I’m going on holiday in March and flying from Heathrow so I’ve been pricing up my options for getting there from here (Newcastle).

Bearing in mind I’ll be travelling with a suitcase, hand luggage and snowboard bag.

Blimming heck.

Flying BA is the easiest option – but that’s around £200 return with the baggage. Ouch.

Okay, erm, train is bound to be cheaper eh? Not by much. Cheapest way seems to be two singles for £163 – and that involves getting myself from Kings Cross to Paddington (the underground is not exactly a great option with that much luggage).

Coach takes TEN hours each way so that’s not an option.

I could drive. Google reckons an optimistic 5 hours each way. That’d be pretty hard going after a long haul flight.

Any thoughts?

Is there some magical way to make this a bit cheaper/easier or do I just need to take the hit?

I’m going on holiday in March and flying from Heathrow so I’ve been pricing up my options for getting there from here (Newcastle).

Fly direct from somewhere nearer?

Otherwise pays your money 🙂

I often get the train to Manchester airport from Darlington – cheap and easy

Manchester has a lot more options for flights and prices

5hrs car estimate is wildly optimistic
Choo Choo is your friend albeit an expensive friend

Try Blablacar

http://www.blablacar.com/search?fn=Heathrow+Airport%2C+London+Borough+of+Hillingdon&fc=51.470022%7C-0.454296&fcc=GB&tn=Newcastle+upon+Tyne&tc=54.978252%7C-1.61778&tcc=GB

If you are flying to Heathrow slum I think BA is the only option without hassle.

I used to fly connection flight from GeordieLand to the far east via Heathrow slum before I flew with Emirates.

In few weeks time I am also thinking of flying from GeordieLand to London (where ever) slum. So far the cheapest is flying EasyJet to London slum (somewhere) then take an EasyBus (£5 per trip) to one of the zone 2 London Tube station.

Oh ya … the train price is a joke. Do Not take the train. It is shite!

Does it have to be Heathrow? Could you do a connection from Another airport in Europe?

Flying is by far the least stress option. Driving with petrol and parking fees or catching a train wouldn’t be much cheaper

Does it have to be Heathrow?

Yep, holiday already booked with flights from Heathrow to Vancouver.

I often get the train to Manchester airport from Darlington – cheap and easy

Ooh interesting idea ta!

5hrs car estimate is wildly optimistic

Yeah I thought it might be – what’s realistic? It’s basically just straight down the A1/M1 then round the M25 isn’t it?

take an EasyBus (£5 per trip) to one of the zone 2 London Tube station.

Not sure I fancy trying to navigate the tube with a suitcase and snowboard bag.

Darlington to Heathrow for me is around 5 hrs

A1 > M18 > M1 > A43 > M40 > M25

I’ve not done it for a year or so, the bottom end of the M1 and respective part of the M25 may now allow a trouble free run without the A43/M40 link

GrahamS – Member

Not sure I fancy trying to navigate the tube with a suitcase and snowboard bag.

Ya, that’s why BA is your only option without hassle while other forms of transport will require you to carry your suitcase etc up and down again and again … 😀

I’d just fly BA. Everything else involves lugging stuff around and making connections. It will be much, much nicer for you to wait in the one place and then carry on without any hassles.

I think that the tube isn’t that difficult. Get on at Kings cross, direct to Heathrow on the Piccadilly line. I’ve done it a few times,. once with two big cases, rucksack and kids in tow. Taken no more than 50 mins.

Taken no more than 50 mins

Takes an hour, apparently (tfl website), but otherwise, yeah, looks an option.

Just come back from Gatwick to Alnmouth via the train, expensive but easy as one of the Gatwick trains went via St P so just a short walk – however I had a non resident First Class Rail pass so it was no problem turning up for the 5pm train.
Flying makes most sense really as it will be more straight forward and lands you in the right place.

Make sure whatever you do you have travel insurance that will cover BA/Train screwing up and missing your booked holiday flight.

Also driving – stupid idea especially if you are coming back and needing to drive home, just dangerous.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

seadog101 – Member
I think that the tube isn’t that difficult. Get on at Kings cross, direct to Heathrow on the Piccadilly line.

Can you go direct? It looks like you can on the map but when I’m looking at tickets (via national rail enquiries) it always seems to insist that I need to change at Paddington. *confused*

Yes you can, but it takes a bit longer. Journey planners tend to give you the shorter route that involves a change at Paddington to the Heathrow Express.

One way car hire?

There’s also a direct train to Oxford and a pretty good coach service from there direct to Heathrow

What times your flight? If it’s a morning flight I’d consider the national express take a pillow and sleep.
I work in the Newcastle and Washington area’s a few times a year, I get the overnight coach out of London and sleep saves me the cost of a hotel as well, being tight and self employed.

Just get the BA flight. You already know your going to.

Pay for the direct flight. Your money savings will be pretty marginal going another way, and the hassle will be monumental with all that kit.

Believe me, you’ll appreciate the lack of hassle even more on the way back when you’re walking off a Vancouver flight utterly knackered and jetlagged.

The flight seems pretty reasonable to me – given you don’t want to spend time on a bus then you’re looking at the thick end of £100+ in fuel costs plus parking if you drive or as you’ve discovered, a similar amount for the train.

Given the lack of hassle of the plane option, I’d just go with that.

Just go with the flight. Much easier than messing about with trains or driving.
If your onward flight is with BA you’ll be able to check your luggage through to Vancouver which makes for less hassle when you get to Heathrow.

for the sake of the 40 quid difference between a flight and train, I’d pay the 40 quid.

I fly the LHR > NCL route every two weeks and honestly the flight is the easiest option. People often say to me the train would be cheaper, not in terms of time and inconvenience and to be honest if you book the flight in advance, and carefully choose a time of day to fly that is less busy it can be cheaper than that. Can you go a little earlier in the day or a little later? Kicking yer heals around heathrow for an extra hour or two really is easy to do with a good book and music.

Just get the BA flight. You already know your going to.

This and stop fannying about asking on the Internet. Anything significantly cheaper is going to be lots of hassle which, on the way, might be fine, but on the way home, you’ll be sat waiting for a bus somewhere, knackered, thinking “I’d pay £200 for a plane to take me home right now.”

Your only other option is to drive really, and parking at Heathrow will soon suck up your savings.

There must be a cheaper flight than £200 no ? Hindsight is wonderful but you’d have almost certainly saved money had you booked flights together, ie Newcastle, Heathrow, Vancouver.

EDIT: just looked on ba website, assume travelling out Sat 4th July coming back 18th

Newcastle – Vancouver via Heathrow is £900
Heathrow – Vancouver is £1260
Its much cheaper with the Newcastle leg, flight pricing can be wierd

The coach can be ok. You can snooze, they usually have WiFi, they also tend to go right from the city centre and you can turn up 10 mins before departure. If money is an issue then it’s worth considering.

You should have thought about it when you booked it! Pay the £200 ya chaepskate! 😀

*** Thanks for the advice everyone – I’m booked! 😀 ***

I gave up and just went for the flights in the end.
The train was really the only other sensible option but it was so expensive that for the price difference I might as well just fly.

Ultimately I think you are all right and I’ll be very glad of the reduced hassle, especially on the way back.

Cheers all.

Try National Express.

When your life’s in a mess…

It’ll make you smile 😆

You might even meet a jolly hostess.

I did look at the National Express DD, but it was TEN FRICKIN HOURS to drive the 280 miles to London. TEN! 😯

*** Thanks for the advice everyone – I’m booked! ***

Cool. I predict the thread will run with suggestions for another day to two yet though

Cool. I predict the thread will run with suggestions for another day to two yet though

Yeah…I’m going to compare flights going in July, even though the OP is travelling in March. I am that silly.

Anyway, OP, how about megabus then?

DFDS ferry – Newcastle>Amsterdam ~£60
BA – AMS>LHR ~£70

Bargain

See there is something a bit wrong with our national infrastructure when I can get a ferry to Amsterdam cheaper than I can get a train to London booked two months in advance!

When I am made Emperor all public transport will be non-profit state-owned and completely free at point of use.

That would sort our roads out. I’d even let unemployed people use it.