toddstauffer

I wonder if anyone has an opinion on this -- we're flying from the US to Heathrow, arriving about 8am on Virgin.

We'll then take the train out of London to Rotterdam, where we have accommodations for the night.

Is it too tight to book the 11am train out of St Pancras with our flight arriving at 8am? We'll have relatively light luggage; we could Uber from the airport to the train station.

The other option is either changing trains in Brussels, getting to Rotterdam much later (and hanging out exhausted) or booking a hotel in London and traveling the next day. (Right now, our London time is booked for the backend of the trip.)

Thoughts? Thanks!

janisj

Welcome to Fodors.

There is no way to tell -- if the E gates at LHR are working immigration could be very quick. If the E gates are down all bets are off. As for 'relatively light luggage' -- weight doesn't matter at all -- the issue is . . . are you traveling carry-on only or will you have checked bag(s)? Luggage retrieval at LHR is often the hold up. Can be quick-ish or can take 2 hours then you give up and give them your address in Rotterdam and hope it will be delivered the next day. The good thing is most baggage problems are w/ BA at terminal 5 so being on VS is a big help.

Do not even consider uber - traffic in London is totally unpredictable and uber could take forever - or not - and could cost a King's ransom. (Philosophically I never ever use uber in London but that is a different discussion)

Either take the Elizabeth Line to Tottenham Court Rd and a taxi to St Pancras or take the Piccadilly Line all the way from LHR to Kings Cross/St Pancras.

You must be at St Pancras 45+ minutes prior to the Eurostar. An 11AM train 'should' be OK but if you miss the train are you prepared for the consequences??

If it was me I'd either book a later Eurostar -- 1 or 2 PM-ish so I wouldn't have to sweat it and there are lots of nice restaurants and bars and shops at St Pancras to kill time -or - stay overnight walking distance to Kings Cross/St Pancras. Lots of good restaurants in the Coal Yards behind Kings Cross so a nice area to stay the night.

Tulips

Do what Janisj says. The gates for the Eurostar close 30 minutes before departure, you want to be there 60 minutes in advance. You could make that train, but it's risky and you may have to buy another ticket if you miss it.
Changing trains in Brussel for Rotterdam is not a big deal, there are several trains and it's a quick transfer.
Or just fly from LHR to Amsterdam, that would be much quicker. Rotterdam has an airport, but I don't think you can fly directly from LHR.

crellston

IF your flight arrives on time and IF you get through immigration in reasonable time you COULD be getting on a train or tube by say 09:00 and IF there is no industrial action (a big if these days!)on the underground or trains on the day in question then you could arrive in St Pancras by say 10:00 . That is a lot of ifs and doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room if one or more factors don't work out. I would book a later train. Its no fun sitting on a long haul flight wondering whether your connections will work out!

PatrickLondon

It might well be easier and cheaper to fly from Heathrow to Schiphol and get the train from there to Rotterdam:

www.ns.nl

hetismij2

But not so environmentally friendly.

Tulips

They are already flying from the US. An hour flight to Amsterdam from LHR versus a dash across the city to get a train that takes 3,5 hours. City centre to centre I would take the train, but not from LHR.

hetismij2

Every little helps tulips, every little helps. Shame they couldn't fly directly to Amsterdam.

ChgoGal

This is a tough call. Can you get an earlier arrival? Are you flying nonstop (under 8 hrs) from your home?

If not, I'd do as Patrick says and look into a flight, or try to book a Eurostar departing between noon-1:30, especially if you've not been to London before and you need time to orientate.

I'd not book a train past 2:00 p.m. I'd once waited for a 1:30 train, and it was an absolute slog after a 7:30 arrival. Killing time around Kings Cross/Coal Yard was when my jet lag really hit and it wasn't pleasant. I didn't find much of interest at Coal Yards mid-morning on a weekday, and the Canal Museum looked pretty uninspiring, so I passed even though I'm a history buff. Restaurants may not appeal, as you're not hungry after the bloat from the plane food, and window shopping rolling your carryon is a hindrance. Also, your brain is not working well, so British Library/British Museum isn't the right choice either.

Arriving from Chicago into LHR, with carryon, looks something like this to me:

• 8 arrival (often, Chicago flights arrive about 10 min early but not much earlier than that)
• 8-8:15 deplane (economy seats)
• 8:15-8:20 gate to border control (this can be a long walk; i'm a fast walker)
• 8:20-8:30 bathroom break (if not done on plane: insert contact lenses*, freshen makeup, brush teeth)
• 8:30-9:15 border control (could be 10 min, could be an hour)
• 9:15-9:25: arrivals lounge/ATM for cash
• 9:25-9:35: walk to tube (Do you have contactless set up, or an Oyster card? If not, add time)
• 9:40-10:35: tube to city
• Then getting your bearings and finding your track takes time, too, and you don't want to be stressed and rushing for that.

*be sure to bring extra contact lenses in case you fumble them!
It's always a bit of a challenge for me, too, as I like to get all my travel done on that jet lag day and save London for the end of my trip. Good luck planning!

Madam397

In April, my daughter and her boyfriend did the Eurostar from London to Amsterdam after having spent 5 nights in London. You do have to be at the train at a certain time in advance as you must go through security and passport control to board the train. If it was me, I would likely fly from Heathrow to Rotterdam if the flights are on a good schedule and the price points about the same.