Heathrow to our hotel by Westminster Abbey

Best is subjective.

However, what I would do is take the Piccadilly Line to either Hammersmith or Barons Court. Then cross the platform about 10 feet to get the District Line to Westminster. It's just a few minutes walk from there.

Why not tell us the name of the hotel? Westminster tube station is in the area, but it could still be a good walk if you are talking about the Premier Inn.

If a cab is costly for you, then the Underground works well, that is what I usually do, given the areas I usually have stayed. There are also Coaches, buses, mainly to Victoria bus station, not necessarily close, but in the general area, As another poster mentioned, list the hotel and you can get much more help.

But can say, forget the Heathrow Express, or even the Elizabeth line, that goes too far out of the way.

I would get the Elizabeth Line to Bond Street and transfer to the Jubilee line to Westminster (it's only two stops).

The "best route" depends on your travel date - that is if it's a weekend when the Piccadilly Line (or the south side of the District/Circle lines) are closed for engineering work.
The same principle applies to the Elizabeth Line.

Likewise if there is an unscheduled closure for any reason it is always good to have more than one route in the back of your mind.

If you take the National Express bus from Heathrow to Victoria, then red London bus route #11 stops right outside Victoria Coach Station to go straight to Westminster Abbey, so that is another route to have as a back up.

Keep this in mind...

The Piccadilly/District Line will take about an hour and cost 5.80 GBP per person.

The Elizabeth/Jubilee line will take about the same amount of time and cost 13.90 GBP per person.

Frank is right about the pricing but you should bear in mind that both fares count towards the zone 1-6 daily cap of £16.30. So if you take the Elizabeth line to your accommodation and then plan other journeys on the same day you will only pay £2.40 more for all extra journeys.

Of course, if you use the Piccadilly Line and then only plan one or two more journeys you will spend less.

However, what I would do is take the Piccadilly Line to either Hammersmith or Barons Court. Then cross the platform about 10 feet to get the District Line to Westminster. It's just a few minutes walk from there.

Frank's suggestion is the route I took, and it was so simple. We took the Piccadilly Line from LHR, got off at Barons Court, then walked right across the platform and picked up the District Line to our stop at Victoria Station (we were staying at The Resident Victoria in the Victoria area of Westminster).

And I agree that it would be helpful for you to give us your hotel name, as the City of Westminster is a large area.

As has been suggested, and keep in mind we did not have a hotel selected but now do, our hotel is the Windemere. And we do arrive on a Saturday. From what has been suggested, that may affect our choice to get to the Hotel Windemere.

This hotel is in Pimlico, right by Victoria, not particularly near Westminster Abbey.

The easiest route is to get a coach from Heathrow Bus Station to Victoria Coach Station and then a short walk to the Hotel.

We got priced out to Pimlico.

National Express to Victoria Coach, short walk. Buy your tickets from machines in bus terminal at Heathrow or on app once you know how long passport control/baggage retrieval has taken.

I still suggest my routing of the Piccadilly/District line but getting off at Victoria instead of Westminster.

However, you can also take the National Express coach from Heathrow to the Victoria COACH station. It's then a short walk to your hotel. Where you get the coach at Heathrow depends on in which terminal you arrive.

If there are problems due to your Saturday arrival, definitely plan to take the coach. Just be aware, it may sell out quickly.

Thanks to everyone. Much obliged. Yet why is my head spinning so much. We are from Chicago and things don't seem that complex. Course this is what I am used to.....

As to the last couple of comments, is the Coach fare THAT much more expensive than taking the Piccadilly line?

Want to add we are traveling on a Saturday, so is the Picadilly line closed for repairs?? I thought someone had mentioned that.

Ken, I did not do this, but I will say that one advantage to taking the National Express bus from Heathrow to Victoria Coach Station is that they will take your bags and put them underneath, and you do not have to deal with them like you would on the Tube or even taking the Elizabeth line.

It's very easy and it really is a short walk from the station to your hotel. The ride does take a little bit longer, but it's nice and relaxing, and you can sit on the top level and look at the scenery below.

I like that idea since my sister who I am traveling with is 83 yo and very sleight. Do we buy our Coach tickets right there at the Airport? (sorry for milking you but this is very important to us!)

Yes just buy your coach tickets at Heathrow. Fares vary a bit but upcoming departures tonight are between £8.50 and £10.50 per person. Create a free account beforehand at home, then buy on your phone with data or airport wifi when clear of immigration.
There should be a bus every 15 to 30 minutes, unless there has been an accident on the M4 or M25 when they may bunch up. Every bus has come from further afield (none starts at Heathrow) so they empty out on arrival. It would be unbelievably rare for them to be all full.

That way you avoid paying a £1.50 on line transaction charge, or £2 on the machines at Heathrow.

If there was a serious unscheduled issue on the trains most locals know other of numerous ways to get out of Heathrow by other means, so not many will be defaulting to National Express.

PS- Without knowing your travel date we don't know if there is engineering work on the tube but see this list for the next 6 months- https://content.tfl.gov.uk/planned-track-closures.pdf

It is a significantly shorter walk to the hotel from the Coach Station than from the tube station.

The more information you give, the better recommendations we can give.

Since your sister is 83, I'm going to change my suggestion from the tube to the bus. No connections, no lugging of your bags as the driver loads them onto the coach.

If you are comfortable using smartphone apps, National Express has one and you can buy your tickets directly into the app.

Now the question....in which terminal do you arrive? This will affect where you catch the coach at Heathrow. If you aren't sure, just tell us the airline and from where you depart.

Have not yet booked the flight but it will be with KLM. They have the most extra legroom seats at the fairest prices.

KLM uses Terminal 4, and there is a bus station there. Just follow the signs from Arrivals after you get through immigration, and look for the signs for the Coach Station. Just ask someone if you need help finding it.

Keep in mind that it is not a manned station, so you will either need to buy your ticket at the ticket machine there or usd the National Express app that Frank mentioned.

Above and beyond, thanks, guys/gals!!

Just wanted to say I stayed at the Windermere with my two daughters in 2018 and we enjoyed our stay there very much. It is a quiet area but close to Victoria station. There was also a laundry nearby and we had fun doing our laundry and talking to the locals doing their laundry. The breakfast at the hotel was great!

National Express do not run direct to London Victoria from Terminal 4 in the daytime (only overnight at 0327 and 0405).

In the daytime it is an hourly service for a 30 minute ride to Central Bus Station (at Terminals 2 and 3).

Officially you then have a 50 to 60 minute wait at Central Bus Station (CBS) for the connection to Victoria, but in practice most drivers will take you on the next bus after a wait of 15 minutes or less. It ensures a robust connection time.

Saturday departures are at 0510, CBS 0520/0610 Victoria 0710, 0700 CBS 0720/0755 Vic 0850, 0750 CBS 0820/0855 Vic 0950,

then 0855, 0950, 1110, 1200, 1310, 1410, 1600, 1750, 1930 and 2040 (last bus- but there are far, far later buses from CBS, in fact the service runs 24 hours a day).

It very rarely takes the scheduled 55 minutes from CBS to Victoria. I'm well used to that being 35 to 40 minutes even in heavy peak traffic, it's padding against all likely eventualities to ensure adequate driver rest time at Victoria.

The initial bus from Terminal 4 to CBS is to somewhere further afield- like Swansea, Cardiff, Leeds or Derby, maybe other places.

Wow, 2 buses. Seems like a lot to bite off. Same as the subway I guess, ie., a change in trains (buses).

We have not finalized our airfare, there has been some movement in prices. What if we were to arrive on a Friday instead of a Saturday, would there just then be the one bus to contend with? TIA....Ken

No. Terminal 4 to Victoria is always 2 buses with the change at Central Bus Station change except those two direct trips in the wee small hours of the morning. It's just the timings which are very slightly different on a weekday or a Sunday, but the same basic service level.

Whether that swings you back to using the 'subway' [Tube/Underground] is for you to decide. Assuming trains are running the cross platform change between trains is easy.

Or indeed maybe it determines which airline you use- one which arrives at Terminals 2,3 or 5 (direct buses to Victoria run from Terminal 5).

Terminal 4 is always kind of a pain to get to and from compared to the other terminals. If you have a choice of airline and cost etc are relatively the same I would choose ones that to go terminals 2, 3, or 5 (1 no longer being open).

OK, got it.

I just booked it. It is on KLM. I got the best deal I could get through them.

So does KLM always go to Terminal 4? Too bad for us if that is the case it appears. Yeah, will have to decide on whether to do the bus or the Tube. Is the Tube a good distance from Terminal 4?

One note about the lingo...."Subway" in the UK is an underground passage or a sandwich shop. Not a mode of transportation.

Another small note about timing....taking the underground from Terminal 4 to Victoria will take about one hour. Taking the coach between one hour and 40 minutes to 2 hours and 10 minutes.

As I stated previously, the transfer between underground trains is about 10 feet. The walk from Victoria to your hotel is pretty flat.

Since the tube train from T4 goes next to T2 & T3 (same stop), you should easily be able to get a seat for your journey to either Hammersmith or Barons Court. I can't promise that for the short ride on the District line to Victoria.

Perhaps rethink the tube as your expected way and have the coach as a backup.

I think we have it then. The UNDERGROUND will be our choice. Thanks for putting the time and effort into your responses. My sister is 83 as I noted and I am 72 so we will go about it as best we can. I have been to Europe many times, but usually with my wife who is foregoing this trip. Wish us luck on March 2 when we land and begin our adventure to our hotel.

Are you flying from the US to Heathrow? Just want to highlight that KLM does not fly direct from North America to Heathrow.

So, unless you're flying via Amsterdam, you may well be on a partner airline that uses a different terminal.

We flew into Heathrow last Summer and had to get to our hotel near Victoria Station. Based on what I read in this forum, we went to the National Express bus station.
There were supposed to be two busses to VS every hour. That wasn't the case when we arrived. Our bus (named on our ticket purchased at Heathrow) wasn't there and no the next bus scheduled was an hour away.
45 minutes later:
After the electronic board showed a bus to our location we when to the gate where there was a bus. After 10 minutes, I was able to talk to the bus driver. He said to check with someone inside the terminal. I finally found a person and she said two busses had been cancelled to VS.
Eventually, a bus showed up on the board and we check it, and yes, we made it to VS.
It was so frustrating, that my wife told me that we were doing a taxi when we had to return to Heathrow.
We did that and it was $150. That is the most expensive taxi we have ever take.
Taking the underground, NOT, we are in our late 70s and can't drag luggage around.

ramblin, yeah, we are one stopping it into Amsterdam. Then on to Heathrow. which is also on KLM, not a partner as they inform us now, at least. So, does this still keep the Terminal 4 intact?

geo, interesting story, sorry you had to go through all that. But I think we are settling on the underground. I can pull my sister's luggage if need be. As I said, we are 72 and 83, but are up to the challenge (easy for us to say now lol).

Yes if it's the hop over from Amsterdam, then all KLM flights use Terminal 4.

I just checked to see if they flew into Gatwick, which might have been easier, but no they don't.

I wonder if KLM to London City might have been preferable, then what should be a much less expensive cab ride (or DLR/District Line via West Ham- a station with plentiful escalators and lifts/elevators).

But that's after the fact now.

Right about it being after the fact. As far as the rate goes on the underground, do you buy a ticket or just present your credit card at the turnstyle?

You can just use a contactless card - you both need one or one of you can use a card and another phone or watch pay. Either the system checks all your daily journeys on bus and tube and works out the cheapest total fare for you.

to be clear - you each need a different payment method. You can use debit or credit cards - probably not Discover - in one of various methods, the contactless card with the wave logo, or that card loaded on an Apple Phone wallet or Android, or a linked Fitbit, Apple Watch or android equiv., or an Oyster card (costs £10 before you put any credit on it and you never get that £10 back), or a paper ticket.

Everything except the paper ticket is tap in and tap out on the Tube and rail, only tap in on buses and trams. They are also usable on the cable car over the Thames and on riverboats but on those they don't apply the daily caps.

Use the same method to tap in and tap out all day and you won't pay more than the daily limit all day no matter how many trips. Do the same for both of you with different methods each, and you both take advantage of the cap.

Paper tickets have no such cap, are individual and are MUCH more expensive than Oyster or contactless.