Getting to LHR in time for early flight
 

I'll have 2 short visits to London next year and both times, my flights out of LHR are at 07:25 and 08:25am. I would have preferred staying in the city to make the most of my time there and explore but it makes it more difficult to get back to the airport in time. Would it be easier to stay at a hotel near the airport?

Another option I'm considering is to stay near Paddington. For my 07:25 flight, I could take the first Heathrow Express train and be at the airport about 2 hours before my flight.

Any thoughts from experts?

What days are your flights? The Underground runs all night on Friday and Saturday nights, so that gives you extra transport options if flying on Saturday/Sunday morning.

What would you want to do on the night before your flights? That will determine where would be best to stay.

Also note there is no need to be at the airport 2 hours before. 1h30 is fine if you have to check in bags, even less if you don't.

check the TFL (Transport For London) website for times of first tubes. The journey planner will also be very helpful.

It's hard to give more specific advice without knowing where you will be staying in the 'city' or which terminal you will be using.

Many start points are quicker (and cheaper) to LHR by tube that using the Heathrow Express.

First visit I'll be there Tuesday-Wednesday and then the second time, I'll be there Saturday-Sunday. Ideally, I'd like to be somewhere central so I can walk to most sights. Last September, I stayed in Southbank and I liked walking along the river everywhere. On my last night, I'm seeing a concert at Wembley stadium.

You might want to stay at a hotel within walking distance of the stadium that night then. It would save you having to cram onto the tube/trains into town with thousands of others after the concert. You could cab it from Wembley to LHR first thing in the morning, it should only take about 30mins pre rush hour.

Which terminal/ airline/ destination?

Paddington is good for T2/3/5 (T4, less so) as long as you don’t mind paying for the Heathrow Express (you should be able to get an advance ticket at a discount). The downside is that you wake up in the morning and discover the trains are broken and you need an expensive cab.

It’s also reasonably easy from Wembley.

There are hotels attached to T5 and T4 if you’re flying from there, and a Hilton opening at T2/3 next year, but possibly not in time for you.

There’s also the convenient Hilton at Hatton Cross tube station, which is only 1 or 2 stops from all terminals. First train just after 0500.

I wouldn’t stay at any of the hotels requiring a Hoppa or free TFL bus at that time of day.

Getting to Heathrow from central London at those early hours would be nothing traffic-wise if you can afford it, I'd suggest staying central and a minicab / Uber out in the morning.

How much should I expect to pay for that though?

Minicab - which you can book (and only can) in advance probably £30 and up. Addison Lee is a well known firm, and would charge similar to that (maybe a bit more).

Uber is a question mark. Depends on surge pricing and what not.

when travelling to airports, I tend to book a minicab just to make sure I have something lined up rather than leave it to Uber availability and pricing.

google 'uber fare estimator' then input your start and end points and it will give you a good idea of costs.

You would be lucky to get £30 from central London

Last time I did Addison Lee from Hammersmith area it was around £45 and that was a few years ago

on online quote for a minicab from the Hampton by Hilton at Waterloo to T5 is £46 (minicabs.co.uk)

Get a quote from Simply Airports. I like them.

If it's two passengers, a taxi may be less than Heathrow Express.

I have had this happen to me and I can assure you that the Heathrow Express staff has no intention or desire to provide any sort of help other than telling you to write for a ticket refund. I made a deal with two other people standing there, also abandoned, and we split the cab. A decent carrier would have prearranged a shared cab bridge and accept tickets to pay for it, of course.