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Heathrow To Central London Transfers
Public and Private Transport Options Between Heathrow and The Centre



London Heathrow
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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.
Heathrow to London Train
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 £15.50 Every 15 minutes. Journey 15-20 mins to London Paddington. Travelcards + Oyster Cards not accepted.
Doesn't stop at T4.
Heathrow Connect Train £6.90 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 £4.00 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).
Dot 2 Dot Hotel Shuttle £14 to
£22
Hotel shuttle bus (shared) service to any hotel
Maximum wait 20 mins. 30-75 mins to any London hotel.
Serves all terminals. Maximum of 3 other stops.
Black Taxi London's black cabs form the taxi ranks outside each terminal.
No wait. 30-75 mins to any London hotel. £45-£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.

Heathrow
to London
Transfers
Choose The
Right Transfer
Heathrow Express Train
Heathrow Connect Train
London
Underground
National
Express Bus
Hotel
Shuttle Bus
Taxi
Groups
5 or More
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.
  • 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.
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.