A friend of mine is arriving from Canada next week. She's flying into Heathrow at 630am and has a connected flight from Gatwick at 930am. Does anyone know whats the best and quickest way to get to Gatwick? I know national express do it but that journey is nearly 1 1/2 hrs.

Thanks

I can't imagine doing it much quicker than that unless she hires a cab and has it waiting when she arrives, and even then it wouldn't be MUCH quicker than that, and maybe even slower depending on traffic... given that she's going to have to process immigration at Heathrow I think she's really going to be pushing it whatever she does

could she contact the airline and see if they have any suggestions?

One idea:

Heathrow Express to Paddington (15 minutes). Bakerloo line to Waterloo (16 minutes). National rail to Gatwick (45 minutes).

Alternatively

Heathrow Express to Paddington (15 minutes). Tube to Victoria (approx 20 minutes...Circle line, District line, or Bakerloo line changing at Oxford Circus to Victoria line...I recommend the latter b/c Circle and District or not always working, especially on weekends). Gatwick Express to Gatwick (30 minutes.)

Either way you are looking at less than 1.5 hours......but at least 1 hour.

I just thought of one another idea. Heathrow Express to Paddington (15 min), Cab to Victoria (13-18 quid....20 minutes), Gatwick Express to Gatwick (30 minutes). That's probably the best idea. Other than changing the flights of course.

London transport is not something you enjoy....it's something you suffer.

Hmmm ! Heathrow to Kings Cross, then get the Gatwick Express from there is another option.

Will be close though, traffic of the human kind in central London is not good on the tube system.

Delays in the airport at Heathrow will be the hurdle to overcome (customs etc), and this could be high due to the number of international flights that arrrive at that time in the morning.

Wow.

I've only been to London once in my entire life, but I can't imagine these flights are a good plan. Like Thomas said, travel around London is not easy.

Is there no flight out of Heathrow she could take to her ultimate destination? Or take a different flight out of Canada that lands in Gatwick?

Where is she trying to end up? Somewhere else in the UK or is she going to another country? (You state she is "arriving from Canada next week).

If she's trying to get to another part of the UK, can she not take EasyJet, RyanAir, the train, or some other transport to her end destination?

I have to admit that the thought of travelling across London from Heathrow to Gatwick would fill me with dread and terror. I can only suggest the Heathrow Express and the Gatwick Express.

I wish her luck!

if I'm honest, the thought of travelling across London often fills me with dread and terror even when there are no airports involved...

Ye it looks likes the easiest way i can find is the national express bus. £35 return. Trip takes 1hr 15 min. Dont think theres much point in getting her to go to Victoria Station. She will get lost lol. Shes never been in London before so the easiest and less hassle route will be better i think. 3 hrs is not along time to land, get through immigration and grab a bus to Gatwick.

RJ asked some good questions though; is there no way she can do something easier? National Express quotes times valid for off-peak; depending on when she gets out of customs she could be hitting the beginning of peak hour... and what's the expected check-in time at Gatwick? how close to 9.30 can she run it?

I agree....1.5 hours at rush hour might be more.

And customs at LHR can take ages.

Oh God I did this once.... never again.

It seems to be ok going from Gatwick to Heathrow but going the other way sucks because Heathrow is such a *$%@!@# airport. We did the National Express route, we had to walk about 45 mins through heathrow to get to the terminal and then queue for 20 mins to get tickets. By the time we got to Gatwick we were too late to board our flight to Manchester (COME ON!!! it's a 30 minute flight!!!) and we had to wait 5 hours for another. All this on top of jet lag meant two very unhappy bunnies. Needless to say, we hit the bar.

If it's in her budget I'd say get a taxi. The Heathrow express sucks. Or try to reschedule so there is more than 3 hours in between flights. 3 hours is not enough time.

Well i presume she has to check in no later than 830am as her flight leaves at 930. Either that she calls Flybe.com and asks if she could check in a bit later if shes running short for time. I even wondered if there would be a shuttle bus laid on for people who has connecting flights from 1 airport to another.

Now that I think about it, I would tend to agree that National Express is not the way to go. It's the way I travel, but that's b/c I'm on a budget and not in a rush. You always have to walk ages to get to the bus stop at the airport and they are unreliable.

What's wrong with the Heathrow Express? 15min to Paddington seems really really fast.

Trains really are the best/fastest/most reliable way to get around London.

Thought of another train route, in case you want to avoid the Heathrow Express: Piccadilly Line about 30 minutes to South Kensington, Circle/District line (or cab) 2 stops (less than 5 min) to Victoria...and the 30 min Gatwick Express. It's bound to be faster and more reliable. Plus, tube trains run every 3-4 minutes!

Buses (coaches) in England are for students and other travelers with no rush and a tight budget. Trains are the way to go. Faster than taxis in most cases.

I would say the bus is probably the easiest option if she is carrying a lot of luggage. However, she will be doing the journey during RUSH HOUR which will really make it a tight connection in 3 hours!

Someone mentioned a taxi. Let's step back a bit.

35 quid return seems like a lot to pay for a bus in England. Can you price a taxi, one way? If she gets a taxi to Gatwick, she could take a bus on the way back, when she is not rushed. Taxi's are an excellent (if expensive) way to overcome the London transport blues.

Instead of paying 35 pounds return on the bus, I would pay 60 pounds (40-50 taxi one way and 15 for the train/tube on the return) and not risk missing my flight.

well, that's why I suggested she speak to the airline, to see if there's a shuttle or some such... but I agree with all the comments about the bus; it's just not reliable if time's tight, so a shuttle may not be any better even if it is available

remember also that while the Express services run pretty regularly, they don't go every minute, so there'll almost definitely be some waiting there too, as well as maybe a line to buy tickets (though that's maybe something she could do online ahead of time...?)

can you tell us what her connecting flight is, ie if it's internal or external? if there are other options I'd really urge her to look into them; I would HATE to do what you're describing, and I've been out to all London airports more times than I care to remember

oh, and re taxis - I agree, it would be better than the bus, but if the problem's traffic, it will hit a taxi the same as a bus and may not end up being much better

She flying in Heathrow from Toronto 630am ( Air Canada) then has a connected flight at Gatwick to Inverness 930am ( flybe) Its the same for her on the return. She arrives into Gatwick at 930am from Inverness, then has to get to Heathrow for her flight to Toronto which leaves at 930am. Shes a good friend of my brother who has known her for about 15 years. First time for in the UK. If only id known about her flying i would have told her to get a flight in Manchester or Glasgow. Think she just presumed that the company who she booked the ticket from would have laid on a bus for her. Shes a bit p**sed she has to travel 30 miles to a different airport. The joys of travel lol.

The fact that such a simple question has generated such a stir is testament to London's transport woes. But the simple fact remains that trains are the fastest and most reliable form of transport in the city. You can hardly get lost since there are so many people around to point out "Victoria" and the "Gatwick Express." And the tube is so close to LHR terminals. Wait times are almost no-existent (2-4 minutes) for trains, as opposed to 15-45 minutes for buses...

Train (or taxi) is the way to go.

Does the National Express bus go straight to Gatwick? Or does it stop at Victoria? If the latter is the case, forget it. If the former is the case, the time between buses is likely to be one hour or something like that, no? I can't imagine taking the bus in this city if I was in a rush.

I don't know if I quite agree that it's 'testament to London's transport woes' - I think transport in ANY big city can be difficult, and trying to get from one airport to another at the beginning of peak hour would be difficult almost anywhere

I think it's testament to lack of information when booking flights, personally...

(and I hope that was a typo by William, that the plane from Inverness lands at 9.30am and the flight from Heathrow also leaves at 9.30am... )

The national express bus goes direct to Gatwick from Heathrow. (So the operator said ) Time is approx 1hr 15 min. £35.50 return. By the way, thanks for all this feeback fellow VJ members. Much appreciated.

It may be a testament to London's transport woes, but I think Londoners just love debating the fastest way to get somewhere

Did you see this?

http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/cont...minal3#bytrain1

If it isn't the weather, it's talking about the London Underground delays. We love it!

In June I'm going over to the UK and will go on all of the tube lines. I'll be sure to report back what was working, what was delayed and how many times I got stuck in a tunnel.

Weather, transport and property prices - no London pub conversation is complete without then.


Be sure to also report on the best route from Hampstead Heath to Peckham

Will do!

I'll start taking orders from people. Tell me where you'd like me to travel to and from and I'll see what I can do.

Just to add something here, hubby once had to do this in the opposite - so he landed in Gatwick and had to take the bus to Heathrow for his connecting flight. He had NO problems. At Gatwick you don't have to walk miles to get to the bus like in Heathrow. Gatwick is just a much better and more organized airport. Hubby says he even had time for a beer while waiting for his connecting flight in Heathrow.

Someone suggested getting a taxi the first journey, and the bus on the way back - I would second that. I know it would be expensive but after the cr@p we went through I'd rather pay the money and not have to wait 5 hours for a 30 minute flight.

I don't know where the taxis go from in Heathrow, but the traffic wasn't the issue for us - it was the distance we had to walk and the time we had to wait to get the bus that made us miss the flight. So if there are taxis waiting right outside the terminal where your friend lands it should be much quicker and easier than trying to navigate Heathrow.

It is not the walking at either airport that is the problem with the coach it is the unknown delights of the M25. It isn't known as the London orbital car park without good reason.

Worked at Heathrow often travelled to Gatwick, best time 45 minutes, at night, worst time 4.5 hours, in the rush hour with lanes closed because of an accident, it all depends on the traffic conditions and if there is an accident on the motorway or not.

Aircraft lands 6.30am taxi to gate 10 mins walk through T3 to immigration go through immigration and baggage reclaim anything 30 - 60 minutes. Walk to coach station 10 minutes. Buy ticket 5 minutes. 75 minutes to Gatwick total time just to get to Gatwick 2.5 hours if there are no hold ups.

If it was me I go by train but then I know the way and having lived in London it doesn't worry me at all.

Isn't there a way to get to Inverness from Heathrow that doesn't involve Gatwick?

That's how I'd be looking to solve the problem.

As far as i'm aware only Gatwick or Luton go to Inverness. Heathrow used to fly there many years ago. At the end of the day she should have thought more carefully in the first place. I would flown into Glasgow or Edinburgh if it was me, or flown straight into Gatwick if there is one from Toronto.

I dont know whether this helps, but I went to the national express east coast railway website and seeing as you said 'next week' I just randomly put in thursday next week. On there its coming up that theres a train that leaves at 11.00 from London Kings Cross for £46.75.

Not ideal I know but it maybe an alternative that you may want to consider. Just throwing it out there so you have more options available.

http://tickets.nationalexpresseastcoast.co...T=NoModifyGuest

have you ever seen The London Game? it's pretty much that... the board is a map of the Underground, and you draw cards and have to visit a set of places, and the winner is whoever gets everywhere the quickest
there are added hazards when you can block tube lines and delay your opponents

I remember playing it with my uncle in Australia back when I was about five or six... I was FASCINATED by the map, and by all the places (the cards have line drawings, and these twee little descriptions; they're ace ), and I think it was one of the first things that made me determined to visit London

you can get a modernised version, but I had to have the original seventies version, so I searched on eBay and got it for a tenner

I recommend skipping the second flight and hopping on a train to the other destination if it's in England.

I would strongly recommend Heathrow Express to Paddington then cab to Victoria then Gatwick Express.

Problem is that Customs & Immigration and baggage claim (for immigration) can take ages at Heathrow. Your friend will be cutting it close to make that connection

Alternatively, fly BA/BMI to Inverness from Heathrow (Expedia has fares - connect in Edinburgh)

I found return flights for around $500 ( ) which is pretty expensive

Can your friend rebook a later flight from Gatwick or an earlier flight into Heathrow????