Train from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Cambridge

You cannot go from Heathrow terminal 5 directly to Cambridge. The trains from Heathrow terminal 5 only go to London Paddington station. You have to do it in 3 steps:

• Heathrow terminal 5 to London Paddington (~15 minutes).
• Underground circle line from Paddington to Kings Cross (~20 minutes).
• London Kings Cross to Cambridge (~60 minutes).

This is one of the few times I would recommend a coach. Despite the potential for traffic problems, it's much less hassle than taking the Underground or train into central London and changing. There are frequent direct coaches that you can book in advance at www.nationalexpress.com.

after.school, at the risk of sounding pedantic (and you may or may not be North American, but this is one of those British English vs. American English things), the "coach" Philip is referring to is what Americans would call a bus, and not a person to lead you and help you achieve your best, although the 3 people above would all qualify as that :-)

In England, a "bus" is one of those double-decker vehicles you find in the cities, but which seldom venture between cities.

A bus is not necessarily double-decker. The difference is a coach is long distance, It is a totally different style of vehicle.

Coaches between Heathrow and Cambridge are also connections to Luton and Stansted airports enroute. The ones routed via Stansted are quicker by up to an hour.

Just to be even more pedantic and nerdy, I would point out that there are also double-deck coaches. The main difference between a bus and a coach in Britain is that a bus is a local means of transport with frequent stops and upright seating. A coach is long-distance, usually booked in advance, and with more comfortable seating.

For those who worry about such things, both are safe.

And yet, with airplanes, "coach" is the most cramped, least comfortable section of the plane ;-)

If you are traveling with a BritRail Pass, then it covers all the trains including the Heathrow Express (otherwise about $30) but does not cover bus or Tube. The cheapest passes that reach to Cambridge include the BritRail England (from $176 for 3 consecutive days) and the BritRail London Plus (from $194 for 3 days in a month) passes. If your only other train trip is a return Cambridge-London, then just buy train tickets in the station, but book as a roundtrip to get a discount.

"And yet, with airplanes, "coach" is the most cramped, least comfortable section of the plane ;-)"

In the UK that would be "tourist", economy or 2nd class.

And yet, if you are travelling by train, the vehicles that make up the train, in which you sit, is called a "coach" or a "carriage"! Some coaches are first class, some are second.
Isn't English a confusing language.

Thank you to all for your helpful responses. We still have not quite figured out how we will get from the airport to Cambridge. We will arrive after a 9 hour flight and I was hoping for less travel and not more. I had thought of spending one night in London, but I'm not sure how long it would take to get there.

My next question, if anyone has advice, is to find a bed and breakfast either in Cambridge proper or outside of Cambridge

Thank you

We were facing a similar situation but to go south to Dorset. Originally I thought we would need to go to London overnight (after a 9 hour flight as well) but was delighted to find out how extensive the long distance coach services are from Heathrow to beyond. Do some more research as you may find you can take a coach directly from Heathrow as we learned and we will get to Dorset from T5 in about the same time it would have taken us to get to a hotel near Waterloo Station.