Transportation from London to Southampton

[Jack E Dawson]

I know this has been discussed in detail before, in fact I have participated in those discussions, but I can't seem to find the threads through the Search option. I'm sure it's my fault so I apologize. 

We are looking for options for getting from London (Conrad Hilton St. James Park) to Southampton. In the past we have used the train out of Victoria Station (25 stops and 4 hours) and the Cunard Bus. Would appreciate any suggestions on car service or better train options. 

Thanks

Jack

[exlondoner]

If you go by train, you need to start  at Waterloo. Five stops, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

[Host Hattie]

There are lots of answers to this on the Ports of Call board -

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

 

 

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

If you go by train, you need to start  at Waterloo. Five stops, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Sorry, four stops.

[alc13]

We had a good experience with Twelve Transfers last year.  Heathrow to Southampton.

[D&N]

@Jack E Dawson If we were making that trip we would take a taxi (black cab) to Waterloo and a taxi or the Cunard bus you have previously used at Southampton, provided of course that there was no disruption expected on the trains. You could take underground or a bus to Waterloo, but all options involve walking or changing trains. With luggage a cab is much easier.

 

As Exlondoner says; Waterloo-Southampton Central is quite fast. That plus taxis will probably beat a car service although that would save you moving luggage between taxi and train twice.

 

[canoncruiser]

Once you have made sure that there are no existing rail SNAFUs-the 10:35 train from Waterloo is very fast and very comfortable. If you are in the back off the train-1st or 2nd-the carriages stop opposite the exit and the taxi stand is just outside,

[D&N]

@Jack E Dawson When you stayed at The Conrad last year I recall that you were quite keen to use the tube. If you prefer to do that and are happy that you have baggage you can move easily, the trip from St James' Park to Waterloo should be quite easy. You must be familiar with St James' Park. It's about 9 years since I last used it and I don't recall the facilities, but it's not one of the deep lines so you don't have far to descend even if the escalators weren't working. You change from Circle/District Eastbound to Jubilee Eastbound at Westminster, which was rebuilt about 24 years ago. There are escalators and a lift/elevator to make that connection. Waterloo is also relatively new and will have good access to the mainline station.

As retired public transport professionals, well my wife isn't retired she simply stopped working about 7 years ago, we would probably give it a go assuming we didn't have an abnormal amount of baggage. And of course you can always claim you are doing it to save the planet.

Pricewise the tube would be about £6 for two and taxi probably £13 including tip, so I don't imagine that's a prime consideration. Timewise both are probably about the same unless the taxi got stuck in traffic or the tube got delayed for some reason.

[exlondoner]

16 hours ago, D&N said:

@Jack E Dawson If we were making that trip we would take a taxi (black cab) to Waterloo and a taxi or the Cunard bus you have previously used at Southampton, provided of course that there was no disruption expected on the trains. You could take underground or a bus to Waterloo, but all options involve walking or changing trains. With luggage a cab is much easier.

 

As Exlondoner says; Waterloo-Southampton Central is quite fast. That plus taxis will probably beat a car service although that would save you moving luggage between taxi and train twice.

 

Yes, I would take a taxi to Waterloo, if you use the train, even though it is probably slower by cab. Saves the tedious mixture of escalators and cases. St. James’s Park is a fascinating station underneath LT HQ (all Grade 1 listed), but the change at Embankment with cases is no fun.

[3rdGenCunarder]

12 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Yes, I would take a taxi to Waterloo, if you use the train, even though it is probably slower by cab. Saves the tedious mixture of escalators and cases. St. James’s Park is a fascinating station underneath LT HQ (all Grade 1 listed), but the change at Embankment with cases is no fun.

 

Last time I was in London, I did a tour of LT HQ (or is it TFL these days?). Lovely old building. I don't remember the station being terribly special or unusual. Well, it was unusual, as it was clean and I'm used to NYC subways...

 

I agree about taking the train. I get a taxi to Waterloo, because I do not want to haul luggage through the underground. I was researching London to Southampton travel recently. The train is just under 15 pounds if you travel off-peak. The only downside I recall is that trains on this line have very little space for luggage. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[D&N]

24 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

but the change at Embankment with cases is no fun.

I imagine so, but why not at Westminster? Provided Jubilee is running normally.

 

I should say that I like to have alternatives planned in case something goes wrong, so I would work out the taxi, train and bus options. I believe the bus is the 211 (showing an 11 minute delay on the 15:04 departure).

Edited April 6, 2023 by D&N

[exlondoner]

10 minutes ago, D&N said:

I imagine so, but why not at Westminster? Provided Jubilee is running normally.

 

I should say that I like to have alternatives planned in case something goes wrong, so I would work out the taxi, train and bus options. I believe the bus is the 211 (showing an 11 minute delay on the 15:04 departure).

Sorry, Westminster, of course. But still escalators and luggage, though more impressive architecturally. The bus is good but not always with luggage. The good thing about cabs is they know the ways round if there is a holdup. And, if the worst comes to the worst, if the luggage isn’t too much, it would be an enjoyable walk over Westminster Bridge and past the Coade Stone Lion, fired in one piece. 

 

[exlondoner]

27 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Last time I was in London, I did a tour of LT HQ (or is it TFL these days?). Lovely old building. I don't remember the station being terribly special or unusual. Well, it was unusual, as it was clean and I'm used to NYC subways...

 

I agree about taking the train. I get a taxi to Waterloo, because I do not want to haul luggage through the underground. I was researching London to Southampton travel recently. The train is just under 15 pounds if you travel off-peak. The only downside I recall is that trains on this line have very little space for luggage. 

Yes, the coaches are designed to cram as many commuters in as possible, not for travellers with lots of cases. Usually, outside the rush hour, it isn’t too bad.

[exlondoner]

39 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Last time I was in London, I did a tour of LT HQ (or is it TFL these days?). Lovely old building. I don't remember the station being terribly special or unusual. Well, it was unusual, as it was clean and I'm used to NYC subways...

 

I agree about taking the train. I get a taxi to Waterloo, because I do not want to haul luggage through the underground. I was researching London to Southampton travel recently. The train is just under 15 pounds if you travel off-peak. The only downside I recall is that trains on this line have very little space for luggage. 

It is a long time since I’ve been there, but in the corridors they used to have dials with pointers showing where the trains were on the original seven lines. At one time 55, Broadway was the tallest building in London. Those were the days.

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

It is a long time since I’ve been there, but in the corridors they used to have dials with pointers showing where the trains were on the original seven lines. At one time 55, Broadway was the tallest building in London. Those were the days.

 

I didn't take time to explore the station, as I didn't want to miss the tour. The closest I can come to that are dials that showed train intervals. This was in the lobby of the building.

 

[exlondoner]

Just now, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I didn't take time to explore the station, as I didn't want to miss the tour. The closest I can come to that are dials that showed train intervals. This was in the lobby of the building.

 

Yes, that is what i was thinking of, but I seem to remember them (probably wrongly) as being separate. Thank you.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Yes, that is what i was thinking of, but I seem to remember them (probably wrongly) as being separate. Thank you.

 

They may have been reframed as a group for display purposes. 

[Jack E Dawson]

On 4/6/2023 at 8:26 AM, D&N said:

When you stayed at The Conrad last year I recall that you were quite keen to use the tube.

D&N,

You are correct, we do like the tube because it is directly across the street from the Conrad St. James and  of course we have our Oyster cards but I don't think we can get to Waterloo directly. So I think we will take  a London Cab to Waterloo then the 10:35 train to SH. Thanks all for the usual excellent advice and Host Hattie for the link. 

Jack

 

[neeuqdrazil]

On 4/6/2023 at 9:54 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I agree about taking the train. I get a taxi to Waterloo, because I do not want to haul luggage through the underground. I was researching London to Southampton travel recently. The train is just under 15 pounds if you travel off-peak. The only downside I recall is that trains on this line have very little space for luggage. 

 

As long as you're not travelling during rush hour/peak, you'll be fine. I've done both Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning trains Waterloo to Soton, and in both cases, there were enough empty seats that I didn't feel guilty about having my big case, small case (carry-on size), carry on bag (under-seat size) and purse on/in front of the seat next to me. 

[SPacificbound]

We always take a taxi, pick up at hotel and drop off at the dock, quite easy.