Heathrow customs

[Girl of the South]

Terminal 2 landslide (after you pass through customs and immigration) isn’t huge. There are a couple restaurants. A drug store. A place to leave luggage (for a charge). A little Marks & Spencer’s shop that sells wine, salads, pre made sandwiches, chips, candy. Stuff like that.

There are some seats but not a ton. Best place to sit is in front of the rental car agencies.

If you have a lot of time you can walk over to the Hilton Garden Inm - they have a nice restaurant in the Lower Level.

Did you say you need to get to the Bus Station?

 

[iona]

You’re right. If you need a break, food, coffee, bath room… do that first…. Then customs. Not sure how Global Entry works in UK… but customs is simple… from there you can figure it out

Just to clarify, if you’re arriving on an international flight at Heathrow when you get off the plane you won’t have access to food/coffee until you’re through immigration and customs - you’ll be kept separate from those who’ve been through security and are waiting to board. There’s bathrooms, water and (I think) vending machines but not much else. As Girl of the South mentioned above there are a few options once you’re through customs (a coffee shop and M&S in the arrivals area and a coffee shop & a pub/restaurant in the departures area before you go through security) so you’ll be ok to grab something before boarding your coach. Flexible tickets definitely sounds like the way to go!

 

[Disnsyncey]

Just to clarify, if you’re arriving on an international flight at Heathrow when you get off the plane you won’t have access to food/coffee until you’re through immigration and customs - you’ll be kept separate from those who’ve been through security and are waiting to board. There’s bathrooms, water and (I think) vending machines but not much else. As Girl of the South mentioned above there are a few options once you’re through customs (a coffee shop and M&S in the arrivals area and a coffee shop & a pub/restaurant in the departures area before you go through security) so you’ll be ok to grab something before boarding your coach. Flexible tickets definitely sounds like the way to go!

I vote flexible tickets as well, (just like is always recommended when arriving into Italy with train tickets) no need to add stress (worrying about missing a particular departure) or boredom (waiting around for hours to get on your purchased bus), take the nominal extra money as a “cost of traveling” and make your arrival much smoother by being able to board soon after you arrive….

 

[Girl of the South]

Here is a map of the T2 Arrivals. Departures are up one level. And the passageway (tunnel) to the Underground and Bus Station is down one level - I think it's actually called Level 0!



You will come in from the right - see the little CUSTOMS area and red Exit arrow? (NOTE: Global Entry does not work entering any other country besides the USA.) There is another restaurant (Cafe Nero) at the top where that green strip is - couldn't fit it in the screen cap. And a ladies room there, too, larger than the one by M&S. You want to walk out the doors straight across from the Customs to find elevators and escalators. Grab a free cart if you have a lot of stuff - although you will then have to wait for an elevator which might take a while. Go down one level. If you take the escalator you might luck out to find some 'abandoned' carts.

Walk towards the Underground/Bus Station. The entrance to the Underground will be on your right. The large elevator to the Bus Station will be on your left - a bit more discreet. The day I was there the bus station was packed, no place to sit, not much to buy. So if you want anything to eat/drink/read, then buy it in T2. From T2 to the Bus Station is about 10 minutes. There are moving sidewalks or you can walk. Long tunnel.


This is a pic just to show you what to look for - the bright yelllow orange signs. You can see on the right, a tiny mention of "hotel" (at the bottom) if you want to go eat at the Hilton Garden Inn which is through the parking lot.

 

[swimfin]

Terminal 2 landslide (after you pass through customs and immigration) isn’t huge. There are a couple restaurants. A drug store. A place to leave luggage (for a charge). A little Marks & Spencer’s shop that sells wine, salads, pre made sandwiches, chips, candy. Stuff like that.

There are some seats but not a ton. Best place to sit is in front of the rental car agencies.

If you have a lot of time you can walk over to the Hilton Garden Inm - they have a nice restaurant in the Lower Level.

Did you say you need to get to the Bus Station?

THANK YOU SO MUCH for these details! SUPER HELPFUL!! We will need to go catch the national express coach as we are going to Southampton. I believe it’s through the underground walkway from terminal two, correct? THANK YOU! Cheers!

 

[swimfin]

Just to clarify, if you’re arriving on an international flight at Heathrow when you get off the plane you won’t have access to food/coffee until you’re through immigration and customs - you’ll be kept separate from those who’ve been through security and are waiting to board. There’s bathrooms, water and (I think) vending machines but not much else. As Girl of the South mentioned above there are a few options once you’re through customs (a coffee shop and M&S in the arrivals area and a coffee shop & a pub/restaurant in the departures area before you go through security) so you’ll be ok to grab something before boarding your coach. Flexible tickets definitely sounds like the way to go!

We will be changing planes in Iceland… I can’t remember the last time we flew from the states and changed planes in Iceland before Denmark if we did our customs and things there that’s what I forget, so I’m just planning on worst case scenario that I will be getting it done in Heathrow? Cheers!

 

[swimfin]

Here is a map of the T2 Arrivals. Departures are up one level. And the passageway (tunnel) to the Underground and Bus Station is down one level - I think it's actually called Level 0!

View attachment 999369

You will come in from the right - see the little CUSTOMS area and red Exit arrow? (NOTE: Global Entry does not work entering any other country besides the USA.) There is another restaurant (Cafe Nero) at the top where that green strip is - couldn't fit it in the screen cap. And a ladies room there, too, larger than the one by M&S. You want to walk out the doors straight across from the Customs to find elevators and escalators. Grab a free cart if you have a lot of stuff - although you will then have to wait for an elevator which might take a while. Go down one level. If you take the escalator you might luck out to find some 'abandoned' carts.

Walk towards the Underground/Bus Station. The entrance to the Underground will be on your right. The large elevator to the Bus Station will be on your left - a bit more discreet. The day I was there the bus station was packed, no place to sit, not much to buy. So if you want anything to eat/drink/read, then buy it in T2. From T2 to the Bus Station is about 10 minutes. There are moving sidewalks or you can walk. Long tunnel.

View attachment 999370
This is a pic just to show you want to look for - the bright yelllow orange signs. You can see on the right, a tiny mention of "hotel" (at the bottom) if you want to go eat at the Hilton Garden Inn which is through the parking lot.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I’m so visual and this helps TREMENDOUSLY!! THANK YOU! Cheers!

 

[Girl of the South]

I am very visual too! I still like paper maps. You only need to go through CUSTOMS (the stuff you are bringing into a country) if you are staying in that country. Since you are not staying in Iceland, then that’s a no for customs.

I don’t think you need to go through IMMIGRATION in Iceland since the U.K. is not part of the Schengen Zone. (I’ll Google further but I don’t believe so.)

You will do both Customs and Immigration at Heathrow.

You DO need an ETA for the U.K. though since you are exiting the Airport and staying in England for a couple hours.

I can post the link if you need it.

Happy Sailing!!!

 

[wabbott]

We went through Heathrow last fall, and IIRC we were through customs in way less than an hour. One tip that might help is that you should use the toilet on the plane before you land. Most folks head for the restrooms at the airport first thing, so if you can skip that stop, you likely will be at the head of the line at customs.

 

[swimfin]

I am very visual too! I still like paper maps. You only need to go through CUSTOMS (the stuff you are bringing into a country) if you are staying in that country. Since you are not staying in Iceland, then that’s a no for customs.

I don’t think you need to go through IMMIGRATION in Iceland since the U.K. is not part of the Schengen Zone. (I’ll Google further but I don’t believe so.)

You will do both Customs and Immigration at Heathrow.

You DO need an ETA for the U.K. though since you are exiting the Airport and staying in England for a couple hours.

I can post the link if you need it.

Happy Sailing!!!

Oh! THANK YOU again!! I had no idea about the ETA!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

 

[swimfin]

We went through Heathrow last fall, and IIRC we were through customs in way less than an hour. One tip that might help is that you should use the toilet on the plane before you land. Most folks head for the restrooms at the airport first thing, so if you can skip that stop, you likely will be at the head of the line at customs.

THANK YOU!!

 

[Girl of the South]

Here is the link for the U.K. ETA. They keep pushing the App but if you ignore it, you CAN just apply online. I wanted to use my desktop and not my phone. You need a photo of your passport page with your pic on it, plus another photo. It’s about $20. When I did it about a month ago, the approval was immediate. Got an email in less than a minute.

It’s valid for 2 years, unless you get a new passport, as it’s tied to the passport and not to you (if that makes any sense!).

Apply for U.K. ETA