Recommend a hotel near Heathrow and also near a train station? (Going to cruise pier by train)

[Meander Ingwa]

Portsmouth is just east along the coast to Southampton sort of the mouth of the harbor so to speak. 

 

If you take the train down consider staying in  Kings Cross.  It has a lot of tube lines that connect you to many areas of the city.  There is no one neighborhood that allows you to see it all, and by using the Tube you are not far from the things you will likely want to see. 

 

Premier Inn is a national chain of nice basic hotels.  Holiday Inn on Marchmont Street is familiar and close to Russell Square station..  I like the Marchmont street neighborhood I have stayed there many many times over the years.  There are TONS of small hotels and B&Bs.  If you do stay in one of those be aware that rooms are small, the normal standard.  Many are in class 2 historic listed buildings.  The usually dont have elevators so ask for a ground floor. 

 

Kensington / South Ken is very nice, a little more upscale and close to many things.  A busy, popular area.  I dont think you can go wrong

 

Choose whichever hotel and enjoy your train ride..

[1island2go]

1 hour ago, Meander Ingwa said:

Portsmouth is just east along the coast to Southampton sort of the mouth of the harbor so to speak. 

 

If you take the train down consider staying in  Kings Cross.  It has a lot of tube lines that connect you to many areas of the city.  There is no one neighborhood that allows you to see it all, and by using the Tube you are not far from the things you will likely want to see. 

 

Premier Inn is a national chain of nice basic hotels.  Holiday Inn on Marchmont Street is familiar and close to Russell Square station..  I like the Marchmont street neighborhood I have stayed there many many times over the years.  There are TONS of small hotels and B&Bs.  If you do stay in one of those be aware that rooms are small, the normal standard.  Many are in class 2 historic listed buildings.  The usually dont have elevators so ask for a ground floor. 

 

Kensington / South Ken is very nice, a little more upscale and close to many things.  A busy, popular area.  I dont think you can go wrong

 

Choose whichever hotel and enjoy your train ride..

So trains do run from London to Portsmouth?  How close is train station to the cruise terminal? For some reason I thought no trains had to be a bus but then again I am on overload at the moment on info

thanks again for the info

[Globaliser]

55 minutes ago, 1island2go said:

So trains do run from London to Portsmouth?

 

Yes, from London Waterloo. I think that Portsmouth Harbour is the station for the cruise terminal.

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, 1island2go said:

So trains do run from London to Portsmouth?  How close is train station to the cruise terminal? For some reason I thought no trains had to be a bus but then again I am on overload at the moment on info

thanks again for the info

There are two stations serving central Portsmouth - Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour. Most fast trains from London serve both.

 

The first one, Portsmouth & Southsea is slightly closer to the cruise terminal but whichever you choose you’ll probably want a cab as it’s well over a mile away.

 

Alternatively, there’s a National Express coach from Victoria Coach Station in London at around 11 or 11.30am every day which runs direct to the cruise terminal in just under 2 hours.

[John Bull]

On 7/1/2023 at 3:36 PM, 1island2go said:

You are always so helpful, I was wondering if you could answer a couple questions for me. We have never been to London. We are taking a NCL cruise around Ireland. We are flying into Scotland and spending a few days before coming to London. Here are my questions if you would be so kind...

 

1. Best way to get from Edinburgh to London?

2. We will have 3 nights in London before our cruise.  Best area to stay that we can take in the most sights in three days. We like to walk to most things but not sure London is that kind of town as hear most things spread out. so close to a tube staton, hoho stop, etc? Would prefer not to spend more than $275/night. Looking currently at Kensington but not sure.

3. Best way to get to Portsmouth and how long does it take?

4. We have our air already out of LHR. We decided not to fly home day we depart from the ship as schedules would be tight, so will need a hotel by Heathrow as it is an early flight the next day. Is there anything to see out there or will we need to go into London proper?

 

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

 

 

Delayed response - now back home from cruisin' on a ship with silly-hjgh wi-fi charges.😮

 

Direct train from Edinburgh Waverly station (in the middle of the city) takes about 4 1/2  hours to central London's Kings Cross station,

Direct flights take only 70 to 95 minutes, but you lose time to & from the airports, checking in etc etc..

 

Train can cost as little as £44 if you buy an advance ticket - available from about 12 weeks out (dynamic pricing, price goes up as the date gets close). But an advance ticket is only good for the train time that you book - miss that train & you'll have to buy fresh walk-up tickets for the next train at about double the cost. 

 

Airplane tickets are cheaper than even advance train fares, but there are add-ons such as luggage. You need to run a dummy booking (up to the point where you're asked for your credit card details for your date) in order to know the total cost.

From LHR into central London is pretty quick & easy, from LGW it takes a little longer, LTN is awkward, STN is 40 miles from London.

 

Fruitmachine prefers by train, I prefer by plane. Personal choice

........................................

 

Kensington is especially good for museums. It's on the fringe of central London but only 5 to 10 minutes by tube - so yes, handy to a tube station is important.

A ho-ho ride allows you to see most of London's attractions in one trip of about 2hrs 15 mins, and I'd recommend it. But its a very slow and tiresome way to travel between sights that you want to visit. For getting from A to B (or D to C) the tube is massively quicker - so don't buy a three-day ho-ho pass. Convenient to a ho-ho route isn't so important.

........................................

 

Portsmouth is on England's south coast, about 25 miles from Southampton.

Two public transport options from central London

 

By direct train from London Waterloo  station to Portsmouth&Southsea station, then a £8 - £10 taxi hop to Portsmouth International Port (shared by cruise ships & cross-channel ferries). If you don't get off the train at Portsmouth&Southsea it terminates at the next station, Portsmouth Harbour station which is about the same taxi fare to Portsmouth International Port.

Advance train fares under £20, 2 - 3 direct trains per hour, journey time 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

 

Or by National Express coach (bus) from London Victoria coach station which calls at Portsmouth International Port. And Kensington to Victoria coach station is much closer & cheaper than to Waterloo station

Fare £21, journey time 2 hrs, but only one coach suitable for same-day cruise departure (11.30am, arrives 1.25pm)

-------------------------------------------

 

Can't help with Heathrow hotels - Windsor & its castle are only about 8 miles from LHR but public transport is convoluted - best to pre-book a taxi at about £30-35 each-way.

Or stash your luggage at Portsmouth International Port, explore the city (especially its Historic Dockyard & Ships), & travel to your LHR hotel later in the day

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

https://book.nationalexpress.com/

https://www.skyscanner.net/

https://historicdockyard.co.uk/

https://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/explore/cities/portsmouth

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

[Globaliser]

5 hours ago, John Bull said:

Direct flights take only 70 to 95 minutes, but you lose time to & from the airports, checking in etc etc.

 

On this particular point, the associated loss of time can be reduced by flying to London City airport. You'll get out of the airport faster, and it's closer to central London.

 

(It's even better if you're flying in the other direction.)

[fruitmachine]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Direct train from Edinburgh Waverly station (in the middle of the city) takes about 4 1/2  hours to central London's Kings Cross station,

Direct flights take only 70 to 95 minutes, but you lose time to & from the airports, checking in etc etc..

 

Train can cost as little as £44 if you buy an advance ticket - available from about 12 weeks out (dynamic pricing, price goes up as the date gets close). But an advance ticket is only good for the train time that you book - miss that train & you'll have to buy fresh walk-up tickets for the next train at about double the cost. 

 

Airplane tickets are cheaper than even advance train fares, but there are add-ons such as luggage. You need to run a dummy booking (up to the point where you're asked for your credit card details for your date) in order to know the total cost.

From LHR into central London is pretty quick & easy, from LGW it takes a little longer, LTN is awkward, STN is 40 miles from London.

 

Fruitmachine prefers by train, I prefer by plane. Personal choice

As JB says, it's different preferences.

If it helps you decide, my main reasoning is...

 

After doing the journey more times than I could possibly count using both modes, it takes on average one hour more by train than plane.  This was with hand luggage only, and I'm not an earlier arriver at either airport or train station when travelling on business.  With check-in bags for the plane, you'd want to add a minimum of 30 minutes more.

 

If you take shared public transport at the ends, standard class on the train is broadly similar cost to the end-to-end cost on the plane.  For first class, the train is more (there isn't that option on the plane).

 

Delays on the train are usually less severe than the plane.  You start getting a 50% refund after a 30 minute delay, rising to 100% after 60 minutes.  Across the whole adult family's journeys (all 3 children use the train regularly for work & leisure) we rarely get a 100% refund.

 

Your carbon footprint is less on the train.

 

I used to always take the plane.  In the last 10 years, I almost always took the train.  But for a different journey of a similar distance (Edinburgh-Bristol) I always took the plane.

 

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

On this particular point, the associated loss of time can be reduced by flying to London City airport. You'll get out of the airport faster, and it's closer to central London.

 

(It's even better if you're flying in the other direction.)

 

 

For whatever reason Skyscanner wasn't showing any EDI - LCY flights on a random date that I chose.

But yes, several flights daily and City airport is certainly closer and more convenient than Stansted or Luton, even Heathrow or Gatwick depending on what destination in London.

And broadly similar prices.

 

JB 🙂