conklaven

Hi All

Before you say search the threads please know that i did and I got a lot of useful info. (i looked back to threads all the way from 2009)

However I have some additional questions and ones that were brought up in those threads but not answered.

So here it is:
Date of layover is begining of December
My wife, 5 month old and I will be arriving at LHR T5 at 10am (barring delays) Outbound flight leaves LHR T5 at 5pm. (7 hours)

The questions:
We would like to see something (westminster/ Big Ben), ride a double decker bus and grab something to eat. is there enough time for this? Suggestions for somewhere to go thats cool to see and easy and quick to get to if not big ben



How long will it take to go through customs/ what time should we plan to head back to LHR?

Should we take the Heathrow express or the tube or hire a cab?

jerry a. laska

You will need to factor in time to go thru immigration upon arrival and to get through security upon your return. That said you have time to go into London and see something. You could also head to Windsor. The time it takes to get through immigration depends upon your time of arrival and your passport status.

If you can afford a mincab or car service do that, otherwise take the Piccadilly line in. If you are considering taking the Heathrow Express normally I would just book a minicab/car service when traveling with someone. While the Piccadilly line and the heathrow express can be delayed it may make your arrival time at LHR easier to predict. What time you decide to head back will depend upon your own personal comfort level and which mode of transport you decide upon.

See these threads for ideas:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...over-kids.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...ation-lhr.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...r-layover.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...yover-lhr.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...few-hours.html

conklaven

Thanks read most of those except the last one....

How much is the private cab and will they be able to offer a car seat for infant?

Swiss Tony

A minicab/taxi isn't going to save you any meaningful time. I would say you need to allow 2hrs from landing to being in central London. I would also be leaving the centre a minimum of 2hrs 30 mins before the departure time - and with kids, you probably want to allow 3hrs.

So you have in reality two usable hours. It won't be relaxing and I assume you'll have just rolled off an overnight flight. Seriously consider if the stress & hassle is worth the photo by 'Big Ben'.

jerry a. laska

That will depend upon where you are going.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...cussion-8.html

I believe that simply airports will provide car seats. You will need to check with whatever car service you are considering if you are not traveling with your own.

Bullswood

If you decide on a taxi to Windsor, contact a Windsor based company to meet you at LHR as it could be half the price of a metered black cab and you'll be able to request a car seat. I use Ascot Cars to nearby Ascot & they charged me 25 pounds each way last time.

jonhansen

These might be of use ..

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...4615/?page=all

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-...al.London.html

stut

Yes, if you're going to Windsor, I'd also recommend that you find a Windsor-based taxi company to pick you up. I don't have any specific knowledge, but a quick Google search suggests that the fare would be around £18 each way.

If you want to go into London, and particularly to Westminster, the easiest way (even if it can feel quite slow) is on the Tube - change at Barons Court for the District Line to Westminster. There's plenty double decker buses around, but only route 15 (well, part of route 15) is operated by the heritage routemasters (the traditional, open-backed old double deckers). These go from Trafalgar Square (a short walk from the Houses of Parliament) to Tower Hill, taking in the Strand and St Paul's on the way, taking about half an hour to do so.

From Tower Hill, you can reverse the journey - take the District Line (NOT Circle or a Wimbledon train) to Barons Court and change to the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. Alternatively, you could get off at St Paul's, walk to the Millennium Bridge, and return from Blackfriars.

Safti

Arriving YYZ to LHR at 11:50 in Term 2 and have a 10 hour layover before my next flight LHR-JNB at 19:05 SAA I think in Term 1. Should we take the train into London for the day? If so, do we have to take our carry on bags with us? What would you do in london for the day? How would you get around. Thanks in advance.

rcspeirs

If you don't want to take your carry ons, there is left luggage. But putting stuff into store and retrieving it chews time (as well as cost) so unless you're carrying lead weights in your luggage I'd be tempted to keep it with me.
Head to the underground station within the terminal. Buy a "one day travelcard" for £12.10 per adult. That gives you unlimited use of all transport (except Heathrow Express, but that's not the problem it seems because that takes you to Paddington, which is not especially central).
Take the Piccadilly line, change (cross platform) at Hammersmith and step out at Westminster. You're standing under Big Ben, by the Thames. Start walking - just about all of London's famous sights are a short stroll or bus hop away.

UKtravelbear

You don't have 10 hours at all. Just on the times between your arriving and departing flights you have 7 hours 15 mins even less as you need to allow time to clear immigration on arrival and security etc on departure.

You need to check which terminal SAA flies from as T1 no longer exists.

If you scan down the board you will see plenty of identical threads asking the same question so have a look at those for ideas.

LondonElite

SA flies from T2 as well.

If you are wheels down from AC858 (right?) at 1150, you'll be the gate at 1200 and in the immigration hall at 1215. Depending on how busy it is (T2 is pretty good, you can expect to be out of there by 1245 latest. You'll need to be back at T2 at say 1730/1800, giving you about five hours. Take your carryon with you, get on the Heathrow Express and you'll be in central London for 1330 by the time you've shifted on from Paddington station. Find a nice restaurant/pub for lunch, then have a walk around and get back on the HEX at 1700, recognising that it will be a busy time of day.

NWIFlyer

It does depend on where you want to end up, but the "mainline" trains (Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect) both take you to Paddington. Unless you have a fascination with statues of imaginary bears, frankly there's not too much to hold your attention there though so you'll still have to get on the Underground to go anywhere useful.

My advice is to get on the Underground (tube) at Heathrow, get off at South Kensington (about 45 minutes), visit one of the free museums around there, walk up to take look at Harrods, wander through Hyde/Green/St James's Parks, and take a peak at Buckingham Palace and possibly Big Ben/Houses of Parliament. When you've done that, even if you walk fairly quickly, it'll be time to head back.

Do not buy a day travelcard - just tap in with a contactless card if you have one which will be half the cost in total for the journey into London and back, and it'll cap at the Travelcard price if you take more journeys anyway.

That area of London is very compact, and you'll find it much quicker to walk between the points than venture into a tube station and out again.

Safti

I have a 10 hour layover at Heathrow from 11am - 9pm. Any recommendations of what we should do with our time. Flying in from Canada and flying out to South Africa. Not sure if this is the same terminal. Thinking about going into London but what do we do with our carry on luggage? Thoughts?

Gagravarr

Have you been to London before? What sort of thing are you hoping to do? "Big" sights? Nice lunch? Nice walk? Museums? Art Galleries? Historic buildings? Gardens?