Southampton cruise port to Paddington Station recommendations

[PhillyTravelBug]

So far, I have done a seamless job planning our cruise and excursions, but this last bit is giving me a headache.  We end our cruise this August in Southampton and will be spending the night near Paddington station, so we can hop on the train the next day to get to Heathrow. Is this a good plan and what would be the best mode of transportation to get from Southampton to Paddington station? It seems like it's a taxi to the train station in Southampton..train to Waterloo, and then taxi to hotel? that's a lot.

[Globaliser]

44 minutes ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

We end our cruise this August in Southampton and will be spending the night near Paddington station, so we can hop on the train the next day to get to Heathrow. Is this a good plan and what would be the best mode of transportation to get from Southampton to Paddington station? It seems like it's a taxi to the train station in Southampton..train to Waterloo, and then taxi to hotel?

 

What time is your flight from Heathrow? And what plans do you have for your time in London?

 

If for some reason you must stay at Paddington, then taxi --> train --> taxi can't be improved on.

 

But it worries me that you're only staying "near" Paddington. If you will need transport from your hotel to Paddington just to get the train to Heathrow, I reckon you're likely to be better off staying in central London and then just getting a cab/car directly to Heathrow the next day. Or alternatively, if it fits in with your plans, pick a hotel in central London that's next to an Elizabeth Line station and take an Elizabeth Line train directly to Heathrow the next day.

[John Bull]

Whilst for most folk, Southampton to London means the direct train that you mentioned to Waterloo.

But Paddington is over 4 miles by taxi, that's expensive.

Alternatively take the Tube (London's metro system) but that's not always easy with luggage - and WAT to PAD means a change of tube train - several options where is best to change trains with luggage, but I'Il leave a Londoner to suggest which is best.

 

 

There is the option of booking a train from Southampton Central to London Paddington via a change of train at Reading train station (train stations are more spacious, less-crowded and much more luggage-friendly than Tube stations). The walk-up fare of about £52 is the same as the walk-up fare to London Waterloo, but whereas you can buy cheap "Advance" fares to Waterloo from as little as £15 there are no cheap "Advance" fares if you book a thru ticket from Southampton to Paddington.

This is where the pricing gets ridiculous .................

You can book Advance tickets from Southampton to Reading for as little as £14 (walk-up price £24)

And separate tickets for Reading to Paddington for £12 (walk-up fare £29) 

So instead of  about £52 your total fare will be £26.

Advance fares are available from about 12 weeks out (prices rise as the travel date gets close) and they're only good for the train time that you booked.

(and in this case because you're buying separate Advance tickets for the two trains, if your first booked train is delayed and you miss the second booked train that second ticket will be trash and you'll have to buy walk-up tickets for the next one.

 

Complicated, innit ! 🙄

 

JB 🙂

[Globaliser]

13 minutes ago, John Bull said:

Alternatively take the Tube (London's metro system) but that's not always easy with luggage - and WAT to PAD means a change of tube train - several options where is best to change trains with luggage, but I'Il leave a Londoner to suggest which is best.

 

Take the Jubilee Line from Waterloo to Baker Street, then a cross-platform change to the Bakerloo Line to Paddington. There is step-free access down to the Jubilee Line platform at Waterloo, and I think that there is now step-free access from the Bakerloo Line platform to the street at Paddington.

 

If you have luggage, do not attempt to take the Bakerloo Line directly from Waterloo to Paddington, even though that is a direct journey.

  

13 minutes ago, John Bull said:

There is the option of booking a train from Southampton Central to London Paddington via a change of train at Reading train station (train stations are more spacious, less-crowded and much more luggage-friendly than Tube stations).

 

On a quick look, you'd have to change between platform islands if you do this. At Reading, I think that means taking a lift (elevator) up to the footbridge and then a lift down to the next platform. With cruise luggage, personally I think that simply going from Southampton directly to London Waterloo is better.

[PhillyTravelBug]

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

What time is your flight from Heathrow? And what plans do you have for your time in London?

 

Our flight is at 9am the next morning.  We haven’t made any plans for the day in London yet. It looks like we should focus on finding a hotel near Waterloo. 
 

or…. Should we just overnight in Southampton and take a train from Southampton to Heathrow? I’ve never been to London, but is Southampton worth sightseeing?

[PhillyTravelBug]

After some researching, definitely see a one day itinerary to hit a good bit of sights from London eye Big Ben up to London bridge, so probably taking a train to Waterloo makes most sense.. or do the bus services stop at Waterloo from Southampton? Any hotel recommendations?

[Globaliser]

5 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Should we just overnight in Southampton and take a train from Southampton to Heathrow? I’ve never been to London, but is Southampton worth sightseeing?

 

1 hour ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

After some researching, definitely see a one day itinerary to hit a good bit of sights from London eye Big Ben up to London bridge, so probably taking a train to Waterloo makes most sense.. or do the bus services stop at Waterloo from Southampton? Any hotel recommendations?

 

You'll definitely get more out of a day sightseeing in London than in Southampton (it'll be half a day plus an evening). There are no trains from Southampton to Heathrow, anyway, and even by road you would struggle to get there comfortably in time for a 9 am flight.

 

Are you flying on Monday 28 August? If so, that's a public holiday in England, so traffic in cental London will be light at the time you need to go out to the airport. That's another reason for doing that transfer by road.

 

Choice of hotel depends very much on budget. Don't forget that there's no such thing as a hotel close to the sights, because central London sights are spread over a fairly wide area so there will always be some that you will have to travel to. However, don't expect to do much more than view the surface; you won't even scratch it, and seeing all of London requires a stay lasting months.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Thank you for this advice.