When arriving at Heathrow (10:45 a.m.) and connecting to Bath by National Express Bus, is it best to have advance reservations -assuming there is no delay going through customs- or purchase tickets upon arrival at the bus station?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33832 posts
This hasn't attracted any other answers and I don't have a perfect answer but I would expect National Express can be turn up and go, there may be discounts but I know not. Any body done the LHR- Bath NX coach who can help Kyle? "Bump"
Posted by
Orlando, FL, United States
1 posts
I had this exact same issue and purchased the advanced tickets online, saving a few dollars. But then, as fate would have it, we were delayed by 5 minutes, the bus left, we hopped on another and they made us buy new tickets. So, I ended up paying double. I am returning to London later this fall and will not be buying any bus/train tickets in advance. It is not worth the savings and tickets are so easy to purchase and readily available. Live and learn! Best of luck and have a great trip!
Posted by
London
291 posts
At airports, the National Express buses to Bath are flexible. When you book a ticket on-line and get an eticket you a particular schedule and you have a reserved seat on that bus. If your flight is early or late you can normally get on the first bus that comes along subject to seat availability. In the reverse direct (i.e. departures not at airports) if you are late for your bus you lose your ticket. This is stated on the web site and is part of the terms and conditions of your ticket so the person above has been 'done' being asked to pay more. You can also buy a tickets at the ticket office at Heathrow, but promotional fares are often just on-line, though there are few discounted tickets from Heathrow. The big advantage is that you have a guaranteed seat in the unlikely event the bus is full (the buses don't start at Heathrow but Central London or Gatwick Airport).
When buses are full they don't put on a backup bus.