Transportation from Heathrow Aiport, London

The best and cheapest way is to take the Piccadilly tube line to Hammersmith station, then transfer to the the district line to Victoria. journey time is 50 minutes. Check-out the journey planner at www.thetube.com

Thanks for the info!

Hmmm... I've been told I should take the Heathrow Express...is it worth the money or should we follow Mr. Schneider's advice??? We're going to London for the first time next year...

It depends on where in London you are headed to, how much you want to spend, and how much luggage you have. Victoria Station and Paddington are in different corners of the city center, so if you give us more details of what area your hotel is in we can give better advice.

DONNA, if you take the tub into London I would change train at South Kensington it would be easier then Hammersmith.~~~~~~~~~~
BECKY, Heathrow Express is faster and goes into Paddington Station and cost more then the tube, the tube is the Piccadilly Line and there are several stops that you can get off at (or change lines) Earl's Court, Gloucester Road, South Kensington plus others but it depends on what part of London you are going to.~~~~If getting off the Piccadilly line at South Kensington you can use the escalators to reach the other platforms.

With luggage Hammersmith is much easier to change lines. Hammersmith has elevators South Kensington is nothing but stairs.

Donna

I'd also consider the bus, which is the cheapest option of all. A National Express will take you to Victoria Coach station which is 5 minutes walk from the railway station.

Details of various options are here

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow_bus.htm

Cheers
Alan

Having just come back from London, I'd take the tube, which is the Picadilly Line, from Heathrow to Victoria. I wouldn't change trains anywhere. There are elevators or escalators available from most stations to the surface you can take with luggage. We took the Heathrow Express which was very fast and comfortable with air conditioning (vouchers were included with our London Plus train pass). But if your final destination isn't Paddington, you still have to take the Circle Line to Victoria, which we did to Gloucester Road, and it was a snap. We did have to lug our luggage down some steps and back up after we got off, which wasn't really a big deal.

Next time we go to London we'll just take the tube in, it's easier and you can get a seat at the airport as that is where it starts anyway, and just sit the whole way.

Donna - Just a note on the Tube. Victoria is not on the Piccadilly line, so you will have to change trains... You can use the Underground website - www.thetube.com - to find your options using the Journey Planner. The Heathrow Airport website also lists all other transportation options.

The simplest option is a cab, but it's expensive. I think the next easiest is the Tube and changing at one of the stations with the wheelchair symbol on the map is a good suggestion because there won't be any stairs - I agree that Hammersmith would be the easiest.

The fare for a National Express coach (bus) to Victoria coach station and the fare for the Tube to Victoria are the same: £4.

Hammersmith is a better choice than South Kensington to change from the Piccadilly line to the District line. Simply walk a few feet to the other side of the platform.

Julie, thanks for the clarification, I had neglected to remember that Victoria is not on the Picadilly Line.

Thanks, everyone. Even though its expensive, I think we'll go for the cab. Takes you right to the door. :)My daughter, who will be arriving alone, shouldn't have too many choices. Scary!

Donna,

Another good option would be to take the Heathrow Connect train to Paddington, and then taxi from there.

If you do take a taxi from the airport, make sure you catch a London Taxi, these are usually black and are in the distinctive large saloon cars. They are the only vehicles that can drive in the bus lanes on the motorway into the city. Expect to pay at least 55 pounds to Victoria, possibly more. The cab ride from Gloucester Road tube station to Paddington through Hyde Park on our way home was 10 pounds (9 pounds fare with a 1 pound tip).

Thanks, Dave. That is excellent information. I will keep that in mind. By the way, what is a saloon car?

Also, what would it be like for a small young lady toting 3 bags from train to train, then carrying them a few blocks to the hotel? What would the weather be like at the end of October?

A saloon car is a sedan.

If your daughter has three bags, door-to-door service will be best. A car service will be cheaper than a taxi. Many people on the Fodors board recommend JustAirports. There is a sizeable discount for paying cash. Victoria station is in SW1 so the cash fare would be £30.

Thanks, Tim! That's really great information. I appreciate your help.

This is a London Taxi:

http://hull534.smugmug.com/photos/379574356_3yJYi-L-1.jpg

TONS of room in the back, you just haul your bags right inside with you!

We saw this lady getting off the train from London at Heathrow Airport. If you look closely she has TWO rolling suitcases as well as a couple shopping bags. She was having quite a time of it!

http://hull534.smugmug.com/photos/385077097_8D7Fs-XL.jpg

You can usually get a cart at the airport to take your bags out to the curb to catch a car service or taxi. I agree with Tim, you should take a car service. BUT make sure you ask HOW MUCH before you GET IN! This is one reason we like the London Taxis as they have a regulated meter.