Do you need to book a train in advance FROM Gatwick?
- Thread starter onekeano
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EvilDoctorK
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Also remember you dont' have to take the Gatwick Express
The Southern Railways trains to London Victoria are almost as fast (most of them only stop at East Croydon & Clapham Junction) and apart from at rush hour just as comfortable .. and they are almost £5 cheaper each way.
Also if you're not going to the West End of the city centre then take the Thameslink trains from Gatwick to London Bridge station .. these trains are actually faster than the Gatwick Express - some of them take as little as 25mins to get to London Bridge. Again they are cheaper too.
The Southern Railways trains to London Victoria are almost as fast (most of them only stop at East Croydon & Clapham Junction) and apart from at rush hour just as comfortable .. and they are almost £5 cheaper each way.
Also if you're not going to the West End of the city centre then take the Thameslink trains from Gatwick to London Bridge station .. these trains are actually faster than the Gatwick Express - some of them take as little as 25mins to get to London Bridge. Again they are cheaper too.
brokeparent
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Great advice EvilDoctorK. Any similar nuggets for travelling from Heathrow?
Hi Brokeparent,
Whilst you are waiting for the EvilDoctorK to get back to you I've found these sites quite useful:
www.visitbritain.com
www.visitlondon.com
[broken link removed]
http://www.toandfrom.org/airport/london.html
I've been told that the Heathrow Express is too expensive. Hoping to at long last head there myself soon. If you call visitbritain they can send you a pack with some free maps etc. for your trip. They are very helpful.
Whilst you are waiting for the EvilDoctorK to get back to you I've found these sites quite useful:
www.visitbritain.com
www.visitlondon.com
[broken link removed]
http://www.toandfrom.org/airport/london.html
I've been told that the Heathrow Express is too expensive. Hoping to at long last head there myself soon. If you call visitbritain they can send you a pack with some free maps etc. for your trip. They are very helpful.
Heathrow Express is expensive-ish, but if the choice is between spending almost an hour on a tube or 15 minutes on an express train then you might find it makes more good sense to spend the extra money and have the extra time to spend in London. Heathrow Express drops you at Paddington which is pretty well linked by tube to most parts of central London with the Circle, District & Bakerloo lines plus the Hammersmith & City.
z
z
EvilDoctorK
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As Zag says the HEx is undoubtedly good but it is very expensive.
As a rough rule of thumb if where you're going to in Central London is north-ish and only one tube ride from Paddington then the HEx is definitely faster ... otherwise it's not so clear cut. (Whether it's worth it depends on who's paying I guess)
e.g. Consider going to Holborn
HEx - up to 15 min wait time, 15min journey , 5 min transfer on to tube, 8min journey to Oxford Circus, 5 min transfer to Central line, 3min to Holborn
Total - 36-51mins - fare £16.00
Tube - up to 5 min wait time, 51min journey
Total - 51-56 mins - fare £3.50 (£2.00 off peak)
(don't pay cash on the tube - get an "Osyter Card" or buy travelcards to save money - www.tfl.gov.uk)
I'd certaily avoid the tube at rush hour with luggage - but outside of rush hour it's perfectly tolerable and boarding at Heathrow you'll always get a seat. It's not as comfortable as the HEx trains but it's not exactly wooden benches and full of people transporting chickens to market
There is also another non-tube train service from Heathrow - the "Heathrow Connect" - which is a stopping service from the HEx platforms into Paddington ... it's kind of pointless though for central london - it's a lot slower and though cheaper than the HEx it's much more expensive than the tube - only really useful if you're going to somewhere like Ealing between Paddington and Heathrow (which is fair enough as that's what the train was designed to do - http://www.heathrowconnect.com/ )
As a rough rule of thumb if where you're going to in Central London is north-ish and only one tube ride from Paddington then the HEx is definitely faster ... otherwise it's not so clear cut. (Whether it's worth it depends on who's paying I guess)
e.g. Consider going to Holborn
HEx - up to 15 min wait time, 15min journey , 5 min transfer on to tube, 8min journey to Oxford Circus, 5 min transfer to Central line, 3min to Holborn
Total - 36-51mins - fare £16.00
Tube - up to 5 min wait time, 51min journey
Total - 51-56 mins - fare £3.50 (£2.00 off peak)
(don't pay cash on the tube - get an "Osyter Card" or buy travelcards to save money - www.tfl.gov.uk)
I'd certaily avoid the tube at rush hour with luggage - but outside of rush hour it's perfectly tolerable and boarding at Heathrow you'll always get a seat. It's not as comfortable as the HEx trains but it's not exactly wooden benches and full of people transporting chickens to market
There is also another non-tube train service from Heathrow - the "Heathrow Connect" - which is a stopping service from the HEx platforms into Paddington ... it's kind of pointless though for central london - it's a lot slower and though cheaper than the HEx it's much more expensive than the tube - only really useful if you're going to somewhere like Ealing between Paddington and Heathrow (which is fair enough as that's what the train was designed to do - http://www.heathrowconnect.com/ )
EvilDoctorK
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How to Save money on the London Airport Express trains
Putting this in a separate post - today's handy moneysaving tip
It's worth signing up for the BAA Worldpoints card (a sort of Tesco clubcard for airport shopping at BAA airports) even if you're only an occasional visitor to the airports.
Most of the "rewards" you can get on it are rubbish but for 50 "WorldPoints" you get :
"Half price travel on Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted Express."
This is a particularly good deal as they were (not sure if they still are) giving you 250 points for just signing up for the card and using it once (I think even buying a coffe in Costa's or a pack of tissues in Boots would count) - and they're always giving extra points offers too.
So even if you're an occasional visitor to Heathrow/Gatwick or Stansted you can easily get enough points through this card for a few 1/2 price trips on the trains.
I guess it would particularly handy for Stansted because it's so far in the middle of nowhere that you've little choice but to use the express train.
Putting this in a separate post - today's handy moneysaving tip
It's worth signing up for the BAA Worldpoints card (a sort of Tesco clubcard for airport shopping at BAA airports) even if you're only an occasional visitor to the airports.
Most of the "rewards" you can get on it are rubbish but for 50 "WorldPoints" you get :
"Half price travel on Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted Express."
This is a particularly good deal as they were (not sure if they still are) giving you 250 points for just signing up for the card and using it once (I think even buying a coffe in Costa's or a pack of tissues in Boots would count) - and they're always giving extra points offers too.
So even if you're an occasional visitor to Heathrow/Gatwick or Stansted you can easily get enough points through this card for a few 1/2 price trips on the trains.
I guess it would particularly handy for Stansted because it's so far in the middle of nowhere that you've little choice but to use the express train.