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Question about Private Driver Heathrow-Bath

Posted by (New York ) on

Mom and I will be arriving at Heathrow on 8/23 in the morning and heading directly to Bath. I had planned to purchase National Express tickets from Heathrow to Bath and then take a taxi from Bath to our AirBnB, but I left it too late and the cost for each bus ticket is 50 pounds, plus whatever the cost is from the bus station in Bath to our AirBnB; maybe 110-120 pounds when all is said and done. Through Roman Bath Private Hire, we can hire a car/driver to pick us up at the airport and drop us at our AirBnB in Bath for 135 pounds. I’ve always done buses/trains, but since I’m looking for the least amount of movement with luggage because I’m with Mom and she has a bad back, I’m thinking of “splurging” this time, since the cost is so close. I looked into Megabus, but they don’t go to Bath and we would probably have to get off in Bristol and get a taxi or another bus to Bath (more movement with luggage).

Does anyone have experience with Roman Bath Private Hire is my first question and my second is, if you hire a car like this, are you expected to tip? And if so, how much?

Thanks in advance for any advice...

Posted by
18 posts

We used Celtic Horizon, it was the best way to get from Heathrow to Bath and Neil was extremely helpful.

Posted by
5183 posts

Kristen, we've not used that particular car service, however we've taken many car services in different locations and our experience has been that using a service based in the destination city works well as they always seem to know "the best way home". We used one based in Bath to go to the Bristol airport and would not hesitate to use them from Heathrow to Bath. The web site is chauffertravel.co.uk and the email address is [email protected]. We sent an email detailing our needs and had a reply within 24 hours. Not sure about the price since we didn't actually take that trip, but, as you found, the price will be close to that of the bus and / or train. The convivence of door to door service is a small luxury we feel is well worth the price difference.

Posted by
521 posts

Thanks so much for the recommendations. I’m still interested in hearing what we should tip, if anyone can answer that... I’ve seen on the forum that people usually round up for taxis, but since this is a much longer ride and much more expensive than an in-town taxi ride, I was wondering what is appropriate.

Posted by
5453 posts

There is never an obligation to tip. If you think the driver has been particularly good or helpful it is up to you whether you want to give him or her a little extra.

Posted by
5536 posts

There's no need to tip. The price quoted is the price you pay. The driver is earning a living, he's worked out his costs to enable that. You're paying him to take you from A to B, what would you be tipping him for?

If he does something above and beyond what would be expected such as take your luggage and haul it up a flight of stairs for you then I'd probably consider a few pounds but if all he's doing is taking your luggage out of the boot (most only do that so that less careful passengers don't scratch the car) and leaving it there (some won't even leave their seat) then there is absolutely no reason to give a tip. He wouldn't expect one from a local but they might be anticipating one from an American, don't feel obliged.

Posted by
5183 posts

Agree completely with Marco and JC. If the driver does a something extra then perhaps a rounding up as one would for a taxi would be justified, but nothing more.

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