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About Heathrow Airport

Introduction to Heathrow

Heathrow is London’s biggest and busiest airport, with four active passenger terminals (T2, T3, T4 and T5) and tens of millions of passengers every year. It sits to the west of London, close to the M4 and M25, and can get very busy at peak times, especially early mornings and evenings. The airport generally advises you to be there around 2 hours before short-haul flights and 3 hours before long-haul, giving yourself extra buffer if you’re checking bags or using Park & Ride car parks. Short-stay and multi-storey car parks sit next to each terminal, usually only a few minutes’ walk from departures, while long-stay and Park & Ride car parks are further out but run regular shuttles, typically taking around 10–15 minutes to reach the terminal in normal traffic.

1. How to get to Heathrow Airport?

You’ve basically got five main ways to reach Heathrow:

Rail (Heathrow Express & Elizabeth line)

• Heathrow Express – Non-stop trains between London Paddington and Heathrow in about 15 minutes to Terminals 2 & 3, with onward service to Terminal 5. It’s the fastest rail option and runs every 15 minutes for most of the day.
• Elizabeth line – Slower than Heathrow Express but usually cheaper and more flexible. It runs across central London (Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and beyond) direct to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5. You can also use it free to transfer between terminals (Terminals 2 & 3, 4 and 5) using contactless or a free inter-terminal ticket.

London Underground (Piccadilly line)

• The Piccadilly line serves all Heathrow terminals, giving you a relatively low-cost way in from central London (for example Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, King’s Cross St Pancras) and North London. From central London you’re usually looking at 45–60 minutes depending on where you start.
• You can also use the Underground within the airport’s free travel zone to move between terminals (for example, Terminals 2 & 3 to Terminal 4) if you tap in with contactless or an Oyster card.

Buses & coaches

• Heathrow Central Bus & Coach Station – This is the main hub for buses and coaches, sitting above the Underground and rail station for Terminals 2 & 3. It’s open 24 hours a day and linked to the terminals by underground walkways.
• Local buses – A wide network of London buses and local services connect Heathrow with West London, Hounslow, Uxbridge, Slough and surrounding areas.
• Long-distance coaches – Coach operators run direct services between Heathrow and cities all over the UK. Many use the Central Bus Station; some also serve Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 stops.

Car

• Heathrow is signed from the M4, M25 and major routes into West London. Once you’re close, you’ll follow signs for your terminal (2, 3, 4 or 5).
• Official parking includes:
  • Short Stay car parks – multi-storey, a couple of minutes’ walk from the terminals.
  • Long Stay / Park & Ride – long-stay areas with frequent shuttle buses.
  • Business / Priority parking – closer to the terminals, with faster transfers.
• You’ll also find plenty of third-party Park & Ride and Meet & Greet operators around the airport, many of which are listed in our price comparison.

Taxi / private hire

• Licensed black cabs and private-hire vehicles can drop you at the terminal forecourts or designated drop-off areas. Into central London, journey times are typically 45–60 minutes in light traffic, but congestion on the M4, M25 and local roads can add a lot, especially at rush hour.
• For 3–4 travellers sharing, a taxi can work out cost-effective for short trips; for a week’s holiday or more, parking often becomes cheaper once you split the cost.

2. Choosing the right transport for you?

Whether you choose train, Tube, coach, to drive, or to take a taxi will come down to a mix of cost, convenience and your personal appetite for risk and faff. Heathrow is big, busy and slightly out of town, so a few things are worth thinking through:

Do a price comparison

You might assume driving and parking is always the most expensive option – but that’s not always true. Heathrow has a mix of official car parks and third-party Park & Ride / Meet & Greet options, and advance booking can make parking surprisingly competitive, especially for 3–4 day trips and longer.

By all means, check rail, Tube, coach and taxi prices – but then run a quick parking search above. It takes less than a minute and can give you a much clearer picture of the real trade-offs.

Delays

Think about what happens if something runs late:

• With parking, if your flight is delayed you might pay for an extra hour or day. Annoying, but predictable.
• With rail, Tube and coaches, if you miss your last sensible connection and don’t have a flexible ticket, you may end up buying a brand-new fare at walk-up prices, or paying for a last-minute taxi back into town.
• Disruption on the M25, Elizabeth line or Piccadilly line can easily eat into your buffer – one reason Heathrow and most airlines still say 2–3 hours before departure is sensible.

Your car, on the other hand, is “parked and waiting” whenever you land.

Total costs

A single cheap rail or coach fare looks great on paper, but add in:

• Taxis or local buses on either end if you don’t live near a direct route.
• Extra time off work to make the connections.
• Premium pricing on last-minute tickets if plans change.

With parking, especially in long-stay or Park & Ride, the per-person cost can be modest once you divide it between a couple or family.

Stress & peace of mind

Are you the sort of person who lies awake worrying whether the 4am taxi will show up, or constantly checks travel apps in case there’s an issue on the Piccadilly line?

If so, driving yourself and parking might actually be the calmer option, especially with kids, lots of luggage, or an early-morning flight.

Safety

If you’ve got a long drive at the other end, or you’d like a drink or two on the plane, public transport or a park–sleep–fly hotel might be the safer, more sensible choice than a late-night motorway drive straight after landing.

Convenience & luggage

Public transport often means hauling bags through stations and onto busy trains, up and down steps and along long corridors. With parking, you load once at home and unload once at the terminal or shuttle stop. For families, groups, or anyone with mobility issues, that simplicity is often worth paying for.

Which kind of parking is right for me?

So, you’ve decided to park at or near Heathrow – or at least want to understand the options before you commit. In the Parking Options tab you’ll see all the detail, but here’s how the big pieces fit together:

• Short Stay (all terminals)
  • Multi-storey car parks right beside each terminal, usually a 2–5 minute walk. Great for day trips, weekend breaks, pick-ups and drop-offs.
• Long Stay / Park & Ride
  • Cheaper per day, aimed at holidays and longer trips. You park further out and take a shuttle (typically 10–15 minutes). Some long-stay car parks serve more than one terminal, but transfers are frequent.
• Business / Priority parking
  • Closer to the terminals and designed for frequent flyers, with shorter transfers and more premium locations.
• Meet & Greet / Valet parking
  • You drive to a designated drop-off area near your terminal, hand over your keys, and your car is parked for you and brought back on return. This covers both official Heathrow products and third-party providers.
• Pod Parking (Terminal 5 only)
  • A niche option at T5 where you park in a special car park and take a small automated “pod” to the terminal when the system is in operation.

On our comparison tables we focus on third-party parking (with official Heathrow products listed for context), so you can see how independent Park & Ride and Meet & Greet options stack up on price, transfer time and features.

If you want terminal-specific detail (for example, parking that’s particularly convenient for T2 vs T5), check the separate Terminal 2, 3, 4 and 5 pages – we summarise the best-placed options for each.

More Heathrow Airport info

If you want to go beyond transport and parking, our sister site Heathrow Airport Guide has more detail on:

• terminal layouts and maps
• live flight arrivals and departures
• airport hotels and lounges
• shops, bars and restaurants
• security, baggage and special assistance

It’s a handy place to plan the rest of your journey once you’ve sorted how you’re getting to Heathrow.