niehaubs

I arrive in LHR at 6:25 am, I have to get to LTN to pick up friends who speak little English and arrive at 9:55 am, then we are staying at the IC Park Lane.

I have not been to London or LHR, so I just want to make sure this itinerary is legit, cost effective, time effective, and easy(ish) to find once I arrive.

It looks like the National Express Bus from LHR to LTN is the way to go to get there, it takes about an hour to travel. Leaves every half an hour or so. Will I clear customs by 7:30 or 8? I have no clue how customs in LHR is/will be in July. Arriving on VS from DTW. Should I pre-purchase this ticket or are there kiosks or can I walk up and get on? I don't want to buy a 7:30 ticket and then not make it

Once in LTN, friends arrive 9:55, I assume customs will be easier there, and then again it looks like National Express bus to the Marble Arch stop is our best option. And again, can I just buy one once we are all in the same place so I don't mess up the timing? It leaves every half an hour or so for the 1 hour trip to the city.

To me, I like that there are no transfers required, so nothing to misconnect, and the fare seems reasonable I guess. For London. I guess the main question is the time through customs in LHR and how full are these busses? Can I walk up and get a ticket once I am through?

After that, we will walk the mile or so to the hotel. And after that we will have Oyster cards and 1 day of double decker tourist bus traveling, which I think I have figured out ok.

Thanks!

edit: corrected my airport code.

David-A

Do you mean Luton Airport?

If so, airport code is LTN.

(Also, 3 char national rail code is also LTN for Luton Aiport Parkway, LUT is rail code for Luton (town) station.)

niehaubs

Yes, Luton Airport. Sorry. I knew that, I don't know what I was thinking. That's what I get for typing and working at the same time

Thanks. I corrected it above to hopefully avoid further confusion.

lhrsfo

To answer the question about Customs, unless you are stopped randomly or have something to declare, you walk straight through Customs and you are unlikely even to see an officer - this applies at all UK airports.

Perhaps you are asking about Immigration? If so, then the key question is whether you have an EU passport. If you do, then you will probably be through at about the same time as your bags. However, if you don't have an EU passport, then it can take some time, especially at that time in the morning in T3, which is where I presume VS arrives. I would budget 90 minutes to be outside, but it could be a lot quicker.

LTN will not be as bad in all likelihood as there won't be many non-EU people arriving.

Oaxaca

Just to add to lhrsfo's good advice about immigration, if your friends are EU/EEA passport holders, that immigration is a little busier at LTN currently since the eGates are closed while they add more. It won't affect them if they are not EU/EEA citizens, that queue will probably be the same either way, subject to staffing levels.

For your travel, National Express is probably the most time/cost effective way to get from LHR to LTN. The roads could be quite busy at that time, but the hour they allow should be enough in general terms.

For your journey from LTN into London, National Express would work, but assuming there are 3 or more of you, it might be worth considering a pre-booked taxi as the price difference would not be as great when you factor in 3 coach tickets (maybe GBP 110-120 for a car compared to (minimum) GBP 25 per coach ticket. You'd avoid waiting up to 30 mins for the next coach, and arrive direct to the IC Park Lane in comfort.

rcspeirs

Will you all have mobile phones with you, in case something goes adrift?
You are arriving into LHR at "rush hour". There are a huge number of long haul wide bodies landing at LHR between 0600 and 0800. You might stack a while, and the immigration queue may be swift or slow. I think your chance of making the 0730 bus is less than 50/50. I presume the bus goes from the central bus terminal - but LHR has dispersed terminals. Which terminal are you coming into?
The road journey to LTN should take less than an hour, but it uses some of the most congested roads in Europe. A traffic shunt (unusual, but can't be excluded) could easily see your journey time doubled.
I know I'd want to have mobile phones and a fall back plan.

Oaxaca

The OP says VS from DTW, so most likely T3 (if DL operated it could be T4, but I think that flight is VS). 07:30 bus not guaranteed, but they are at least twice hourly, and unless very unlucky you should be able to get from landing LHR at 06:25 to LTN by 10:00. Of course being able to stay in contact always a good idea.

EJetter

Coaches from Luton to central London do not cost £25! The Greenline 757 service is £10 for a one way trip, or £15 to include a journey back to the airport.

niehaubs

Thanks all. I'll just wing it on the trip (the bus) to LTN since I can't be sure how fast I can get through security/immigration/customs. And it looks like Uber operates in London (per Rome2Rio.com), so I think that even though it is more expensive, I'll Uber the 3 of us to the hotel.

I will have phone service and data, but I am not sure my friends from Romania will have that or be able to get it themselves upon arrival to LTN if I am not there to help translate, so I will make sure they know I may be late

stut

Uber does indeed operate in London, and has good coverage. However, Luton is quite some way from London (two counties away!), and more of a low-cost airport, so there's not always good availability at the airport.

lhrsfo

You'll almost certainly find it easier and faster to use a proper taxi which are plentiful everywhere. My experience to date is that I arrive at my destination with a proper taxi before an Uber mini-cab would even have picked me up.

rwoman

Another option from LTN is to take the ~5 minute bus ride to the Luton Station Interchange and take the train to St. Pancras. From Kings Cross / St. Pancras, take the Piccadilly line to Hyde Park Corner.

rollingdeep

At LHR Uber is great I use it once a week on my return leg as they just hang around the airport - request when I land it is there by the time I walk out - domestic T5 hand baggage only so 5 mins of landing.

niehaubs

I think, based on responses, and Rome2rio, that the 757 coach is the cheapest option and gets us to Marble Arch and a 15 minute walk to the hotel ($13 per person). Uber is the most convenient for the price but is more than double the bus ($70-80 total). A taxi proper is double the Uber cost (again, according to Rome2Rio $180-220 total) but will be available faster than waiting for an Uber which might not have cars circling LTN since it is out of the city. I think I have enough info, thanks for the help. I will have Oyster cards for everyone before I meet them as well, but the more directly I can travel to the hotel, the better

Thanks all.

bibbju

Your taxi prices are too high. For example, pre-booking a car (car service a.k.a "minicab") from Luton Airport to Marble Arch is GBP 56 with these guys:

https://www.airporttaxis-uk.co.uk/Luton/

It might be more useful for other posters to contribute if you work in pounds rather than dollars!