Rental Car Return and Last afternoon/Evening Hotel before next day Heathrow Flight

Looking at picking the car up after breakfast close to our last hotel (make sense?) which is near Lambeth Bridge (looks like nearest Avis location is 10-12 Semley Place)

Bob, no, that doesn't make sense. I made the mistake once of driving in London and would NEVER do it again! I would suggest (especially since you are flying out of Heathrow) that you pick up your rental car at LHR and then return it at the same place. There is a slightly higher fee for airport pickups, but if you picked it up someplace else, there will be an even larger fee. Plus you would have the stress of driving it in the city. And possibly pay an extra "congestion fee" for that.

There are plenty of hotels at Heathrow. You could drop off your car, then just get over to your hotel and have a comfortable and relaxing evening there. Then you can walk over the next morning to catch your flight. I'm doing that next year--staying at the Holiday Inn Express at Terminal 4 so that I can catch an early morning flight.

Mardee’s right, it’s a much better idea to pick up your car from Heathrow. You really do not want to drive in London, you’ll be driving on the left, the roads are extremely congested, London drivers are impatient, the routes confusing, and you’d have to pay the congestion charge. Much better to take the Tube out to Heathrow, collect your car and then get straight onto the M4 motorway to go west to Stow.
Depending on what time you return to Heathrow after your travels, if you stay at a hotel at your terminal, you can hand back your car and then take the Tube back to London, maybe to go back to an area you liked on your tour or perhaps a new discovery.

If your flight is at 1305, you want to be at the airport by 1000 for check in. So it just makes sense to stay at Heathrow and have a leisurely breakfast then a stroll to your flight. But with the Tube and the Elizabeth Line if you wanted to go into London on the evening of 8 June and then back to Heathrow to sleep that is easy.

You don't give your hotel budget to judge what "pricey" is to you. But for instance the Premier Inn Terminal 4 is available for £80 that night. From T4 to T2 it is but a short, frequent, free train ride. The T2/3 PI (also £80) is a short way off site on the Bath Road- a short bus ride back to Central Bus Station for Terminal 2. All in all T4 PI looks the best option of the various PI's at Heathrow.

Mardee's HIE T4 is £99 but that rate includes breakfast- at PI that is an extra £10 each, so price wise it's basically the same price.

Your flight out of LHR is late enough for you to return your car that morning. Stay in London overnight.

Suki, if he didn't return his car till the last morning, he would have to drive in London. I wouldn't recommend that for anyone not used to London traffic, plus there's the fee they charge for driving in the city.

If he wants to spend some time in London, as Amanda and Stuart pointed out, he could return the car at Heathrow the day before, then take the tube into the city for a last fling. :)

If we do stay at/near the airport (suggestions?) would it make sense to catch a transit to a different location to spend our last afternoon/evening rather than an airport area

Windsor is often suggested as somewhere relatively close to LHR where you can spend your remaining time in a more pleasant environment than an airport hotel.

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Windsor+lhr&utf8=%E2%9C%93

We always rent and return at Heathrow. We return the car the day before departure, take the tube into town, and spend the night. We then take the tube to the airport in the morning. We take the tube since we stay at hotels near the Piccadilly Line’s Gloucester Rd. Station.

Have you looked at a map? Stow-on-the-Wold to Dover is a 3 hour drive on very busy roads and when you get there it’s a dreary place apart from the castle. You can’t very easily see the white cliffs if that’s why you’re going. Brighton’s beach is all pebbles and is poor in my view.

I’m sure there will be a better plan but what are your interests?

Stow-on-the-Wold to Dover is a 3 hour drive on very busy roads and when you get there it’s a dreary place apart from the castle.

agreed with the sentiment, but I think you would be lucky to make the drive in 3 hours. There is first getting out of the Cotswolds, then do you pick M4 or M40? Problems either side, but the A40 towards Oxford is very difficult with road works (incessant) for the moment with delays as high as 45 minutes (perhaps Marco will chip in if things have improved).

Then once you have made it around the London Orbital Car Park (the M25) you will come upon Operation Brock in Kent. That is where, due to Brexit and all the delays on trucking crossing the Channel, government have split the coast-bound carriageway into a 15 mph half for trucks, including inspection area, and 50 mph for non-trucks, speed averaging cameras controlled for many miles, and a contraflow. A royal pain in the neck.

Bottom line, allow plenty of time.

Parking in Brighton can be a challenge.

I think the second part of your trip needs a rethink. Dover is a grimy unattractive town, although the castle is great.

Brighton (it’s not Brighton Beach although there is a beach there) is a mix of hipster/gay shops/cafes and a long pebble beach that isn’t all that nice. Brighton is a big blousy place that attracts day trippers from London mostly due to the proximity. The Royal Pavilion is fun but the city is big and busy and tricky to drive/park in.

Portsmouth has the excellent naval heritage and a long pebble beach that is pretty much just as good/bad as Brighton’s, but a lot easier to drive to/park at (Southsea is the name of the seaside bit of Portsmouth).

Driving from Dover to Brighton to Portsmouth would have you on very busy unattractive roads. Sometimes I’ve seen posts from potential tourists who assume there’s an attractive coast road. No, there isn’t.

I’m not sure your thinking behind the pick of Dover, Portsmouth and Brighton - but if I were in the Cotswolds and wanted to see the coast, I’d head down to lovely Dorset. Or maybe start with Portsmouth for its naval heritage (if that’s your interest) and then maybe head west into the New Forest and beyond, or if the coast isn’t your main interest, up to Winchester.

Anyway, it feels like I’ve thoroughly dissed your suggestions, but honestly a road trip linking Stow on the Wold to Dover, Brighton and Portsmouth would be one long ugly traffic jam.

Brighton has some things going for it like the Lanes shopping area but a lot of it is surprisingly tatty and run down for a city that is so expensive to live in. If the weather is bad it can look completely awful on the sea front. My brother lives nearby so I visit fairly regularly and so much about it is more disappointing than you expect it to be. I’m thinking of Hove Lagoon which is a total dump and the newish Shelter Hall food hall on the front which has the worst toilets I’ve ever experienced in a restaurant setting.

Dorset would be a much nicer coastal area to explore.

I can see that we have some cultural differences popping up in the idea of what makes a long drive. I also thought that the OP was talking about driving a circuit over the course of several days.

I like the idea of both renting and returning at Heathrow. I’ve stayed at hotels attached to both terminal 5 and terminal 4 and it does make departure fairly straightforward in the morning.

I can see that we have some cultural differences popping up in the idea of what makes a long drive. I also thought that the OP was talking about driving a circuit over the course of several days.

I understand he’s talking about a circuit over a few days. I’m just trying to steer him to some more attractive places and nicer roads to spend those few days!

For me, the current plan means frustrating driving on some of the country’s busiest roads to get to some places that might not be as attractive or interesting as he hopes for.

Wow, what a wealth of information. Thank you so much for all the input, RS forum is the best!
I booked the Holiday Inn Express at T4 for our last night. Love the idea of no rush the morning of our flight and yet able to take the Tube somewhere that afternoon/evening. Did some diligence (probably more than I should have) checking rental car prices per RS, definitely a big difference dependent on where you pick up the car. Haven’t reserved yet but putting a huge amount of weight on the forum’s advice.
Did not expect such great input on our idea of driving around in the southern area. Past Stow, that part of the plan has not been thought out yet, places I noted are ideas and I neglected to list them in any sequence of the drive. Looking at the map it makes more sense to head down to Dorset (great suggestion) and then continue our travel before heading back up to Heathrow for the return. Because RS has a tour dedicated to South England, Golden Girl was right, we were thinking that there’s an attractive coast road. Still a lot more work we need to do for this portion, especially after such great input. We have 8 full days, one taken to get to Cotswold, one in Cotswold, the rest is still open. Had no idea there would be so much traffic issues outside of London, was thinking we would be on nice peaceful country roads.

Because RS has a tour dedicated to South England, Golden Girl was right, we were thinking that there’s an attractive coast road.

To be fair, there are some attractive coast roads - the B-road between Bridport and Weymouth in Dorset is a stunner.

There is a lot to love in the South East of England (the part you were talking about) and you could meander through some pretty towns and villages if you came off the main roads, and had a lot of time to spare, but it’s also very heavily populated, and Dover and Brighton are two of the more congested places to get to.

Re driving times. America was built for the car. Your roads are generally pretty easy to drive on. It’s not like that here. Very few people here would be relishing a 3 hour drive. You’re likely to hit bad traffic at some point and it just requires quite a lot more concentration because the roads are either very busy, or if on rural roads you’re constantly going through towns and villages with varying speed limits.

So, Bob is staying in HIEx 4 but flying from Terminal 2.

In May, we expect to be flying from Terminal 5 with BA to San Francisco en route to Seattle. I splurged and booked a room at the Sofitel because it seems we're uptight until we make it to a terminal to leave. However, I'm wondering if we should stay at the Holiday Inn Express 4 (which seems to be almost as close as Terminal 5 HI Ex, but maybe nicer?) and find the best way to the terminal. (and deal with anxiety about uber or bus being timely)

Could someone please explain the "Heathrow Express Train" and how easily one gets to terminals other than Terminal 4, if staying at HI Ex term 4? I'm guessing Uber would be about 20 pounds with tip.

Thanks,
Cheryl

The Soffitel is a walk down an enclosed hallway from terminal 5. In is the most convenient, but also the most expensive.

You can move between terminals for free using The Heathrow Express or the Tube. I imagine the Elizabeth Line may be in the mix here, but I have not used it. When you approach the entrance to either the tube or the Heathrow express, you will see ticket machines. One of those machines will be marked for free tickets to transfer between terminals. Get a ticket and use it in the gate. Ride to the next terminal and exit.

The last time I was at LHR (July), they had workers at key points in the transportation process to answer questions and assist travelers.

Thank you, Carol.