It's not particularly well advertised, but Heathrow Airport operates a service called "Heathrow Freeflow" whereby you can ride quite a number of buses in the local area absolutely free so long as you embark and disembark within the area covered by the service.
You can catch a bus from the Central Bus Station or from Terminal 5. The routes go past many of the same hotels that are serviced by the Hoppa bus that runs infrequently, takes you on a meander around all the hotels in the area, and costs £4.50/person.
The snag with the free service is that it doesn't take you right up to the door of the hotel, but many of the hotels along Bath Road (for example) have stops within a few hundred metres. So it's down to whether you're willing (and able) to drag your suitcases that far to save £4.50 per person per journey. Example: for a party of 4 going to a local hotel and back to the airport, that's a total potential saving of £36.
(You can also use the same buses to make quick hops to the airport if for some reason you want to buy stuff that's not available near your hotel.)
NOTE: the deal link leads directly to the PDF map of the free bus zone on the official Heathrow website.
Top comments
octopus
3 May 174#7
I doubt anyone staying in a Heathrow hotel will go to such lengths to save themselves a few quid!
Genki
3 May 173#2
You're right, it's not new. But I'm always surprised how few people know about it.
BTW, depending on where your hotel is, there can be a suitable bus as often as every 3-5 minutes (because many different bus routes overlap along Bath Road). That's compared to a potential 30+ minute wait for the expensive Hoppa.
All comments (42)
solsurf
3 May 172#1
this has been the case for years, well done on bringing it to the attention of people. Heathrow is a big place and this tends to be the way staff get around too. often cabs won't(or didn't) take people to local addresses as they would miss out on good fares to london after waiting for ages in the cab waiting area which I can understand.
Ajibee to solsurf
3 May 171#16
Cabbies can't refuse to take you on local journeys - they might not like it, and they might try to say no, but the fact is that if you stand your ground and point out that they have to take you they will. It is a condition of them operating from the airport that they do so. They need to take the rough with the smooth, and besides, it used to be the case, and probably still is, that if they get back in the queue at LHR within 60 or 90 minutes then they go to the front or something like that.
Genki
3 May 173#2
You're right, it's not new. But I'm always surprised how few people know about it.
BTW, depending on where your hotel is, there can be a suitable bus as often as every 3-5 minutes (because many different bus routes overlap along Bath Road). That's compared to a potential 30+ minute wait for the expensive Hoppa.
Lucky88
3 May 171#3
Wow love the map.
stevenhp1987
3 May 17#4
I always use the free bus to get to Heathrow after staying in a hotel the evening before. I'm surprised if people don't know, it's very high up when you search for info on getting to Heathrow...
phead
3 May 17#5
You can also use a contact less card instead of an oyster card on Piccadilly, more useful for none london folk.
IndyS to phead
4 May 17#38
This applies across the London tube and bus network, zones 1-6.
Rmeehan
3 May 171#6
Also, not commonly known, is that your Oyster/Contactless payment card is not debited for Piccadilly line journeys between the Heathrow terminals. There are many more buses too and from Terminal 2 &3, so it may be worth going there and using the tube to transfer to Terminals 4 & 5, and vice versa.
octopus
3 May 174#7
I doubt anyone staying in a Heathrow hotel will go to such lengths to save themselves a few quid!
Spark to octopus
3 May 172#8
Why? Heathrow hotels aren't always expensive. I stayed in one a couple of years ago for £28.
Zameen to octopus
3 May 17#9
so what you are saying is that nobody has done it since this has been in place having booked a Heathrow Hotel ?
bankieboy to octopus
3 May 171#10
Well we arrive at T5 and stay overnight at the Hilton T4 before flying from T4 the next morning. On our return we stay overnight at the Hilton T4 and fly out from T5. We will, most certainly, use this option by getting either bus 482 or 490. In case you think me Mr Rich, the hotel both nights is under £80.
Jorg11 to octopus
3 May 171#11
My family have stayed in the premier inn in Bath Road twice this Year and used this free service both times saving us £50 in total!!
solsurf to octopus
3 May 171#12
the busses are every couple of minutes , you can wait 30 plus minutes for the hotel bus
notavalidaddress to octopus
4 May 17#25
I frequently get the bus to the end of the free travel area and then walk for 5-10 minutes to the Premier Inn - often quicker than waiting for the Hotel Hoppa.
jimbojones1989
3 May 171#13
Brilliant, Can also use this to access the picadilly line at the airport for a day out in london
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Opening post
You can catch a bus from the Central Bus Station or from Terminal 5. The routes go past many of the same hotels that are serviced by the Hoppa bus that runs infrequently, takes you on a meander around all the hotels in the area, and costs £4.50/person.
The snag with the free service is that it doesn't take you right up to the door of the hotel, but many of the hotels along Bath Road (for example) have stops within a few hundred metres. So it's down to whether you're willing (and able) to drag your suitcases that far to save £4.50 per person per journey. Example: for a party of 4 going to a local hotel and back to the airport, that's a total potential saving of £36.
(You can also use the same buses to make quick hops to the airport if for some reason you want to buy stuff that's not available near your hotel.)
NOTE: the deal link leads directly to the PDF map of the free bus zone on the official Heathrow website.
Top comments
BTW, depending on where your hotel is, there can be a suitable bus as often as every 3-5 minutes (because many different bus routes overlap along Bath Road). That's compared to a potential 30+ minute wait for the expensive Hoppa.
All comments (42)
BTW, depending on where your hotel is, there can be a suitable bus as often as every 3-5 minutes (because many different bus routes overlap along Bath Road). That's compared to a potential 30+ minute wait for the expensive Hoppa.