Gatwick vs. Heathrow Airports - Pros/Cons of each?

Working on booking flights for our June cruise out of Southampton and was trying to figure out whether we should fly in/out of Gatwick or Heathrow?

We're (my family of 4) planning on flying in a day or two ahead of time, staying somewhere in central London and heading to the port the day of embarkation, then likely flying home the same afternoon we disembark.

Any thoughts on the two airports? I've only been to London once, just for a couple days for a business trip, and I honestly forget which airport I even flew into and out of back then.

Thanks for any advice you might give! :)

We always take Heathrow, not only it being more popular than Gatwick among friends, but the choice for flight dates/times are more varied and fare cheaper from JFK.

From Southampton, our limo driver said both airports just have the same travel time.

Not sure about your pre-cruise points of interest, but ours in Central London is not too far (30min) and inconvenient to travel from Heathrow to a Central London hotel

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There are pros & cons, but they're comparatively minor.

So your primary concerns should be the cost & convenience of flights, and mebbe your airline preference.

Some of the airport pros & cons will depend on the date / day-of-the-week, whether you're happy to use public transportation from airport into central London (both are well-served by train, but from Gatwick it's quite tortuous by road), and if you have in mind a particular hotel location in central London.

But the airport pros & cons will pale against a significant difference in air-fares or a particularly early or late flight.

JB :)

Gatwick has the advantage of being smaller and easier to negotiate. As JB says, travel to central London by train is easy from both so you should go by price and convenience.

Out of interest, I had a look at flight options: Cleveland to London prices vary a lot and the cheapest seems to be Aer Lingus to LGW with two changes. 16+ hours is a long time to be traveling so you should take that into account when you look at what you will do after you arrive.

I have used both and agree with JB, let price and travel time dictate your airport choice. We’ve used the train and bus from Gatwick to a Victoria station area hotel and it was easy.

The national express bus to Southampton was also cheap and easy from the bus station.

Thanks everyone - glad to know there isn't much of a difference.

As of right now, price and schedule isn't a factor - the best flights out of Cleveland (Iceland Air) are the exact same price and nearly the exact same flight time (they arrive about 10-15 minutes apart). We might go with Gatwick, just because it's smaller. :)

Note that to get to London (Victoria) from LGW by train, you have two options. There is the Gatwick Express, run by Southern, and the ordinary trains run by Thameslink. The former is faster(every 9 minutes), more frequent and more expensive; the latter slower, less frequent (every 30 minutes) and cheaper.

You should read this for a full description of the options https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/gatwick_transport.htm

Thanks Bob for the link - good info there. :)

The only major difference I can think of is there are hotels within the terminal at Gatwick, in case you want to stay overnight before an early flight home. I stayed at the Bloc Hotel within the terminal, which was small but comfortable (as long as you don't mind an Asia-style shower that might get the toilet wet). I don't think there are hotels within the terminal at Heathrow - at least the Hyatt Place I stayed at was not in the terminal. It was, however, a short, free bus-ride away.

The only major difference I can think of is there are hotels within the terminal at Gatwick, in case you want to stay overnight before an early flight home. I stayed at the Bloc Hotel within the terminal, which was small but comfortable (as long as you don't mind an Asia-style shower that might get the toilet wet). I don't think there are hotels within the terminal at Heathrow - at least the Hyatt Place I stayed at was not in the terminal. It was, however, a short, free bus-ride away.

T5 at LHR as the Sofitel attached to it, and I think a Hilton at T4

T5 at LHR as the Sofitel attached to it, and I think a Hilton at T4

There is also now a Premier Inn attached to T4, although it's down a long covered walkway like the Hilton, and a Yotel within the terminal at T4 (landside).

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And there is a Yotel at Gatwick North Terminal as well.