Cutting it fine

[Blue Eyed Laydee]

I am one of those people who gets to the airport WAY too early so that kind of margin would give me palpitations. You're doing the right thing by looking into hotels!

[Mountain Goat]

Yes, I am not very risk averse but I have to leave plenty of wiggle room for airports. Especially if a bus is involved.

[smalex]

On the basis I feel like I'm late if I don't arrive an hour before the desk even opens (I'm a complete joy to travel with), I'm a big no to your travel on the day proposal. I've sprinted for a flight before (because I was an idiot and misread the times) and I'd pay quite a lot to avoid that level of stress.

[Lily]

There's a to be said for avoiding stress - I've found I can get a coach to London the night before for a fiver, and spend the night with a friend who's 20 minutes by tube from Heathrow. So, all well! Thank you for making me look into the time taken between terminals - I'd never thought of that.

[Gizmo2000]

Hi Lily, me and Ally are flying out at 11:50 from Heathrow internationally which is different to you and we live in London. However, i have seen things go wrong too many times to take a chance on getting to Heathrow by tube, cab or car so we're staying down at a hotel overnight. Coaches break down, traffic in London can be horrific if there is an accident and the tube system can suffer from a points or signal failure that shuts a whole line down.

Our usual hotel of choice is actually at Hatton Cross which is one stop on the Piccadilly line which is the Hilton Garden Inn. It's about a 7 minute walk to Hatton Cross tube station then one stop to Heathrow. The prices can vary greatly from as little as £70 for the night to a lot more. However, Hotels.com gave me a voucher for a price match and we got it for £25 including breakfast for our upcoming trip

[Lily]

Ooh fabulous, I will take a look! Thank you - and do give my love to Ally! £70 is impossible, but £25 not so much.

[rosy]

That would be cutting it way too fine for my comfort, Lily! I'm glad you've got a different plan.

[F'Artiste]

I'm glad you have a different plan - A and I flew from T5 to Italy on Monday and only just got on the plane - despite being at the airport two hours before our flight. It took ages to get through check in and bag drop, and then ages to get through security. And our gate was opposite security, if it had been a bit further away I think we would have been turned away from the plane. So definitely try to be there earlier if you can be!

[Lily]

God, how can it take SO LONG?? It's ludicrous. You could walk there in less time. Backwards!

I have looked at hotels so I'm sticking at my mate's house - you can't go wrong getting there for a fiver - and will make sure I turn up doubly early after your story, Farty!

[olive]

The Piccadilly line is pretty reliable, Lily so you should be fine. I'd download Citymapper app, if you don't already have it, and it will give you all your transport options and whether all are running smoothly.

Just stick in the time you need to arrive by and it'll tell you what time you need to leave as well.

[Lily]

Perfect, thank you very much! I have a very rubbish London Tube Map app which keeps crashing, so I will use that instead.

[Topcat]

I'd be going hours before that just in case of any woes on the motorway anyway.