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-   -   Gatwick to Heathrow (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/gatwick-to-heathrow-751275/)

tidy Dec 1st, 2007 10:49 PM

Gatwick to Heathrow
 
I understand that there is a train(tube to go from Gatwick to Heathrow. Is that the best way to change airports? And can anyone give me an approximatate cost so that I will have some currency in hand. Thanks,

AAFrequentFlyer Dec 2nd, 2007 12:09 AM

There is a direct bus between the 2 airports.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/airpo...orts.cfm?t=air

No direct tube/train options. You would have to go through central London and do a transfer.

alanRow Dec 2nd, 2007 12:10 AM

No there isn't - there is a direct coach service between the two run by National Express. Costs £19 one way.

IF you have plenty of time (and I mean SEVERAL hours) you can take the train to London Victoria then a Tube to Heathrow

Details are to be found on the "to and from our airport" section of the Gatwick & Heathrow airport websites


Sher Dec 2nd, 2007 04:46 AM

And my understanding is that you must allow plenty of time like three hours at least.

tidy Dec 2nd, 2007 05:11 AM

Thanks a ton. If there are 4 of us would it be cheaper to do a taxi? How much would that cost?

Sher Dec 2nd, 2007 05:31 AM

This is only from researching for friends so people with actual experience will hopefully chime in.

I would consider a car service for four people.
The car will be waiting for you at the arrivals area, it will be a set fee negotiated when you reserve and will take you directly.

Of course, it will still take time to get there.

Cowboy1968 Dec 2nd, 2007 05:50 AM

Will you travel both legs (to LGW, from LHR) with the same airline?
If yes, maybe you will get a voucher for the bus transfer from your airline? (I did get one from BA twice, but that was years ago)
Will your luggage get checked through? (if not: 4 people plus luggage in one taxi?)
Currency.. you won't need it for buying the bus tickets.. use your credit card instead.
I found taking the bus between the two airports are simple and almost as fast as taking a cab.

Sher Dec 2nd, 2007 06:58 AM

But I think for four people the car service might even be less expensive and more comfortable than climbing into and out of a bus and it would be door to door.

dorkforcemom Dec 2nd, 2007 07:34 AM

Hello tidy,
My friend and I did this week before last. We retrieved our luggage at Gatwick, went through passport control, downstairs to an area for the bus, waited about 5 minutes, threw our luggage underneath, and hopped on. This was on a Sunday. There was little traffic, the ride took an hour, and they let passengers off by terminal. We then rechecked our luggage at the airline desk (different airline), went through security, it was incident free.

Like another poster suggested, I'd compare costs of a private driver vs. the bus. We changed airports because our flight had been cancelled and there were no more flights out of Gatwick to our particular destination. Hope this helps...

AAFrequentFlyer Dec 2nd, 2007 08:06 AM

Airlines do not give out any vouchers for the bus and the passengers are responsible for transfer of their luggage.

With 4 people, private car service is the better option.

Bus is 19BPs per person, 76BPs for 4.

Car service should be ~50BPs.


Cowboy1968 Dec 2nd, 2007 09:03 AM

Found this website:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/...k_transfer.htm

Seems to cover many options, incl private car. Hope it is not biased in any commercial direction.

janisj Dec 2nd, 2007 11:05 AM

cowboy1968: not only do airlines not give vouchers - they do NOT check luggage through.

tidy: For 2 or 3 the coach (bus) would be the best option. For 4 or more a cars service starts to make real sense. Check justairports.com - they give a discount for cash payment. But LGW to LHR will not be cheap.

How long do you have between flights?

Cowboy1968 Dec 2nd, 2007 12:31 PM

thanks for the update.. that's why I wrote that it was <b>years ago</b> when BA did that in my case.. I was assuming that it was not the case anymore


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