Layover London - Heathrow/Gatwick - stay, transport & sightseeing
 

Arriving in London at 3:30 p.m. via Heathrow. Leaving following morning at 7:40 a.m. via Gatwick. Never been to London so plan on doing as much sightseeing within short time period as possible. Question - where is the most central place to stay for sightseeing between the two airports (will not have a car)? Looking for reasonably priced, nothing fancy since we plan on sightseeing more than being in the room. Can anyone shed light on transportation from Heathrow to hotel and then hotel to Gatwick the following morning? Lastly, any sightseeing ideas for evenings? I did find an evening bus tour (double decker bus). Thanks all.

I really don't think you have time for sightseeing in central London. By the time you clear immigration and collect your luggage, unless you only have a carry-on, it's going to be early evening getting into London will probably take the best part of an hour you then have to check into your hotel. The following day you will need to be at Gatwick by 5:30 am, I would suggest you get to the Victoria area of central London and perhaps spend an hour or so in the area, you could leave your luggage if you have to and walk down to Westminster past Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and see the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben and then walk down Whitehall, where most of the main government offices are to Trafalgar Square and if you want a bus ride catch the bus back to Victoria Station ready to take the train to Gatwick and stay in an hotel there overnight.

Pretty much what I'd suggest - take Piccadilly Line to Hammersmith, walk the few feet to the adjacent platform, take District line Tube to Victoria. Just buy a single ticket at Heathrow as you won't need a day ticket. Depending on date of arrival you might be able to take the London Eye at sunset

There is a hotel, the Grosvenor hotel directly in Victoria station (formerly the Victoria Thistle). If you can get this at a halfway decent price, then simply take the train from Gatwick to Victoria, check in, and spend as much time as you have. The next morning stroll straight to a train and be at Gatwick nice and early.

If price is a big factor, the el-cheapo option is to stay in East Croydon, which is even closer to Gatwick on the Southern train line to Victoria (hotel prices there can be really reasonable; the Jury's Inn tends to be really good value and is close to the station; zoom in here: http://www.booking.com/district/gb/c...roydon.en.html ), though you'll have to double back to East Croydon from Victoria (not that difficult). If you choose the East Croydon option, go to the rail counter at Gatwick and describe your exact plans for your best ticket option.

Whoops - - I just wrote as if it were a Gatwick round-trip. But from Heathrow the advice would be essentially the same. Get the Grosvenor at Victoria (or one of the really cheap, scruffy places really close to Victoria) or stow the bags at Victoria, and then train out to East Croydon for a good hotel at a decent price.

W/ a 3:30PM arrival you <i>might</i> be checking in to your hotel by 6PM, maybe later. Virtually no sites are open in the evenings, except for the Eye (and a few museums have late night hours 1 or 2 nights a week).

So if you decide it is worth it for dinner and maybe a walk around Covent Garden or a ride on the Eye and being on the Gatwick Express by 04:30, then book a hotel at or w/i walking distance of LGW.

Otherwise, skip London til another trip, board the express coach from LHR to LGW and get a hotel at Gatwick.

I'd go into central London even if it's just for a few hours.

It clears the head, you can see some scenery, you can get a decent meal - and if you take the Southern Trains service to Gatwick it may cost even less than the direct coach.

Much better than sitting in an airport hotel eating airport hotel food watching whatever weird choice of TV the hotel offers (which invariably will be in blurry vision)

As long as you can leave your luggage somewhere in central London (maybe Victoria coach station or train station, look online for Left Luggage) you could stay at Gatwick Airport. We've stayed at the Yotel which is inside the terminal, it's like a pod hotel but was actually no smaller than other cheap central London hotels we've stayed in. They charge for a minimum of 4 hours, then each hour after that. We found it incredibly convenient for a very early flight, just up the lift one floor and we were inside the arrivals hall.

The other place we stayed once was the Premier Inn which is about a 20 min walk from the terminal. The only thing I would say about this place is check it on Google maps first as there was no signage and it was a bit hard to find.

There are other hotels at the airport too, check which terminal you need to depart from and look on the airport website under accommodation.

The tube from Heathrow into London, then the train out to Gatwick would be what we would do. The Gatwick Express is expensive and for a 5-10 min longer journey, you can save money and use Southern Trains or First Capital Connect.

Kay

Oh Gawd (!) --what a typo!? Meant to say >>or w/i walking distance of <B>Victoria</B><<

jeeze louise :) .

Thank you all for your helpful hints and guidance!