Heathrow Travel Forum

My wife and I are scheduled to arrive LHR Terminal 1 (United, from Washington DC) at 7:30 AM on a Thursday. About how long should it take to clear immigration and customs, collect checked luggage and walk to the underground or bus station? Also, we need to get to Victoria Station as our hotel is within walking distance. Would the underground or a bus be less hassle for two novice American tourists?

Time to clear customs and baggage can differ...one time it took longer to collect baggage than clear customs...maybe an hour.....

But on my very first trip to England on my own I was going to be met at Victoria Station (London Victoria)...I hopped on a bus at Heathrow no problem but I "alighted" at the Victoria coach station not the train station by mistake and missed my friends.

Ended up in a London Cab!

The underground for me could be a bit tricky with a lot of luggage but there is a special Heathrow underground .... others who know more will answer I am sure.



Enjoy London.

No idea but I would say that if it is going to take an hour or two hours, you will still be running into the rush hour traffic. Better to take the bus, as the underground would involve a change. Not a good idea for two novices with suitcases! Victoria Coach station is behind Victoria Railway Station, so it is not the end of the world if you mistake the two. However, have a print-out vis-a-vis the journey from each to your hotel.

You could always take the underground as far as either Earls Court or Green Park and take a cab from there. Green Park is nearer to Victoria Station!

You could always take the underground as far as either Earls Court or Green Park and take a cab from there. Green Park is nearer to Victoria Station!

The two Victorias were a headache for me as a novice and the few folk I asked were strangers to London as always happens..LOL...so at least these people will know which is their stop.

The fastest way in to London is Heathrow Express - see https://www.heathrowexpress.com/?gclid=CJS14NWMoa4CFaEntAodaB372g
15 minutes travel time every 15 minutes. You can see the price on the link above. Or for a cheaper price is Heathrow Connect which uses the same tracks as Heathrow Express but is slower because it is not non stop like Heathrow Express.
Both of these services stop at Paddington mainline station - I would use one of these services and then get a taxi from Paddington to Victoria.

I actually don't think the underground is all that hard from Heathrow to Victoria. Heathrow is served by the Piccadilly line (blue). You can change trains at Hammersmith by simply getting off and changing trains (no stairs), what you would be looking for is a district line (green) train towards Upminster or Barking any station along that section of the district line in case it doesn't go that far. Ask someone on the platform if you get confused.

Do not wait until Earl's Court to change trains, Earl's Court is a nightmare. I think Baron's Court also works, but I always change at Hammersmith.

Dabs is correct. No need to spend a lot on the expensive modes out of Heathrow. The Piccadilly line goes out of the Airport, but try to get on a train that says it is going toward Barking or Upminster. Do not get on one going toward Uxbridge or Ryners Lane. (Piccadilly line goes both ways) You need to pick up a Free Tube Map before you travel on the TUBE system.They are in any station. Once you have that you will be able to see where you need to go. Really simple. I have used the tube several times in/out of Heathrow towing a suitcase and carrying a laptop case with no problem. Once at 7 am which is near rush hours. Ask if you are not sure about anything. After all, in spite of their wonderful British accent, they do speak ENGLISH.

"The Piccadilly line goes out of the Airport, but try to get on a train that says it is going toward Barking or Upminster"

Just to be clear, the Piccadilly line terminates at Heathrow so there is only one direction you can go. Once you change to the District line, that is when you will be looking for a train towards Upminster or Barking. If you look at a tube map, you'll see that there is the main District line and then a couple of offshoots, just make sure you don't get on those.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf

We made a HUGE mistake of taking the Piccadilly Line out of Heathrow into London Piccadilly Square with our luggages. All because a friend told us to do so. All eyes on the train were on us.

Heathrow airport is old and you have to drag your luggages through underground and up the long escalators. It is not worth it. Take a cab or the Heathrow Express as one of the previous reponder suggested.

This has a comparison of different methods of transport from Heathrow, the Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect go to Paddington so you'd have to take a tube/bus/cab to get to Victoria. National Express goes directly to Victoria Station with no changes, the underground goes to Victoria Station with one change of train. The bus and underground take about the same amount of time but the tube runs more frequently which is why I prefer it over the bus, even with the change of train (which is incredibly simple at Hammersmith)

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

As long as you can handle your own luggage, there's no need (unless of course you want to) to take a taxi. Lots and lots of people take the tube from Heathrow, it will get a little crowded once you get into central London since it will be rush hour but you will get a seat at Heathrow so I try to grab a seat next to the place where you are supposed to put your luggage so I can keep a hand on it.

Great answer Kristie ...puts it all together nicely

Marg

The Underground is awful if you have luggage in my opinion - there are no luggage racks. If you do use the Underground when you get on go to the carriage end so that no one has to pass you and put the luggage on the floor in front of you.