I and 4 friends are planning a trip in October.We will be flying into either Heathrow or Gatwick on a Saturday and need to get to Stanstead for a 13:50 departure the same day. My questions are:1.What is the fastest/best way to get from either Heathrow or Gatwick to Stanstead? and 2.How much time do we need to make sure we make it?

Look up nationalexpress.co.uk for bus routes.

I'd recommend getting to Stanstead about 1.5 hours before your flight.

By far the FASTEST/BEST way to transfer would be with Ray Skinners company called London Transfers:
london-transfers.com

This would not be the cheapest however, but you didn't mention that, and with the five of you splitting ,it would be economical.
It's door to door service and you would probably have a van! We were very pleased, others have good comments, and they are highly dependable and respectful.
He (or one of his people) would meet you right outside the terminal...it's so simple!
In your email correspondence with him, he could tell you about the timing and of course he could advise you as to your arrival time at Stanstead.

5 hours between flights is the minimum comfortable time.

Like JoeTro says, National Express bus for LHR-STN.

For LGW-STN, there are more choices depending on how much time you have and how much you want to spend. For example, one of the cheaper ways is Southern Train to Victoria, then Terravision bus to STN. For faster, First Capital Connect train to Farringdon, Tube to Liverpool St, then Stansted Express to STN.

&quot;<i>By far the FASTEST/BEST way to transfer would be with Ray Skinners</i>&quot;

A car service (there are other good ones besides Ray Skinner and some are cheaper) definitely works for a drive from LHR into London - but from Gatwick to Stansted -- that would be a <u>terrible</u> choice. Gatwick is 30 miles south of London and Stansted is 30 miles north of London -- all around the amazingly congested M25 circular motorway. Plus it would cost well over 100 GBP.

As Zepher mentioned....fastest and best...NO mention of cheapest, so if money is no object(and spliting 5 ways), &quot;any&quot; transfer company such as Ray Skinners would still be the most convenient.
Bags on at the airport, bag off at Stanstead.
Traffic won't be so bad on a Saturday.
I just checked for a friend of mine of an easy transfer from Gatwick to Stratford (health issues involved) and it was 170# and pretty pricy, but no wagging of bags on and off train, on and off bus, dragging bags through.
stations etc.
The transfer companies would be able to tell you the approximate time it takes to go from &quot;A&quot; to &quot;B&quot; on any given day.

&quot;but from Gatwick to Stansted -- that would be a terrible choice.&quot;

Well, only because you save next to no time by taking a car over taking a bus. But Gatwick-Stansted buses aren't every 15 minutes, and a car might be the only sensible alternative: you can get to Stansted from the other airports by train, but it involves a lot of changing, taking the Tube and changing again. If you know London well, you'll save 5 or 10 minutes. If you don't, the direct bus or a hired car is the only sensible choice.

What is true, though, is that connections to Stansted from Heathrow are usually more frequent and quicker.

Don't exaggerate M25 problems either: there's very little of it seriously congested these days, and I can't remember the last time I had problems on it on a Saturday.

Do ensure any car company you use knows there are five of you plus luggage

When I wrote that, the <u>saturday</u> bit hadn't sunk in. On a weekday a car would be a bad choice. But on a weekend - it would be doable. Expensive for sure - but doable . . . . .