Stansted to Gatwick
 

My husband and I get in to Stansted close to midnight on December 4. We have a flight back to the US out of Gatwick at 12:30 pm on December 5. We're staying by the airport so that we can leave in the morning. I know there will be multiple forms of transportation needed, but I was hoping you could help me to determine the best way, as well as how much time we should leave ourselves to get from one to the other.

You can take a National Express coach directly from Stansted to Gatwick for 25 GBP. Here is a link to the timetables: http://tinyurl.com/sv78u.

The fastest--and most expensive--route is to take the Stansted Express train to Tottenham Hale, the tube to Victoria, and the Gatwick Express to Gatwick.

The cheapest route--which is just as fast as the direct coach--is to take a National Express coach to Stratford, the tube to London Bridge, and a First Capital Connect train to Gatwick.

For more details on the last two routes, go here: http://tinyurl.com/y4uawr.

That's Stratford in East London, not Stratford upon Avon !

Just to point out that the first coach OP could get is the 3:40am which arrives at Gatwick at 6:30am so there's no chance of them staying at a hotel near the airport

In their case it would be best to take the DIRECT National Express coach to Victoria, stay overnight in a hotel there then take the Southern Trains service to Gatwick in the morning.

i should clarify - we are staying at a hotel by the stansted airport since we get in close to midnight on 12/4. Our flight back to the US is at 12:30 pm on 12/5 out of Gatwick. I am trying to determien how long any of these suggested options will take.
thank you for your suggestions!

You need to allow 3-4 hours for the journey on direct coach plus however many hours check in time - another 3 hours??

If the trains and tubes fall into place it can only take 2 hours to do it that way.

The big unknown going by coach is what the traffic will be like. It could take hours on a Monday morning unless you leave very early.

When I have done this in the past I have always done this by train/tube.

I agree with the idea of going to a hotel by Victoria Station, after your midnight arrival. I wouldn't want to be making this journey from Stansted to Gatwick early in the morning, because with my nerves, I wouldn't sleep worrying about delays.