Take the direct Tube to St Pancras, then train from there.

Or take a car service to St Pancras then train from there.

But can you please define "best" - especially if you are arriving at LHR on a Sunday or after about 8:00pm any other day.

I would take the London Underground (tube/subway) from Heathrow to London Kings Cross/St Pancras. I hate being stuck in traffic, which is all too common at any time on Britain's congested road network.

Airport to Kings Cross/St Pancras takes about 55 minutes, direct train.

I would then emerge from the depths and enter St Pancras main line station, gape at the architecture (it's won lots of awards, it's the London Terminal for international Eurostar trains as well as domestic 125mph high speed services to Kent) then go off to buy my ticket to Canterbury. Look for the South Eastern Railway (domestic) ticket office.

The high speed trains run every day and once every at least (twice an hour if you change en route) and that bit of the journey will take just over an hour at most.

Last direct trains to Canterbury West leave at 10.42pm daily On weekdays and Saturdays there are later trains involving a change en route but only slightly slower. Last such train is at 12 minutes after midnight. That does mean, as suggested above, that given the time it might take to claim baggage and clear immigration at Heathrow any arrival after 8pm on Sunday is perhaps going to be a problem for same day onward travel. If you arrive. as do many people, around 8am on a weekday on the 'red-eye' you can enjoy the London rush hour as part of your experience. No means of transport at that kind of time will be much of an improvement on the train option.

The London - Canterbury trains are a walk up service, reservations are neither required nor available.

We all hope you have a good trip.

Tube from Heathrow to Kings Cross St Pancras. Then get the highspeed train to Canterbury West (via Ashford Intl) Will take you about 2 hrs in total.

The train from St Pancras to Canterbury West is 56 minutes. Costs about £30 for a return (you can return anyday). I think. I have a railcard and its £20, so I think £30 would be the full price.

Also, the National Express coaches take about 4 hours, if there is no traffic. They change at London Victoria anyway as there is no direct service from Canterbury to Heathrow, and they're not THAT much cheaper. So the tube and then train would probably be the best, easiest and quickest option for not that much expense.

It is relatively easy to get from Heathrow to Canterbury. You catch the tube from Heathrow to Paddington Station

https://www.heathrowexpress.com

then Paddington to St Pancras on the Circle Line (couple of stops) then St Pancras to Canterbury. That is the quickest - cheapest would be using National Express Coaches - see their website for details. One coach to London Victoria and then another from the same place to Canterbury. Save money by booking in advance on-line.

Taking the HEX to get to St Pancras is simply nuts. It's substantially more expensive, the hassle level in off-peak hours is terrible, at peak hours it's simply insane. Also for more than one person a car service would be cheaper than the HEX / Tube. But the quickest and simplest way is to take the direct Tube to St Pancras from Heathrow and use the elevators to get to ground level

Alanrow is correct. The ticket for the short journey Paddington - Kings Cross/St Pancras on the Circle Line Underground will cost very little more than the whole journey from the airport on the (Tube) Piccadilly line. The overall journey time will little different and you will have saved yourself around £12 into the bargain.

Also, Paddington to KX/St Pancras is not 'a couple of stops' it is six. Plus the Circle Line is no longer a true Circle so, unless you are familiar with the geography of Paddington station, you will probably be changing trains at Edgware Road.

(There are two sets of Underground/Tube platforms at Paddington which are several minutes walk apart. Through trains to KX St Pancras leave from the open air platforms at the 'wrong' end of the main station, Platforms 15 & 16.)

As posters have already stated, there are several ways from getting from Heathrow to Canterbury.

What qualifies as the best may depend on budget. However, if arriving in the UK from a transatlantic flight, and possibly jet lagged, most people would opt for the easiest route.

The easiest route is the tube ( London Underground rail) from Heathrow to Kings Cross/St Pancras, then the overland high speed train to Canterbury West.

The tube ticket is bought from the tube station at Heathrow.

The high speed (overland) train ticket is bought at St Pancras. No need to advance purchase either ticket.

It may be cheaper to take the tube to Victoria to pick up a National Express coach from Victoria, but it will much take longer, involve a change of tube lines, and hopefully arrive in time to pick up a coach....which will take much longer to arrive at Canterbury.

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