Heathrow Customs Question
 

Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
reservation. Thanks for any assistance. Brent and Andrea

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

Done this lots of times. Short answer is, it varies - in my experience anywhere from
5 to 45 minutes. I haven't noticed any pattern as to time of day or day of week.

Of course you'll also need to factor in time to pick up your bags, travel from LHR to
Waterloo, and so on. So you'll probably want to allow extra time rather than cutting
it close. There are worse things than whiling away your extra time in a pub...

Enjoy your trip!

On Sun, 09 Jun 2002 19:08:40 GMT, BrentC <[email protected]> did write, or
cause to appear, hereinunder or as incorporated herein by reference:

    >Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    >Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    >for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    >Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    >reservation. Thanks for any assistance. Brent and Andrea

TESTTESTTEST- Remove the obvious to reply.

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

BrentC <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    > Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    > reservation.

Customs is usually pretty fast, unless something about you sets them off.

Immigration, on the other hand (which you have to go through prior to customs) can
have some really huge queues. It depends on the time of day, their staffing issues,
the number of flights coming in, how many other passengers have weird passports, and
so on. Sometimes you breeze right through (though that's a rarity at LHR). Other
times it can take half an hour to make it through the long snaking line.

I think that planning on an hour for all your airport arrival tasks is pretty safe.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu New mini
photo-feature: Life in DC: http://travel.u.nu/dc/

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

Yes an hour and a half to be sure evrythings ok

"BrentC" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]...
    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    > Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    > reservation. Thanks for any assistance. Brent and Andrea

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

Not to nit pick, but at that hour of the morning, it's not customs that can be a
problem. It's immigration. But, I would leave plenty of time. I wouldn't make a train
reservation for any time before 9. It's better to sit in Waterloo than to get there
just as your train is pulling away.

A.

--
From last year:

"This is the last class before the exam. If you don't let me go to class, I won't
pass the exam. If I don't pass the exam, I won't pass the class. If I don't pass the
class, I won't get my degree."

"I think you put too much pressure on yourself."

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

In March, there was at least a half hour wait to talk with a customs/immigration
agent. The actual procedure didn't take more than a minute or two. There are many
planes from the US and Canada landing at that time.

Barbara in CT

BrentC wrote:

    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    > Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    > reservation. Thanks for any assistance. Brent and Andrea

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

"Amy L. Ashbridge" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet
news:[email protected]...
    > Not to nit pick, but at that hour of the morning, it's not customs that can be a
    > problem. It's immigration. But, I would leave plenty of time. I wouldn't make a
    > train reservation for any time before 9. It's better to sit in Waterloo than to get
    > there just as your train is pulling away.
    > A.
Let's add on that an hours delay due to hard weather isn't complete unlikely for a
transatlantic flight. Such things occur and you may arrive an hour earlier also but
that's not so much of a problem. So what about a train departure at 10 or so ? An
hour or two left may eventually be spend strolling around in downtown London.
L.P

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

Hi

nitpicking ?

I'm not sure I could face a pub at 06.30, or if I'd find too many open !

Peter

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

BrentC wrote:
    >
    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs?

Five minutes? I admit I haven't been to London since 9/11, but arriving in Paris from
the U.S. in February, I didn't notice any difference in the time it took to "clear"
customs. You show your passport, that's it. (Unless you are "importing" something -
all I ever have is my ordinarly carry-on bag, which has never been questioned
anywhere, except to be examined at "security" upon departure.)

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

I would give yourselves about two hours. I fly into Heathrow from Halifax and
sometimes you get caught in the stack. Which means you end up flying in circles above
Heathrow while they clear a backload of planes. Also the issue of how fast
immigration is moving is one to factor in too. You are both going to be good and
tired so rushing isn't going to feel terrific either. Give yourself the two hours and
you can always have a good calm sit down with a cuppa before you venture on the
train. Unless you are able to sleep on that overnight flight you are both going to
feel somewhat like zombies.

Have a wonderful trip and hope all goes well

Heather

"BrentC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    > Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    > reservation. Thanks for any assistance. Brent and Andrea

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

"Heather Morrison" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I would give yourselves about two hours. I fly into Heathrow from Halifax and
    > sometimes you get caught in the stack. Which means you end up flying
in
    > circles above Heathrow while they clear a backload of planes.

To be pedantic, there is no stack above Heathrow itself. There is more than one
stacking point and incoming transatlantic flights could be stacked as far away as
Manchester.

Colin Bignell

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

Thanks for clarifying Colin.....

Heather

"Nightjar" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >
    > "Heather Morrison" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > I would give yourselves about two hours. I fly into Heathrow from
Halifax
    > > and sometimes you get caught in the stack. Which means you end up flying
    > in
    > > circles above Heathrow while they clear a backload of planes.
    >
    > To be pedantic, there is no stack above Heathrow itself. There is more
than
    > one stacking point and incoming transatlantic flights could be stacked as far away
    > as Manchester.
    >
    > Colin Bignell

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

"Amy L. Ashbridge" wrote:
    >
    > Not to nit pick, but at that hour of the morning, it's not customs that can be a
    > problem. It's immigration. But, I would leave plenty of time. I wouldn't make a
    > train reservation for any time before 9. It's better to sit in Waterloo than to get
    > there just as your train is pulling away.

Bear in mind also that Eurostar requires you to check in (as on an aircraft) half an
hour before boarding your train.

Factoring in an hour for delays, an hour for airport formalities, assume that you
will leave the airport around 8.30. You then have to get to Waterloo (H'row Exprss
changing to Bakerloo Line at Paddington, or Piccadilly Line chanfing to Bakerloo Line
at Picadilly Circus, or bus 285 to Feltham and train to Waterloo) - an hour if you're
lucky, but allow 90 minutes. I would recommend booking a train scheduled to leave no
earlier than 10.30.

Alan Harrison

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

BrentC <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    > Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    > reservation. Thanks for any assistance.

I'd like to be another "it varies" I used to come regularly from JFK to LHR,
arriving around 7 on a Saturday morning. The wait for immigration/luggage varied
from walking speed (ie almost as fast as if the barriers weren't there) to two hours
on a slow morning.

Note, too, that Eurostar had a 1/2 hour++ queue to get through the security checks
last time, but that was last October, and hopefully has calmed down again.

You do know about the Feltham Rail link? Bus from LHR to Feltham Station, then a
train straight to Waterloo. http://www.swtrains.co.uk/transportlinks/

joan
--
Joan McGalliard "What about the battle of style over substance?"
http://www.mcgalliard.org "I think our side is winning."

Re: Heathrow Customs Question
 

In article <[email protected]>, BrentC
<[email protected]> wrote:

    > Has anyone gone thru customs here recently? We are travelling via Canada into
    > Heathrow and will arrive at 6:30am in November. Any ideas how long we should allow
    > for customs? We plan to go directly to Waterloo station and catch the Eurostar into
    > Paris and we are trying figure out which train we may catch so we can make a
    > reservation. Thanks for any assistance.

If you are flying in by Air Canada, I'd recommend getting an add-on flight for
LHR-Paris. Would save you time.