My daughter is coming back to the States after having studied in Italy this sememster. When she returns she will have two extra large suitcases on rollers, a very full backpack and a purse to all juggle. She has a layover in London. She enters London throug Gatwick, and then will have a day to tour , then leaves through Heathrow. Does anyone have any easy, cheap suggestions as to how to handle all the luggage, as they will not let her check her large bags all the way home on the first flight.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23574 posts
There is no good solution. Handling that much luggage will be a super pain. I would look into shipping one of the case home via a shipping service. It will be expensive -- maybe a hundred E or more but it could be worth it.
Posted by
near NY, NJ, USA
445 posts
One idea is that she might be able to check most ofher stuff at Victoria Station when she arrives from Gatwick. They used to have a left luggage place as I once used it. I don't know if it is still there.
Then on leaving London after she picked up the luggage, I would suggest a taxi to Heathrow. It is just too many pieces to take on the tube to HEathrow. I think in this case a taxi might be worth the expense. She could also pick up bger bags at Victoria and take a taaxi to Paddington and the HEathrow Express but she would still have to drag her bags through Paddington to the platform.
If you cannot leave luggage at Victoria any more, I would take a taxi to the hotel and arrange for a van pickup from the hotel to Heathrow.
There really is not an easy, inexpensive solution to this scenario. Take a taxi if what I would do or skip London!!!
Posted by
Boscombe, Dorset, UK
964 posts
Will she have a night in the UK? If so, she could book a hotel near one of the airports and leave her luggage there while she goes into London.
Alternatively, if she's not going to be in the uK overnight, she could maybe rent a room for some of the hours during the day and leave the luggage while she catches easy transport into, and back, London. (Yotel in Heathrow springs to mind).
There's a bus service between Gatwick and Heathrow.
Posted by
Freedonia
16096 posts
I agree with the other Frank...ship it.
With that much luggage, she will not be able to manage public transport into London and then out to Heathrow. This would mean a shuttle service or taxi. Additionally, the airlines will charge for those extra peices of luggage. It just might be cheaper to ship the two big pieces from Italy to you, and take what she needs in London in her backpack. (And if the backpack is bigger than carry-on, that will have to be checked as well.)
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1415 posts
Kittie
These people have left luggage at Gatwick and Heathrow and, according to their FAQ, it is possible to leave luggage at one and pick it up at the other.
They charge £8 per item for 24 hours storage, but I can't see how much they charge to transfer.
http://www.left-baggage.co.uk/faqs.php
Cheers
Alan