Cambridge to Heathrow?

I'm assuming that they meant some type of car service with a fixed price (aka airport transfer) rather than a taxi. A taxi with a meter would cost a fortune. It is about a 2 hour drive ... not a local trip. You'd have to see what is on offer from Cambridge to Heathrow. What do your friends in Cambridge usually do? If your flight is between 10 and 11, you will need to be at Heathrow between 7am and 8am. If it were me, I'd travel to London the night before and either sleep at a hotel in London or near the airport. You can easily find an inexpensive hotel near Heathrow and use the Hoppa bus to get you to the airport. In addition to the train to London, you might also check the National Express bus.

Thanks, Laura. Yes, I meant a fixed price ride to the airport. Our friends will be in Cambridge on sabbatical and have not done this before-just gotten a phone number to try. Thanks for the input.

If bopping through or around London at 6 or 7 am (or even 7 or 8 if you are slow) that is peak rush hour unless its the weekend. On the train it is pretty simple - the faster train, about an hour, from Cambridge is into Kings Cross Station. Then just downstairs - you can get down by lift (elevator) and don't need to use stairs - to the Piccadilly Line for an hour right through to Heathrow. Pretty easy. If you take the slower train into Liverpool Street station then it is more changes within the Underground network and not step free. If you take a private car you will have all the thrills of the M25 and M11.

have not done this before-just gotten a phone number to try. That doesn't sound like a rock solid recommendation. All private hire companies are not created equal.

Jeff - I just did something very similar to this, only the other way - Heathrow to Mildenhall (northeast of Cambridge). The fare was 125 GBP. I was met at the airport by a man with a sign, and he dropped me off right where I needed to go. I should also add - while traffic LEAVING London was light (my trip was at 0645 in the morning), traffic headed into town was chocka-block. Keep that in mind if you book a private service. Depending on your luggage situation, the train may be a better option. Consider, though, that you'll be arriving in London during morning rush. Trains run into Kings Cross from Cambridge. If the Tube is rammed, a cab to Paddington Station runs approximately 12GBP, and you could pick up either the Connect or Express from there to the airport.

I had a look at National Express coaches: coaches run hourly and the trip takes about 3 hours. Looks like fares are about £30 per person immediately but will probably be cheaper in advance. I'd still think that would be more convenient than trying to travel across London. Is that 10-11am check-in time or take-off time? If it's take-off you'll probably have to leave Cambridge very early in the morning.

Thanks to all. I ended up finding a flight that leaves at 16:00. That way, I can catch the National Express bus leaving at 9:00 -a civilized hour which allows for breakfast. We'd get into Heathrow about 1PM which would get us there the horrific 3 hours before our flight. BTW, that gets us back to Newark after 7PM-figure 9 with Customs-so I have a deal on a Park-Sleep-Fly site that lets us park for 2 weeks, shuttles to the airport and an overnight stay at the end for $149. It's over $250 for parking alone at the airport.