Point to Point Gatwick connection: how long?

[Tea]

I will be arriving into Gatwick with my kids from Finland at 13.30 providing there are no delays, with Norwegian. (Someone in my friends on FB takes them a lot and is constantly giving out about their poor ontime record)

Then the options with Ryanair from Gatwick to Dublin are
14.55 and 17.45.
the first one leaves us just over an hour, the second leaves us with a yawning 4+ hour wait.

Which would you take? Hand luggage only.

Thanks in advance

[Peko]

1h25 is fairly risky on separate tickets. Of course it is quite doable, but you have to clear immigration and reclear security. Just depends on your appetite for risk, and willingness to pay the price on the day for the later flight if it didn’t work out. Ryanair will have zero mercy.

I don’t mind a short connection, but not sure I’d be doing this without a backup plan. If the Ryanair flights were dirt cheap, I’d weigh up the option of buying seats on both flights as an insurance policy, and throwing away the tickets on the second if I made the first. If that price was too much, I’d probably just book the later flight and deal with the longer layover.

Sadly you can’t take advantage of the Gatwick Connects service, which provides protected connections on separate tickets if you book via them. Ryanair does not participate.

[400ixl]

As this is not a through ticket, the onus to be on time for the Ryanair flight is on you. I would go for the 4 hour option as Ryanair will require you to buy a new full priced ticket.

[Tea]

I think I will err on the side of caution so. Part of me is tempted to book an overnight in London now and see a few sights!