LHR - Heathrow

London Heathrow is the largest airport in the United Kingdom and the main airport for London. It has four terminals (2, 3, 4 and 5) and saw 79 million passengers in 2023. Its website can be found at www.heathrow.com

Parking

Heathrow has eleven official car parks covering a range of needs - short stay (a few minutes from the terminal), long stay (shuttle bus in operation), business (specific shuttle bus in operation), meet and greet (drop off at short stay and they park your car), T5 pod parking (park and ride in an unmanned pod to the terminal) and valet parking (hand over your car right outside the terminal).  The full details of the options are here www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/heathrow-parking 

Drop Off

Heathrow drop off is right outside the terminal and costs £5, payable by phone or online.

Security

Security normally runs smoothly at Heathrow and you can find waiting times here www.heathrow.com/passenger-updates#wait-times

Fast Track is available in all terminals for £12.50. It must be pre-booked as a one-hour slot.

Restaurants and Bars

There are lots of restaurants across the Heathrow terminals.  Pre-order means via the Heathrow app.  In-flight picnic means a takeaway option to enjoy on your flight.

Terminal 2 - Big Smoke (pre-order, pub, casual), Caffe Nero (takeaway, cafe), Perfectionists' Cafe by Heston (family, stylish), Leon (pre-order, takeaway, in-flight picnic, casual), London's Pride (pub, casual), Pret a Manger (takeaway, cafe), Shan Shui (international, stylish), Starbucks (takeaway, cafe), Queen's Arms (pre-order, family, pubs), Yo! (pre-order, family, international)

Terminal 3 - Black Sheep (takeaway, cafe), Caffe Nero (takeaway, cafe), Caviar House & Prunier Seafood (pre-order, stylish), Joes (cafe), Pret a Manger (takeaway, cafe), Spuntino (pre-order, family, stylish), The Curator (pre-order, family, pub), The Evergreen (family, pub, casual), The Oceanic (pre-order, pub, casual), Wagamama (international, casual), Yo! ( pre-order, family, international)

Terminal 4 - Caffe Nero (takeaway, cafe), Caviar House & Prunier Seafood (pre-order, stylish), Co-Pilots (pub, casual), Costa (takeaway, cafe), Pret a Manger (takeaway, cafe), Star Light (pub, casual), The Commission (family, pub, casual), Prince of Wales (family, pub)

Terminal 5 - Costa (takeaway, cafe), Caffe Nero (takeaway, cafe), Caviar House & Prunier Seafood (pre-order, stylish), Fortnum and Mason (pre-order, in-flight picnic, stylish), Giraffe (pre-order, family, casual), Gordon Ramsay Plane Food (family, in-flight picnic, stylish), Itsu (family, international, casual), Pilots (family, stylish), Pret a Manger (takeaway, cafe), Starbucks (takeaway, cafe), The Crown Rivers (pub, casual), The Globe (pre-order, pub, family), Wagamama (international, casual)

Shops

Heathrow has a large number of shops spread across the terminals.  You can find out more about each store here www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/shops-a-z?type=store

Terminal 2 - Accessorize, Aspinal of London, Boggi Milano, Boots, Boss, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Candles & Oud, Case, Dior, Discover London, Excess Baggage Company, Fortnum & Mason, Glenmorangie, Gucci, Hamleys, Harrods, InMotion, JD Sports, Kurt Geiger, Louis Vuitton, M&S Simply Food, Mulberry, Paul Smith, Rituals, Rolex, Saint Laurent, Sim Local, Sunglass Hut, Ted Baker, The Bookshop by WH Smith, Tiffany & Co, Travelex, WH Smith, World Duty Free 

Terminal 3 - Accessorize, Boots, Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Case, Chanel,  Dior, Excess Baggage Company, Fendi, Glorious Britain, Gucci, Harrods, Hermes, InMotion, Jo Malone, Kurt Geiger, Laduree, Louis Vuitton, M&S Simply Food, Moncler, MAC Cosmetics, Paul Smith, Sim Local, Sunglass Hut, Sunglasses Boutique, Superdry, Ted Baker, The Bookshop by WH Smith, Tiffany & Co, Travelex, Watches of Switzerland, WH Smith, World Duty Free, World Of Whiskies

Terminal 4 - Accessorize, Boots, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Case, Caviar House and Prunier, Excess Baggage Company, Fendi, Glorious Britain, Gucci, Hamleys, Harrods, Hublot, InMotion, Jo Malone, Kurt Geiger, Lacoste, Laduree, Louis Vuitton, Mont Blanc, Saint Laurent, Sim Local, Smythson, Sunglass Hut, Ted Baker, Tom Ford, Travelex, Valentino, Watches Of Switzerland, WH Smith, Wolrd Duty Free, World Of Whiskies

Terminal 5 - Accessorize, Aspinal of London, Be Relax, Boggi Milano, Boots, Boss, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Burberry, Candles & Oud, Cartier, Case, Caviar House and Prunier, Chanel, Collection, Dior, Excess Baggage Company, Fortnum & Mason, Glorious Britain, Gucci, Harrods, Hermes, InMotion, JD Sports, Kurt Geiger, Louis Vuitton, M&S Simply Food, Orlebar Brown, Paul Smith, Prada, Reiss, Rituals, Rolex, Sim Local, Smythson, Sunglass Hut, Ted Baker, The Bookshop by WH Smith, The Harry Potter Shop, The Macallan, Tiffany & Co, Travelex, Watches Of Switzerland,  WH Smith, World Duty Free, World Of Whiskies 

Heathrow has options such as Reserve & Collect, Personal Shopper and Collect On Return.

Lounges

Terminal 2 - Plaza Premium, 0500-2100, tailored food and drink service, shower facilities, from £40

Terminal 3 - Club Aspire, 0500-2200, complimentary snacks, range of drinks, from £35

Terminal 3 - No. 1 Lounges, 0500-2200, complimentary snacks, range of drinks, from £34

Terminal 4 - Plaza Premium, 0500-2200, complimentary food and drink service, shower facilities, from £42

Terminal 5 - Club Aspire, 0500-2100. complimentary snacks, range of drinks, shower facilities, from £40

Terminal 5 - Plaza Premium, 0500-2100,  tailored food and drink service, shower facilities, from £35

Terminal 5 - Be Relax Spa, various treatments available

Assistance

Heathrow recommends travellers contact their tour operator, travel agent or airline at least 48 hours prior to departure so that your details can be passed to the Assistance team.  You can find some very detailed information via the following links.

Departure assistance - www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/assistance-and-accessibility/assistance-departure-guide

Arrivals assistance - www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/assistance-and-accessibility/assistance-arrival-guide

Connections - www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/assistance-and-accessibility/assistance-connections-guide

Hotels

There are three hotels that can be considered as being in the airport and are officially recommended by Heathrow Airport.

Terminal 2/3 - Aerotel

Terminal 4 - Hilton

Terminal 5 - Sofitel

In close proximity you will find

Terminal 2/3 - Hilton Garden Inn

Terminal 4 - Holiday Inn Express, Crown Plaza, Premier Inn

Hatton Cross - Hilton Garden Inn

North Side - Thistle T5, Premier Inn, Hyatt Place, Holiday Inn, Leonardo, Radisson, Radisson Red, Ibis Styles, Marriott, Sheraton Skyline, Radisson Blu, Courtyard by Marriott, Ibis, Moxy

Just click below for Heathrow hotels

Shuttles Heathrow has a network of Hotel Hoppa buses.  You will find these between 0400 and 0000, each day.  They stop outside the terminals at the following stops - 

Terminal 2 - stops 9 & 10

Terminal 3 - stops 12 & 13 

Terminal 5 - stops 17 & 18

You can use the link below to check which route number you need for a particular hotel. www.heathrow.com/content/dam/heathrow/web/common/documents/transport/hotel-hoppa-network.pdf 

A single is £6.80 and a return £12, with a discount ticket for family groups.

Immigration

For all international travellers you should check entry requirements on the official government site.  In this case it is www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration and you will find details on the ETA scheme there too.

Heathrow has a large number of eGates and you should use them if you qualify.  Namely, 

• biometric passport

• aged 10 or above (aged 10 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult)

• British citizen or

• national of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, USA or

• member of the Registered Travel Service

Reclaim

Just follow the signs after immigration and you will come to the baggage reclaim area.  There are boards that you should check for your flight number, and that will indicate which carousel you need to attend.  There are trolleys available in the area.

Customs

There are two channels - green (nothing to declare) and red (items to declare).  If you have used the airport in the past and remember blue channels, they have all closed.

Just like immigration you should only rely on the official government information regarding what you can bring into the UK. www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use

If Heathrow is being used as a transit airport (i.e. your bags are checked to your final destination) then that is where you will go through customs, once you are reunited with your bags.

Taxis

Heathrow has two approved taxi options that can be booked via their website.  These are WeKnow, an on-site fully electric transfer service, and minicabit, a taxi comparison site.

Outside each terminal you will find large numbers of black taxis that can be hired there and then.  These are overseen by Transport For London and they currently suggest the fare to central London should be between £56 and £105.  There is an extra charge for it being Heathrow (£3.60) and another extra charge for the drop-off fee (£5.20).

Buses and Coaches

Local buses are generally low cost but can take some time to head into central London, and will probably involve changing bus.  The bus stands can be found at

Terminal 2/3 - Heathrow Central Bus Station, directly above the Underground station

Terminal 4 - Outside the arrivals level, a short walk from the Underground station

Terminal 5 - Outside the arrivals level, above the Underground station

A range of coach operators can be found at Heathrow and this can offer direct transport to various towns and cities.  Many of these routes use variable pricing so you may find tickets increasing in price as the date approaches.  The main routes include

National Express - various towns and cities

Megabus - various towns and cities

RailAir - to Reading, Woking, Guildford and Watford Junction

Airline - to Oxford and Gatwick Airport

Coach stands can be found at 

Terminal 2/3 - Heathrow Central Bus Station, directly above the Underground station (RailAir from stops 11/12 at T2, 7/8 at T3)

Terminal 4 - Outside the arrivals level, a short walk from the Underground station, at stops 12-17

Terminal 5 - Outside the arrivals level, above the Underground station, at stops 9-15

National Express can be booked by clicking below

​Rail and Trams

There are three rail options from Heathrow.

Heathrow Express - direct to Paddington in 15 minutes, four per hour, £25 flexible single, £37 flexible return, £15 fixed advance single, pay with contactless or Oyster, not part of capping

Elizabeth line - to Paddington in 30 -35 minutes, four an hour, line extends beyond there across the north of central London to Liverpool Street and beyond, £13.30 single, pay with contactless or Oyster, part of daily capping of £14.90

Underground - to King's Cross in 60 minutes, twelve per hour, connects into the extensive Underground network, £5.60 single, pay with contactless or Oyster, part of daily capping of £14.90

For any rail bookings, we recommend Trainline. Just click the logo below.

Routes

Heathrow is a very large airport with multiple terminals and runways and therefore has a large amount of direct routes available.  You can use a very searchable destinations map here www.heathrow.com/travel-guides/route-map

Destinations

There are a host of options from Heathrow.

Less than 2 hours - Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Basel, Belfast, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Cork, Derry, Dublin, Dundee, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Hanover, Inverness, Isle of Man, Knock, Luxembourg, Lyon/Grenoble, Lyon/Saint Exupery, Manchester, Marseille, Milan Linate, Munich, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Paris CDG, Paris Orly, Saint Helier, Salzburg, Shannon, Stavanger, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Turin, Zurich

Less than 4 hours - Algiers, Argostolion, Athens, Barcelona El Prat, Basel, Belgrade, Bergen, Bologna, Brindisi, Bucharest, Budapest, Casablanca, Cologne, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Faro, Florence, Funchal, Gibraltar, Helsinki, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Istanbul Havalimani, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen, Kalamata, Kirkwall, Krakow, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Luqu, Madrid, Malaga, Marrakesh, Milan Malpensa, Mykonos, Naples, Nice, Olbia, Oslo, Palermo, Palma, Perugia, Pisa, Porto-Vecchio, Prague, Preveza, Pula, Reykjavik, Riga, Rome, Santorini, Sofia, Split, Stockholm, Sumburgh, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Tunis, Valencia Manises, Valencia Marco Polo, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb, Zakynthos

Less than six hours - Aktau, Amman, Baku, Beirut, Cairo, Chania, Dalaman, Granadilla de Abona, Heraklion, Izmir, Kos, Larnaca, Luxor, Milas Bodrum, Neom, Paphos, Ponta Delgada, Rhodes, Tel Aviv

Over six hours - Abuja, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Almaty, Antigua St. John's, Ashgabat, Atlanta, Austin, Bahrain, Baltimore, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Barbados, Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Bengaluru, Bermuda, Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Calgary, Cape Town, Changsha, Charlotte, Chengdu, Chennai, Chicago O'Hare, Chongqing, Cincinnati, Colombo, Dallas Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Grand Cayman, Grenada, Guangzhou, Haikou, Halifax, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston George Bush, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kigali, Kingstown, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Lagos, Las Vegas, Male, Melbourne, Mexico City, Miami, Minneapolis, Montego Bay, Montreal, Mumbai, Muscat, Nairobi, Nashville, Nassau, New Delhi, New Orleans, New York JFK, New York Newark, Orlando, Perth, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providenciales, Qingdao, Raleigh, Rio de Janeiro, Riyadh, Saint Lucia, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Santiago, Sanya, Sao Paulo, Seattle Tacoma, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Sydney Kingsford Smith, Sylhet, Taipei, Tampa, Tashkent, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tianjin, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Pearson, Vancouver, Washington DC Dulles, Wuhan, Xi'an

Maps

Due to the number of terminals and different levels within them, there are a lot of maps available.  It does need to be noted that the airport is very well signposted.

You can find a searchable resource here www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/airport-maps that allows you to pick individual terminals and smaller areas, then the levels within them.  There are also options to filter restaurants, shops, water refill, lounges, parking, hand sanitiser and pre-order food/drink.

Meeting Points

Each terminal has a designated meeting point.  These are in Arrivals so are predominantly aimed at people meeting someone coming into Heathrow.

Terminal 2 - opposite the international arrivals exit

Terminal 3 - in the ground floor seating area at Arrivals

Terminal 4 - Next to WH Smith in the ground floor of Arrivals

Terminal 5 - opposite Travelex (north) and near Costa Coffee (south)

Terminal Transfers

If you are transiting through Heathrow you may need to change terminals.  You should have been told in advance, and advised of the terminal number, and will find boards shortly after you have alighted from the aeroplane to confirm the route required.  The exact circumstances will decide if you need to go through immigration at this point, or through a security check or just head straight through to the next area.   Here are details of the methods and and estimate of the time required.

Terminal 2

- to Terminal 3 - 10 minute walk

- to Terminal 4 - 30 minutes via Underground train.  From T2 head to Hatton Cross then change there and come back to T4.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 4 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 5 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 5 - 20 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

Terminal 3 

- to Terminal 2 - 10 minute walk

- to Terminal 4 - 30 minutes via Underground train.  From T2 head to Hatton Cross then change there and come back to T4.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 4 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 5 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 5 - 20 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

Terminal 4 

- to Terminal 2 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 2 - 20 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 3 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 3 - 20 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 5 - 30 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.  This requires a change at T2/T3.

- to Terminal 5 - 30 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.  This requires a change at T2/T3.

- to Terminal 5 - 40 minutes by free H30 bus, three per hour.

Terminal 5 

- to Terminal 2 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 2 - 20 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 3 - 20 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.

- to Terminal 3 - 20 minutes via Underground.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 4 - 30 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.  This requires a change at T2/T3.

- to Terminal 4 - 30 minutes via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line.  You need an Inter-Terminal ticket from a machine but it is free.  From T5 head to Hatton Cross then change there and come back to T4.  You need an Oyster card or contactless card but it is free.

- to Terminal 5 - 40 minutes by free H30 bus, three per hour.

Car Hire

You can find a large number of big name car hire companies (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, National, Sixt) in close proximity of Heathrow.  Which is best for you will always depend on personal circumstances.  Do note that most of these will allow you to pick up at Heathrow and drop off at another location for a fee.

Heathrow does have its own recommended list and search tool here   www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/by-car/renting-a-car#/searchcars

You will find desks in each terminal

Terminal 2 - level 1 arrivals

Terminal 3 - level 0 arrivals

Terminal 4 -  level 0 arrivals

Terminal 5 - level 0 arrivals

Each operator uses shuttles to their own areas.