We are planning to take the bus to Bath from Heathrow and have seen the National Express schedule online.
We can figure most of it out, but are a bit worried about what would happen if our flight is majorly delayed. I know we can rebook a new bus time, but how hard would it be to get a seat on the next bus (like, if the next bus is full, could we end up waiting for hours and hours)?
Also, how far in advance do we have to make the reservations?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
It is unlikely the bus will be completely full. It is possible to pay a few pounds extra when purchasing your ticket to allow for some flexibility in the ticket.
Paying the extra gives you up to 12 hours either side of your original departure time.
The caveat is that if you had booked a Bath direct bus you are not then allowed to go Bath via Bristol, and vice versa.
Unless there is a major event on or a rail strike the buses very rarely run full. There are almost always seats available, even at the last moment.
I was on the 9am departure from London to Bath three weeks ago, so peak day trip time, and peak season. While busy, and unusual for me to be on a scheduled bus full of overseas tourists, there were still about a dozen seats available.
There is no fixed window for reservations, but at any time they should be available three to six months ahead, up until 30 minutes before departure of the bus from its origin point, which in this case is London Victoria, so just over an hour before departure from LHR.
