Traveling to Manchester then to London.. first time traveler...

I land at 11:30am. I was thinking of booking my ticket this week maybe but I am not sure around what time will be good.

Most people use www.nationalrail.co.uk to find the times and schedules for trains in Britain. On a longer journey - such as London (Euston) to Manchester, you should pre-book - ideally about 11 weeks ahead for the cheapest fares. So, as your trip is imminent, you should pre-book a specific train as soon as possible - and that includes one coming back to London. Your train from London to Manchester will be operated by Virgin - so, best to pre-book direct on their website:>https://www.virgintrains.co.uk

You will be asked for your Debit Card number and they will give you a booking reference number. You use this to get your tickets from a machine - and you must also insert the SAME card into the machine. Alternatively, go to the ticket office at Euston with your ticket and they will issue the tickets. (I am not sure if you will have a print yourself option when you pre-purchase the tickets).

Pay on the day to use the train from Heathrow into London (Paddington). I think* you can purchase a through ticket Heathrow to Euston > which will include the tube (underground) between Paddington station and Euston station. * Perhaps someone will correct me if I am wrong?
Here is the ’Virgin’ journey in reverse to give you some idea of what to expect:>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_c4ueDzZJc

The route I was going to take was take the Piccadilly line from Heathrow airport, all the way to King's Cross St. Pancras (unless there is no stop there) then walk to the Euston stop. Unless it would be best to take a train from Heathrow straight to Euston station.. My return ticket from Manchester to London was booked by my friend which we will be riding back to London together.. I will be meeting my friend a day after arrive.

Your travel plans to Euston are good. There is no direct train from Heathrow to Euston, so don’t faff about catching the Heathrow Express to Paddington. Tube to Kings Cross St P is the way I’d do it, if I could manage my luggage for a 5/10 minute walk. It’s a direct trip from Heathrow to Kings Cross St P on the Piccadilly line, and the tube will always stop there. The actual journey takes about an hour.

Euston Road is a very busy road (both traffic and pedestrians) but plenty of people to ask for directions. Euston is well signposted from Kings Cross/St Pancras. Just turn right, pass the British Library and stay on that side of the road. The one thing that can catch you out about Euston is it’s set back from the road. You get to a grassy area with buses behind it, and Euston is the big 60s building set back behind that.

If you pre-book your ticket, those called Advance (capital A) are the cheapest but must be used on that exact train. You can book a seat (recommended on this route). If you miss the train you’ll have to buy a whole new full-price ticket for the next train.

The next price up is usually Off-Peak, and your travel time should allow you to catch one of these - but if you go online now to the recommended site above, you can check which trains this price ticket applies to. You CAN buy an off-peak ticket on the day but I’d recommend pre-booking and then you get the opportunity to book a seat on the train you think you’re likely to catch. If you’re on an Off-Peak ticket, it doesn’t matter if you then miss that train - you can catch the next allowed train - but of course you’ll have to take your chances in an unbooked seat.

A few more hints about Euston: there’s a big busy concourse with a big overhead departures board. Trains are listed by their departure time and the final destination - this will generally be Manchester Piccadilly for you. They don’t usually announce the platforms until about 10, 15 minutes before departure and then there’s a big rush as people try to get on the train as quickly as possible. Many of them won’t have booked seats.

If you have a seat booking, walk along the platform until you find your carriage (it will be a letter) then find your numbered seat. If someone else has grabbed it, ask them politely to move. If you don’t have a seat booking on that particular train, then you need to take note of a little diagram at the bottom of the departure board, which shows how many booked seats there are in each carriage. Choose one that’s relatively empty (or often there’s a carriage called U, for unbooked) for your best chance of a seat. Seats will be marked either “reserved” or “available” on an electronic display.

Larger luggage goes in the luggage racks at the end of middle of your carriage. People are happy to leave their suitcases there without supervision and theft is very rare. However don’t leave anything that looks like a laptop bag - put that on the smaller luggage rack overhead or squish it by your feet.

You’ll be travelling in the middle of the day so it won’t be as manic as rush hour, and people are VERY helpful if you ask them nicely. I tend to look a bit mardy on trains but would very happily help a confused traveller.

Give yourself time to buy a snack before getting on the train - you can take your own food & drink. There’s a Pret and an M&S at Euston, both highly recommended for buying a train picnic.

Standard class is perfectly comfortable on this route.

Above all else, enjoy yourself. You’ll feel stressed but once you’ve done it you’ll feel a tremendous sense of achievement. And Manchester is a fab city.

You could also check a routing via Sheffield.
It would be longer in time but likely cheaper and it's pretty scenic as it passes through the Peak National Park on its Sheff- Manchester leg

Hold on: Why not fly to Manchester? Wherever you are coming from, you can use a multi-city search function to find a route into Manchester and home from London. You probably will change planes in London requiring a couple of hours for the transfer. And the second flight will land on the outskirts of Manchester rather than you stepping off the train downtown. Even so, the total cost will probably be the same and less stressful than sorting out the British Rail system. For one thing, making the connection is the airline's responsibility rather than you worrying about catching trains.

I wasn't going to say anything because you asked about trains...but I agree with Southam, particularly if you haven't ordered your tickets so it can be one ticket. Family has regularly taken the Boston-Heathrow-Manchester route via BA (in our cases) and it works well. Quicker and less hassle than getting to the train (and I love trains so it kind of hurts me to say that). The train makes for a long, jet-lagged day.

Actually I purchased my plane tickets a while ago, I did have the thought of flying to Manchester then flying out in London but at that time the prices weren't as good. I also looked up and somehow saw if i purchase a one-way ticket on the tube and my train ticket it's affordable.

I will also be purchasing an oyster-card for my stay in London to get around. This trip came to me on a last minute basis and it is such a struggle to plan things.

I'm guessing that if Kim is traveling next week it is likely that the airfare is already bought so adding a leg to Manchester will either be very inconvenient or very expensive or both.

When you take the Tube from Heathrow to Kings Cross St Pancras your price will be valid to any station in Zone 1. That includes Euston, so there is really no need to walk to Euston. You can change trains at Leicester Square to the Northern Line to Euston, or at Green Park to the Victoria Line to Euston (go all the way up and back down rather than following the rabbit warren at Green Park). Or you can change at Kings Cross St Pancras to the either the Northern Line or Victoria Line to Euston, but you are backtracking. I'd change at Leicester Square or Green Park for a faster journey and not particularly difficult connection.

Alright I purchased an off-peak ticket, for this ticket does it mean I can take the train anytime? like if i arrive early to the train station or later?

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

ah man. I bought my off-peak for 1500.. hopefully I arrive earlier than that time.