Upvote:5
I might be a little late to answer but for the record, National Express Coach Route 205 is your most convienient option. The last coach departs Heathrow Central at 00:30 and arrives Bournemouth at 03:05.
Reasons:
- There will be space for your luggage in their hold. On trains, this is not guaranteed.
- Route 205 serves all terminals at Heathrow.
- Most National Express coaches have a charging socket under the seat infront so you can charge your phone, etc.
- Trains out of Heathrow are extortionately priced and only go into central London, whereas the coach is much cheaper and direct.
- If you were to take the train, you'll have to have to travel on at least three separate routes and these could be affected by engineering works.
- Last direct train from London Waterloo to Bournemouth leaves at 23:05 and takes almost as long as the coach would straight from the airport.
Caveats:
- Rarely, the coach may be full, so you may consider booking online if you want to guarantee a seat.
- You must print your ticket beforehand if booking online. However, you can select an M-ticket (SMS ticket) option when booking online, but make sure your phone battery has juice in it.
- If you miss the coach and already bought your ticket, you'll have to pay for a new ticket.
Upvote:10
I like to use Travel Line in the UK, it does trains, coaches, buses, underground and can even give routes part car, part other transport.
Enter Heathrow, airport, adjust the time to when you expect to leave the terminal and the date, enter Bournemouth and have it run.
If you forget to enter details it will ask for them.
But do set the date for the right one, or at least the same day in the week as some trains run differently on different days of the week.
On the day I checked there was a coach on 00:30 from one of the Heathrow Terminals and the next seemed to be 04:17. Of course, having the right terminal and the actual location in town, as well as the right day/date will help to get an even better result.