Rome Toolkit 
Paris Toolkit Heathrow transfers to/from South East England
Public transport options Dover, Brighton, Ashford, Maidstone and Canterbury
Heathrow to/from Dover
For travellers connecting to a ferry or cruise ship at Dover, we have many dedicated pages laying out the public and private transport options available to and from Heathrow.
The broad choice for the traveller from Dover is between cheaper, less frequent and slower coaches, or the train options. However on this page we do also offer private car, bus or coach transfers, whatever you party size, taking the stress out of your transfer, at up-front, clear rates.
Bus, rail or private car/charter bus?
There is a choice of public transport options from Heathrow to Southern Eastern England including main towns Dover, Brighton, Ashford and Maidstone. The key initial point to be made is that with the exception of Brighton you will need to journey into central London first and make a connection there for another coach or train to complete your journey to the South East of England.
By public transport, rail has a much greater coverage of destination than the coach services. Trains run to the region from Victoria, Charing Cross/London Bridge and St Pancras.
The introduction of fast trains from St Pancras using the Channel Tunnel track to France has substantially reduced the travel time to towns like Ashford and Dover along this route. See transport options between Dover and Heathrow Airport
ON THIS HEATHROW TRANSFERS PAGE
Heathrow to Central London
There is a choice of transport from Heathrow to Central London. If you are travelling on from London then it's basically a choice of London Underground v Heathrow Express/Connect dedicated airport trains.
Unfortunately Paddington, the terminus in London for the Heathrow Express dedicated airport trains, is some way from any of the London rail termini with trains to the South East, so requires a black London cab or an Underground train connection.
If you are travelling on from London by National Express Bus you will get the National Express bus from Heathrow to Victoria Coach Station with an integrated interchange here for your onward coach. Heathrow to Central London details of options
Heathrow to the South East of England by train
The train stations in central London where trains start on their journey to South East England towns are Victoria, Charing Cross and St Pancras. Only St Pancras has a direct link with Heathrow by the London Underground, but it serves the smallest number of towns.
For possible routes for your journey use the 'Trainline' website.
Purchasing train tickets
As a general rule of thumb for journeys of around an hour or so there is no financial advantage in pre-purchasing, you may as well buy at the station on the day of travel.
For longer journeys, advance purchase fares offer great savings.
Only on the main trunk routes are there reserved seats, most services you just grab the first available seat you like the look of.
The three types of tickets are broadly:
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Advance Purchase: Buy in advance, sold in limited numbers and subject to availability. These tickets will have restrictions specified when purchasing.
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Off Peak: Buy any time, travel off-peak. The definition of off-peak can vary from ticket to ticket. These tickets may require you to travel at specific times of day, days of the week or on a specific route. Where there is more than one Off-Peak fare for a journey, the cheaper fare with more restrictions will be called Super Off-Peak.
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Anytime: Buy any time, travel any time. (the standard ticket). Anytime fares are fully flexible tickets, with no time restrictions on when you can travel.
Getting the cheapest train fares
Advance purchase tickets on these longer distances on the other hand can be bargains. The cheap tickets are normally released 3 months prior to your departure date and the best deals often sell out quickly.
Now Trainline have released e tickets together with mobile tickets options for purchasing from overseas are better than ever before. You can even book on behalf of someone else.
Trainline state that more fares are released on their app than are available at the ticket machine - you so you get more choice too!
E-tickets are sent as a PDF attachment, and you have flexibility to use straight from your phone, or for reassurance, you can print off a hard copy.
Mobile tickets are available on iOS and android phones and you can use directly through the Trainline website or the Trainline app.
For overseas customers, tickets can also be sent to UK addresses by UK post and also internationally for a fee.
You can also order tickets online and pick up the tickets from machines at key mainline stations including Gatwick Airport.
At train stations there are manned ticket offices and also ticket machines. All major credit cards are taken as well as cash.
For fares and timetables use the 'Trainline' website where you can also order tickets for delivery to your home address.
TRAIN TICKETS
National Express Coaches - Heathrow to/from South East England
National Express offer direct services to/from Brighton bypassing London all together, but otherwise you will first need to go to London Victoria Coach Station and change coach there. You will be sold one ticket.
E-tickets are available online; visitors from overseas can pay by credit card and have their tickets delivered by email in a couple of minutes.
Most journeys will be far cheaper than train, especially if you get a return ticket. However frequencies are not as good and journey times are longer and National Express coverage in the South East of England is a fraction of that of the trains.
Cheapest promotional fares are available online in advance. Normally a return fare is much cheaper than two single fares.
When you purchase a ticket for a National Express service it is for a single stated departure time. You do not get an individual seat number, but you are guaranteed a seat.
What happens to my National Express ticket if my flight is late?
It is recommended booking a service at least 90 minutes after the scheduled arrival time of your flight. But what happens if your flight is late? Depending on your ticket type you can go online and amend your ticket or call National Express direct.
If you miss the booked departure time though, you will be required to purchase a new ticket, unless you have the ‘Change & Go’ Add-on which can be chosen when purchasing Airport journeys online. The ‘Change & Go’ Add-on allows one free change to a coach 12 hours either before or after the time stated on your ticket.
There are a range of ticket types available. Like airlines, the cheapest fares are no refund, no changes, you pay more for a fare that you can change schedule or get a refund if you change your mind.
National Express luggage allowance
You can carry two medium-sized suitcases - weighing up to 20kg (44lb) each - plus one small piece of hand luggage per person. Drivers loading the baggage do not weigh bags.
Customers will be permitted to pool their individual allowances if they are travelling in a group or as a family, but they must be travelling on the same ticket.
Over this allowance and steep excess luggage charges kick in. Passengers within the luggage allowance get boarded first, those with excess luggage only get boarded if there is sufficient space left in the luggage hold, even if they have purchased a ticket.
Click on banner link below to take you to the National Express website for more details for charges for extra baggage.
Terminals 4 and 5 at Heathrow
All coaches from and to Heathrow stop at Heathrow Bus Station between Terminals 2 and 3. From the South of England most, but not all coaches will stop also at Terminals 4 and 5 on the other side of the airport.
It's worth checking if you are using Terminals 4 or 5 if more timely journeys come available by travelling from Heathrow Central Bus Station. The Heathrow Express train service operates every 15 minutes between Terminals 4 and 5 and Heathrow Central, beneath the Central Bus Station, this is a free service.
NATIONAL EXPRESS BUS TICKETS
Timetables and promotional fares in an instant
Discover latest offers, great discounts, online exclusives and other ways to save on coach travel
Private transfers from cars to large groups
We have options to cater for all party sizes.
On transfers the amount of luggage can be as critical to the right selection of vehicle as number of passengers, so do pause to reflect on this aspect.
Get a quote for private transfer Heathrow to/from the South East England
Saloon cars/sedans/estates - for up to 5 passengers
Saloon/ Sedan car or MPV/Estate/Station Wagon size vehicle. Will take up to 5 full size adults and around 4 cases with some small hand luggage. Ideal for a family.
All driver waiting time and airport parking included in airport pick-ups - no extra charges if your flight is delayed!
Baby seats or child booster seats supplied on request and are of course free of charge.
At passenger terminals the driver will be waiting for you as you exit the customs and luggage retrieval channel to escort you to the waiting vehicle.
Small buses - 8 to 16 seats with room for lots of luggage
Air conditioned roomy small buses with 8, 12 or 16 seats and lots of luggage room for small groups. These buses are proper purpose built buses, not cramped converted vans.
These small buses are small enough to get in the car parks at airports, big enough to qualify to use the special bus lanes in central London.
The buses can also carry outsize items, commonly wheelchairs, electric scooters, bicycles and surfboards.
Drivers meet and greet at airports, hotels and ports just like the cars.
Full size touring coaches for large groups
If you have a large group then that is not a problem either
The largest coaches are 50 seat coaches but we also have access to vehicles half that size.
With large groups if your average passenger is bringing more than one large case and a small item of hand luggage it might be the luggage capacity of the vehicle rather than the number of passengers that drives the correct size of vehicle required. The point being that estimating the amount of luggage you will be bringing is just as important as knowing how many people in your group.
With large groups just as small groups multi-drop and pick-ups from hotels is routine and if you require sightseeing we can arrange a guide whether it be an orientation tour of London or a niche interest of the group.
Putting your own groups together/sharing
We do not put groups together for the purpose of vehicle sharing.
You are welcome to put your own group together. The key point with these charters is that the price is a flat rate for the vehicle, not per person. If somebody pulls out at the last moment the group are still liable for the full cost of the charter.
