Gatwick airport to Central London - Travel Q.

Depends where you are going.

You can take the Gatwick Express which is approx 30 mins and goes into Victoria - the pricier option.

Or you can take the Southern Train (approx 35 - 40 mins) into Victoria or London Bridge - the cheaper option.

Or you can use a care service like www.justairports.com - the most expensive option.

Use www.gatwickexpress.com or www.nationalrail.co.uk to find train times and ticket prices.

Southern train is just about as fast - express with one stop takes 29 minutes to London Bridge. The Gatwick Express trains CAN go faster, but they don't because they pass through some of the most congested areas of the country based on the amount of train traffic.

If you're going to the City of London (this is a specific area, not the general concept of "London is a city"), then take the Southern Line to London Bridge.

Or to St Pancras. Actually no one can really tell you which is best w/o knowing where you are going. "Central London" is a very big place.

If you prefer to take in the sights along London's highways and byways, Green Line coaches (as the "bus" is known) run to central London every half hour during the middle of the day. Takes about an hour, depending on traffic, which should not be too congested Saturday. Main stop is the Victoria Coach station, several long blocks from Victoria train station. It is something of a trundle to walk to the Victoria Underground subway station if you need it. The coach stops in several other locations. Details here http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm

2 people taking justairports is less expensive than 2 Gatwick express tickets and a taxi fare from train to hotel and the easiest especially if you are tired and haveluggage to handle. so do you want cheap or comfort?

Welcome to Fodors Clara

I got the Hilton Olympia on Priceline once, and there is a direct Southern line train from Gatwick to Kensington Olympia - - right at the hotel. What's odd is that the Hilton Olympia website says to take Gatwick Express to Victoria, switch to the Circle line, then walk 16 minutes.

There are currently no direct trains between Gatwick Airport and Kensington Olympia. However, there is a frequent service with a single change at Clapham Junction and other options with two changes. They would all be better than going via Victoria and walking, but someone with better knowledge might know about potential difficulties with luggage.

Incidentally, there are proposals to extend the use of Oyster cards to Gatwick, but not in the near future.

If you usethe trains into town from Gatwick, and buy a round trip (return), then you have automatically qualified for the 2 for 1 discounts offered by the national railroads. You can then, therefore, use the superior oyster card system for your transportation within London and not have to worry about getting a 7 day paper travewlcard or individual 1 day travelcards, depending on how long you will be in London, for your local transportation needs.

Thank you all for the help. Some of you asked where specifically in central london. Well I know now exactly. We'll be staying right next to the British Museum. Closest tube stn being Russell Square. Will take a look at train / bus websites that were listed above.

Thanks!

Uhm question...found this link for travel to russell square from gatwick:

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timetable/details?id=2&return=false&callingPage=tf

Now in the middle of the trip it says "First Capital Connect service from Brighton (East Sussex) to London Bridge" So i presume you get off at Brighton (east sussex) and switch to this "first capital connect" line?? Is this easy to do? And do you have to pay to switch lines, or do you pay a ticket price to get to your destination and use that ticket all the way through? How often do these trains come by incase we make a wrong turn and then make it there just in time to see it leave!

Thank you again.

Southern train to St Pancras, tube transfer to Russell Square, walk to hotel- this will be cheapest, there won't be room for big luggage on the train, and you'll have to carry your luggage up and down the stairs. The train is relatively quick and the ride slicing through the City is a lot of fun imo.

Pr-arranged car service from Gatwick straight to your hotel- convenient, gives your brain a rest, no lugging of luggage, will cost approx. twice as much as the Southern train/tube option but a reasonable price for the convenience.

Don't bother with the Gatwick Express. It's fairly expensive, and you'd have to make 2 transfers on the tube to get to Russell Square. And if you take the train and then decide to catch a cab instead of taking the tube, it will obviously be cheaper to get to your hotel from St Pancras then from Victoria.

Oops, my mistake it's not the Southern train to St Pancras, it's FCC (First Capital Connect).

And no, you board the train at Gatwick Airport, and get off at St Pancras. It's called Brighton to Bedford, but you would only be travellling on the Gatwick to St Pancras portion of it.

They run every 30 minutes. Don't look at the National Rail website, go to the FCC site.

http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/plan-your-journey/timetables/GTW/

This is the timetable you want:

http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/static/timetables/timetable/FC1112_TL2_SO_rtn.pdf

You won't get twisted around or take a wrong turn- the train station at the airport is very easy to find, as soon as you walk on there are automatic tellers to buy your train tickets. If you need help there's an information desk. Then you just walk to your platform. It's all very well signed. The train is direct- it will make some stops along the way, but the stops are announced. There will be an announcement when you reach St Pancras.

Then you get off the train and follow the signs to the tube. Again, it's all very well marked.

""First Capital Connect service from Brighton (East Sussex) to London Bridge" So i presume you get off at Brighton (east sussex) and switch to this "first capital connect" line??"

-- that would be the scenic route for sure

That means the train is coming in FROM Brighton, stops at Gatwick and carries on to London. But ignore it anyway since you don't want London Bridge. Do as Apree_Londee describes: FCC train to St Pancras and the tube from there to Russell Square.

Ahh, I see thanks for the clarification! Yes, will do it that way FCC to St Pancras, OR, may end up paying pre-arranged car service, because arriving in London at 7am, and wishing to spend the day gallivanting we'll need all the energy we can muster for THAT. Am kind of leaning towards the car service now, but glad to learn of all options. Thanks for your help all!

I personally would definitely NOT take a car service -- especially in the morning. It will take more than twice as long as the train. The train is totally painless and if you are tired and don't want to take the tube one stop -- simply take a cab the short distance from St Pancras to Russell Sq..

OOPS -- just noted again that you are arriving on a Saturday. The traffic won't be horrible -- but a car service will still take much longer than the train. And the drive is not at all scenic. Get into town the fastest way possible -- the train.

Really Janisj?? Ok thanks for the heads up on that, too then.