London airports advice please

[bernard301]

Originally Posted by danhbmw

We're doing the exact thing in October, train from Doncaster then either a change at Stevenage and direct to Gatwick or off at Kings Cross and very short walk to St Pancras and train out to Gatwick.
I was reading the post/link yesterday about discounts on Gatwick Express but need to spend a bit more time getting it figured out which is the easiest and cheapest way to do it...

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if you are coming into Kings Cross or St Pancras the easiest thing to do is to get the Thameslink from St Pancras too Gatwick. There is absolutely no point having to walk the same distance, to get the Victoria line, to then cross Victoria for a journey that will take about the same amount fo time and cost significantly less than the Gatwick express

[duchy]

Originally Posted by shack69

for gatwick you need to travel across london and then catch a train to gatwick. For heathrow you could just use the tube direct from kings cross. both options take about an hour from Kings cross. there is a quicker option to heathro via the paddington and the heathrow express but its more of a faf.
So for me it would come down to the flight times and hotel price the night before.

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You don't need to cross London to get to Gatwick you can get Thameslink trains from Kings X /St Pancras to Gatwick ... far,far easier than Heathrow which will need multiple changes. Hotels are cheaper at Gatwick than Heathrow too.

Kings X and St Pancras stations are literally opposite each other , you can go through a tunnel or across a crossing and flat .

Do NOT bother with the tube to Victoria its crowded , needs escalator access (always fun with cases) and has absolutely no advantage whatsoever.

[sky13]

I used to live in East Anglia and the train to London got into King's Cross - in my opinion the easiest London airports from King's Cross are Heathrow and Gatwick.

Heathrow - Piccadilly line from King's Cross all the way to Heathrow - I've done this many times, usually with a large suitcase and a small suitcase and a bag or two. There are elevators at King's Cross which means no need to worry about lugging bags up/down flights of stairs. Also elevators at Heathrow. The Piccadilly line also connects to all terminals (just need to make sure you're on the right train for the terminal) which is useful.

I wouldn't recommend the Heathrow Express route from King's Cross - it involves taking the tube and changing to the train at Paddington, and works out as taking roughly the same amount of time as just taking the Piccadilly line from King's Cross to Heathrow, for something like 7 times the price...

As others have said, there is a train from St Pancras (right next to King's Cross) that goes direct to Gatwick. I've only done this connection a couple of times but don't remember it being too difficult to do.

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by shack69

for gatwick you need to travel across london and then catch a train to gatwick. For heathrow you could just use the tube direct from kings cross. both options take about an hour from Kings cross. there is a quicker option to heathro via the paddington and the heathrow express but its more of a faf.
So for me it would come down to the flight times and hotel price the night before.

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You don't need to travel across London from Kings Cross to get a train to Gatwick. You can just hop across the road to St Pancras International and get a train to Gatwick from there. I live in Hitchin and my trains go into Kings Cross so I know that route quite well.

[Scattle]

You can either get a Train to Kings X and walk 5 min over to St Pancras to grab the Thameslink service to Gatwick, or if you get off at Stevenage/Finsbury Park and catch the Cambridge to Brighton TL service it will save the walk from Kings X. As this Train goes through the Canal Tunnels to St Pancras after Finsbury Park.

The Cambridge - Brighton Train will be the fastest one as after London bridge it only stops at East Croyden then Gatwick. (Other Gatwick Thameslink services stop at more intermediate stations such as Norwood Jnc and Redhill etc)

I'm a Train Driver on Thameslink so often get asked these questions.

[dannybegood]

Or Gatwick Express from Bedford, saves you having to go to London.

[bernard301]

Originally Posted by dannybegood

Or Gatwick Express from Bedford, saves you having to go to London.

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The Gatwick express only runs from London Victoria to Gatwick.

No train will stop you going to London, the better connections will just save you from changing in London

[dannybegood]

Originally Posted by bernard301

The Gatwick express only runs from London Victoria to Gatwick.

No train will stop you going to London, the better connections will just save you from changing in London

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Try it you may find in fact it does run from Bedford. Not quite the "true" Gatwick express but using its service as it is. Known a few to use it they think its great.

gatwickexpress/trave...ations/bedford

[Swimmer68]

We are travelling from Newcastle to Gatwick by train for ba flights direct to mco . We are changing at Stevenage to avoid the central London transfer , it looks a small easy station for transfer

[cornishfrogboy]

If you are seeking indirects or entry/exit at any other airport than MCO, then LHR tends to work better.
If you are seeking direct London MCO returns, then LGW would probably be best.

To research this, I would do the research. Even if simply visiting mainly Orlando, we have used this to advantage, arriving or departing at Pensacola, Tampa, Miami, Dayton Beach. You can even go for Key West... many with just a 3 hour layover at Atlanta or similar, where you clear Customs and immigration whilst waiting. This enables you to obviously get most of it back by going straight to baggage claim at your final destination.

Either one is very easily accessible with Public transport with the Railway (plus a bit of tube to Victoria?) to LGW or tube all the way to LHR. Price and planning would direct me to one or other, with no worries about getting from KX to either.

Coming up from the West, I have a general preference for LHR when driving and either if using railways.