Help with London Gatwick
 

Hi we're flying into London Gatwick and would like to know what is the least expensive way and quickest way of getting to the area call Islington, London where our hotel is located!
There will be four of us arriving on a Sunday 8am in August.
Any insight would be great, carry on in tow.

Regards

Tcmazz

Take First Capital Connect (Thameslink) from Gatwick to Kings Cross Station. From there you can take the tube or bus to your hotel in Islington. Look at www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk for the train. Cheap Day Single is 10 GBP. Look at www.tfl.gov.uk for Transport for London information.

Assuming your hotel has a Web site, you can go there to see which tube station is closest. Then use the Journey Planner at the Transport for London site mentioned above to see how to get from King's Cross Thameslink station to your hotel by either tube or bus. Download and print a tube map here: www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colourmap.pdf. Download and print a central London bus map that includes the location of major tourist attractions here: www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf.

Hi anybody tell me the cost for four people and would it be cheaper to take a taxi?

regards tc

No, you do not want to take a taxi. It could be a 90 minute drive and could easily cost £100 or more. Gatwick is quite a ways south of London and the train is the only reasonable (time wise) way to make the trip.

do some research on pre-arranged car service - might only be a few pounds more than train and tube or train and taxi

Try www.justairports.com for the car service. They seem to have the best rates. Assuming that your hotel located in Post Code N1 an estate (station wagon) would be 100 GBP round trip and an MPV (minivan) would be 120 GBP. Just the train tickets for 4 people would be 80 GBP. It's more for the car service, but it takes you door to door without dragging luggage through train stations. You can book online. You would need to pay cash as it is much cheaper.

£80 - where?? If it is a family (2 adults and 2 children) the total train fare Gatwick to Kings X would be about £30. And if it is 4 adults the fare would be about £40.

Car service from LHR often makes sense. But from LGW - seldom. The drive is VERY long, and VERY expensive

If you travel on a Southern DaySave fare, the cost for four passengers to Victoria, London Bridge, or Charing Cross is £20. All of these stations are on the Tube network, so pick one that has a nonstop line to your destination. See here:

http://www.southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=122

Thanks Robespierre,

This sounds great!

regards

tc

I've found those "daysave' fares to be useful but please NOTE the time restrictions on them.

Sunday at 8 AM will be no problem, as the DaySave restrictions apply to weekday commuting hours.

We would like to use the Southern Railway system. Just need to know whether we will able to buy the Southern DaySave fare once we arrive at Gatwick?
If so where do we go once we land?
Also once we get to London Bridge rail stop are we able to buy a 48hour pass for the tube?
Does the tube run 24hours?

thanks tc

Hi tcmazz

I live in Islington (good choice!) and if I were you I would take Southern trains to London Victoria and get the Victoria line which is much faster and more comfortable than travelling from London Bridge and serves most stops in Islington (or you can change at Kings Cross on to most other lines).

The Southern Trains ticket desk is just outside the arrivals area at Gatwick and I have found a cost of £27 for two adults and two children so it's not that expensive even if you can't get your saver ticket.

You can buy an off-peak tube travel card for the Sunday but if you're travelling by tube/bus the following week you'll have to get a peak-rate day or three day pass. You can get these from the ticket offices at Victoria.

The tube runs from 5.30 until 00:30 Monday to Saturday, and between 7.30 - 23.30 on Sundays.

Transport for London's website is really useful for up to date info on travelling in London.

Hope you have a great break here!

HVH

An off-peak Travelcard from Gatwick is about £11. This ticket covers the train journey from Gatwick (except on the Gatwick Express) and a day's unlimited travel in London by train, tube and bus. You can buy a Travelcard from any station in south east England; the fare will obviously depend on the distance from the Greater London boundary, but the fare is usually only slightly more than the price of a day return to central London.

If you buy now you have some options...

go to www.gatwickexpress.com/promo

Enter in 200006 and you'll get 25% off your tickets or an even better deal is to
go to their main page and get the 2 for 4 deal...you pay for 2 adult tickets and get travel for four!

www.gatwickexpress.com

can't beat that! Then when you get to Victoria Station..buy your travelcards or pre-load your Oyster card and take the tube over to your area.

Have a great time!!!!
Tara but buy now, it may not last...

Southern DaySave is only available online and must be purchased a minimum of seven days before travel.

Just wanted to clarify the 2 for 4 applies to adults only...you haven't specified if you have children so I also included the discount code so you could use that for you and the kids. I just bought mine for 2 adults/3 kids and ours was 36pounds...the Gatwick is just a quicker option than the rail, and runs every 15 minutes.
Tara

The Gatwick Express takes 30 minutes and runs every 15 minutes. The Southern trains take an average of 35 minutes and run every 15 minutes.

Gatwick Express goes non-stop to Victoria Station, while Southern does have stops (3 or more?)...I read an interesting article a while back about Gatwick Express eventually dissolving into Southern..they argued about the competition which usually means better competitive rates for travelers...So take advantage of these good deals on either Southern or Gatwick....much cheaper than taxi.