Heathrow to Gatwick - help?

3 hours should be enough time assuming flights are on time and you can pick your bags up ok. It is about 1 hour by road if the traffic is light. I am confused by the train reference though as Heathrow does not have a direct train line to Gatwick which means you will have to go into central London and then come out again. My recommendation would be to get the coach that runs between the two (I think this is cheaper too). Assuming traffic is ok, this should get you there in time though it may be a squeeze with check-in regulations in the new security conscious environment.

Any other help let me know, I live 20 mins from Heathrow, and 35 mins from Gatwick.

pedalhome said:

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps.

At least we won't have to put up with your uncouth behaviour for too long ;-)

Quoted message said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

3 hours will definitely be pushing it if you want to transfer your luggage, get through customs,
passport control, check in, and do the same in reverse at Gatwick, and arrive in France *with* your
bikes (and that's if all your flights are on schedule).

My brother once missed a flight from Heathrow (to Nepal) because his shuttle bus (which went via
Gatwick) was held up in traffic on the M25 (London Orbital).

Simonb

pedalhome said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

No its not. By the time you have cleared immigration, got your luggage, got to the train, waited for
the train and got to Gatwick you would be really pushing it to check in. Bikes tend to come out late
on the baggage unload plus putting them back together (pump tyres, align handlebars). Then you need
to think about whether your flight is on time or not. I would allow an extra one to two hours
minimum. Depending on time of day you could do it quicker by taxi or bus but that will cost and at
peak times it will be much slower because of congestion on the London orbital M25.

Tony

"pedalhome" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello any who might be able to assist -

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3
hours in between flights.

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

I would say no. First you need to allow for flight delays. It is not unusual for inbound flights
from the USA to suffer delays if the wind isn't blowing hard enough. Then you have to collect your
baggage. Then you will have to queue in order to pass through immigration. Americans generally find
this to be an irritating wait. The train into London is the Heathrow Express. Depending on your
arrival terminal you might have a bit of a walk to one of the stations. Buy your ticket and wait for
the train. They run every 15 mins and the journey takes 15 mins so it could take 30 mins in total.
You arrive at Paddington Station and then have to buy an underground ticket to Victoria. My
experience on this route (I use it regularly) it that there are regular problems and delays. A taxi
might be a better bet but there are no guarantees. Journey for either about 15 minutes. Arrive at
Victoria, buy ticket, trains run every 15 minutes and take 30 minutes so allow 45 mins. Arrive at
Gatwick, walk to terminals, check in.

Taking the worst case: Flight delay 30 mins Baggage reclaim 30 mins Immigration 15 minutes Walk to
station, buy tickets 15 minutes Journey to London 30 minutes Walk to Underground, buy ticket 10
minutes Journey to Victoria, including wait for train 20 minutes Walk to station, buy tickets 10
minutes Journey to Gatwick 45 minutes

Total 3 hours 25 minutes. Not good when you think that you need to check in 30-60 minutes before
Gatwick flight leaves. Even the best case (say 2 hours 10 minutes) is not exactly attractive.

There are direct buses from Heathrow to Gatwick (tinyurl.comxi7lOpen ↗) but these say that you
should allow *much* longer than the 60-70 minutes specified for the journey. They run every 15
minutes. It's also possible to prebook a taxi transfer but this won't be much faster if at all.

I strongly advise you to change your travel arrangements to give you more time for the transfer or
to allow you to fly from Heathrow to the Alps. It would be a disaster to ruin the start of your
holiday by missing your connection.
___
Michael MacClancy

pedalhome said:

Hello any who might be able to assist -

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3
hours in between flights.

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

Any help at all will be greatly appreciated.

Signed,

I wouldn't consider going via central london - any delays you might experience on the bus from
Heathrow to Gatwick can equally happen on the tube/Gatwick Express so I'd take the coach and save
the hassle of changing. Cycling would be a nightmare I would have thought even for someone
familiar with the area. I would say the coach should take about an hour on a good run - more like
1.5 hours if busy or longer if really jammed. A pre-booked minicab would cost around £30-£35
actually and that's probably your best bet. I would hate to have to do that change though after
arriving from the USA!

pedalhome said:

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps.

At least we won't have to put up with your uncouth behaviour for too long ;-)

Quoted message said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

3 hours will definitely be pushing it if you want to transfer your luggage, get through customs,
passport control, check in, and do the same in reverse at Gatwick, and arrive in France *with* your
bikes (and that's if all your flights are on schedule).

My brother once missed a flight from Heathrow (to Nepal) because his shuttle bus (which went via
Gatwick) was held up in traffic on the M25 (London Orbital).

Simonb

pedalhome said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

No its not. By the time you have cleared immigration, got your luggage, got to the train, waited for
the train and got to Gatwick you would be really pushing it to check in. Bikes tend to come out late
on the baggage unload plus putting them back together (pump tyres, align handlebars). Then you need
to think about whether your flight is on time or not. I would allow an extra one to two hours
minimum. Depending on time of day you could do it quicker by taxi or bus but that will cost and at
peak times it will be much slower because of congestion on the London orbital M25.

Tony

"pedalhome" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello any who might be able to assist -

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3
hours in between flights.

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

I would say no. First you need to allow for flight delays. It is not unusual for inbound flights
from the USA to suffer delays if the wind isn't blowing hard enough. Then you have to collect your
baggage. Then you will have to queue in order to pass through immigration. Americans generally find
this to be an irritating wait. The train into London is the Heathrow Express. Depending on your
arrival terminal you might have a bit of a walk to one of the stations. Buy your ticket and wait for
the train. They run every 15 mins and the journey takes 15 mins so it could take 30 mins in total.
You arrive at Paddington Station and then have to buy an underground ticket to Victoria. My
experience on this route (I use it regularly) it that there are regular problems and delays. A taxi
might be a better bet but there are no guarantees. Journey for either about 15 minutes. Arrive at
Victoria, buy ticket, trains run every 15 minutes and take 30 minutes so allow 45 mins. Arrive at
Gatwick, walk to terminals, check in.

Taking the worst case: Flight delay 30 mins Baggage reclaim 30 mins Immigration 15 minutes Walk to
station, buy tickets 15 minutes Journey to London 30 minutes Walk to Underground, buy ticket 10
minutes Journey to Victoria, including wait for train 20 minutes Walk to station, buy tickets 10
minutes Journey to Gatwick 45 minutes

Total 3 hours 25 minutes. Not good when you think that you need to check in 30-60 minutes before
Gatwick flight leaves. Even the best case (say 2 hours 10 minutes) is not exactly attractive.

There are direct buses from Heathrow to Gatwick (tinyurl.comxi7lOpen ↗) but these say that you
should allow *much* longer than the 60-70 minutes specified for the journey. They run every 15
minutes. It's also possible to prebook a taxi transfer but this won't be much faster if at all.

I strongly advise you to change your travel arrangements to give you more time for the transfer or
to allow you to fly from Heathrow to the Alps. It would be a disaster to ruin the start of your
holiday by missing your connection.
___
Michael MacClancy

pedalhome said:

Hello any who might be able to assist -

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3
hours in between flights.

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

Any help at all will be greatly appreciated.

Signed,

I wouldn't consider going via central london - any delays you might experience on the bus from
Heathrow to Gatwick can equally happen on the tube/Gatwick Express so I'd take the coach and save
the hassle of changing. Cycling would be a nightmare I would have thought even for someone
familiar with the area. I would say the coach should take about an hour on a good run - more like
1.5 hours if busy or longer if really jammed. A pre-booked minicab would cost around £30-£35
actually and that's probably your best bet. I would hate to have to do that change though after
arriving from the USA!

Simonb <[email hidden]> wrote:

:> Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is
:> enough time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

If that's 3 hours from 1 hour after your plane arrives (to allow for luggage reclaim and customs) to
checkin time at Heathrow then you'll be ok. You *might* be ok if it's three hours from arrival to
checkin since you can usually get away with pushing the checkin time a little but I think you'd be
pushing it and very dependant on getting the right train and it being on time.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Simonb <[email hidden]> wrote:

:> Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is
:> enough time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

If that's 3 hours from 1 hour after your plane arrives (to allow for luggage reclaim and customs) to
checkin time at Heathrow then you'll be ok. You *might* be ok if it's three hours from arrival to
checkin since you can usually get away with pushing the checkin time a little but I think you'd be
pushing it and very dependant on getting the right train and it being on time.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

pedalhome said:

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3 hours
in between flights.

Hi

Dumb question: Any reason you cannot get a direct flight to Paris and use the excellent French
trains to get you to the Alps?

James

--
"Sorry mate, I didn't see you" is not a satisfactory excuse.

pedalhome said:

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3 hours
in between flights.

Hi

Dumb question: Any reason you cannot get a direct flight to Paris and use the excellent French
trains to get you to the Alps?

James

--
"Sorry mate, I didn't see you" is not a satisfactory excuse.

Quoted message said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

I think it's cutting it very fine. I've often collected friends from Heathrow flying in from various
places on the other side of the pond (N & S America) and from the time of plane landing to them
coming through into the terminal building has been nearly an hour on occasion - and that's without
any flight delays and without any "unusual" luggage - i.e. bikes.

Have you looked at the possibility of flying direct to France, or is that a no-no now Bush and the
French don't like each other? :-)

But enjoy yourselves anyhow. Cycling in France is a hugely enjoyable experience
- French drivers are very courteous to cyclists. When I was in Paris last July, Americans staying in
the same hotel agreed that cycling in France was a pleasurable experience

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove dependency on fame &
fortune h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o**l.c**$*$om$$

pedalhome said:

A couple of us uncooth American-types are heading across the pond in July to ride the Alps. We're
going to be transferring from Heathrow (incoming) to Gatwick (outgoing) airports. We've got 3 hours
in between flights.

Hi

Dumb question: Any reason you cannot get a direct flight to Paris and use the excellent French
trains to get you to the Alps?

James

--
"Sorry mate, I didn't see you" is not a satisfactory excuse.

Quoted message said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

I think it's cutting it very fine. I've often collected friends from Heathrow flying in from various
places on the other side of the pond (N & S America) and from the time of plane landing to them
coming through into the terminal building has been nearly an hour on occasion - and that's without
any flight delays and without any "unusual" luggage - i.e. bikes.

Have you looked at the possibility of flying direct to France, or is that a no-no now Bush and the
French don't like each other? :-)

But enjoy yourselves anyhow. Cycling in France is a hugely enjoyable experience
- French drivers are very courteous to cyclists. When I was in Paris last July, Americans staying in
the same hotel agreed that cycling in France was a pleasurable experience

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove dependency on fame &
fortune h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o**l.c**$*$om$$

Quoted message said:

Question: the train schedule shows a 70 minute transit time - any thoughts on if 3 hours is enough
time to make our Gatwick flight from Heathrow?

I think it's cutting it very fine. I've often collected friends from Heathrow flying in from various
places on the other side of the pond (N & S America) and from the time of plane landing to them
coming through into the terminal building has been nearly an hour on occasion - and that's without
any flight delays and without any "unusual" luggage - i.e. bikes.

Have you looked at the possibility of flying direct to France, or is that a no-no now Bush and the
French don't like each other? :-)

But enjoy yourselves anyhow. Cycling in France is a hugely enjoyable experience
- French drivers are very courteous to cyclists. When I was in Paris last July, Americans staying in
the same hotel agreed that cycling in France was a pleasurable experience

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove dependency on fame &
fortune h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o**l.c**$*$om$$