The cheapest way from Heathrow to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is the Underground: take the Piccadilly line to Hammersmith and change onto the District line to Kew Gardens station. Pay as you go with contactless or Oyster costs around £3.80 at peak times (less off-peak), and the trip takes roughly 50 to 60 minutes with one change. A taxi is faster, door to door in 30 to 45 minutes, but costs £35 to £75 or more depending on whether you pre-book a minicab or hail a metered black cab. Checked 2026.
Kew Gardens sits about 7 miles from Heathrow as the train runs, but there is no direct rail or Underground service between the two, so every public transport option involves at least one change. This guide compares the Tube, National Rail, taxi and bus options with real fares and journey times, so you can pick the right one for your budget and how much luggage you are carrying.
Tube: Piccadilly and District line
The most straightforward and cheapest route is the London Underground. From any Heathrow terminal, board a Piccadilly line train and travel to Hammersmith, then change onto a westbound District line train and get off at Kew Gardens, which is the stop after Gunnersbury. The full route from Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3 runs via Hatton Cross, Hounslow, Osterley, Acton Town and Hammersmith before reaching Kew Gardens, around 15 stops in total.
Journey time is typically in the 50 to 60 minute range, though it varies by terminal and time of day: Terminals 2 and 3 are on the main Piccadilly line loop, while Terminal 5 and Terminal 4 add a few extra minutes because trains serve those stations on a spur. Because this route runs through outer zones and does not pass through Zone 1, it is charged as a Zones 2 to 6 fare rather than the pricier Zone 1 to 6 fare that applies to journeys into central London. On pay as you go, that works out at roughly £3.80 during peak hours (Monday to Friday, 06:30 to 09:30 and 16:00 to 19:00) and somewhat less off-peak, with a daily cap that protects you if you make several journeys. Piccadilly line trains from Heathrow run from around 05:12 on weekday mornings until just after midnight.
For a full breakdown of Tube, rail and coach fares at the airport, see our public transport guide.
National Rail and the Elizabeth line
An alternative is the National Rail network, using a combination of Heathrow Express, the Elizabeth line, London Overground, South Western Railway, Southern or Thameslink services depending on the route sold. According to Trainline, this option starts from about £19.50, averages around 1 hour 48 minutes, and can be as quick as 1 hour 21 minutes on the fastest combination, still with one change.
This route is usually not worth it for Kew Gardens specifically. It costs several times more than the Tube for a similar or slightly longer journey, mainly because most rail combinations route via Zone 1 (for example changing at Paddington or Clapham Junction), which triggers the higher zone 1 to 6 fare band and the Elizabeth line's Heathrow supplement. It can make sense if you are already holding a Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line ticket for another reason, want fewer stairs than the Hammersmith interchange, or are connecting onward from a National Rail station. Our Heathrow Express vs Elizabeth line vs taxi comparison covers how these services stack up for central London journeys generally.
Taxi and private hire
A taxi is the fastest option when traffic is light, typically 30 to 45 minutes door to door, and the only one that takes you directly to whichever gate or car park is nearest your final stop within the gardens.
Pricing works differently depending on the type of taxi:
- Pre-booked minicab or private hire: Several Heathrow transfer operators quote fixed fares in the roughly £33 to £50 range for a standard saloon car to Kew, rising for larger MPVs or minibuses. Booking ahead locks in the price regardless of traffic.
- Metered black cab: Transport for London's official tariff table shows £33 to £45 for a 6 mile journey and £70 to £120 for the roughly 15 mile trip into central London. Kew sits at an intermediate distance of around 9 to 11 miles from Heathrow depending on your terminal and exact address in Kew, so a realistic metered fare is roughly £45 to £75, plus a £7 airport pick-up surcharge. Traffic on the A4 and South Circular can push this higher at peak times.
Ride-hailing apps generally price in between these two, close to the pre-booked minicab range outside surge periods. See our Heathrow taxis and ride-hailing guide for where the ranks are at each terminal and how the apps work on site.
Bus options
There is no single direct bus route between Heathrow and Kew Gardens, so buses are not the most practical way to make the whole journey. They are, however, useful for the last stretch once you are closer to Kew. TfL route 65 runs between Ealing Broadway and Kingston via Kew Bridge, Kew Green and a stop called Kew Gardens / Lion Gate, right by the Lion Gate entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens, and it also serves Kew Gardens Road near the Victoria Gate entrance. If you arrive by Underground or rail and want a different entrance to the one nearest the station, the 65 is the bus to look for.
Budget travellers sometimes combine a bus with the Tube, for example Piccadilly line to Hounslow or Osterley followed by a local bus toward Brentford and Kew Bridge, but this generally takes longer than staying on the direct Piccadilly and District line route and offers no real saving once the single bus fare (£1.75, capped at £5.25 a day under the Hopper fare) is added to the Tube leg. A handful of long-distance coach services also pass near Kew Bridge, but timetables are sparse and not designed for airport-to-attraction transfers, so we would not build a plan around them.
Comparing your options
| Mode | Approx. cost | Approx. journey time | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tube (Piccadilly + District) | ~£3.80 peak, less off-peak | 50–60 min | 1 (Hammersmith) |
| National Rail / Heathrow Express combo | from £19.50 | 1h21–1h48 | 1 |
| Pre-booked minicab | ~£33–£50 | 30–45 min | 0 |
| Metered black cab | ~£45–£75+ | 30–45 min (traffic dependent) | 0 |
| Bus (last-mile from Kew Bridge/Richmond) | £1.75 per journey | varies, not a full airport route | usually 1+ |
Timing your visit and booking advice
Kew Gardens is busiest on summer weekends and during school holidays, so if your schedule is flexible, a weekday morning arrival makes for a calmer visit and a smoother Tube ride, since peak PAYG fares on the Underground only apply Monday to Friday during the morning and evening commute windows. Arriving after 09:30 on a weekday keeps you on the off-peak fare for the Tube leg.
Buy an advance National Rail ticket only if you have firmly decided on that route, since walk-up rail fares for this journey are higher than the £19.50 advance price. For the Tube, there is nothing to book: touch in with contactless or Oyster at the start and touch out at Kew Gardens station. If you are travelling with a group or heavy luggage straight off a long-haul flight, weigh the extra cost of a taxi against the walking and stairs involved in changing trains at Hammersmith, since that interchange involves platform-to-platform walking rather than a same-platform change.
For journey options to other parts of London from the airport, our routes overview lists comparable guides by destination, and our fastest and cheapest ways into central London article covers the busier core routes in more detail.
FAQs
Some common questions about travelling between Heathrow and Kew Gardens are answered below.