My wife and I are picking up a car in Oxford in late August and dropping it off at the same location 9 days later and at that point we'll need to bus to Heathrow. It appears there are several bus choices. Any suggestions? I'm also wondering if we need to buy tickets ahead of time or the day we drop the car. Finally, we are actually staying at the Hyatt near the airport and flying out the next morning so I'm assuming we'll have to catch a cab back to the hotel.
Posted by
11606 posts
Can’t you return the car to LHR?
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
There are fewer choice than you may think. National Express appear to sell Oxford-Heathrow, but they are actually reselling the Oxford Bus Company. The coach is relatively expensive for a single at £23.
Bus to the Hyatt is the U3 from Heathrow Central.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
How is the drive from Oxford to Heathrow? Is it well marked. I’d been thinking I’d avoid the drive but it may well be easier than hassling with getting on a bus.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Oxford to Heathrow is motorway all the way, M40 towards London and then south on the M25 to Heathrow. Exactly what you do after that depends on where the car hire return is, Heathrow is complicated. The problem is traffic, especially on the M25. Not for nothing is it known as the longest car park in the World.
Posted by
USA
281 posts
Looks like this is the link for that Oxford Bus
https://airline.oxfordbus.co.uk/heathrow/
It DOES make me wonder why they go to Lewknor.
I've been over that way before, and even the map doesn't show much more than a fabric store and a church.
Maybe there's a sight that's not on the map?
Hmmm.
:)
-Alison
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
The link Alison supplied above is for a good bus service that we took a couple of years ago from LHR to Oxford. Frequent, easy, affordable. I'd take that bus rather than drive through the traffic to the airport. We got our tickets in advance but there was plenty of room on the bus and they ran often, so you'd probably be OK without advance purchase. The advance purchase still left us free to take any bus within a generous time window.
As for getting between your hotel and the airport, you may not need a cab. The LHR website has information about shuttles, and so should your hotel's website. The bus from Oxford stops at several terminals.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
In case it really isn't clear, the coaches to London / Heathrow stop at Lewknor as the last place before the M40, mainly to serve Thame and Aylesbury nearby. Causes a lot of parking problems around the neighbourhood, although as the company says 'we strongly recommend passengers travel to the stop by taxi or have family and friends drop them off'.