Racer042

My wife and I are renting a furnished apartment in South Lambeth in October. I was wondering what would be better, to take the Gatwick Express to Victoria and then the tube to Vauxhall, or take a bus like Dot2Dot to a hotel nearby. It looks like the bus would take about 2 hrs and I think we could get there much faster by train/tube.

Any feedback and recommendations would be appreciated.

alihutch

Use then train, but not the Gatwick Express. First Capital Connect and also Southern do the Gatwick London journey but cheaper and still only takes 30 mins....if you use www.thetrainline.com it will tell you times, which London station they come into and prices

PatrickLondon

Gatwick is a long way out of London. The train is bound to be much quicker than any bus, and cheaper than Dot2Dot. National Express bus to Victoria Coach station would be a bit cheaper but could take between 1.5 and 2 hours, and land you with quite a walk for onward public transport.

You can save a bit more by taking the Southern stopping train to Victoria rather than the Gatwick Express (as long as you're not trying to load up a lot of luggage in the morning rush hour). Or you could add some convenience (at some expense) by taking a taxi from Victoria, rather than heaving luggage through the tube and whatever walk you would have from Vauxhall.

Racer042

Thanks for the information. I will take a train, either Gatwick Express or First Capital Connect.

GeoffHamer

There is no need to go to London Victoria. The quickest way to Vauxhall is to take a Southern train from Gatwick to Clapham Junction then a train to Vauxhall. Total journey time will be about 40 minutes. There are four trains every hour from Gatwick and very frequent trains from Clapham Junction to Vauxhall.
www.nationalrail.co.uk

alanRow

First Capital Connect doesn't go to Victoria or Vauxhall therefore it's not a good idea to use it.

If you are travelling at a weekend or after 9:30am on a weekday then the route suggested by GeoffHamer is the best. Otherwise take the Gatwick Express to Victoria then either taxi or Tube to Vauxhall

PatrickLondon

The only argument against Geoff's suggestion is the change at Clapham Junction - stairs only, no escalator (nor when you exit at Vauxhall, com to that). I haven't changed trains there for a while, but the train information in the tunnel connecting the platforms wasn't the most user-friendly, either.

janisj

I don't use the trains as much as some on here -- but the few times I've been through Clapham Junction it has been a hassle. The platforms are spread out and there are lots of steps/stairs.

It is probably the fastest route, but me personally - when I'm jet lagged and dragging luggage I wouldn't want to connect through Clapham Junction.

BigRuss

I'd consider the Southern train to Victoria -- it's way less expensive than the Gatwick Express. The Gatwick Express ultimately isn't that fast because it uses the same tracks and follows the same route as the Southern train -- they all go through Clapham Junction (the busiest train station in the UK -- says so on the station signs) and East Croydon, which are two of the busiest stations in the country and cause traffic bottlenecks.