How far to Heathrow Express?

[lkmamom]

Just a quick question for those that have experianced this......we will be arriving in terminal 3 in Heathrow. Is it easy to find and approximately how far will it be to reach the Heathrow Express, and can we purchase our tickets close to where we board? Thanks for your help:) Our son is really excited to ride the train (though he knows it is a short trip:D )

Linda

[dsweet]

Just follow the signs from the arrival hall, down two excalators (or take the elevator if you have quite a bit of luggage). Trains run every 15 minutes, so no need to rush. You can buy your tickets in advance or at the terminal. Because it is such a short ride, I would not personally waste my money on first class.

[Globaliser]

It's very easy to find, although it's probably something like 10 minutes' walk from T3 if you're pushing a luggage-laden trolley. There are lots of signs for it (which is hardly surprising when you consider that it's operated by the same company that owns the airport!). There's a ticket office when you reach the Heathrow Express station; there are both manned windows and also automatic machines (these will take credit cards as well as cash - very fast and easy).

[harrodsfan]

easy to find. Remember to get a round trip ticket if you need it.

Don't waste money on first class.

[Globaliser]

So that you can see what the others mean about first class, these are the standard fares:-

Fares from Ticket Machine and Ticket Office

 

+Express Class single £14.00

+Express Class return £26.00

 

First Class single £23.00

First Class return £44.00

 

+There is a £2 premium payable if you buy your Express Class ticket on board the train.

There's a small discount if you book online, but probably not a big enough discount to be worth the risk of doing so.

 

A return ticket only costs a little bit less than two singles, so if you have any doubt about whether you will use the return half then you might want to think again.

 

However, to gauge the worth of a first class ticket, remember that the journey between T123 and Paddington is 15 minutes long.

[Globaliser]

Whoops, duplicate post.

[lkmamom]

Thanks everyone. I am the only one that was nervous about this in our family. Heathrow airport looks so huge to me and I really like to have a little knowledge of where I am going before I get there:) thanks for your help I really appreciate it.After all of the many months of research, the time is very quickly approaching. I can't wait to visit London!

Linda

[dkjretired]

Thanks everyone. I am the only one that was nervous about this in our family. Heathrow airport looks so huge to me and I really like to have a little knowledge of where I am going before I get there:) thanks for your help I really appreciate it.After all of the many months of research, the time is very quickly approaching. I can't wait to visit London!

Linda

 

 

I did the Heathrow express with my family and it really was fairly effortless although there was a little walking. Not something to really worry about.

[Globaliser]

Heathrow airport looks so huge to me and I really like to have a little knowledge of where I am going before I get there

You might get a little help from the maps that the airport company has on its website - see here for an interactive version, and PDF maps for T1, T2, T3 and T4.

 

But at the end of the day, it's no worse an airport than JFK or LAX - in fact, for my money it's easier to negotiate than either of them because of the number of walkways that there are between the terminals.

 

The signage at Heathrow is pretty easy. BAA's great trademark is that they are bright yellow and backlit (lit from inside the sign), so they are easy to spot and to read in all sorts of lighting conditions. Whenever I see other airports that have dull dark signs that blend in to the background, I wonder what idiots ever thought that that was an appropriate method of showing tired travellers where they need to go.