Heathrow or Gatwick - More convenient
 

Thread immediately disappeared. I'll try again.<BR><BR>Stopping in London for a few days on the way back from Rome to the US. Staying at the Radisson Kenilworth near British Museum.<BR><BR>I have a choice of 2 flights at about the same time. One lands at Heathrow and the other at Gatwick.<BR><BR>Heathrow appears to be more convenient. Is that really so?<BR><BR>Thanks.<BR>

I don't find much difference if you are taking the express into town..one stops at Victoria, the other Paddington..both easy taxi rides to hotel, maybe 10 minutes in travel distance!

dear myer. i would fly into heathrow. with the new express train you can be at the paddington station in 15 min. the trains are very nice and comfortable. i havent flown into gatwick in a couple years so i dont know if things have improved but i think it would take you alot longer to get into town from gatwick. good luck and have fun im going to london myself in 1 week and im flying into heathrow

Myer - about 6 of 1, half dozen of the other. The LHR train is 10 to 15 minutes faster than the LGW. Tube connections from Vic'a/Pad'n are similar depending on your final destination.<BR><BR>The main difference is "airside" - it is much faster to negotiate LGW than most terminals at LHR. The time you save taking the LHR/Paddington express is lost with the extra 10 to 15 minutes it takes to walk to the train. At LGW the train is immediately outside the arrivals hall.<BR><BR>So time/convenience really is almost identical. LGW is smaller and an easier walk if that is important.

Also Heathrow, as the world's busiest international airport, can be an absolute nightmare. It's also our oldest airport, so has grown organically rather than by design, and can be rather chaotic to negotiate.<BR><BR>Gatwick is still very busy, but Janis made a very good point about the distance of the train to check-in.

The unmentioned, to date, advantage of Heathrow is that it is on the London Underground network. So if one doesn't want to pay &pound;12 for an express train ticket and up to &pound;10 for a taxi from the train station to hotel, one can pay &pound;3.60 for a subway ticket or &pound;5 for a day pass good throughout the underground and bus system.<BR>Contrary to the belief that LHR is the world's busiest airport, it is, in fact, the 4th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and 15th busiest in terms of aircraft movements.

LHR is our preferred airport. For travel into the city, Heathrow Express is just 15 minutes to Paddington, which is convient to the city proper by taxi or tube. LGW and the Gatwick Express is 25 - 30 minutes. I've ridden on 3 UN-Airconditioned cars in the past 2 years. Don't even think about taking a taxi, very expensive and a long trip. I do admit we travel out of both depending upon our destination, but ease of use puts LHR in the lead, in my opinion.

Underground from Heathrow combines low cost and efficiency: you can get off at the Russell Square stop which is near the British Museum (this only works if you have minimal luggage) and your hotel. The line originates at Heathrow, but it is a regular subway line that picks up people at ever stop and it can get very crowded. A lot of big, heavy suitcases will be almost impossible to get off the train.<BR><BR>Other than that, either airport has an express train right into a train station that is also an underground stop - in either case, you'll have to change lines on the underground. Or you can take a taxi from the station.

Your hotel is by the British Museum. That means you can take a train every quarter hour straight from Gatwick to Kings Cross Thameslink station, half a mile from your hotel. With luggage the thing to do is step onto the platform there, look for the sign for stairs down towards the Piccadilly Line, go down them, cross under the rail lines, and at the news kiosk buy the Time Out listings magazine and take the escalator straight up to street level. With light luggage, take a bus from just outside the station towards Euston, and another down to Russell Square and your hotel. With heavy luggage, one of you stands by the bags while the other crosses the road to flag down a taxi, which will procede round a one-way system, then drop you at your hotel.<BR><BR>This takes a third of the taxi time that Paddington (from Heathrow) and Victoria (from Gatwick) demand, and lets you enjoy the shorter walking distances at Gatwick. <BR><BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Lonfon.<BR><BR>Ben hasines<BR><BR><BR>

Ben: I really do love you :)

To Ron, Heathrow is the busiest "International" airport, as in purely international, rather than domestic flights. It's the busiest for connecting international flights, which mean you got a lot of dazed and confused people wandering about between terminals:–)

Your hotel is by the British Museum. That means you can take a train every quarter hour straight from Gatwick to Kings Cross Thameslink station, half a mile from your hotel. With luggage the thing to do is step onto the platform there, look for the sign for stairs down towards the Piccadilly Line, go down them, cross under the rail lines, and at the news kiosk buy the Time Out listings magazine and take the escalator straight up to street level. With light luggage, take a bus from just outside the station towards Euston, and another down to Russell Square and your hotel. With heavy luggage, one of you stands by the bags while the other crosses the road to flag down a taxi, which will procede round a one-way system, then drop you at your hotel.<BR><BR>This takes a third of the taxi time that Paddington (from Heathrow) and Victoria (from Gatwick) demand, and lets you enjoy the shorter walking distances at Gatwick. <BR><BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Lonfon.<BR><BR>Ben hasines<BR><BR><BR>

But Kate, “busiest for connecting international flights” is irrelevant for people arriving in Heathrow for the purpose of visiting London. I have never found that “dazed and confused people wandering about between terminals” has interfered in any way in getting from the exit of the customs area to the Heathrow Express, the Underground station, the Central Bus station, the bus bays in the terminal, the hire care shuttles or the taxi ranks. And I have done them all. <BR><BR>Heathrow may be a difficult airport for people connecting to other flights, but that is not the topic under discussion; it is not a difficult airport for people arriving in or departing London.