neilk

Hello,

I was looking for some advice for an overnight stay in London. We are arriving at LHR T5 on a Saturday at 5PM and leaving the next morning at 10AM to the US out of T5. We are planning to have dinner with some friends who live about 30 minutes from LHR.

So after reading about the pain and cost it is to deal with shuttles at off airport locations (we are 2 + a 7 year old) , I was thinking about getting a room at the Sofitel in T5 and renting a car and driving out to see our friends. I figure I can get a small car for about $50 that would be cheaper and more flexible than getting cabs, not to mention more interesting.

Any thoughts. Is it a pain dealing with rental cars. We would obviously only keep the car long enough to go see our friends and come back and wouldn't park at the hotel.

Or should I stay at an off airport location and drive to the airport at 7:30AM and return the car?

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks,
Neil

emma69

I'd be curious as to what your friends think. In this situation, I would happily pick you up from the airport / hotel, and drive us to dinner - I would also, if I had the space, offer you a bed for the night.

Depending on exactly which way they live 30 minutes away, it might also be more fun to go into central London for the evening (in terms of interesting, I would say so) and have them meet you there (if they have good connections tube/rail into London).

If you do go the rental car route, speak to the location. Most car hire is off site, and some quite a ways so - but on a recent trip they were happy to collect from the hotel (Marriott I think) rather than the terminal building, and drop off to same.

UAPremExecflyer

Another option to consider
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/sixt/...ew-branch.html

obscure2k

Moving Thread to UK Forum
Obscure 2K
TravelBuzz Moderator

UKtravelbear

ask your friends to check prices with some of their local mini cab firms for to/from LHR faresthen compare to the price of a hire car - it might not be as expensive as you think.

Plus you will have the advantage of someone else doing the driving!

rcspeirs

Unless you're flying through T5 and book with Avis, all car rental requires an off airport shuttle faff. (Avis are in the car park right at T5, but that's the exception). If you're not able to use Avis at T5, the shuttle faff will be a lot of time and hassle. Remember that you must be able to produce a fuel receipt on return or you'll be hit for a full tank of fuel (pretty much all the companies enforce this rule, more especially on a low mileage rental), so you need to find fuel nearby (not that easy if you don't know the area).
A pre booked mini cab seems much lower stress.

stut

Sofitel T5 will certainly remove a lot of your stress.

As for car hire vs minicab vs public transport, well... That all really depends on where you're headed - I'd give different advice depending on the destination!

neilk

I really wish they could pick us up, but they have too many kids and we don't want to be more of an inconvenience. They live in Cobham, so per Google maps, that is about 17 miles. I can't imagine a cab charging less than 1 pound per mile, so unless it is completely ill advised, I am tempted by the car rental.

Thanks for the tip on the gas receipt. At many car rental locations, as long as the gas needle doesn't go under the full line, you are good to go.

I will book a room at the Sofitel to avoid the stress.

Thanks,
Neil

stut

Unfortunately, that section of the M25 is one of the busiest stretches of road in the country. Time your journey well! Google Maps' "traffic at day and time" feature should give you an idea.

I'd expect a pre-booked taxi to be around �35 each way.

Showbizguru

Why not suggest your friends bring their family over for a meal in a pub/restaurant closer to you in LHR ?
It seems a huge incovenience to hire a car for a few hours when you have a 10am flight the next morning.
And given that you're arriving at 5pm,checking into a hotel,picking up a car AND driving to Cobham through peak traffic times you're not going to have much time for dinner before you've got to head back to LHR.

neilk

This whole thing is kind of a pain, but whatever....

I imagine traffic on the M25 shouldn't be too busy on a Saturday evening, I guess I will see one way or another.

Thanks,
Neil