9 hour layover in Heathrow...what to do?
 

Any frequent travellers here that fly via Heathrow frequently?

I'm flying to Tel Aviv today and have a nice long 9 hour layover at Heathrow (1:30PM arrival time at LHR and 10:40PM departure time)

Anything decent in the airport worth checking out? Also, does leaving the terminal (i.e. to go to another terminal) require me to pass through customs? Just wondering if it's worth leaving the terminal/going through customs to go explore...

Heathrow is one of the worst airports I've been to. Just take the tube into London and explore for a couple of hours.

Nothing to really to do at Heathrow. You can check out T5 but most of the good shops are located in the secure area after you clear security.

heathrow sucks so bad. take the train to london and browse around.

ya. take the train to london, doesn't take that long.

Pick up Brit flight attendants.

Wow that is shitty dude, sleep it off lol
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Hopping between terminals doesn't require passing thru customs. T5 has a decent sized Harrods that may keep you entertained for 30 minutes. If you have the intention of spending an hour to go thru customs then you should spend the extra half hour to head to Central London. Expensive though.

if you buy an oyster card (£3) - taking the tube to central london should be under 2 quid. that's assuming that the picadilly line is running all the way through - which it wasn't yesterday. taking the heathrow connect is a little faster, and brings you to ealing broadway - but you still have to take another tube into central. taking the heathrow express is expensive. not worth it imo.

WTF...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h7CJteTPow...eakEnglish.gif

Buy a 6 brit. pound burger...
Then realise it's 12 bucks.

=(

I had a 8 hour layover at Heathrow, I just went to the duty free and wandered around...
Got myself some Paul Smith wallet while I was there. And a nice 5 hour nap.

Nothing wrong with his English...

Tube? Quid? WAT? :D

It was a joke... Brit English != Canadian English (not to be confused with US English, which is a twisted bastardized language all to itself).

Concurred.

pre download 9 hours of porn. wank away chap

Thanks! I never got the chance to check back on this post.

I ended up leaving the terminal and taking the Heathrow Express out to Paddington Station. It was pricey (I think it was 16 pounds each way?) but I wasn't sure how long the regular train would take. The Heathrow Express got me to Paddington in 15 mins.

I took one of the Big Bus tours that drives around town. It killed about 3.5 hours (traffic was pretty bad) and took me to most of the tourist attractions in London. Had a quick meal (fish & chips of course) before I headed back to Paddington Station and back to the airport.

Yea, there's a lot of duty free stores in T5, although prices weren't THAT great. I didn't end up picking up anything there, but then again, I have a 6 hour layover on the way back so I can probably pick something up then if I really want something.

Overall, I think it was a pretty fun layover...I definitely want to come back to London again to check out the city. Lots to see and 6 hours (the actual time I had outside the airport) wasn't enough time to go see it. I'll post some London pics up soon when I get a chance.

BTW, the BA flight attendants that were on my flight weren't exactly that great...wouldn't waste my time trying to pick them up. ;) They're like the British version of United flight attendants...waaaay past their prime...I was also surprised at how old their planes were too. You know the plane is old if they still have ashtrays in the bathroom. :D

Nobody would take the Heathrow Express other than people who are REALLY late for a flight, or tourists.
The Piccadilly Line from the airport goes through central London, and my record getting to Holborn was 40 minutes. If you were to take the Heathrow Express you'd have to first cab to Paddington.
Plus the Tube is like 3 pounds-ish when topping up your oyster.

That sounds really, really wrong... :haha:

takea picture of buckinham palace

With only a nine hour layover, your time in London will be like an hour... I assume you'll have to be back at the departure gate 2-3 hours ahead of time anyway, plus travel time.

You're better off staying in the Airport Hotel (or "Yotel") that is rentable by the hour. Lie down, have a snooze, watch some TV, have a hot shower, charge your iPod, etc.

http://www.yotel.com/

I've stayed at the one in Gatwick, and it's awesome.
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I actually had a few hours (about 4-5 hours) to spend in London. I had debated whether to crash at one of the hotels nearby but since I had just slept the entire flight from YVR to LHR, I wasn't feeling very tired.

I did see the Yotel in my search for a place to crash while I was still in Vancouver. It's pretty pricey (it came up to about 70 pounds for the 9 hours I was at the airport) while the ones outside the airport were half the price. I have to admit, it's a pretty neat concept, although those rooms look tiny! It's like sleeping in a closet!

My bags were already checked through to my final destination and i already had a boarding pass so it wasn't too much trouble. Customs on the way out was short (about 30 mins) and coming back in was a breeze as well. Must have been a quiet period at LHR during that time because there were barely any people there.

Fair enough. I don't sleep well on planes, so the Yotel is my favourite place to crash when I'm on my way through Gatwick. From what I remember, last time I was there I got 6 hours for about $65 CDN... perhaps it was cheaper at Gatwick? I haven't seen any other hourly hotels around the airport, didn't know they existed.

I'm probably also quite biased since I've spent a fair bit of time in London and don't feel the need to do touristy stuff when I pass through.

(And yeah, the rooms are small, but who cares if you're just going to have a long nap and watch some TV?)