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Husband has two teenage daughters on way to Germany from US with a 5 hour layover in Heathrow. Is it just too tight a timeline to catch a tube into London to pop up and see a few (very few!) sights very quickly and return to airport and catch their flight to Germany?

It will be Easter Sunday, not sure if there are exceptions to the tube schedule on that day or not.

Thanks for any replies or advice
Cheers

Five hours isn't enough. The trip into central London in an hour each way in ideal conditions, and security lines at Heathrow can be a disaster, so you should be back at least 2-3 hours before your flight.

So, you'd technically have enough time for a tube ride, but it would be pretty pointless, because you wouldn't have any time to do anything.

I'm with 2wanderers.

Heathrow can be evil. Very evil. It is well outside the city center and prone to unpredictable, yet all too regular, problems. Google: Heathrow is Hell

Don't do it.

I too agree with 2Wanderes and Stoo. It is pointless going into London, if you only have 5 hours in Heathrow. although, I always recommend seeing London, 5 hours is really just not enough time. Also often on weekends, they work on certain underground lines, but even if their are no works taking place on the lines, you should take at least an hour each way, and remember at the airport it is always important to be there about 2 hours before your flight. Sorry about that, but just no point going into London in your case, you would not be able to see a thing, and just the tube ride will be a waste of money. Consider returning to London for at least a week, I 'd even say much more.
It's a great place.
Hessel

Hi Nansaidh,

It depends when you actually step on the tube at Heathrow and the five hours start ticking. I think you can do a little bit as it takes just over an hour to get from the airport to Oxford St (central London). So if you take 2.5 hours off for travel you have another 2.5 hours to check out the shops on Oxford St or stroll around Covent Garden. You could see the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. If you check the London Underground website you can plan your journey on the tube. Or look at getting a shuttle bus from Heathrow. Dot2Dot is a good shuttle bus and as the other guy mentioned they sometimes carry out work on the tube – so you would avoid this.

London Underground
Dot2Dot shuttle bus

I agree with the others that it's really not enough. Heathrow is simply a zoo. I call it the London Zoo. A previous poster wasn't kidding when he/she suggested googling both "Heathrow" and "Hell" in the same search.

If you haven't ticketed your reservation yet, perhaps you can opt for an earlier Germany-UK flight, and/or a later UK/US flight.

If they have a subsequent layover on arrival in the US and another connecting flight to home, it might be worth it to buy a one-day/day-pass to the airline lounge of whatever airline they're flying (AAdmirals Club for AA, Red Carpet Club for United, President's Club for Continental, etc.). It's about $40-$50, & they'll have a nicer place to hang out, grab showers, snacks, coffee, etc. Probably not worth it if Heathrow is their only layover, but possibly worth it if it gets them access in Germany, the UK, and in the US.

The only way they MAY be able to grab a quick "go-see" into Central London might be via the Heathrow Express, as it's only 15 minutes to/from central London. But, it'spretty expensive for just an hour or two of central London...but, if they've never seen Central London or won't have an opportunity to do so for a long time, it might be a worthwhile splurge. You could google "Heathrow Express discount codes" or "HEX discount codes" for a few codes that would save a few dollars.

quote:

Originally posted by intrepidtraveller2:
Hi Nansaidh,

It depends when you actually step on the tube at Heathrow and the five hours start ticking. I think you can do a little bit as it takes just over an hour to get from the airport to Oxford St (central London). So if you take 2.5 hours off for travel you have another 2.5 hours to check out the shops on Oxford St or stroll around Covent Garden. You could see the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. If you check the London Underground website you can plan your journey on the tube. Or look at getting a shuttle bus from Heathrow. Dot2Dot is a good shuttle bus and as the other guy mentioned they sometimes carry out work on the tube – so you would avoid this.

London Underground
Dot2Dot shuttle bus

intrepidtraveller2, one needs to include the time in immigration on the way out (which can approach an hour for non-EU folks), and the time in security on the way in (commonly 20 minutes). Even walking to/from the tube can take as much as 20m. Five hours is not enough, and no way one can swing half that time actually in London.

Given the absolute chaos that can reign in Heathrow, you'll be lucky to survive it to catch your plane. I should know. I almost missed mine because I missed the call on the loudspeakers that my flight was being expedited on the 3 mile long security line. Yep. The xrays didn't work. Everyones luggage was being checked by hand.

So, if you want to be sure to catch your flight, you really don't want to looking at your watch every 15 minutes so you can arrive the minumum 3 hours early and avoid trouble, and then, god forbid, one of the kids go missing on a lark...etc..


If you want to see london, change your flight to a 3 day layover and see it properly.

Just recently transition through London (but stay overnight there both on my way in and out), my experience is just as those above suggest: No,Don't do it!

But if any of you transition through Atlanta airport, 5 hours may be fine for a detour to downtown! Well I know...

i agree with the previous peeps

5 hours is just enough time to transfer planes

i hope they don't miss their connection

Heathrow is the last place you want to connect