London Heathrow Airport to/from Harwich

Choosing your best transfer option between Heathrow & Harwich - private or public transport

Best way from Heathrow to Harwich?

Harwich is around 90 miles from London and by road about 115 miles from Heathrow Airport, at least a 2 hour journey with a clear road.

 

Of the main cruise terminals serving London, Southampton, Dover and Harwich, Harwich is the least accessible from Heathrow.

 

Harwich is the other side of London from both main London airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, so it's not the most convenient transfer.

 

Choosing between train, bus or private car - Heathrow Airport to Harwich

To travel to Harwich from Heathrow the key points are:

• There is no direct scheduled daily public transport between Heathrow and Harwich.

   

• By public transport, the options available require three or more modes of transport booked independently of one another and will take around 3 hours or more.

   

• Private cars should do the journey in 2 hours or more, but much of the route is around London's orbital motorway, the busiest in Europe where traffic comes to a standstill routinely during commute hours with no easy alternative if a major accident blocks the road.

Private transfers by car/sedan, van or bus

If you're flying in on the day of your cruise you may have little option but to hire a private car. So let's get this option out of the way first. On a good day with a clear road a vehicle may make the journey in 2 hours, fine if you're arriving on a 6am flight on a Sunday, but on a workday like Monday the same journey may be nearer 3 hours.

Details of private transfers between Harwich & London

Heathrow to Harwich by public transport

Harwich via Liverpool Street Station - train

Harwich is quite an isolated town, the only viable public transport to it from the London area is by train. Harwich is on a branch line, a spur off a main line from London's Liverpool Street Station.

 

The good news is that Harwich Ferry & Cruise Terminal is integrated into Harwich International train station and there are broadly hourly trains. The bad news is that Liverpool Street is very frustrating and time consuming to get to from Heathrow.

 

Harwich avoiding London - by National Express bus

Option B is to cut out central London altogether. National Express run a coach from Heathrow to Marks Tey near Colchester, the nearest regional large town to Harwich. From Marks Tey, by train from the rail station changing train at Manningtree to Harwich International will take another 45-75 minutes depending on connections.

Heathrow to Liverpool Street

Heathrow to Liverpool Street is a very awkward transfer, especially with cruise luggage. If you splurged on a taxi it would do very well to get you to Liverpool Street in an hour.

 

The cheapest option by far is the London Underground. Trains are frequent, every 5 minutes and the journey should take about 70 minutes with a change of train at Holborn in the centre of London.

 

Whether the London Underground experience is what you really need after a long flight will be clearer to you if you read our Heathrow London Underground page.

 

The other viable alternative midway between the above two in terms of cost and comfort is to get the Heathrow Express train to London Paddington, then a London taxi or the Underground to Liverpool Street.

Harwich - Liverpool Street train at Harwich

If you are travelling on a Sunday it's well worth checking the rail companies website Greater Anglia as Sunday is the main day for heavy maintenance where stretches of the line are occasionally shut down.

London Liverpool Street to/from Harwich by train

There is a broadly hourly train between Harwich International Station and London's Liverpool Street Station.

 

The Harwich line is a branch line and for nearly all train journeys between Harwich and London you will have to change trains at Manningtree Station. Journey time is around 75 minutes.

 

Note: Liverpool Street Station is in the City of London in the financial area of London, the other side of town from where most people will have their London hotel. The London Underground or a 15-20 minute taxi ride is a tedious add-on to most people's journey.

London and Harwich trains - full details

Heathrow to Marks Tey by coach, then train to Harwich

The trek between Heathrow and Liverpool Street by public transport is not something anybody would look forward to. A work around solution is to avoid central London altogether.

 

The National Express Bus Service goes about every 2 hours from Heathrow to Marks Tey, a railway station near Colchester, a journey of around 2 hours. Then you switch to the train service coming out of Liverpool Street and go to Harwich International, changing at Manningtree.

 

This option is much more simple than going via central London, perhaps the only downside is frequencies are less and National Express have luggage surcharges if any case is above 20kg (44lb).

---