Heathrow airport <-> Windsor Castle

77 bus goes to / from Terminal 5 to Windsor.

You don't say whereabouts your hotel is though. It may be better to take a bus to Hayes / Slough and then onwards by train.

Thank you for your reply. We will be staying overnight at a Heathrow airport hotel (the decision I kinda regret now; non-refundable booking), which is the reason I will be coming back to the airport. It looks like a trip to Windsor Castle is a good possibility :)

The tour guides at Windsor Castle say a question they often get is, "Why did they locate the Castle so close to the airport?"
(they say they get that question mostly from Americans, but I think they're just being silly)

haha, thanks :) One question: if I wait to get to Windsor Castle to purchase my ticket on a Tuesday afternoon, would I encounter a long line?

To save time you could book a minicab (much cheaper than a London black cab) to take you from the airport to your hotel, wait while you check in, and take you on to Windsor. The Heathrow airport site recommends greentomatocars. You could take a Windsor-based taxi back to your hotel or the airport and wouldn't have to book a departure time.

Thanks, all.

Tim, Thank you. That sounds good. But what might be your recommended cab fare for this? Are we talking approx 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds? Just trying to get some idea :)

Just in case anyone is interested: I called greentomatocars.com and got a quote from Holiday Inn at Heathrow to Windsor Castle => approx 36 - 37 pounds for one person.

Whew, that's a chunk of money for such a short cab ride! Better check the bus schedule for the number 77 Marco mentioned (also there's a number 71).

Try two more Windsor car services to see if they're any cheaper than the one you called.
Try: Windsor Cars, http://www.windsorcars.com/
And: 5Star Taxi, http://www.5starwindsor.com/

yup! it sure is expensive.

See "Bus From Heathrow To Windsor" here at this website:

http://www.windsor-information.co.uk/0900-transport.php

Cost one way is £6.50. Time to get there, approximately one hour.

The site given by Rebecca suggests calling a specific Windsor taxi company while waiting for your luggage. The fare will be a little over 16 GBP.

Thank you all very much for great info!

You asked, "If I wait to purchase my ticket on a Tuesday afternoon, will I encounter a long line?" Crowds at Windsor during tourist season are a fact of life. There is no predicting what the crowd will be like. Probably the largest crowds will already have arrived there before you that day, would be my guess. The groups usually arrive around 11:00 A.M. or right after lunch. You may be coming in after the lunchtime crowd is already in, and you may walk right up, buy your ticket, and walk right in.

If you want to purchase tickets online ahead of time, here is the website: http://tickets.royalcollection.org.uk/?_ga=1.222214040.163693383.1403055502&f[0]=im_field_customer_type%3A6&f[1]=im_field_location%3A17&f[2]=im_field_attraction%3A36&f[3]=im_field_feature%3A7

Fill in your date at the bottom left of the page. But that does lock you in, could be bad if you cannot make it out there. My choice would be to take the free airport shuttle to your hotel, check in and/or drop off bags, then free airport shuttle back to the airport to catch the bus to Windsor. The cabs are more convenient, as Tim suggested, but pricey. The cab will get you there in half the time the bus takes. The cheap price of the bus would make up for my inconvenience, if it were me. But consider both options. Have a great trip.

Thank you!!

I have used a company http://www.londontowncars.co.uk for minicab work in the area, it might be worth giving them a call to see what rates they offer - dont normally use public transport to be honest but from what I hear these days can quite often be more expensive than a minicab in some instances !!

Thank you.
I ended up using Windsor Cars, http://www.windsorcars.com/ for 16 pounds each way. I took the taxi instead of a public bus because it was just me and wanted to get back at certain time. The trip was in mid-July. Thanks again for your reply.