London, England
Mar 9th, 2005, 06:19 PM
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London, England
Hello please help,
My wife and I are going to Italy (from Canada) for our anniversary and we will be going through London. We land at Heathrow and have to tranfer to Gatwick to go onward to Pisa. We have 7 hours between flights in London and wonder if we will have any time to book some kind of tour. Suggestions anyone?
My wife and I are going to Italy (from Canada) for our anniversary and we will be going through London. We land at Heathrow and have to tranfer to Gatwick to go onward to Pisa. We have 7 hours between flights in London and wonder if we will have any time to book some kind of tour. Suggestions anyone?
Mar 9th, 2005, 07:07 PM
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If that's 7 hours from touchdown at Heathrow to take off at Gatwick you haven't got a chance, I'm afraid to say.
Allowing for customs and immigration, then waiting for baggage on the carousel then the transfer to Gatwick itself which will take over an hour I think you will just arrive for your next flight in good time. If for some reason you got to Gatwick incredibly early because your inbound flight landed an hour before it was scheduled and customs was a breeze then take a train from Gatwick to Brighton and dip your toes in the sea.
In reality you couldn't do a tour as it would take extra time to get into London from Heathrow and then back out again to Gatwick. A private taxi with a driver/guide could do the transfer and throw in a quick loop of the sights if traffic was light, but it would be a bit expensive and impractical with all your luggage. Just concentrate on your transfer and enjoy your anniversary!!
Allowing for customs and immigration, then waiting for baggage on the carousel then the transfer to Gatwick itself which will take over an hour I think you will just arrive for your next flight in good time. If for some reason you got to Gatwick incredibly early because your inbound flight landed an hour before it was scheduled and customs was a breeze then take a train from Gatwick to Brighton and dip your toes in the sea.
In reality you couldn't do a tour as it would take extra time to get into London from Heathrow and then back out again to Gatwick. A private taxi with a driver/guide could do the transfer and throw in a quick loop of the sights if traffic was light, but it would be a bit expensive and impractical with all your luggage. Just concentrate on your transfer and enjoy your anniversary!!
Mar 9th, 2005, 07:19 PM
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Ditto - a bit of a reality check here:
you will probably taxi for 15-30 mins at LHR, a 10 minute walk from the gate, 90 mins to 2 hours at LHR, an hour+ for the coach transfer to LGW, and 90 min to 2 hr advance check in at LGW.
In a BEST case you will spend 4.5 hours just just between landing and passing through security at LGW - 5 or 5.5 would not be out of the question.
Both London and Brighton are 30_ minutes by train - so add another 1 hour for the round trip - leaving you less than an hour total free time.
Just relax - freshen up at LHR, have something to drink to start rehydrating after the loooooong flight, catch the gatwick coach, and then eat ans shop at LGW. The time will go faster then you think
you will probably taxi for 15-30 mins at LHR, a 10 minute walk from the gate, 90 mins to 2 hours at LHR, an hour+ for the coach transfer to LGW, and 90 min to 2 hr advance check in at LGW.
In a BEST case you will spend 4.5 hours just just between landing and passing through security at LGW - 5 or 5.5 would not be out of the question.
Both London and Brighton are 30_ minutes by train - so add another 1 hour for the round trip - leaving you less than an hour total free time.
Just relax - freshen up at LHR, have something to drink to start rehydrating after the loooooong flight, catch the gatwick coach, and then eat ans shop at LGW. The time will go faster then you think
Mar 9th, 2005, 08:58 PM
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Well you can, sort of.
Check in for BA intra-European flights at Gatwick closes 30 minutes before departure. Queues at security (and for economy check in) can be lengthy, but are generally weeded: that is, nice BA ladies usually patrol them, bumping people to the front. Different arrangements may apply with other airlines. But arriving 2 hours beforehand is, frankly, dopey unless you like hanging round airports.
It's 30 mins by train to Gatwick from Victoria station, though if leaving from the North terminal, you need to allow another 10 mins to get from the railway station to the terminal.
It's 15 mins by train from Heathrow to Paddington station, and actually the quickest way from Hewathrow to Gatwick is indeed to get the train to Paddington, get the tube to Victoria and then the train to Gatwick. It's a great deal less easy, and pricier, than getting the slightly longer coach between the airports, which is why ordinarily going into town and then back out doesn't make much sense.
But the direct taxi journey from Paddington to Victoria (15 mins, plus queueing time at Paddington, which is a serious problem from 0700 to 1000, especially if it's raining) takes in a modest amount of tourist London. If you've time (look at a map of central London), asking the cab to divert to go round Parliament Square and do a bit of the Thames adds relatively little to time or cost.
All this is being done in pounds sterling, and isn't advisable if you've been delayed. But if you get through immigration reasonably quickly, going this scenic route to Gatwick is far less tedious than the 75 min trip in a bus round the M25.
Check in for BA intra-European flights at Gatwick closes 30 minutes before departure. Queues at security (and for economy check in) can be lengthy, but are generally weeded: that is, nice BA ladies usually patrol them, bumping people to the front. Different arrangements may apply with other airlines. But arriving 2 hours beforehand is, frankly, dopey unless you like hanging round airports.
It's 30 mins by train to Gatwick from Victoria station, though if leaving from the North terminal, you need to allow another 10 mins to get from the railway station to the terminal.
It's 15 mins by train from Heathrow to Paddington station, and actually the quickest way from Hewathrow to Gatwick is indeed to get the train to Paddington, get the tube to Victoria and then the train to Gatwick. It's a great deal less easy, and pricier, than getting the slightly longer coach between the airports, which is why ordinarily going into town and then back out doesn't make much sense.
But the direct taxi journey from Paddington to Victoria (15 mins, plus queueing time at Paddington, which is a serious problem from 0700 to 1000, especially if it's raining) takes in a modest amount of tourist London. If you've time (look at a map of central London), asking the cab to divert to go round Parliament Square and do a bit of the Thames adds relatively little to time or cost.
All this is being done in pounds sterling, and isn't advisable if you've been delayed. But if you get through immigration reasonably quickly, going this scenic route to Gatwick is far less tedious than the 75 min trip in a bus round the M25.
