Good morning everyone!
My Air Canada flight is scheduled to arrive at 6:30 AM at Heathrow. I'm well aware that many factors can affect the processing time at customs, but is it fair to assume I will be through by 11:00AM?
I'm to take the train to Canterbury. I was thinking of purchasing my train ticket in advance. I was nervous that there would not be any left, but I'm starting to think that's just my anxiety speaking.
Do you believe it will be OK for me to buy my ticket to Canterbury at the station on the day of my arrival? Rather than stressing about customs time to purchase an advance ticket?
Thank you!
Posted by
107 posts
Train tickets don’t sell out. Cheap train tickets do. If you buy an advance ticket you are tied to a particular train. Cheaper tickets tend to be on sale around 12 weeks out (although some TOCs are all over the place with these timescales atm). I just compared tickets from St Pancras for today and for mid July. The difference is around £20. In the great scheme of things I would pay the extra and not have any stress, personally.
Posted by
Portsmouth
5291 posts
My Air Canada flight is scheduled to arrive at 6:30 AM at Heathrow. I'm well aware that many factors can affect the processing time at customs, but is it fair to assume I will be through by 11:00AM?
I'd be incredibly surprised if you weren't. In all my times at arriving at Heathrow I've never experienced anything near 4 1/2 hours transition time. The only thing that would likely generate such a significant delay would be an issue with your flight departure.
Posted by
Land of La
8710 posts
If it takes nearly 5 hours for you to deplane and go through immigration I would be stunned.
Are you believing that you can train from LHR to Canterbury?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32894 posts
To pick up on Claudia's question, are you referring to a trip before or after the 24th (we hope) of May?
No direct trains connect Heathrow and Canterbury. There are fast trains from St Pancras International and slow trains from Victoria stations, and there are no trains to either of those main stations from Heathrow.
You can take a direct tube train about 55 minutes to Kings Cross - St Pancras where you go upstairs and get the train to Canterbury, using the same tracks as the Eurostar, or less conveniently changing tube trains at Hammersmith or Barons Court to Victoria where you go upstairs for the slow train to Canterbury. Or others from Charing Cross.
What's most important to you - money, time, or more straightforward? I take it that this is to join a RS Tour?
Posted by
Washington DC
27207 posts
For such a small additional amount, I'd buy on the day of arrival, because I wouldn't want to risk needing to cool my heels for hours, waiting for a conservatively-chosen departure time after spending all night on a plane. Also, the odds are good that you won't need anything like five hours, but it's impossible to be sure.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you everyone for the replies. I will buy on the day. I was aware there were no direct trains, but thank you for clarifying the different options. I don’ T want to buy a ticket for 11:00 AM when I could be leaving at 9:30 or what have you.
Thank you again, I’m so excited for my trip I think I will cry when I land, haha!
Posted by
Chicago
1326 posts
I just went through U.K. immigration at Heathrow today, it was all through the electronic gates. It scans your passport, takes your photo and let you in. Didn’t even talk to an officer and took longer to walk to immigration than it did to hon through the process.
Of course, we’ve all learned things are subject to change, but that was my experience with a USA passport today.