Visiting Central London From Heathrow Airport
Logistics of Spending A Few Hours In London On Your Heathrow Airport Stopover
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| Heathrow Underground Station |
Take The Train
There are no sightseeing tours that pick up from Heathrow or its hotels That will take you sightseeing into London. You can hire a private car or touring bus with driver guide, but for most people taking the train into London wins on all fronts.
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| Tour Transfers |
| Central London |
| Windsor Stopovers |
| Stonehenge Stopovers |
If its your first time then getting a London hop on, hop off sightseeing bus covers all the main sights and provides a great orientation of London too. But you need to travel into Central London to board these.
With London's traffic congestion its not a great idea to use vehicle based transport between Heathrow and London, especially if you need to get back to Heathrow for a flight.
There are three train options between Heathrow and Central London. Which one is right for you is covered in more detail further down the page.
Luggage
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| London Transfers |
| Transfer Overview |
| Heathrow Express Train |
| Heathrow Connect Train |
| London Underground |
| National Express Bus |
| Taxi / Private Car |
| Small / Large Groups |
| Inter Airport Transfers |
| Heathrow - Gatwick |
| Heathrow - Stansted |
| Heathrow - Luton |
| Cruise Port Transfers |
| Heathrow - Southampton |
| Heathrow - Dover |
| Heathrow - Harwich |
| UK Transfers |
| South East |
| South |
| South West & Wales |
| Midlands |
| North |
| Airport Hotels |
| Heathrow Hotel Overview |
| Heathrow Bed & Breakfast |
| Heathrow Travel Lodges |
| Heathrow Hotel Map |
| Family Rooms |
| Day Rooms |
| Terminal Lounges |
| Hotel Transport |
| Heathrow Hoppa Bus |
| Local Buses |
| Airport Hotel Districts |
| Bath Road East |
| Bath Road West |
| M4, Junction 4 |
| Long Term Parking |
| Hotel + Parking Packages |
| Airport Car Parking |
| Tours & Sightseing |
| Tours From Heathrow |
| Heathrow Transfer Tours |
| Windsor From LHR |
| Stonehenge From LHR |
| Central London From LHR |
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Clearly you do not want to sightsee towing luggage around with you.
There are left luggage facilities in each passenger terminal at Heathrow run by the Excess Baggage Company who have their own web site. Rates are high and charged per case with a minimum charge for a 24 hour period.
The Excess Baggage Company also run the left luggage facilities at all the major train stations in Central London where rates are identical to Heathrow.
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| Original London Tour Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Bus |
Sightseeing In Central London
Forty years ago the company who ran London's red buses decided to put on a special double deck bus on a circuit of London's main attractions. This original idea has now snowballed in popularity to a point where every visitor to London seems to use the tours and you see similar operations in most major tourists towns and cities.
There are now two operators in London offering a very similar product. As well as a core set of routes which stop at nearly every tourist attraction in Central London there are walking tours and river cruises included in the ticket.
Tickets are for 24 hour periods.
From Heathrow, best place to head for is Piccadilly Circus on the Underground to board the bus. The Big Bus stops quite frequently at Paddington Station also.
Hop on Hop Off Sightseeing Bus - More Details
Stay As Long As You Like Stopover For Groups
If you have a group of people or large family, one cost effective solution is to charter a bus.
You can be dropped off at a point in Central London of your choosing, even have an hour's orientation tour, leaving your luggage on the bus.
The bus goes back to the depot while you are sightseeing, so you do not pay waiting charges for a bus parked up idle.
This option can also be used for those connecting flights between airports like Heathrow and Gatwick where you have 7 or 8 hours to kill between flights.
Stay As Long As You Like Stopover For Groups - More Details
Heathrow - Central London Transfers By Public Transport
There is wide range of rail and bus transport options for passengers using London Heathrow Airport. Below is an outline schematic map and below that a table depicting the relative costs and frequencies.
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| Overview Of Heathrow - Central London Transfers With Links To Detail Pages |
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| Public Transport | Indicative Cost | Comments | |
| Heathrow Express Train | £19.00 | Every 15 minutes, 15/20 minute journey. | |
| Heathrow Connect Train | £9.10 | Every 30/60 minutes, 25/30 minute journey. | |
| National Express Bus | £6.00 | Highly variable times, 45-50 minute journey | |
| London Underground | £2.90-£5.30 | Every 5 minutes, 40/60 minute journey. | |
| Black London Cab | £45-£70 | 30/60 minute journey. | |
| Private Car | £60-£75 | 30/60 minute journey. | |
| Private Bus ( 8 to 16 seats) | £105-£160 | 30/60 minute journey. | |
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Fares On The London Underground
Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6. Nearly all hotels visitors will use are in Zone 1 or 2. The cash fare is £4.50 adult into Central London, but most people will find it advantageous to purchase a Travelcard or Oyster Card instead.
Consult our Travelcard and Oyster Card pages for more details - you can purchase these at the Underground ticket offices at Heathrow.
If you are traveling with children those under 11 travel free, those between 11 and 17 need to apply for an Oyster photo ID card to get most child fares well in advance and pick it up at Heathrow. Go the the Travelcard / Oyster pages for more details.
Important! Different Trains Visit Different Terminals (See Graphic Above).
A rather complicated routing of Underground trains at Heathrow applies.
Crudely, there are two different routes that Underground trains take, if you are traveling 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.
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 1,3) 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 1,3) before going onto Terminal where the train terminates. After a short while the train will return to London the same way. These trains do not visit Terminal 4.
Underground Train Times
The first train to Central London leaves Heathrow at around 5.15 a.m. , (30 minutes later on Sundays). The last train leaves for Central London just before midnight (30 minutes earlier on Sundays).
The first train from Central London arrives at Heathrow at around 06:30 (08:00 on Sundays) and the last train leaves London around 00:20 (23:30 on Sundays).
When the Underground is shut there is a night bus, route N9 which runs throughout the night at 30 minute intervals from Terminal 5 and also visiting the central bus station where Terminals 1 and 3 are. The route includes stops at Hammersmith, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly.
Using the Underground
If you are nervous about using the Underground we have a detailed page devoted to explaining what to expect when you use the London Underground for the first time.
Getting The Best Fares On The Underground
For the vast majority of people using the Underground purchasing a cash ticket on the day is very expensive compared with the alternatives everybody else will be using. It is complicated, but if you spend a little time understanding the basics you will be rewarded handsomely financially by purchasing the appropriate ticket for you - especially if you have children.
Travelcard v Oyster v Cash - Purchasing The Right London Public Transport Ticket
Heathrow Express & Heathrow Connect Trains
Both these trains run into Paddington Station and are much quicker than the London Underground. The Heathrow Express takes just 15 minutes to Paddington and runs every 15 minutes.
These trains are a lot more expensive than the London Underground. You cannot use the Oyster or Travelcard public transport passes on these trains either.
Heathrow Express - More Details
Heathrow Connect - More Details
Chartered Van's / Buses
For families and groups we can offer transport between Heathrow and Central London with the option of an orientation tour before dropping you off at a designtaed point. You then leave any luggage on the bus. We offer a flat fee no matter how long you stay in London. At a predetermined time the bus will pick you up for the return journey..
The service includes Meet & Greet in the passenger terminal at Heathrow or Heathrow hotel and return delivery to the arrivals hall of the departing terminal.
Semi Independent & Guided Private Tours Of London From Heathrow
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