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-   -   Stuck in Gatwick: Suggestions on Where to go Next & How?? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/stuck-in-gatwick-suggestions-on-where-to-go-next-and-how-839450/)

OceanBreeze1 May 9th, 2010 11:51 AM

Stuck in Gatwick: Suggestions on Where to go Next & How??
 
Supposed to fly Gatwick/Berlin this evening on Easyjet. This is part of a 3 week trip in Europe. The Gatwick Easyjet airline agent said the flight was cancelled due to volcanic ash so wld not check the bags. Tried to book a later flight. Turns out the agent was wrong & the original flight to Berlin did leave! And, then the later flight was, in fact, cancelled. So stuck in Gatwick now & trying to figure out options.

What would you do? Take a train? If so, where? Berlin or someplace else? Open to any suggestions.

Or, wait for the dust to settle & try to fly somewhere??......anywhere wld be fine! Suggestions?

I saw another post here about sailing in Europe. is that an option? ( please don't laugh if it is not !!!) B-)

janisj May 9th, 2010 11:57 AM

Where do you want to go? You could head into London and then take the train to Paris or Brussels and on from there. Though Eurostar may be booked up and/or expensive.

Or take the train or a bus to Dover from LGW and take the ferry to France and trains to anywhere.

Or go somewhere in the UK -- Scotland or Wales or North Yorkshire

OceanBreeze1 May 9th, 2010 12:03 PM

Where? Don't care at this point! Just came from Paris b/f London. Took the train from Paris to London a few days ago.

janisj, Are train options better in France than England? If so, then your suggestion to go from Gatwick by train or bus to Dover & then ferry to France might work. Where in France from Dover & how long does that take by ferry?

janisj May 9th, 2010 12:23 PM

Options are better simply because you'd be across the channel and then you could go anywhere on land w/o having to depend on flights. The crossing from Dover to Calais takes about 90 minutes.

But what have you seen in the UK? There are hundreds of places you could visit w/o crossing over to the Continent.

annhig May 9th, 2010 12:24 PM

hi ocean,

just found this - hope this infor is in time to be some use to you!

as you are at Gatwick, why not get the train to Newhaven [at least 2 an hour, takes between 45 mins and 75 mins] and get the ferry to Dieppe? the crossing takes about 4 hours - time enough for a decent meal and a nap. Dieppe is a lot of fun, and from there you can access Normandy, Brittany, the Loire, or get back to Paris to get a train to Berlin.

if you decide to stay in the UK, why not just get the train to Brighton - plenty to do there for a few days too.

OceanBreeze1 May 9th, 2010 12:31 PM

thanks, janis & ann! Good suggestions.

luvtotravel May 9th, 2010 12:49 PM

I was in Brighton today. This part of England is cold, although you must already know that. Even with the cold temperatures, the city was lively. I was saying to my friend that I would enjoy spending several days there. Should you wind up in Brighton, we had a good Italian meal at Pinochio (probably spelling that wrong).

I am supposed to leave from Gatwick Tuesday morning for Santorini and hoping I'll be able to fly out. If not, I will be another person thinking about how to spend my time until I'm scheduled to head back to California in a couple of weeks. Thinking about Brugge and/or Amsterdam as alternatives.

Good luck.

annhig May 9th, 2010 01:56 PM

hi luv,

Cornwall's nice! and the forecast for the end of this week is sunshine, though it won't be much warmer than it is now.


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