I have decided to just train it.

Based upon feedback here, I've decided to update my daily itinerary to this:

Get up at about 7. Tube from hotel to Trafalgar square enroute to St. Paul's, take tube to St. Paul's

Tour St. Paul's from opening and have picnic lunch.

Take a 12:00 train to Watford junction in time for a 2 PM WB entrance time.

... erm ... erm .. Trafalgar Square doesn't have an Underground station. The nearest one is Charing Cross (Northern Line and Bakerloo Line). The station serving St Pauls is on the Central Line.

What you can do if you find yourself at Trafalgar Square and want to go to St Pauls you can hop on a number 15 double decker bus (sometimes operated by an antique Routemaster bus for no extra charge - Oyster and Travelcard accepted) for the short ride past the Aldwych and the church of St Clement Danes (of the rhyme Oranges and Lemons fame), down Fleet Street, and up Ludgate Hill to stop right outside St Pauls.

From Victoria the Circle Line Underground will get you near, to Blackfriars at the foot of Ludgate Hill or Mansion House, beyond the Cathedral. A walk from either.

I know Nigel. When I say "tube to Trafalgar", I mean get off at a stop (bus or tube) near it on the way, visit Trafalgar, and then continue on to St. Paul's. Thanks for your clarification though.