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The tale I’m about to tell is a jetlagged traveler’s nightmare. It took me three full hours to get from Heathrow to London, from stepping off the plane at Heathrow Airport to stepping inside the doors of my hostel in central London. That’s more than half the time it took me to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Think about that for a second.
If you don’t care to read my horror story and just want the tips, skip to The Right Way to Get from Heathrow to London.
Starting Off Right
I had a great flight with British Airways going from Chicago to London. My 7.5 hour flight turned into a 6.5 hours thanks to a strong tailwind, and it was one of the best overseas flights I’d had. The seats were relatively comfortable and there were tons of included free perks. I had my own entertainment screen with movies, tv shows, and games, two in-flight meals, a snack box in the back of the plane full of goodies to munch on, and free alcohol for all passengers. When I landed in London at 7am, I almost felt refreshed.
The Wrong Way to Get from Heathrow to London
Filled with adrenaline, carry-on bags in hand, I powered off the plane at Terminal 5 and made for the Heathrow trains connecting to London. I bought a ticket for the Heathrow Connect, the cheaper train, and went to find the platform. Not finding the platform, I asked around and found out the Heathrow Connect only stops at Terminal 3. By the time I figured this out, the train connecting to Terminal 3 had just left. I waited the 15 minutes for the next train.
Getting off at the station for Terminals 1, 2, and 3, I looked for signs for the Heathrow Connect. Not seeing any, I thought I must be in the wrong place. Maybe the station is in a different part of the terminal. I followed the signs for Terminal 3, and entered the main airport. With no signs for the Connect in sight, I asked information and sure enough, I should have just stayed where I was. They told me the next Connect train was arriving in a few minutes. I rushed back to the station – not a short walk, by the way – to see the Connect train waiting at the platform, its doors closing. The train (mockingly, it seemed) sat at the platform with its doors locked shut for a full minute before I watched it pull away without me.
“Heathrow Connect” by David McKelvey CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
I overheard someone saying that the next Connect train wouldn’t arrive for another hour. At that point, I didn’t care which train I got on, as long as I got from Heathrow to London. I boarded the next train, a Heathrow Express, and hoped I wouldn’t be kicked off for having the wrong ticket.
Sure enough, I was caught. I had to pay the difference in ticket price between the Connect fare (£10.10) and the Express fare (£21.50). Just 15 minutes later, I arrived at Paddington Station.
“Paddington Station” by Jim Nix CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Maybe it was the jetlag or the fact that I hadn’t slept, but I couldn’t figure out how to get out of Paddington station. I think in a more normal state, I would have walked right out, but I wandered the station for 20 minutes making a full loop around and several backtracks until I realized I’d walked right past the exit I wanted.
I kid you not – this is the giant exit I could not find. “Paddington Station” by Sherwood CC BY-SA 2.0
Finally out, and feeling really stupid, I walked down the street to try and find a bus stop. With no luck after a few blocks I went back to Paddington Station and asked a parking attendant for directions. The bus stop was just half a block in the opposite direction. At the bus stop, I studied the map and figured out which route I wanted, and waited until it pulled up. When my bus arrived, I wasn’t allowed on board. It turns out you can’t just hop on a bus in London and pay cash. I needed an Oyster Card, London’s transit card, in order to pay the fare. Back to Paddington, I went.
I lugged my bags down the stairs to Paddington Underground Station. Armed with my new Oyster card, I trudged back out to the bus stop, just to watch my next bus pull away without me. That was getting old really fast. I waited for the next bus as it started to rain.
“Wet London 20” by Timo Arnall CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Another bus came in a few minutes, and I was shuttled off toward my hostel. I got off at the right stop and walked from Oxford Street up Great Portland. Ironically, an elderly couple stopped me for directions. Thinking I knew where I was going, I gave them somewhat misguided advice. Sure enough, after 20 minutes of walking, I realized I must have been lost. When I asked for directions I discovered I had walked half a mile past my hostel. Doubling back, I finally crossed the threshold of YHA London Central.
From deplaning at Heathrow to planting myself on the couch in the lobby, it had been three hours. Wow.
The Right Way to Get from Heathrow to London
No matter how much you travel, sometimes it gets the best of you. I felt like one of those teams on The Amazing Race that wastes hours getting lost because they can’t read signs properly. I desperately needed some breadcrumbs to follow that morning in London. So hopefully if you’re reading this, you can learn from my mistakes! Here are all of the things I should have done to get from Heathrow to London:
- You’ve just gotten off the plane and collected your bags. Use Heathrow’s free wifi to load the map for your hotel/hostel onto your phone. Open up google maps and find your destination. Zoom out to fit the entire area you may need, then type “ok maps” into the search field. You’ll be asked if you want to save the map. By saving the map, you will be able to access the map anywhere, even when you have cellular data turned off.
- If you’re in Terminals 4 or 5, take the free airport transfer train to Terminal 3, running every 15 minutes.
- Buy a ticket for the Heathrow Connect (£10.10). If a Heathrow Express train comes earlier you can pay the fare difference on board (an extra £11.40). Heathrow Connect travel time is 26 minutes, Heathrow Express travel time is 15 minutes.
- Get off at Paddington Station and follow the signs for the Paddington Underground Metro Station.
“Paddington Station Tube Sign” by El Scrapeo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
- Buy an Oyster Card from a ticket machine.
- Study the underground map to figure out which lines to take. Then use your Oyster Card to enter the station.
“Paddington” by Konstantin CC BY 2.0
- Take the tube to your destination. Once you’re off, exit the station by swiping your Oyster card at the turnstiles.
- Walk to your hotel/hostel, using your downloaded map and GPS on your phone if you get lost.
Once you get the hang of it, the transit system in London is easy to navigate and quite functional. I had no trouble once I had gotten some sleep. If you’re like me, though, you may need a little assistance your first time, especially if you’re jetlagged! I hope this helps you get from Heathrow to London!
Have you ever had a transit nightmare? Share your story in the comments!
Featured photo was adapted from “Oxford Street” by Tom, licensed through Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Great advice on getting around in London. Getting there for me hasn’t been a problem. Getting through the terminals and catching connections that’s a whole different story.
It’s funny, going back to Heathrow I didn’t have a single problem either. Oh wait, actually I did slice my finger open unknowingly and present my cash to the ticket agent with a hand covered in blood. Ha! always something.
It’s so easy to get turned around or do something that you could never imagine yourself doing when you’re exhausted from a full days travelling. Normally it’s the sitting for so long that gets to me and I just want to move again – so sometimes I take off a max speed in the completely wrong direction just to be going somewhere rather than waiting any longer. But heck it’s a new city and I got to see something I normally wouldn’t have.
Haha! That totally sounds like something I would do. I’m always disoriented that first day!
For airport to city transportation, my best strategy is to befriend people that have a private transfer arranged (family, friends, whatevs) and ask them to hitch a ride with them 😀
That would be great! I didn’t know anyone in London, and wasn’t bold enough to ask a stranger for a ride, but if I know friends and family in the city, I definitely prefer mooching off them! 🙂
I thought these sorts of travel connection disasters only happened to me! I can get lost ANYWHERE. Thankfully I always have some kind soul who takes pity on me and helps me. I’m glad you got there in the end. 😀
Good thing you didn’t run into me! I would have tried to help you, but sent you in the wrong direction! At least after all of that hassle, I knew exactly how to get BACK to Heathrow when it came time to leave!
This post is the kind of great advice travelers need for arrival in any city. Things can be so disorienting even when you’re not exhausted that a step by step list of what, where, how is extremely helpful. Good on you!
Thanks Betsy! Kind words indeed.
I’ve never tried the train from Heathrow. Usually just take the tube all the way to Central London. It does take longer though to arrive but a lot cheaper if you use Oyster card. Paddington Station has a few entrance/exits and can certainly be very confusing indeed. Definitely not my favourite station in London but I actually like the area. 🙂
I did consider the tube, but the train was supposed to be faster, and not too expensive (if I had only gotten that Connect train). Live and learn, I guess.
You know, I have lived in England for a long time (8 years!) and I was used at flying in and out of London, ALL airports. I am not surprised to read that it took you forever to get to your hotel. Terminal 5 is not well connected (you need to catch a bus to terminal 1, 2 and 3) and then Paddington station IS confusing, as all the rest to be honest! It would have been MUCH cheaper to get the tube btw 😉
Yes, it’s funny, London has so many transportation options that it actually can make it more difficult to get around! Next time I might try the tube the whole way if the connect isn’t coming soon.
My most memorable adventure in London’s underground was “losing” my husband during rush hour. My son and I made it on the Tube…my husband did not. It turned into a three-hour adventure of finding each other, made more difficult by a fire on the line I was on. We learned a lot of valuable lessons that day:
1. Know the number of the cell/mobile phone your husband has.
2. Don’t let your husband carry your jacket, with all your money and identification, in his backpack.
3. Make sure everyone in the group actually knows where you’re going and knows how to navigate the Tube.
4. Have a plan in case you lose each other, because it can happen!
Stressful at the time, we’ve laughed about it many times since and we were just glad it was one of the adults who was split from the group, not our 11 year old son!
Oh my god, that would be a nightmare! I’m so glad you all found each other. Those are incredibly valuable lessons and I’m going to make sure I follow them after hearing your story! Those are the stories you will always remember, though!
Good on you. Have a beautiful narrative line. I learned a new points Sonja.
Thank you, Hassan! Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome tips on getting around London!
Thanks Megsy!
Public transit always makes for a better story, though!
I know, right? I almost exclusively take public transit in more expensive countries, but I’ll admit I definitely splurge on taxis when they’re cheap, like in Peru and India.
Oh no!! So sorry to hear about your experience – trust me though, we’ve all had our days like this!! If it makes you feel any better I rocked up at Gatwick one time for my internetational flight to Europe which was meant to be out of Heathrow. That’s maybe a post I should write for the wrong way to get TO heathrow 😀
Though if it’s any consolation you got an epic story and your photos are awesome :D!
Oh no! I hope you made it to Heathrow in time! Wish I could take credit for the photos but I didn’t take a single photo of my transit misadventure. Probably better that way considering my luck that day! These were all licensed through Creative Commons 🙂
Yikes! You poor thing and jetlagged too!
Have I had transport trauma? Sure! We wanted to get from Berlin (Germany) to the Isle of Wight. It took a day!
Now in order to make it easier, I booked BA from Berlin to Heaththrow rather than Easyjet. I figured being in Central London would be easier than being in the suburbs. It wasn’t! There was a strike or something and the next train to the city was in an hour. A problem, as I had to get to Waterloo in order to get the train to Portsmouth. Anyway, one of the station officials told us that there was an alternative coach going into the city. I bit my nails. We then had to get from Victoria station to Waterloo (it’s a good thing I actually used to live in London no!).
We then took the train from Waterloo to Portsmouth (still biting my nails), and then the ferry to the Isle of Wight. From there, we had to take another little train, and then a bus to the lovely B&B waiting for us, as I was on the island to attend the wedding of one of my BFF’s. It took pretty much all day but we made it LOL!
Oh my gosh, so stressful! Can’t believe you made it with all those transfers! I bet it made relaxing at the wedding that much better though! That’s a great story, sheesh. Doesn’t there always seem to be a strike when you need to get somewhere on a strict timeline?