Transportation and Timing
I am flying into London, Heathrow Airport, arriving in London at approximately noon. I will then be taking the Chunnel to Paris. How much time should I allow for going through customs, and traveling to the Chunnel station? Thanks!
Patricia
Fort Worth, Texas USA 11/4/09
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Since you need to be at St. Pancras station 1/2 hour minimum before departure and it takes about 1/2 hour between Heathrow and King's Cross St. Pancras using Heathrow Connect and the Underground, plus leaving two hours from plane arrival, passport control, baggage claim and customs, I would have at bare minimum three hours between landing and departure on the Eurostar. I'd be more comfortable at least four hours to allow for something going wrong. Take the four to five olock train to Paris.
Better yet, just fly direct to Paris from Heathrow or the US.
Depends a little on transportation you use to get to the train station. But three hours should be a good number.
Thanks for the info! I am not at all familiar with the underground in London...or the rail system. The last time I was there I got totally lost. I was planning on taking a taxi from the airport to the train station. I will be travelling with my sister-in-law who has never been outside the US or Mexico, and I'm not too sure if I can convince her to travel with only a carry-on! I'm hesitant to take large suitcases on the underground, especially at rush-hour.
It was cheaper to book flights to London than to Paris. Even considering the cost of the Chunnel.
Patricia, there is an excellent man named Ray Skinner who has a transfer service from airport to London, if your sister-in-law would be more comfortable knowing all is arranged ahead of time. We have used his service 4 times now when life has been difficult or complicated, though we usually use bus or underground. Check out his price at london-transfers.com He is only a couple of pounds more expensive than a cab.
The underground costs 4 GBP (going up in January) per person. It will take about an hour to go from Heathrow to ST. Pancras.
You could also take either the Heathrow Exrpess or Heathrow Connect trains to Paddington station and from there take either the tube or a taxi to St. Pancras. Figure 45 minutes to an hour. A taxi from Heathrow to St. Pancras will run somewhere between 50 and 60 GBP. With London traffic this could take anywhere from an 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
If you only allow 30 minutes to get from Heathrow to St. Pancras you will miss your train. Allot at least one hour.
For ground transfer at Heathrow you can book ahead with Skyshuttle (formerly dot2.com), its a nice big shared van service that can take you from Heathrow right to the train station. £ 21.00 per person.
Yay! Thanks so very much for all the useful information! I have made my reservations on the Chunnel train for 5:00 pm. I figured that wouuld give me plenty of time to get to the station from Heathrow. I understand that the station is a destination in itself, so I doubt we'll be bored waiting for the train.