Transportation questions: Gatwick to London; London to Heathrow
 

I'm heading to England in May as a solo traveler. I will be met at Heathrow by a friend and several days later driven to Gatwick for a flight outside England. Upon return to Gatwick I will need transportation to London, staying near Buckingham Palace and Victoria Station. Will stay four nights in London and then will need to get back to Heathrow for a noon flight home. Other than arranging a private car (last time in London I used JustAirports), what options do I have for travel between the airports and London? Thanks. Diane

You can use the tube or Gatwick Express train. There is another train too but I've never used it. Someone else sill supply the name. I use Justairports if I'm flying into London but the Express if it's Gatwick. JA is cheaper from LHR than GX,
. From Gatwickthe express is cheaper

And the Heathrow Express for your return flight

You cannot use the Tube to get from Gatwick to London nor is using the HEX to get to Heathrow a good idea as you have to go a long way out of your way to get to Paddington then spend an extortionate sum of money for a 20 minute ride.

If you are travelling from Gatwick to London on a weekday before about 9:30am (ie rush hour) then use the Gatwick Express, otherwise use the much cheaper & few minutes slower Southern Trains service to Victoria.

For Victoria to Heathrow then if you are near the Victoria Coach Station get a coach from there to Heathrow. If you aren't the get a District Line Tube to Hammersmith, walk 10 feet to the adjacent platform then take a Piccadilly Line Tube to Heathrow. NOTE that not all Piccadilly Line Tube services go to Heathrow and check that the particualt Tube train will go to your terminal as different ones serve different terminals

Gatwick to London: train to Victoria Station. The Gatwick Express is intended for airport passengers, but there are also slightly cheaper Southern (stopping, commuter) trains (which may get crowded in rush-hours, if you have a lot of luggage).

Victoria to Heathrow: District Line tube from Victoria to Hammersmith. Walk a few steps across the platform for the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow (check the details of the terminal for your flight - I haven't quite got the hang of which train goes where now Terminal 5 is open).

The Heathrow Express goes from Paddington, which you can reach from Victoria by tube; it'll be quicker but more expensive (plus a bit of luggage manhandling at Paddington that you wouldn't have at Hammersmith).

There's probably also a bus from Victoria Coach Station to Heathrow, but the Coach Station is a bit further down Buckingham Palace Road than the tube station, and you may have (depending on your terminal) an awkward onward transfer to do at Heathrow.

Thank you all for your great assistance.

THERE IS NO TUBE FROM GATWICK TO LONDON. Geez.

Go to nationalrail.co.uk. Check the schedules. I think there are Southern line trains from Gatwick to Victoria that only stop at Clapham Junction on the way to Victoria. That makes the ride 32 minutes instead of 30 on the Gatwick Express. But the Southern train is about half the price. Although a faster train, the Gatwick Express doesn't reach its top speeds because the run from Gatwick to Victoria covers some of the most congested rail areas of England.

UGH.

Avalon: (1) there is no tube to Gatwick; (2) there is no Gatwick Express from LHR.

No, but switch these round & Diane should manage