Gatwick vs LHR

Hello, I wonder if people who have made transfers from LHR to LGW can help me.

 

We are arriving into LHR on a Wednesday from Seattle and will stay overnight and then need to get to Venice the next day. We have a choice of either going from Heathrow at 9:50 am for a total of $651 or we leave from Gatwick at 7:50 am for a total of $444

 

There are two benefits to doing the Gatwick flight... we save a couple hundred dollars and also get a couple of extra hours to see Venice! The disadvantages are that we have to be at the airport before 6.:eek: And that we are staying in a hotel near LHR. (Although I imagine that could be changed.) We will not be seeing anything other than our hotel in London as we are traveling with a five year old and am sure we will all be struggling with some jet lag.

 

I guess my question is how difficult is it to get to the other airport if we are staying near LHR? Is it worth it?

 

As always, thanks for your help!

Hello, I wonder if people who have made transfers from LHR to LGW can help me.

 

We are arriving into LHR on a Wednesday from Seattle and will stay overnight and then need to get to Venice the next day. We have a choice of either going from Heathrow at 9:50 am for a total of $651 or we leave from Gatwick at 7:50 am for a total of $444

 

There are two benefits to doing the Gatwick flight... we save a couple hundred dollars and also get a couple of extra hours to see Venice! The disadvantages are that we have to be at the airport before 6.:eek: And that we are staying in a hotel near LHR. (Although I imagine that could be changed.) We will not be seeing anything other than our hotel in London as we are traveling with a five year old and am sure we will all be struggling with some jet lag.

 

I guess my question is how difficult is it to get to the other airport if we are staying near LHR? Is it worth it?

 

As always, thanks for your help!

 

BA has some great pricing right now but the catch is that you have to do that dang airport change from LHR to Gatwick and I read that it can take about 3 hours.

 

That part said no thanks - I wouldn't want the extra stress and by the way you have to pay for the transfer!:mad:

Is the 200 dollar saving per person or total? If it is total, consider the cost of the transfer when you're making your decision. I think they're is a bus between the two, but not sure of the cost.

The bus can take forever! I've never done it, due to anecdotal tales of misery.

 

I've taken the trains by myself or with the wife. With a kid it would be slightly miserable since you have to take the tube from Paddington to Victoria station in between express trains.

 

Looks like you guys need to decide what matters most to you $$ or convenience. Although if you decide to go out of Gatwick to Venice you'll spend $60US or so a person on the airport express trains.

 

Personally, I'd take the Heathrow Express in to London, sightsee a bit and then get a hotel in London, preferrably near Victoria station. That way you can try to beat jet lag by walking and sightseeing.

 

The trains to Gatwick start running at 5:00 from Victoria.

 

Any questions on the train service I'll be glad to respond.

 

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/

 

https://www.gatwickexpress.com

If you want to save the money by using Gatwick then you will need a hotel at Gatwick rather than Heathrow, for a 7:50 am flight you will need to check in between 6:00 and 6:15 and even from central London this would need a 4:30 start, and I do not know if the trains run overnight.

Would agree with TerrierJohn. If your flight gets into LHR at a reasonable time why not transfer down to Gatwick same day and choose a hotel nearby. I live 5 mins away from Gatwick, there are some nice villages with hotels real close by where you can stop the night. I believe they can also provide airport transport early morning (although of course we have never had to) but at least you can book in for your flight bright eyed and bushy tailed.

 

Enjoy !

 

Fig.

If you decide to switch hotels there are two hotels right at London Gatwick Airport. The Sofitel is most convenient from the North Terminal. You basically walk five minutes in an enclosed over ot the ticket counter. We have stayed there many times. The Hilton is best for the South Terminal.

 

Keith

Sofitel Hotel at Gatwick Airport is your best bet.

 

If it were us, I'd stay at Sofitel and take the earlier flight.

I appreciate the time everyone has taken to answer me. I went and checked into the transfers as suggested by inco and Twickenham(Thanks!!!) and what a mess! We are traveling on three cruises this trip as we are going so far and paying so much... a seven night, a 15 night and then a 15 night transatlantic. All in all, we are actually away from home for 42 days. We have too much luggage to go on the bus! This means a private transfer. We are now spending the same amount of money when you add in the tip. Actually more as the Sofitel is more than the Sheraton Heathrow.

 

Besides the money, we are adding on at least an hour traveling time above what it would take to get to the Sheraton...

 

I think we will stick with going out of Heathrow and stay at the Sheraton.

 

Parrotcruiser, even though we are staying at the Sheraton, do you still think that heading back to the airport and using the heathrow express is the best way to go into London and do a little sight seeing? I think that you are right, it makes more sense to spend the late afternoon/early evening doing that so we can stay awake and get a head start on adjusting our inner clocks!

As you won't have luggage you could use the tube to get into London for a few hours. Much cheaper and probably easier to take a local bus to a tube station rather than going back into the airport. The hotel will tell you where to get the local bus.

You can buy a Travelcard, at a local newsagents, or the tube station, which entitles the family to unlimited travel all day, including the trips to and from London. A very economical policy. Please note, however, thtat this isn't applicable for the Heathrow Express.

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1067.aspx

 

The above link should be useful.

One thing to have a look at is whether you would be better off not buying Seattle-London-Venice as a through ticket, but rather buying the London-Venice sector separately.

 

Because you would have over 20 hours between flights in London, you are very unlikely to need the main benefit of a through-ticket, namely misconnection protection. Whichever way you do this connection, you are going to have to reclaim your bags in London and then check them in again the next day. So if you can save money by buying London-Venice separately, then try that.

 

In addition, I don't know how tied you are to flying from Seattle rather than Vancouver. If you are not trying to price Seattle-London-Venice as a through ticket, it is just possible that you might get a better price starting from Vancouver rather than Seattle. It's worth a look.

The bus can take forever! I've never done it, due to anecdotal tales of misery.

 

I've taken the trains by myself or with the wife. With a kid it would be slightly miserable since you have to take the tube from Paddington to Victoria station in between express trains.

I have to disagree profoundly with this. Although I've never done the transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick by the bus service, I've driven between the two airports (often as part of a longer journey) many times, and it is seldom bad. Yes, things can occasionally happen on the M25, but the overwhelming likelihood is that the bus will do what it says it will. And on the one occasion that I have actually myself put someone on the bus to do the transfer, it was exactly as advertised, save only that it was 15 minutes faster than scheduled.

 

If, on the strength of a few unusual "horror stories", you decide to abandon the method used by most people to transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick by public transport, and go on the trains, I guarantee that you are letting yourself in for a transfer full of misery and strife. Don't do it.

Parrotcruiser, even though we are staying at the Sheraton, do you still think that heading back to the airport and using the heathrow express is the best way to go into London and do a little sight seeing? I think that you are right, it makes more sense to spend the late afternoon/early evening doing that so we can stay awake and get a head start on adjusting our inner clocks!

 

You can also take the tube in to central London. It is very easy to use. It takes around 60 min into central London, but only costs $7.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

 

Taxi fares to London run north of $70 depending on destination.

 

I have always chosen to take the Express, rather easy and quick.

I have to disagree profoundly with this. Although I've never done the transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick by the bus service, I've driven between the two airports (often as part of a longer journey) many times, and it is seldom bad. Yes, things can occasionally happen on the M25, but the overwhelming likelihood is that the bus will do what it says it will. And on the one occasion that I have actually myself put someone on the bus to do the transfer, it was exactly as advertised, save only that it was 15 minutes faster than scheduled.

 

If, on the strength of a few unusual "horror stories", you decide to abandon the method used by most people to transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick by public transport, and go on the trains, I guarantee that you are letting yourself in for a transfer full of misery and strife. Don't do it.

 

Interesting different people's experiences! My father flew DFW to LGW 2 x a month for 6 months for business. At the time AA/BA only flew non stop to LGW as opposed to LHR as of now. Any way, he and others in his company had to transfer to LHR many times to continue on. They all stopped taking the bus due to the inconsistency. When the bus was on time it was great, however when it wasn't it was VERY late. They made the determination the train was the more reliable method. As time went on they started making connections in the US and flying to LHR to avoid the transfer all together.

 

Perhaps it was time of day of the transfer, perhaps it was a string of bad luck, who knows.

 

Regardless, thanks for posting, I enjoy your comments and your insight in to things European!

My father flew DFW to LGW 2 x a month for 6 months for business. ... When the bus was on time it was great, however when it wasn't it was VERY late.

It would be interesting to know some hard figures. If he was flying on business, then was he trying to make some connections just over 180 minutes? (180 minutes is the published MCT for LHR-LGW connections.)

 

If that's what you're doing, then your risk tolerance and your perception of the bus trip are going to be very different from that of the OP, who has (relatively speaking) unlimited time to make the connection. Someone trying to make a 180-minute connection is not going to shrug their shoulders at a bus trip that might take 45 minutes in good traffic; 90 minutes in bad. But it seems to me that it wouldn't matter much to the OP. And sitting in traffic for 90 minutes would still, IMHO, be preferable to going down to the HEX, travelling on that for 15-30 minutes, getting onto the Tube or into a taxi to get over to Victoria, then trudging across to the Gatwick Express platforms, and then spending another 30-45 minutes getting to Gatwick. And all of this with a five year old in tow.

IMHO, be preferable to going down to the HEX, travelling on that for 15-30 minutes, getting onto the Tube or into a taxi to get over to Victoria, then trudging across to the Gatwick Express platforms, and then spending another 30-45 minutes getting to Gatwick. And all of this with a five year old in tow.

 

Agreed. With a 5 year old in tow that would stink. With a 5 year old, whose body thinks it is 1:00 and not 9:00, miserable.

Hi everybody,

 

Thanks again, we are 'stuck' in our tickets to London being separate from our tickets to Venice because we are using up the second half of return tickets we bought to do a TA in the spring.

 

This being said, it is definately easier, and cheaper in the long run (not to mention time saving) to just go through LHR. We may not get to Venice until 1:00 pm but I think that departing at 10:00 am may just be a little easier than 8:00 am anyways.

 

Do you mind if I ask you some advice now that we have definately decided that this is the way to go? We (hopefully) arrive at LHR at 12:00 on November 5th. We will gather our luggage and get to the Sheraton by private driver that I have to find still... Check in is at 2:00 but if we are there before then we can leave our luggage and go.

 

So here is the question: Knowing that we have just traveled overnight, and have our 5 year old with us, what would you suggest for a gentle itinerary that will allow us to see a couple of the highlights without it being too difficult. I thought about maybe having a tour/driver but I'm not wanting to commit that heavily. If we are on our own and can't last until 7:00 then we can always go back! Is this enough time to do a HoHo?

Tamiko: I don't know which terminal you'll be arriving at, but if you're staying at the Sheraton Heathrow you're only a couple of miles, maybe less, from the Heathrow Interchange (at the centre of the airport). There will be lots of taxis there; or there's the Heathrow Hoppa (probably not much cheaper, truth be told - see here for some (unofficial) info: http://www.londontoolkit.com/lhr/hotel_hoppa_bus.htm

 

You're arriving at noon on 5 November. That's a Wednesday, so therefore it's a working day. The weather could be good or bad - more likely to be the latter, in fact - but unlikely to be extremely cold. Bad weather in the UK generally means wet, windy and mild -say, upper 40s or so. One thing is certain: on 5 November it'll be dark about 5 o'clock, maybe a bit earlier (especially if it's a cloudy day).

 

You might feel too tired to go back into central London after the flight, but one possibility would be to take the tube in the late afternoon and visit the London Eye: basically, a giant ferris wheel on the thames, overlooking the Houses of Parliament. (Have a look here: http://www.londoneye.com/.) I would have thought that a ride on the eye at the right time with the sun going down and London beginning to be illuminated by the lights might be just the thing. It would be interesting for your youngster as well,I should have thought. Then perhaps a gentle walk along the river (if the weather's OK) and it should be after the worst of the rush hour, and you can take the tube back to Heathrow and your hotel.

 

(The London Eye is fascinating. When it was announced as a 'Millennium Commemoration' experience there were loud guffaws from all & sundry, and Richard Branson got in some good jokes at the problems BA had in getting it set up. But once it was up & working, everyone suddenly discovered that the world's biggest ferris wheel was actually just what London had really, really needed...)

Tamiko: I don't know which terminal you'll be You're arriving at noon on 5 November. That's a Wednesday, so therefore it's a working day. The weather could be good or bad - more likely to be the latter, in fact - but unlikely to be extremely cold. Bad weather in the UK generally means wet, windy and mild -say, upper 40s or so. One thing is certain: on 5 November it'll be dark about 5 o'clock, maybe a bit earlier (especially if it's a cloudy day).

 

 

Not forgetting of course what 5th November is !! If you are able to stay on in Lonndon for a bit into early evening and you go on the London Eye you will be able to witness numerouse firework displays in the distance - I did one year :)

Tamiko: I don't know which terminal you'll be arriving at, but if you're staying at the Sheraton Heathrow you're only a couple of miles, maybe less, from the Heathrow Interchange (at the centre of the airport). There will be lots of taxis there; or there's the Heathrow Hoppa (probably not much cheaper, truth be told - see here for some (unofficial) info: http://www.londontoolkit.com/lhr/hotel_hoppa_bus.htm

 

You're arriving at noon on 5 November. That's a Wednesday, so therefore it's a working day. The weather could be good or bad - more likely to be the latter, in fact - but unlikely to be extremely cold. Bad weather in the UK generally means wet, windy and mild -say, upper 40s or so. One thing is certain: on 5 November it'll be dark about 5 o'clock, maybe a bit earlier (especially if it's a cloudy day).

 

You might feel too tired to go back into central London after the flight, but one possibility would be to take the tube in the late afternoon and visit the London Eye: basically, a giant ferris wheel on the thames, overlooking the Houses of Parliament. (Have a look here: http://www.londoneye.com/.) I would have thought that a ride on the eye at the right time with the sun going down and London beginning to be illuminated by the lights might be just the thing. It would be interesting for your youngster as well,I should have thought. Then perhaps a gentle walk along the river (if the weather's OK) and it should be after the worst of the rush hour, and you can take the tube back to Heathrow and your hotel.

 

(The London Eye is fascinating. When it was announced as a 'Millennium Commemoration' experience there were loud guffaws from all & sundry, and Richard Branson got in some good jokes at the problems BA had in getting it set up. But once it was up & working, everyone suddenly discovered that the world's biggest ferris wheel was actually just what London had really, really needed...)

 

Thank you! This is great. And you're right, it is something that my daughter will be interested in as well, which will make it a lot easier to keep her happy. My daughter bored and tired = cranky! Give her something fun and new... she forgets she is tired and we can't keep her down. And it looks like it won't be hard to get there either.

Do you think it will be necessary to pre-book the twilight time? I hate to buy ahead when there is so many delays with flights these days! As excited as I am about this, I must say that it is the most expensive ferris wheel I've ever seen! LOL. I'm thrilled to do it, but wouldn't want to pay twice if we were late.

 

Not forgetting of course what 5th November is !! If you are able to stay on in Lonndon for a bit into early evening and you go on the London Eye you will be able to witness numerouse firework displays in the distance - I did one year :)

 

I hate to look like an idiot and all... but I sincerely don't have a clue what the 5th is. I even googled the date and came up with nothing. Checked the EventGuide Daily Calendar for London and still can't figure it out. I hope that I am not offending anyone by not knowing something I should. Please, do you mind telling me what this date is?

Guy Fawkes Night (more commonly known as Bonfire Night, Cracker Night and sometimes Fireworks Night) is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpower Plot of the 5th November, 1605, in which Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament, in London.

 

This was a widely celebrated night throughout the Commonwealth, with each family joining with neighbours in holding their own Guy Fawkes Night. The custom, much loved by children, was banned in Australia because of the number of injuries to children from fireworks.

Guy Fawkes Night (more commonly known as Bonfire Night, Cracker Night and sometimes Fireworks Night) is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpower Plot of the 5th November, 1605, in which Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament, in London.

 

This was a widely celebrated night throughout the Commonwealth, with each family joining with neighbours in holding their own Guy Fawkes Night. The custom, much loved by children, was banned in Australia because of the number of injuries to children from fireworks.

 

Thank you! It will be wonderful if we could see the fireworks from the ferris wheel. Won't that just be icing on the cake? :)

Just one thing, although officially the 5th November, this is a Wednesday and so most organised fireworks displays will probably be held at the weekend (they usually are). There might be some private bonfire parties about on that night.

You don't really have to purchase advance tickets for the London Eye these days. Although there are usually queues, they move really quickly so I'd suggest waiting until the day (besides, who knows what the weather will be like).

Time Out (London's main and best listings magazine) should have a guide to where the big fireworks displays are. It's published at about lunchtime on Tuesdays, and covers Wednesday to Wednesday inclusive. If anyone is really interested in seeing a big fireworks display, this would be one way of finding out how.