I just arrived in London on business yesterday, and I'll be here two weeks. From what I've seen so far, there is so much to see! It's pricey, especially with the US dollar's valuation these days, but that's fine.

My wife (a Taiwanese national, and not US citizen yet), just got her visa approved, and will be coming to join me on Wed morning. She will also fly into Heathrow airport. On the weekends, I have a hotel that is very centrally located to so many interesting places. During the week though, I need to be out in the Croydon area, and that is where my wife will need to navigate to. A taxi would be a little over 100 USD, so I'm trying to avoid that scenario. There are so many choices out here for public transportation! Anyone have a more economical way for her to get to Croydon?

I appreciate your time, thank you.

 

Probably be better off posting this on MINI2.com as they are mainly Brits there.

 

Ah, great idea! Doing so now.... Thank you.

 

Tony from Heathrow tell her to take the Tube, they have a station at the airport. Its the easiest and cheapest way to get around London.

Have fun London is a great city!

 

TonyB, if you're comfortable using subways/railways, London is the easiest city to travel in. As for your current plans, this itinerary, London Heathrow Terminal 1 (Select "All stations in group") to West Croydon Train Station, would cost about £7.80 one way. If you're willing to spend an hour and a half catching up on the train (and not spending $100 for the cab), this isn't too bad. Also, if you're spending a weekend IN the city, get a three day zone 1-3 pass that'll get you on the trains, tubes and buses. Excellent value for the money. If you're not sure that you'll stay in the city, go for the zone 1-6 off peak. Another great deal. Here's the site for tube fares and planning. Hope all goes well and you enjoy your trip.

Cheers!!

 

Rossii and Poppa Bear, thank you very much!

I was up fairly late posting in a thread over on MINI2:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/uk-irelan...ml#post3056910

It seems that East Croydon is the train station that she'll need, not West. I just took a quick glance at the links you sent, and will look at them again later today as I'm running late to a breakfast engagement now. I see hope in the information you posted, and thank you very much!!! I'll post again later after I return to my room...

 

I'm actually in the same situation, except that I'm based in Slough. Take the tube/trains everywhere! They're very efficient and affordable, compared to taxis. Just remember that the tube shuts down at midnight.

 

Good to know (midnight). What time do they start in the morning? An 8:30 am flight out in two weeks means that we have to be at Heathrow airport around 7 am... Thanks for your input!

 

It looks like most start up around 5:00-5:30. This page contains a listing of each line and their first/last times.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1129.aspx

This is the main page for tube info; has lots of good, up to date info (such as closures, etc. The Circle line has been down all weekend).

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2625.aspx

 

Poppa Bear, I now have more time to play with that itinerary link you provided. It appears the one can get from Heathrow airport (ZHJ) to Croydon East (ECR) with just one switch (subway/ tube and then a train):

Depart:10:25 Heathrow Underground (ZHJ) Arrive:11:23 London Victoria (VIC)

Travel By:Underground # Duration:0:58

Depart:11:23 London Victoria (VIC) Arrive:11:39 East Croydon (ECR) Travel By:Train Train Company:

• Southern to East Grinstead (EGR)
• Cycle Policy

Duration:0:16

Total Journey Duration: 1:14

===================

The above is the output of what I got from that website after putting-in what time I expect my wife will be able to do this on Wed (around 10:30 am)...

From what someone else shared, I was under the impression that she will need one more change of trains:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/uk-irelan...ml#post3056910

I guess I'm a little confused now. Victoria (VIC) is where she needs to catch the train to East Croydon (ECR). Can she get there from Heathrow (LHR) directly, or just one subway train? From what Harpo was saying, and the maps seem to reveal, she would need to change at Earl's Court in order to get to Victoria. The output that I pasted above doesn't show that, so I'm not so certain now...

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

atombomb - I just saw your post. Thank you also. I'm checking-out those links now...

 

TonyB, like they said over at Mini2, there will be two total changes, one between tube lines (Mind the gap!) and the other onto the train. Here's the tube map. From Heathrow, she'll take the Picadilly Line (the blue route) towards Cockfosters, which is the northern end of the line. About a dozen stops later (can't be sure as some stops aren't stopped at), at Earl's Court, she'll have to change to the District Line (green route) towards Upminster for three stops and get off at Victoria Station. From there, she goes upstairs to the train platform. Be carefule, though. Whilst in the Underground looking at the approaching engine, the end of that line, whichever it may be, is displayed above the cab like on a city bus. However, the only real hard part of this whole deal is that sometimes the end point shown on the display might not be the last station on the line but one towards the end of the line. This is only a real problem on the Picadilly line heading towards Heathrow and the District Line heading west-ish. Just print out the map and keep it handy. Hope everything goes well and let us know how we did!

Cheers!!

 

Poppa Bear, I cannot thank you enough! In Croydon now... heading-off to Sutton due to difficulties getting a hotel. Again, thank you very much for your time and thoughtfulness.

 

As I just posted on MINI2:

Ok, just when I thought I had everything down pat, I get some info that has me thinking of another option. While carrying luggage through Sutton, trying to find a hotel, I asked a fella for directions. During our conversation I mentioned my wife's situation, and he says that if I want my wife to go directly to the hotel here in Sutton, to take a single bus! From Heathrow, at stop 20, catch bus X26. Can someone confirm? I'll start searching for bus websites now...