Which British port is closest to Heathrow?

[Fblack]

I am considering a transatlantic cruise next year that ends in Harwick or Southampton. Anyone know how far these ports are to either Heathrow or Gatwick?

[HeinBloed]

Harwich

- Gatwick 172 km (car)

- Heathrow 183 km

 

Southampton

- Gatwick 126 km

- Heathrow 110 km

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[ollienbertsmum]

Distance does not always mean more accessible.

 

You know what I did to work out the best airport - I asked a couple of taxi firms for quotes from each airport to Harwich, which is the port we are leaving from. They came out the same, so I guessed it was really up to the best time for us.

 

Try that method, you may end up being able to choose the itinery/ship/price you prefer

[HeinBloed]

Distance does not always mean more accessible.

 

You know what I did to work out the best airport - I asked a couple of taxi firms for quotes from each airport to Harwich, which is the port we are leaving from. They came out the same, so I guessed it was really up to the best time for us.

 

Try that method, you may end up being able to choose the itinery/ship/price you prefer

 

 

Beside the fact that the cruiser asked for the distance:

 

have you ever looked over a map of the UK?

 

If you need to get to Harwich to one of the airports you must always drive around London.

 

If you need to get to Southampton to one of the airports you must NOT go around London.

 

So the accessbility of Harwich compared to Southampton is worse anyway!!!

 

There is no infrastructure in Harwich - you cannot even get a car rental there!

 

Futhermore:

 

Southampton is connected by train directly to Gatwick and by coach directly to Heathrow

 

while Harwich is only connected to Central London.

 

Therefore why making someone weird with questions which are not applying to the original question.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[ollienbertsmum]

Heinblod, I am not sure if you are disagreeing with something I said.

 

yes I know that Harwich is the other side of London. Harwich is in a very awkward place, I lived in England for over 20 years we only ever went to that part of the country to visit relatives. My folks are not picking us up from Harwich when we finish the cruise - they are leaving us to find public transport because getting there by car takes too long.

 

If you look at a map, Gatwick to Dover looks the easiest, but some of the motorways are so congested that I think asking the people that drive them is the best way of finding out the facts. Maybe they would suggest using the Dartford tunnel ??? That is why I asked for quotes from taxi firms, surely the journeys they knew would take the longest time would cost more.

 

But really the cruise is the most important part of the trip. Getting to the port is going to take a few hours however you do it, you really want to find the cruise that will suit you the best.

[pcur]

Fblack, I would check your connection possibilities first before deciding on which airport. If you're planning on hiring a car, take the National Express, or take the train to the port, then those services and costs can help with your decision.

 

If it's economy you're interested in, then I would go to the National Express (bus) web site and look at the times and fares. We used National Express for Heathrow-London-Southampton, but we stayed in London for 2 nights before the cruise.

 

So, I'd suggest working backwards from the port to the airport. It depends on what you want to do, and how much you want to pay.

[Globaliser]

I am considering a transatlantic cruise next year that ends in Harwick or Southampton. Anyone know how far these ports are to either Heathrow or Gatwick?

Without a doubt, the British cruise ship port closest to Heathrow and Gatwick is London. But relatively few cruises start from London, and these tend to be on the smaller ships.

 

Also without a doubt, Southampton is easier to get to from both Heathrow and Gatwick than is Harwich.

[forest_]

Tilbury Docks is the London Cruise ship home but only smaller ships.

 

As an Englsih Guy I would go for Southampton from Heathrow

and Dover from Gatwick. It is a very qucik drive to Southampton from Heathrow.

 

Which ever one you take you will have fun!!

[Globaliser]

Tilbury Docks is the London Cruise ship home but only smaller ships.

There are also cruise ship berths at Greenwich, and either side of Tower Bridge - the latter are, of course, the most spectacular places to start or end your cruise, or indeed just to have as a port of call.

[Fblack]

So if you need to catch a plane a Heathrow, can you make a flight at say 1:00PM flight from Harwich? How about 11:30AM?

[susieh]

you need to allow 2 hours check in so any flight at 11.30 means you need to be at the airport at 9.30. And getting to LHR from Southampton would take about 1.5 to 2hrs to be there at that time of day.

 

I don't know about timings from Harwich - maybe someone who lives near there can help (I live 20 miles from Southampton - just along the coast in Portsmouth)

[ollienbertsmum]

Allow 2 hours, + all the extra time you might need to get checked in/go through security etc. 11.30 is probably possible on a good day, but it might depend on what day of the week it is. One big hold up on a motorway going there might throw your timings. Personally there is no way I would agree to 11.30 from Heathrow. 1 pm - absolutely, get off fairly early and have transport waiting.

[MAKEM]

I am considering a transatlantic cruise next year that ends in Harwick or Southampton. Anyone know how far these ports are to either Heathrow or Gatwick?

 

I do not know of any trans-atlantic ending in Harwich,yes going from Harwich to States,Sept/Oct, but never in the spring.