Southern Train vs Gatwick Express from central London?
 

The Southern train seems a few pounds cheaper, which would buy us a quick breakfast.

EasyJet flight leaves Gatwick at 0805. What's our best bet for getting there on time, and what time should we plan to depart Victoria Station?

It's not till March, and we can't buy tickets till next month, anyway.

For that early of a flight you will likely need to be there for 6ish. I don't think southern trains will get you there on time...

At that time of day we usually book a car service with www.justairports.com

Sure there are Southern trains leaving when you need them, no problem. Victoria dep. 05:30 arr. Gatwick 05:59, or 05:45/06:15, or 06:00/06:30 and so it goes - that's Mo-Fr

see http://www.southernrailway.com/your-...4&submit3.y=13

Thanks, jamikins! It's a Saturday, if that makes any difference.

Look for discounts on Gatwick Express web site as the time nears - sometimes there is 2 for 1, etc. I see no need to buy those tickets in advance unless you get a price break or can easily print them off at home.

Gatwick Express is a kind of dedicated airport train allowing more time to get on and off at Gatwick - much larger seats and IME many more empty seats - at rush hours Southern Trains can be seriously overloaded - but going out of London should not be a problem at that time.

Check the southern trains site above - trains usually start later on weekends which could be why we never use them for early flights...

Thanks, Michel. That is helpful. (I posted over yours.)

And Pal, jamikins, thanks! We'll be getting a room or hotel for the Friday night, so will be shooting for something convenient to jumping off point.

I love fodorites.

stoke - unless easyjet has changed its policy, you need only check-in 30 mins before departure. personally i would never cut it that fine, but unless you particularly enjoy spending time at airports, you should be fine if you get there by 7am.

so if you were at Victoria by 6am, you'd have time to spare.

where are you going from Gatwick?

BTW, easyjet has a 20% sale on for the next 6 days, but i suspect your air tickets are already booked. As for pre-booking the rail tickets, I don't think that there is any advantage of doing this, as there are no discounts for those sorts of journeys.

Have you considered staying at the premiere inn at gatwick north? It's right at the airport and you can take a late train and be ready to rock and roll first thing without having to worry about trains.

It's my new favourite thing! Most it has cost us is £72, least is £42!

A deal for peace of mind!

Annhig, on a Saturday the checked baggage line for flights on easyjet first thing in the morning consistently take us about 30 mins to get through...we have panicked many times. I now leave at least an hour for my own sanity!

good point, jamikins, though it probably isn't so bad at 7am.

at Bristol all the easyjet passengers checking in go into the same line, and check in at the first desk that becomes available, so although a line can be long, it moves pretty quickly. do they do the same at Gatwick?

I like your idea of staying at gatwick the night before.

After a series of near misses several years ago, traumatizing our two daughters, I have reformed my old last-minute airport ways. An hour ish sounds good.

Ann, my younger daughter's studying in London January through May. I'll be flying over for a week before her spring break -- already have our standing room Lower Slips tickets for Fille du Regiment -- and then we're flying EasyJet to Seville for a week. Just got those tickets this morning, so maybe they were sale priced. My first EasyJet and Spanish experiences.

Jamikins, Premiere Inn sounds perfect. Thanks so much.

Gatwick is horrible first thing! All the first flights of the day descend! It's the worst time we have found...they do go to the same line and it can move quickly but the volume of people means a long wait in our experience!

Premier inn works like a charm!

there are also several typical British B&Bs surprsingly a short walk from the main terminal - follow path to the left (north).

http://www.booking.com/searchresults...ity=1;src=city

If anyone wants to stay in a typical B&B steps literally at times from the main terminal here is a booking/info site.

We recently flew from Gatwick to Nice and were advised by British Airways to get there two hours prior to departure. I guess they were being conservative. As it was, our flight was 45mins late leaving. An hour and a half flight took all day - so boring!

IME there can be really really long lines to get thru security at times at Gatwick and also to get to the check-in counter - especially if a lot of charters flights are departing in a short time frame - leave plenty of time to get into the departure area itself.

Thanks for the B&B link, Pal. Any idea which of them is literally steps away?

I fly EasyJet a lot out of Gatwick. You can speed things up considerably at the bag drop by purchasing either an Up Front or Extra Legroom seat on the EasyJet website in advance. These start from just £8 per sector for the emergency row (which I always choose). You can then bypass the main bag drop queue and use a dedicated check-in desk at the end. This can easily save 20-30 minutes or more of your time. And you get to board the plane in advance of everyone else. The best 8 quid you ever spent trust me.

As for "typical B&B steps literally at times from the main terminal" where do you get this this stuff from PalenQ? There are some chain hotels within a relatively short distance but the nearest B&B is least 1/2 mile away along busy roads.

Thanks, Gordon! Very helpful.

yes, gordon, helpful indeed. i usually don't bother with the extra jeg room stuff on easyjet, but I hadn't realised what advantages it brings - I'll be looking out for it next time.

Stoke - I am an easyjet fan. they have a very good record for punctuality, [i can only remember one flight that was seriously late] and generally they do what they say on the tin. The only real thing to watch is the weight limits for checked luggage [20kgs] and the size limits for your one item in the cabin. [which includes your handbag/purse].

you should love Seville - we had 3 nights there a couple of years ago and it wasn't long enough. as you are keen on ballet, you should look out for flamenco, of which there is a lot in Seville.

Ann - you're welcome. From my own experience I know they have this dedicated bag-drop desk at Gatwick (and also Toulouse, which is where I fly to regularly). I presume this is also the case at other airports served by EasyJet but I have no personal experience. They generally don't publicise this facility.

Yes, Gordon, let's keep that under our hat.

Ann, good to know that a handbag counts as your one cabin bag. We'll have a week in Seville, and hope to get in at least one day trip and see/hear flamenco preferably in some funky dives.

stoke - what I do is to have a larger travel bag which is within the limits imposed by easyjet into which I can fit whatever I require in the plane [book, jumper, travel folder, etc] AND my handbag with purse and passport in it. I stuff my handbag into the travel bag just before we get to the boarding gate, and take it out when I'm on the plane. That way I can access my handbag more or less whenever I need it, but still have room for a jumper, sandwiches [no food on easyjet] etc.

this may seem obvious to you [and if it does, i apologise] but it took me several flights to work it out!

Also you CAN take drinks/liquids onto the plane, you just have to buy them AFTER you've been through security when they will take them all off you, save the ones that are in containers of less than 100 ml which you have placed in a transparent plastic bag with closure. [they hand them out just before you get to security, sometimes for a fee!] I could not believe what people were trying to take through Heathrow last week - make-up, yoghurt, big bottles of drink, even a large vacuum flask full of water.

As for "typical B&B steps literally at times from the main terminal" where do you get this this stuff from PalenQ?>

Well from personal experience - go out the main terminal and take the footpath north and you will soon pass a string of houses with B&B signs on them. I often walk out of Gatwick after checking my bags to the town just north on this foot path which soon reaches the outskirts of that town - Crawley is it?

Yes there are typical British B&Bs a short walk from Gatwick. Gordon don't know what he/she is talking about here.

PalenQ, I think you'll find I have a bit more experience of Gatwick than you, having flown in/out of there at least 50 times in the past 20 years, and having researched and stayed in numerous airport hotels prior to early monring flights.

Care to name any of these typical B&B's that are "within a few short steps" of the terminal building? Go on, just one example will do...

Crawley is several miles from Gatwick. Even the edge of the town is a good 30 minute walk from the South terminal (the closest one) along busy roads.

Great tips, Ann. Thanks! I'm prepared now for stricter carryon rules. After watching first people aboard stuff their winter coats and various bulky items into overhead bins, and being otherwise thoughtless, I like clear rules enforced.

I'm happy have our Gatwick N. Premier Inn reservation. Though generally attracted to the idea of small B&B's, the few I looked at there either didn't mention getting to the airport or had shuttles starting 0700. Which sounded dicey. We'll plan to shoot down there on a late Southern train Friday and leave early. Pal had mentioned the B&B's for different situations, I think, since people search others' threads.

I really appreciate all of your experienced help here.

Care to name any of these typical B&B's that are "within a few short steps" of the terminal building? Go on, just one example will do...>

maybe a few short steps was underestimating but they are indeed a short walk from the terminal - watch airline personnel rolling their bags down the footpath and when the footpath hits a neighborhood there are (or were last I was there) some B&B there in row houses.

Guess you think you know everything about Gatwick but apparently you don't - before maligning other folk be sure of yourself - the closest B&B is on a major highway is just not true - these B&Bs can't be more than a half-mile.

Take a look next time your there!

Horley is the name of the town these B&Bs are in not Crawley and they are way before Horley station - again I have walked to Horley while waiting for planes and have passed these several times. they are or were there. Period. Not sure how far Horley station is from Gatwick terminal but these are about half that distance.

Horley is an ok place and a shortish taxi ride from LGW, and walkable in theory but the maze of dual carriageways, flyovers and roads leading to the airport make walking an almost impossible task. google maps says it's 2 miles, but takes 42 minutes to walk - not something I'd fancy with even the amount of luggage that easyjet allows.

I think that were I in stoke's position, I'd go for the easy option and stay at the airport.

Pal - I don't see stoke maligning you, just taking her choice from all of the advice available here.

I don't see why you would make things more difficult by staying in Horley when the point if staying at the airport is for simplicity.

it's 2 miles, but takes 42 minutes to walk - not something I'd fancy with even the amount of luggage that easyjet allows.>

Well lots of airline personnel walk the easy to find footpath under and thru the maze - with the wheelies - they seem to have no problem - 20 minutes tops and easy to do.

That said the only point of dispute here is the easy walk - I have done it many many times - no complicated maze, etc.

very very simple and I present this as an alternative that most folks do not realize. That's all and I'm told that what I am saying is a lie - that this row of B&Bs in houses is not a short walk and it is.

Not recommending it or anything. Just presenting another possibility that many folks do not know about.

PalenQ you're clearly moving the goalposts on this one. Your actual words were "typical B&B steps literally at times from the main terminal". Now you admit you are actually talking about Horley, by your own admission a 20-minute walk away, which is hardly steps.

And if you're so knowledgeable about Gatwick, you'd know there's no such thing as the "main terminal", just North and South Terminals. Horley is even further away the South terminal. I don't dispute there are B&B's in Horley (or Crawley for that matter), but your original inaccurate statement could easily have misled the unsuspecting traveller arriving at LGW.

Gordon - you are right in admonishing me about the steps away thing - an exaggeration but all I know (yes I know there are two terminals at Gatwick - one out in the middle of nowhere and linked to the old main terminal by people mover - I have met literally hundreds of people going on tours at Gatwick and have spent hours and hours bored there - and all I know is that I have walked easily bu the public footpath that goes from this area in a fairly short time comes to some typical English B&Bs - a row of them in row houses - on the edge of Horley, the nearest edge to the airport and they are no more than a 10- or 15-minute walk - about what most folks who take the Tube to a London hotel may walk but much easier.

Again if you look airline personnel regularly walk this path with the bags either to their own residences or to B&Bs or cars parked there, etc.

This is all I know and do know - anyone who does not want to pay a fortune to stay right at Gatwick should investigate these much cheaper places - and have the experience of a real B&B not some sterile chain hotel - many do not want this but it is a real possibility that very few people it appears, even self-proclaimed denizens of Gatwick Airport seem to know about.

Nuff said. They are there - no walk along busy highways, etc. Check it out next time you're there!

I sympathize with your point of view on this, Pal, and think it's good that some of us are more adventurous and frugal.

Just out of curiosity, I checked the link and see only two Horley guest houses or B&B's available for our night. Both seem to be ~ 0.6 miles as the crow flies, but 2 miles by road. One, the Lenton Lodge, says Gatwick's a 3 minute drive, but doesn't mention shuttle or walking. A twin room there is 48 eur, but there aren't any reviews and the photos make it look a little too funky.

The other one, Cumberland House, looks nice, is well reviewed, and has a free 24 hr shuttle. At 96 eur, it's 12 eur more for the night than our Premier Inn but the free breakfast at CUmberland would make it a deal.

PQ has advocated these 'walkable' B&Bs many times . . . they aren't any nearer than they used to be. Several offer rides to the airport because they are so close - but NOT walkable close.

but NOT walkable close.>

again I have walked by these B&Bs many times and they are indeed walkable - call me a liar whatever but I stand by what I know I know I knew - why someone would say they are not walkable when they have no idea if they are is the question?

again I have done this many times - and I am not the liar some would make me out for whatever reason.

and a twin room for 48 euro can mean immense savings for those who wish it and also to experience a typical B&B and not some sterile chain airport hotel.

Well I offer my first-hand info just in case others wish these type accommodations. I do it very sincerely - malign me if you wish!

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...y_England.html

Oh oh Lenton Lodge get some very very poor reviews on Trip Advisor!