Taking coach from Heathrow T5 to Reading then rail to final destination Bath

This is pretty confusing.

There is no National Express bus to Reading direct. That route is operated by the Rail Link coach- https://www.railair.com/

But that bus does not go to Slough- which is a local citybus route.

You can buy a ticket ahead on the website for a timed service, but it is valid on any departure that day.

There are 4 National Express coaches to Reading from T5 but all go into London first, then drop you at a Park and Ride site on the south edge of Reading, after taking almost 4 hours to get there, so makes no sense

Is Reading where you are trying to get to? or is that just an interim stop to your final destination (ie: to catch a train at Reading station)

Is it Slough you want to go to? If so, it;'s far easier and quicker to take the train. You can get the Elizabeth Line to Hayes and Harlington and change there for a train to Slough. The whole journey will take 20 minutes and you can pay with your contactless cards, no need for a ticket. Trains from T5 are every 30 minutes.

perhaps this is a prelude to a connection to Windsor or maybe to Bath? Or are you trying to get to Salisbury?

what are you trying to accomplish pdcorlis?

Thanks to all your for help! Our final destination is Bath. In the past we have gone from Heathrow T5 to Reading by coach, then on to Bath via rail. My apologies for any confusion.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion on the coach provider - Rail Air it is then!

As we are arriving from the states to Terminal 5 we won’t have any pounds sterling in hand - so using a contactless Visa card seems to make the most sense - but thanks for the suggestion to book online with Rail Air.

Any further help anyone can provide is appreciated!

I personally find the coach station at terminal 5 is not very user friendly. It is difficult to figure out exactly where you should wait for your bus. I like the main coach terminal at Heathrow better, but that is just my personal preference.

National Express has ticket machines just inside the building at terminal 5 and there is no manned ticket booth. I am unsure about railair.

Have you considered just taking a coach the entire way to Bath? There are direct buses from Heathrow.

The UK is an increasingly cashless society. Your card will work well and be the preferred payment method.

There are 4 ways to get from Heathrow to Bath by public transport.
1. The direct coach is probably the least hassle, but the negative is that's it's not too frequent so you may end up waiting a while. Make sure you avoid the coach that goes to Bristol first.
2. The Rail/Air coach to reading and then train.
3. Train to Paddington, either Heathrow Express, quick but very expensive unless bought several months in advance, or the new Elizabeth Line, a bit slower but quite a lot cheaper. Then train to Bath
4.Elizabeth Line to Hayes & Harlington, change for train to Reading and then to Bath.
My view would be that 1 is best, unless it's a long wait. In that case I would go with 4.

Over recent years the Railair coach has reduced its frequency and become significantly more expensive, particularly for one way trips. Probably both a result of the shortage of drivers. Whatever, this has pushed it somewhat down the relative desirability ratings for this journey, even from T5 where it is the most competitive from a timing perspective.

If you do choose this route, you can still buy tickets from the driver.

I just wouldn't consider a coach for this, even direct. Train every time

Flixbus has started doing London-Reading via Heathrow on its Victoria to Bristol. It’ll be a lot cheaper than National Express.

I see Flixbus dump up at Mereoak park and ride at Reading as well, not much use for connecting to anywhere else.

The Heathrow service appears to go to the University only at 0050.