kikianne

I'm working on transportation between London and Gatwick/Heathrow for my family (2 adults/2 kids)this August. I'd appreciate feedback on my current plans:

We all arrive at Heathrow at noon Saturday, August 20. We're staying near the Eye so I plan for us to take the tube into town. I believe taking the Picadilly line to the Bakerloo line, down to the Waterloo stop would be the most direct(??). I have considered taking a cab, but in addition to the expense it seems it may take as long as the tube. Even taking the Heathrow Express still involves the time and expense of a taxi ride to Waterloo or additional ride on the tube. We will have a reasonably light amount of luggage with us. Does the tube seem like the best bet?

Our return is trickier. We all leave on a Monday. One adult and one child out of Gatwick at 10:35am. I think the Gatwick Express is the best option (??). If so, what time should we leave to be at Gatwick by 8:30am? I'm assuming we'll be somewhat affected by rush hour?

The other parent and child leave out of Heathrow at 3pm. I was thinking of having them take the tube back to the airport from Waterloo, but I see that if you take the Heathrow Express you can actually check your bags with your airline at Paddington station. How much of a benefit is that?

Thanks for any advice/insights you may have!

Robespierre

For four people, you might find a car service the best compromise. For £23, justairports.com will pick you up at Heathrow and drop you at your front door.

To Gatwick from a hotel near the Eye, you should consider riding a Southern train from London Bridge station for £12 for one adult and one under-16. See thetrainline.com for schedules.

Now, about the airline checkin at a London train station: I think the carriers stopped doing this several years ago - where did you see that?

To get to Heathrow, you might want to walk across the river to the Westminster Tube station and ride the District Line to Hammersmith, where you can walk across the platform to the Piccadilly Line to the airport. This route has one advantage over any other Tube route: no climbing.

yk

1) LHR-hotel, 2 adults 2 kids. I would arrange a car service (eg JustAirports). It's worth the £.

2) Hotel-LGW, 1 adult 1 kid. You need to be at Gatwick <b>before</b> 8:30am. I suggest you take the 7:30a GEX which will get you to the airport by 8. (This is assuming you're catching a plane back to US?)

3) Hotel-LHR, 1 adult 1 kid. AFAIK, the HEX no longer offers luggage check-in at Paddington. I'd recommend taking the tube on <b>Jubilee line</b> from Waterloo to Green Park, then change for the Piccadilly line. Since Jubilee line is a newer subway line, many stations have escalators; whereas older lines such as Bakerloo only has stairs.

janisj

as the others say - for LHR to your hotel book a car service. For 4 it will be cheaper than the HEX plus either tube or taxi and will be a LOT easier than the tube.

From Hotel to LGW early in the a.m. - take a train from Waterloo to London Bridge (or a taxi from your hotel to London Br - depending on exactly where the hotel is) and then a <b>First Capital Connect</b> train (the current name of the old &quot;Southern&quot; trains) to the airport. You would be going the opposite direction of the main commute traffic so the train shouldn't be crowded.

From the hotel to LHR - taking the tube all the way is a pain. Either you have a looong walk at Green park station - or you have to change twice.

Of course you can take the Bakerloo line to Paddington and then the HEX but that means a lot of schlepping og luggage.

I personally might consider a taxi from the hotel to any of the more convenient Piccadilly line stations and then the tube from there to LHR

alanRow

&lt;&lt;&lt; and then a First Capital Connect train (the current name of the old &quot;Southern&quot; trains) &gt;&gt;&gt;

FCC is the new name for Thameslink - Southern still run lots of trains around the SE of England, including the train to London Bridge from Waterloo EAST (not Waterloo)

If you want the &quot;easier&quot; (it isn't) route to Heathrow via Tube, take the escalators virtually to the top of Green Park, then take the next set down to the Piccadilly Line as it means you don't have to travel for what seems miles along tunnels

janisj

oops - of course - I just finished explaining Thameslink/FCC to a friend and and was in sort of auto pilot (or maybe it was a senior moment ) . . . .

PatrickLondon

I think I'd avoid Waterloo East/London Bridge for Gatwick in the morning rush hour. You'd probably avoid the worst of the crush that early, but there are some stairs involved, and from County Hall (which is where I assume you're staying) it would probably be less hassle and maybe even quicker to take a taxi to Victoria for the Gatwick Express.

The double change on the tube that janisj refers to for the Heathrow trip involves Westminster (to the westbound District Line) and then Hammersmith (just walk to the opposite side of the same platform) for the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. From County Hall it's no greater effort to get to Westminster tube station on foot than to the Jubilee Line at Waterloo.

Carrybean

For 2 adults &amp; 2 children it will cost in the range of &pound;32 to &pound;37 for Justairports depending on your luggage (I assume you'll have more than 2 bags) but it's still a good value after a long flight.

kikianne

Thank you all for the helpful information and suggestions. There's just no way I could easily research the particulars of each tube route on my own!

Using a car service into London from LHR sounds like the way to go for our arrival. Should we expect the journey to the Eye (London County Hall) to be about an hour?

For the two in our family leaving leaving (back to U.S.) at 10:30am I think we'll plan to take a taxi to the Victoria station to catch the 7:30am Gatwick Express. How long of a taxi ride should we plan for?

For the other two leaving from LHR at 3pm I think we'll take a taxi to Picadilly station, then take that line into the airport. What time should we plan to leave London County Hall?

Thanks again!

Robespierre

For the two in our family leaving leaving (back to U.S.) at 10:30am I think we'll plan to take a taxi to the Victoria station to catch the 7:30am Gatwick Express. <b>Why Gatwick Express for &pound;22.35? Southern is &pound;13.35.</b>

For the other two leaving from LHR at 3pm I think we'll take a taxi to Picadilly station <b>Piccadilly Circus? That's a zoo. Walk or ride to Westminster, take the District to Hammersmith, and walk across the platform to the Piccadilly Line.</b>

TimS

The people going to Gatwick can save a bit of money by taking the 07:17 Southern train directly from Victoria to the airport. They'll arrive at 07:58 and the fare is &pound;8.90.

Johnmango

I assume that Justairport can also provide car service from Heathrow directly to Gatwick, right?

Does anyone know the approximate cost? when I search the Justairport site, they ask for postal codes of the locations of pickup and destination, and I am not sure of the airports' postal codes.

AAFrequentFlyer

Heathrow - UB3 5AP

Gatwick - RH6 0NP

kikianne

Thanks Robespierre, I'll go with your suggestions. Thank you TimS for the specific time/fare info. I appreciate it all!