London Gatwick Airport

Arriving at London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick is London's secondary airport, host to many Transatlantic, European, and British flights as well as easyJet, Norwegian, and some other low-cost carriers

Gatwick Airport (airport code: LGW), 30 miles south of London, is London's secondary airport.

Gatwick is used by some Transatlantic flights and many domestic and European connections, as well as some low-cost carriers and no-frills airlines, including easyJet and Norwegian (plus a few Ryanair flights).

How to get between London Gatwick Airport and central London

In summary:

In a hurry? Use the Gatwick Express train.
Saving money? Use the shuttle bus.
Want a private ride door-to-door?
- For 1–2 people, use a taxi.
- For 2–3 people consider a private car shared transfer.
- For 4 or more people, book a private car.

Full details and tips are below, but in brief:

Method	Per person	Duration
Gatwick express train	£17.70–£19.90 ($26–$29)	30 min.
Local train	£10–£20 ($15–$30)	35–60 min.
Shuttle bus / coach	£2–£10 ($2.90–$15)	75–95 min.
Private car	£18–£47 ($26–$69)	60–70 min.
Taxi	£58–£120 ($83–$171)	60–70 min.

By express train: £17.70–£19.90 ($26–$29); 30 min.

The Gatwick Express (Gatwickexpress.com) connects Gatwick Airport's South Terminal with London's Victoria Station in 30 min. Departures are every 15 minutes.

You can get 10% off the £19.90 ticket fare is you book ahead online.

By local train: £10–£20 ($15–$30); 35–60 min.

Two regional train lines service Gatwick from London.

Thameslink & Great Northern trains connects Gatwick Airport with directly with London St. Pancras International in 55–60 minutes ad run about four times hourly. Fares are around £10.30.

Southern trains also run every 15 minutes or so between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport via East Croydon and Clapham Junction. The ride takes about 35–55 minutes and costs £15–£20.

You can research and book all British trains at Nationalrail.co.uk or Thetrainline.com.

By shuttle bus / coach: £2–£10 ($2.90–$15); 75–95 min.

EasyBus (Easybus.com) runs the cheapest service, 2–3 times per hour to Earls Court/West Brompton (75 min.), plus hourly services to London Waterloo (80 min.) and to London Victoria Coach Station (95 min.). Fares are lowest when booked in advance, starting as low as £1.95–£3.95 and topping out at £7.95–£8.95 if booking on the day-of (it also varies depending on the time of day and how far you are going).

National Express (Nationalexpress.com) also runs an airport shuttle every half hour which gets you to London's Victoria Coach Station in 80–95 minutes, making up to nine other stops within Greater London along the way. It costs £5–£8, depending on how far in advance you book

There is also the Terravision coach (Terravision.eu), which runs every half hour between Gatwick Airport and the Euro Car Park on Bayswater Road (at the very NW corner of Hyde Park, near the Queensway Tube stop) in 90–100 min., with intermediate stops on Hammersmith Road and in South Kensington on Cromwell Road (in front of Best Western, near the Gloucester Road Tube stop). Tickets are a flat £6.

By private car: £18–£47 ($26–$69); 60–70 min.

The easiest way to book a private transfer is through Viator.com.

Note that the "private" transfers (with the lowest lead price) are per person but for the entire vehicle—so you'll only pay that lowest per-person rate if you stuff it with eight people. The per-person price goes up the fewer people you have in the car, so it only really makes sense if you have at least four people in your party (paying roughly £29/$43 a piece).

The better option for one to three people is to book one of the the "shared" transfers. You may have to make a few stops along the way at fellow passengers' hotels, but the per-person rate is capped at the much lower, £31/$46 per-person price.