MnM001

Hi,

We are a group of 6 traveling to London in June 2012.(we have never been to London before). 3 Adults, 1 Youth, 1 child and 1 senior.
We will be landing at Gatwick South Terminal at 9:45PM and we estimate that we will clear customs and be in possession of our luggage by 10:30PM.
I have done a bit of investigation myself and found that the cheapest is to take EsyBus to West Brompton. They have busses running all night.

However from West Brompton we have to walk to Earls Court and catch a bus to Bayswater. We think this will happen sometimes after 12AM. Then when we get to Bayswater we will have another 6/8 (or maybe longer as the senior in our group needs to walk slower) walk to the hotel.

My question is about the walking we have to do, the early hours in the morning and the areas we will be in. Is it safe to take this journey? Should we forget this and look at other way of transport - is yes what would you recommend? I got a quote for the 6 of us from a private company and they want 200 for the trip. A bit too expensive for us. But if safety is/could be compromised by the cheaper alternative we might have to reconsider

Please advise.

janisj

You have one hellacious plan there. W/ a late arrival at LGW --is there some compelling reason you are schelepping this group all the way to Bayswater? Just doesn't make sense IMO.

Have you pre-paid for your hotel? If not -- I'd change it and stay near Victoria Station.

If you are stuck w/ Bayswater - this is about the only situation when I'd recommend a pre-booked car service from Gatwick. That late at night the traffic won't be too bad and it will be door-to-door. Should not cost anywhere near £200

Try justairports.com

LondonYank

I second everything that JanisJ said including her recommendation for justairports.com. They should be less than 100 quid...200 quid is way too much. Also, the thought of standing outside in the cold (potentially) with a child and senior citizen waiting for a night bus after midnight kind of makes me want to cry.

If I was traveling on my own, I would take the Southern train to Victoria from Gatwick and jump on the 148 bus. As there are so many of you, it would be just as economical to split a private car.

avalon

For just airports largest car up to 8 people it is 81 GBP door to door , cheaper than Gex and tube and taxi

xyz123

Take the train from Gatwick (either the Express or the regular train I tink they run all night) to Victoria. At Victoria cdatch the 148 bus which traves from Victoria to Marble Arch up Bayswater Road stopping at the corner of Bayswater Road and Queensway...I don't know where your hotel is but I do know the 148 bus runs all night....Is it safe? It should be. Just where in Bayswater but indeed I would go with cdar service given the size of your group...now if youwere 1 or 2, public transport would make sense.

MnM001

Thank you for the suggestions guys.

justairports.com have a very attractive price at 81 quid and we will book and use them. 200 quid was way too much and that is why we started thinking about public transport.
We are going to stay at the London House Hotel - for which we found reasonable rates for the peak period in the middle of June 2012. Their rates plus the good reviews and they already got our booking

We will only spend 2 days in London and then travel to Paris. In the 2 days we have one day reserved for hop-on hop-off bus tour and the other we are splitting in 2 - the ones loving soccer are goign to go for the Arsenal stadium tour while the rest are yet to decide what they want to do. (feel free to suggest something for 2 adults and an elderly if you can to do that day)

Thanks for the quick reply and for point out the cheaper door to door alternative.

BigRuss

Skip the HoHo tour. You can take a couple of buses that will cart you through the city for far less, although from Bayswater you'd need to do transfers to the 9 or 15 that are the "heritage" routes that go through some of the main spots.