Transferring between Heathrow and Gatwick
 

I'm flying from Pittsurgh to Malaga, but obviously I have a connection through New York and London with British Airways. In London, I arrive at 935 AM in Heathrow (Terminal 5) and depart from Gatwick at 250 PM. I've been perusing the options lately, and it seems to be between the Charter Bus and Public Transport. For the first option: It seems like the safest bet, but I've read Monday morning traffic may be hellish, so considering this, would the charter bus still be the best option? I've also planned a trip on the London Transportation website, and it says it will take one bus, two trains, and an hour-and-a-half: Is this a believable time frame and is it plausible to take the hike with two bags of luggage and a backpack in this time span (I'm relatively fit, if that helps...)? It seems like it's an equal price, and any advice or guidance here would be a huge help, so thanks in advance. (If anyone knows the most efficient way to get from Heathrow to Gatwick by public transport, that would also be great since I've read various things.)

The only practical option is the National Express coach from LHR to LGW. Do not even consider traveling into central London.

Not only is the Express coach the easiest -- it is also the cheapest and fastest.

You'll be out of T5 about 11. Traffic isn't hellish.

Get the bus. No idea what a "charter bus" is: just get the ordinary bus that goes from T5 every 15 mins or so (www.nationalexpress.co.uk).

You'll arrive at Gatwick North about an hour later. If traffic's clogged, maybe 90 mins later.

Forget about going through London. There's a silly British tradition of yammering on about awful the M25 is. It isn't, though very, very rarely traffic can completely stop (say twice a year for a couple of hours): it mostly goes slow. The routes through London (FWIW: Heathrow Express to Paddington, Bakerloo tube to Oxford Circus, cross platform change to the Victoria line to Victoria, Southern or Gatwick Express to Gatwick, then in your case monorail from Gatwick South to Gatwick North) take on paper slightly longer than the direct bus: the scheduled T5-Gatwick North bus is 60 mins. In practice, quite a bit longer, as you've got to buy three lots of tickets. Which all adds up to more things that can go wrong.


If you arrive at LHR to discover the road system's collapsed, the train/tube/train alternative is worth knowing about. But it's not worth planning to take.

"Not only is the Express coach the easiest -- it is also the cheapest and fastest."

For more than two people it may be cheaper to take a car service

I think the Express coach would be the best option. Taking the charter bus is indeed a very long ride because of some heavy traffic. With your second option though, I'm not really sure. But wouldn't that stress you out so much on your trip?

What charter bus?

alanRow: The OP only mentions "I" -- not "we" so I'm assuming he is traveling solo.

But even for two the coach is less than a car service. For 3 - then a car service starts to make sense. One way on the coach is £24.50 and a car service will run more than £50.

"<i>Taking the charter bus is indeed a very long ride because of some heavy traffic</i>"

I'm not sure what that means. There is no 'charter bus' that I know of, and if there was -- it would take exactly the same time through the same traffic as the National Express coach.

alanRow: oops -- Just re-read your post and you DID say "more than two" --so I guess I'm agreeing w/ you :)

Thanks everyone for the replies, and National Express it is then (Pardon me if I incorrectly used the phrases charter bus and National Express shuttle interchangeably). And to clarify, I am traveling alone, although I did enjoy the close attention paid to my pronoun usage.