Can anyone tell me what a first class return ticket is? Is it the same as a round trip ticket? Are there restrictions? Do you get the express treatment at the airport?

yup - Return = round trip

No one needs 1st class on a 30 min train ride IMHO. No, you do not get any sort of special traetment - just larger seats and a newspaper . . . .

Return in European parlance means round trip. First class is just the class of service, though on the short trip in from Gatwick Airport it seems rather unnecessary.

If you take Southern Trains the ride from Gatwick to Victoria Station is about 10 minutes longer but £5 cheaper. Southern Trains also goes from Gatwick to several other locations around London.

As P_M there are other trains into Londo that may be better than going to Victoria - see the journey planner on www.tfl.gov.uk and put the address of your hotel in.

It's surprising the number of people who get the GEX to Victoria then a taxi to the Thistle Charing Cross when all they had to do was get a train from Gatwick to London Bridge, get off, wait a couple of minutes at the same platform & get on a train to Charing Cross

What's surprising about it? If they KNEW you could easily do it they would.

Thank you again everyone for helping to shape my trip. Promo code 200006 gives 25% off Gatwick Express prices!

Dukey, you've got to wonder which guidebooks people are reading as a large number of people think that GEX is the *only* train from Gatwick and that you *have* to go to Victoria

How safe is London Bridge Station at night?

Just my two cents, but 1st class is worth it (if you have the money). I just took the Gatwick Express from Victoria Station to the airport on Sunday (10/22). I noticed on this and all my train trips during my 2-week trip that first class is virtually empty while coach or "standard class" is packed and cramped. In standard class it was difficult to find a seat and space to store luggage. I was traveling with my parents and both my mother and I agree that next time we'll travel first class. It would have been especaially nice on our crowded, 3.5 hour train trip from Paddington to Plymouth. But it would have been about $100 USD more, so the price differential for first class is quite steep.