cody2006

Tell me I'm crazy. Ok, I arrive into Gatwick at 8:05am on a Thursday, and then my flight to Berlin departs from Heathrow at 12:50pm, so I have 4 HOURS AND 45 MINUTES to do the transfer. I know that I can take a transfer bus directly for £19 that would definitely get me there on time, but I'm feeling adventurous, and I need your advice as to whether the following plan would work:

Thameslink to London Bridge (30 minutes).
Walk across Tower Bridge to Tower Hill Station (30 minutes).
Tube (Circle, District/Bakerloo, somehow) to Paddington (30 minutes).
Heathrow Express to Heathrow (15 minutes).

Adding, of course, time for customs, waiting for trains, etc., does this give me enough time to check-in at Heathrow for my flight to Berlin? I know it's pushing it, but I'm adventuresome, and I'd rather be running around London, seeing the Tower Bridge (I'll be with my dad who has never been to London) than sitting in a bus. I want to be realistic, but at the same time, maybe I can pull this off? What do you think?

If the answer is no, what other options can you think of so that I can get something (anything at all) out of my "visit" to London?

PS - I really didn't mean to book it this way. I meant to go through the same airport, but alas, it is unchangeable, so I figure I might as well make the most of it!

Gardyloo

Or...

Gatwick Express to Victoria Station, 30 min.

Taxi to Paddington - maybe have the cab go past Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, etc. en route. For £15 or so I bet you can get a great view of key sights.

Then HEX to LHR, another 30 min. Total elapsed time ca. 1h 30m, leaving plenty of time for check-in and duty-free (which is excellent at LHR.) Also much easier if you have bags.

janisj

OK - think about this - how much do you want to be responsible for making your poor Dad (who has never been to London) rush across all of the city on 3 or 4 different modes of transport - all the while looking at his watch and praying you will get him to LHR in time.

Just get on the coach at LGW and get off at the terminalat LHR - and both of you relax.

The other plans are "doable" but the penalties for screwing up is too much . . . . . . .

blightyboy

GWE to Victoria - Taxi to LHR asking driver to go via Admiralty Arch , down The Mall past BP and out to LHR. Not cheap but Dad and you will have seen a bit of London. You will still have time for shoping at LHR. Why do all the changing and ****ing about. If expense is an issue get the coach for £19

alanRow

4h45m is NOT a lot of time to do the transfer especially at that time of the day and getting a txi at any London station could involve a wait

I would check what time CHECK-IN closes for your flight then work backwards to see what's the latest time you could leave Gatwick, remembering to add time for finding your check-in desk & standing in queues

Personally I think if you do ANY sightseeing then you run a high risk of missing the onward flight. I hope yu've got good travel insurance or a caring airline

alanRow

BTW why on earth are you changing airports to get to Berlin - Easyjet fly there from Gatwick & have a flight at 8:00pm. If your Heathrow to Berlin ticket is a separate ticket then it might be better to dump it & just take Easyjet and have 9 hours in London with no stress

alanRow

And a little snippet from the news today - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6493039.stm