Travelling to Bath from Heathrow for July tour

Someone once joked that one can't get to Bath from Heathrow -- one has to go somewhere else and start over. That's not far from the truth. Depending on the number of people in your party, it might be just as inexpensive to hire a private car service or perhaps just a little bit more. After a long flight, some jet lag, not being familiar with the area, there is nothing better than having your private driver meet you inside the terminal and whisk you to your hotel. It is not the cheapest way, but it is definitely the best. You can do a google search and come up with lots of companies. Or, you might want to email your hotel and ask if they have a car service they would recommend, or see if folks on the forum have a recommendation. We've not used one to go from Heathrow to Bath, but have done so in lots of other places and the convenience is often worth the extra cost. Do a cost comparison and see what you think.

Here's the previous poster, who asked about two days ago:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/travel-from-heathrow-to-bath

For my wife and I, we hired a Blacklane car from Heathrow to Maidenhead (our first stop) and then trained from Maidenhead to Bath. Easy. Costly, but easy.

Hi Cheryl,

We are signed up for the Best of England tour starting July 10, but will be arriving in England on July 8. Which tour are you on?

I asked the same question in this forum a while ago. I got several different answers, and am still mulling my options. I originally thought Heathrow Express to Paddington then a train to Bath, but that's expensive and involves serious backtracking. Now I'm leaning towards taking a bus to Reading and getting on the train there. I prefer trains to buses.

We are going in mid May. Taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington then the train to Bath. The Express is reasonable if you book 30 days in advance. Probably just going to buy a ticket at Paddington in case our flight is delayed. Transit time should be less than the bus and some of those time are pretty long. Also can get something to eat at Paddington and get our bearings.

If starting from Terminal 5 it is quicker as well as cheaper to take the coach to Reading and pick the train up there. From terminals 2/3 the time is a wash but the cost is less. There are various cafes at Reading Station as well as shops.

We are planning a lengthy drive tour of England and Wales and will rent a car at Heathrow on arrival, then drive to Bath for our first night. I have driven before on the left in that part of England and confident that I can safely drive even after a transatlantic flight.

Thankyou all We decided to stay in London overnight (part of airfare on Travelocity) Will catch train into London then catch train from Paddington to Bath next morning July 17th to commence tour in Bath that evening.
Thank you

cheryl,

I realize you've decided to spend one night in London, but just wanted to mention one other option. National Express has a station at Heathrow, and you can go directly from there to Bath in about 2 hours. I haven't checked the current schedules, so don't know how many departures they have.