surreyjf

what time and which terminal are you landing at Heathrow, what time do you have to check in at gatwick?

CollK

We were in Croatia in October and flew from Split to Rome using Europe by Air (Croatia airlines). I was also nervous about trying to get from Hvar to the airport on the same day so we spent 2 nights in Hvar and one in Trogir and I'm glad we did -- Trogir is a very nice little town but it is small.

The Split airport is much closer to Trogir than Split -- we took a cab from our hotel and it couldn't of taken 10 minutes. Split is be much further away. The airport taxes were very easy to pay (I was worried about that too) . The counter where you go to pay your taxes is just opposite Croatia Airlines -- it maybe took five minutes for her to figure them out and me to pay her. Let me know if you have any other questions.

tcreath

surreyjf, we fly into Heathrow at 7:15 a.m. I'm not sure which terminal, but I checked the airport website and I think it may be terminal 1. We fly out of Gatwick North Terminal at 11:15 a.m.

Tracy

surreyjf

If flight leaves from Gatwick at 11.15am most international flights specify checkin 2 hours in advancewhich would be 9.15am. If you have checked luggage on the flight into Heathrow it will probably take 30mins plus to get through baggage reclaim, passport control etc at Heathrow, the coach stop isn't far but you will probably have a few minutes wait before it actually leaves and then a 75 minute trip.


I would say the decision completely depends on your attitude to risk versus cost. Two hours from landing to checkin at Gatwick is tight, even with a taxi, using the coach you have no margin for delay anywhere. If this is a weekend you can expect a good run, but for Monday to Friday the M25 motorway will vary from slow to stationary at this time of day.

My husband would probably wing it and assume that he can ignore the 2 hour stipulated check in and can still make the flight turning up at 10.15.

The taxi would probably save about 30 minutes, a slightly quicker trip and departing to suit you rather than its schedule.

If you go for the taxi option I would recommend taht you prebook, otherwise queueing in the taxi ranks outside Heathrow will probably take as long as waiting for the coach.


Hope all goe swell

surreyjf

If flight leaves from Gatwick at 11.15am most international flights specify checkin 2 hours in advancewhich would be 9.15am. If you have checked luggage on the flight into Heathrow it will probably take 30mins plus to get through baggage reclaim, passport control etc at Heathrow, the coach stop isn't far but you will probably have a few minutes wait before it actually leaves and then a 75 minute trip.


I would say the decision completely depends on your attitude to risk versus cost. Two hours from landing to checkin at Gatwick is tight, even with a taxi, using the coach you have no margin for delay anywhere. If this is a weekend you can expect a good run, but for Monday to Friday the M25 motorway will vary from slow to stationary at this time of day.

My husband would probably wing it and assume that he can ignore the 2 hour stipulated check in and can still make the flight turning up at 10.15.

The taxi would probably save about 30 minutes, a slightly quicker trip and departing to suit you rather than its schedule.

If you go for the taxi option I would recommend taht you prebook, otherwise queueing in the taxi ranks outside Heathrow will probably take as long as waiting for the coach.


Hope all goes well

HappyCheesehead

Hi Collk - thanks so much for posting your experience with Europe by Air passes in Split. Now I know exactly what to expect! By the way, where did you stay in Hvar and Trogir? Do you recall how much the taxi was to the airport? It probably won't matter to me since I think I will have a car, but that might change. Also, how early does one need to get to the airport in Split before the flight?

CollK

Happycheesehead, we stayed for two nights at the Palace Hotel in Hvar (I describe it as marginally OK, can't beat the location though) and one night in Trogir at the Hotel Pasike which we liked a lot. We had a triple and our room was large and filled with antique furniture -- the beds felt hard but surprisingly we all slept really well so I guess they were OK. The bathroom was nice and large too and looked to have been redone recently -- even had a hairdryer. The breakfast was great and they would also do eggs to order as well (omelettes, etc) and the people working there were friendly and helpful. We enjoyed it -- the only negative was that the walls are thin -- we could heard coughing talking, etc.

The drive from the hotel to the airport was so short -- maybe 10 minutes at the most - we joked that we could have walked ther. I can't remember how much it cost but it couldn't have been much the taxi was but couldn't be much.

I can't remember exactly what time we got to the airport --everything went very quickly, paying the tax, getting our boarding pass, etc. that we had time to shop around at the (small) duty free area.

Hope that helps. I wrote up a trip report if you want to click on my name you should be able to find it but feel free to ask questions.

Barb

Collk: That is exactly the information I needed as well. I posted another thread about the Hotel Pasike, but did not get any responses. Because the hotel is booked on the night I wanted, she said they had rooms in their "house" which is right next to the hotel and that I would have all the same privileges as a hotel guest, including 10% discount on meals and a free ride to the airport for about $58! So I booked it. Tripadvisor gave a horrible review of the hotel. Do you recall what the tax was on your flight to Rome? Europebyair told me around $40. Is this in euro or US dollars? Also do you recall how far the hotel is from the main bus stop? I'm taking the bus from Dubrovnik/Split. They said it was within walking distance, but someone's estimated "walking distance" can sometimes be different than mine and with luggage...

CollK

Hi Barb, I just checked my trip report and I had noted that the the tax was 691 kunas total for three people which (at that time) was approx $113 US dollars -- so $40 US sounds about right.

We also took the bus from Split to Trogir - it was really easy and it must have been an express because we didn't stop anywhere in between. I can't remember but it seems like it took 30 maybe 45 minutes. The walk from the bus stop to the old part of Trogir is short and easy - just across a small pedestrian bridge but we did get a little lost trying to find the hotel. If you get good directions, it should only take a few minutes.

We really liked Hotel Pasike, thought the people working there were very nice and our room was charming -- no complaints (except maybe the thin walls). I'm sure the house where they're putting you up will be just fine and I'lll be very curious to hear about it.

surreyjf

Tracy,

Just looked at the ba flight schedule and noticed there are only 3 flights a week from London to Dubrovnik in November.

Without a doubt, with this schedule, I would pay the extra to have a car and driver meeting my flight, especially if you are arriving on a weekday.

If Sunday the motorways will be clear so you will have a good run, but Heathrow itself will be busy and you will probably be on the road a good half hour earlier in a taxi.

Not used this firm but found the following company among many in quick google search.

http://www.britishairportcars.co.uk/


Note they say Heathrow to Gatwick 45-90 minutes depending on traffic.

JF

tcreath

surreyjf, I can't thank you enough for all your help, and for sending the link. My husband and I just had a conversation about this and will go with the car and driver. Is BA pretty strict about the 2 hour check-in time? I am hoping that they will see that we came in from Heathrow and had to switch airports and will perhaps take pity on us if we end up getting to Gatwick later than the 2 hour cut-off time. Still, it seems like the personal driver is the way to go. I'm checking out the website you gave right now!

Thanks again!!
Tracy

surreyjf

Tracy,

I don't know is the answer. Gatwick is smaller than Heathrow, but still a pretty big international airport and like all airports there is a minimum time to physically get through checkin, passport control, customs and walk to the gate. Until recently, with the heightened security, we never used to need to turn up more than 50 mins/1 hour before departure for European flights because my husband loathes hanging around the terminal. In practise that is probably still ok, but we haven't done this for a while beacause we have 3 children and need to sit together so I try to meet the check in times these days.

I'm sure you've noticed that you can check in on line with ba, presumably before you leave the US. I don't know how this works but might save time as well.

I'd get a quote from more cab firm. There are dozens of companies covering this area.

We are not going to Dubrovnik, but the Istra peninsular, so we are actually going to fly into Venice with BA and pick up a hire a car there.

The routefinder on Michelin tells me that it is only a 3 hour drive ( do you know this wbsite, great for planning driving routes in Europe

www.viamichelin.co.uk )

The flights are a third of the price for flying direct to Pula in croatia, which would be our nearest airport.


JF

Barb

CollK: Thanks again for the good information!