There
is a good choice of options for transferring between Heathrow and
Central London.
There is no single 'best' option. What is best for you depends on
your attitude of compromising between cost, speed, comfort and location
of your destination in London.
The fastest, most reliable options are rail based from the cheap and
crowded London Underground to the expensive, fast and roomy Heathrow
Express train.
Transfers by road are available, but London's traffic congestion mean
you should allow plenty of contingency time. |
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Another factor is which terminals you are using at Heathrow. All transport
options are on your doorstep if you are using Terminals 1,2 or 3.
If you are using Terminal 4 or 5, some options require a (free) transfer
into the central area. |
| Mainstream
Transport Options Between Heathrow and Central London |
| Heathrow
Express Train |
£16.50 |
Every 15 minutes.
Journey 15-20 mins to London Paddington. Travelcards + Oyster Cards not
accepted.
Doesn't stop at T4. |
| Heathrow
Connect Train |
£7.40 |
Every 30-60
mins. Journey 25-30 mins to London Paddington. Travelcards + Oyster Cards
not accepted.
Doesn't stop at T5. |
| London
Underground Train |
£4.00 |
Visits
all terminals, approx every 5 minutes.
45-60 mins to central London.
Travelcards or Oyster Cards cheaper, zone 6. |
| National
Express Coach |
£5.00 |
Starts
from Central Bus Station between Terminals 1,2 & 3
Free train link from T4 and T5
3-6 buses an hour. 45-75 mins to London (Victoria). |
| SkyShuttle
Hotel Shuttle |
£17
to
£21 |
Hotel
shuttle bus (shared) service to any hotel
Maximum wait 20 mins. 30-75 mins to any London hotel.
Serves all terminals. |
| Black
Taxi |
London's
black cabs form the taxi ranks outside each terminal.
No wait. 30-75 mins to any London hotel. £40-£70.
Maximum of 5 passengers and limited luggage. 3/4 large cases. |
| Group/Family
Bus Charter |
For
groups and large families a charter bus will meet you outside customs/baggage.
No wait. 30-75 mins to any London hotel.
Even smallest 8 seat bus will take 16 large cases. |
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Important!
Different Trains, Different Terminals.
Since the opening of Terminal 5 on 27th March 2008, a rather complicated
routing of Underground trains at Heathrow applies.
Crudely, there are two different routes that Underground trains take,
if you are travelling to Terminal 4 or Terminal 5 make sure you board
the right train!.
Trains normally alternate between the different routes, if yours is
not the first train, the next Heathrow train will be.
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- Route
1 (Terminal 4) - Incoming trains from London will branch off after
Hatton Cross station to Terminal 4. After Terminal 4 the train
loops around to Central (Terminals 1,2,3) before going back to
London. These trains do not go to Terminal 5 and do not travel
the other way from Central to Terminal 4.
- Route
2 (Terminal 5) - Incoming trains from London will go straight
to Central (Terminals 1,2,3) before going onto Terminal 5 where
the train terminates. After a short while the train will return
to London the same way. These trains do not visit Terminal 4.
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As
for the Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect trains neither visits
all terminals.
The Heathrow Express runs every 15 minutes and stops at Central (for
Terminals 1,2 and 3) and Terminal 5, it doesn't go to Terminal 4.
The Heathrow Connect train also visits Central, then goes onto Terminal
4 where it terminates, not visiting Terminal 5.
The Heathrow Connect train runs a shuttle service every 15 minutes
between Terminal 4 and Central - only every other train goes beyond
to London Paddington.
The Heathrow Connect also provides the same shuttle facility between
Terminal 5 and Central.
Both short trips between Terminal 4 or 5 and Central are free of charge.
If you are thinking of using one of the Paddington trains, do factor
in the location of your ultimate destination in London. Paddington
Station is not that central, to the north-west of the very centre
of London.
Using the Paddington trains is particularly inefficient if you are
going to the Kensington/Victoria area. You can spend longer getting
to these from Paddington, than from Heathrow to Paddington. |
Road
Based Transfers
Road
based public transfers are very much secondary, but have their place.
There is just one scheduled airport bus service, run by National Express
that runs between Heathrow and Victoria. Its price is very cheap,
comparable to the London Underground and the buses are roomy and frequent.
Downside is that the buses only depart from the Central Bus Station,
so if you are using Terminal 4 or 5 you have to make a transfer to
the central area using the Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect trains.
The National Express service is also not a dedicated Heathrow - London
service. All the schedules are long distance coaches from all over
England that stop at Heathrow on their way into London. You take the
seats of the people getting off.
National Express also run a hotel shuttle service from all terminals
called Dot 2 Dot. This service is a monopoly, but is very professional
with high quality buses. There is a maximum of 3 other stops between
your Heathrow terminal and your London hotel.
If there are more than 2 of you, cost is comparable to a taxi. |
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