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London Gatwick (LGW)

First of all, it's worth looking at the excellent Journey Planner website, if you're headed towards London. It will plot a route for you, using public transport, with timings, costs and detailed destination and walking route maps.

Gatwick Express

Takes 30 minutes. Details on the Gatwick Express website.

Note that the station is in the South Terminal, but an automated transit system (with impressive views!) operates every few minutes, taking only 2 minutes to the North Terminal. Note, however, that there have been some reports of intermittent technical problems on this transit causing delays, so leave a little leeway in your schedule.

Discussions over the future of this service are currently underway. There is a chance it could be cancelled to allow additional Southern trains on the London-Brighton corridors.

Fares:

• £14.90 single in Express Class
• £15.20 day return in Express Class (time-limited, either direction)
• £26.80 return in Express Class
• £22.50 single in First Class
• £28.00 day return in First Class (time-limited, either direction)
• £42.00 return in First Class

Carnets and combination fares available, along with through tickets to London Underground destinations. London Transport travelcards are not valid, and neither are railcards. Look out for frequent pre-booked discount codes on this and the BA fora.

Pros:

• Gatwick Airport station is right in the South Terminal.
• Fast and comfortable, with good luggage storage.
• Takes you to Victoria, which is in South-West Central London, where you can change to the Tube (Victoria, Circle, District) or a taxi.
• GEX + taxi can work out cheaper, and is almost always much faster than taxi all the way.
• Unlike the other rail services, you can buy your ticket on the train at no supplement.

Cons:

• Expensive, particularly for multiple travellers (but see the 4 for 2 offer below!)
• Not necessarily the fastest option for certain areas of London.
• The taxi queues at Victoria can be long at peak times.

Tips:

• There is no supplement for paying on board (and they take credit cards). Don't queue if you're going to miss one.
• The end of the train closest to the platform entrance at Gatwick is pretty much the one closest to the platform entrance at Victoria. Of course, this means it can get rather crowded.
• This stretch of railway can suffer from engineering works, and delays at weekends. Do check in advance.
• A 4 for 2 ticket is now available for groups travelling together.

Other Rail Services

Takes from 35-45 minutes to Central London, depending on route and final destination.

Details on the Southern Railway website, the First Capital Connect website, the First Great Western website and the Virgin Trains website.

A useful resource for booking is the FlyByTrain website, which offers discounts (particularly group discounts) for pre-booking.

Destinations:

• Southern Railway terminates in Victoria, as with Gatwick Express above.
• Most Southern trains also call at Clapham Junction, with connections to South West Trains and other Southern Services to SW London, South London, Surrey, Hampshire and beyond.
• Most Southern and all First Capital Connect trains also call at East Croydon, with connections to the Croydon Tramlink, and other South London destinations.
• Southern and First Capital Connect also head to the South Coast from Gatwick, including Brighton and other major towns.
• Slow Southern trains also call at Balham, with connections to the Northern Line for South London (Clapham, Tooting, etc.)
• First Capital Connect trains continue to London Bridge, City Thameslink and Farringdon, with connections to the Tube (Northern, Jubilee, Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City), and good proximity to the 'City' financial and legal district and Clerkenwell.
• London Bridge provides an easy (same platform) change to very regular services on to Waterloo and Charing Cross (for Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden).
• First Capital Connect trains continue to King's Cross Thameslink with connections to GNER services to the East Coast and Scotland, as well as First Capital Connect services to Cambridge and Peterborough. At some point soon, King's Cross Thameslink will be replaced by a new station under St Pancras mainline station, which will be the Eurostar terminal from November, and home to Midland Mainline services to the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. King's Cross and St Pancras stations face each other, and are connected by the same Tube station.
• Some First Capital Connect trains stop in North London, and all continue to Luton Airport, and Luton, with some going on to Bedford.
• Southern also have a service to Watford Junction, stopping, among others, at West Brompton (for Earls Court), Kensington Olympia, Harrow & Wealdstone, and terminating at Watford Junction for connections to Virgin Trains and Silverlink County services to the West Midlands, North-West and West Scotland.
• First Great Western operate services to Reading, via Dorking and Guildford. Connections at Reading for First Great Western services to Oxford, the West, South West and South Wales.
• The Virgin Trains VT2 cross-country route also operates to Gatwick Airport. As well as the South Coast, this service offers through trains to the West Midlands, North-West and West Scotland.

Fares:

• Depends on destination, but Central London fares are below:
• £8-10 single in Standard Class (depends on time of day)
• £12-15 single in First Class (depends on time of day)
• Also, First Capital Connect offer a 'flyaway' fare of £50 for any return journey for up to 4 people.

Carnets and combination fares available, along with through tickets to London Underground destinations. London Transport travelcards are not valid, although you can buy travelcards that include a return from the zone 6 boundary to Gatwick Airport.

Pros:

• Gatwick Airport station is right in the South Terminal.
• Cheaper than the Gatwick Express to Central London, and barely any slower.
• First Capital Connect services offer better connections to the 'City' and beyond.
• First Capital Connect and First Great Western offer good connections to long-distance rail services.
• The Southern service runs 24 hours.

Cons:

• The luggage storage is not as good as Gatwick Express.
• You must buy a ticket before boarding the train.
• First Great Western and Watford Junction services don't run as regularly as going via Central London (every hour off-peak).
• This is on a prime commuter route, and these are normal commuter services.
• The First Capital Connect services can get very crowded, and have become extremely run down recently (FCC have just started a refurbishment programme - this, however, does not address the bizarrely angled seats!)

Tips:

• Check to see if your train is a fast or a slow train. If it's slow, see when the next fast one is - it could well overtake it. This mainly applies to Southern Trains, but some peak First Capital Connect trains may travel via Streatham and Elephant & Castle, which means longer journeys, and no stop at London Bridge.
• There are credit-card accepting ticket machines at many stations, including Gatwick Airport. However, the array of tickets available is dizzying, with time and railway company restrictions. Check you buy the right one.
• The ticket machines are also slightly misleading, in that the 'front page' they display 'encourages' you to use expensive services. Press the 'Other Destinations' button, re-select Victoria (or whichever station you are travelling to), and you will then get multiple pages with your ticket options.
• If you are travelling around the Southern Railway area at weekends (particularly the coast), they have some excellent print-at-home all-day ticket offers here. They require a week's pre-booking, but £20 for 2 adults and 2 kids for the entire network is a bargain.
• For day return tickets (which are generally very little more than singles), GroupSave tickets are the secret bargain of travel in London and South East England. All regular railways offer these tickets - you pay for 2 people, and up to 4 can travel. You have to ask for them specifically, but they apply to most regular (non-Airport Express) services in the region.

Rank Taxis

Note that Gatwick Airport is outside Greater London, so black cabs do not pick up here. Instead, the airport has an 'official' taxi company, Checker Cars.

Fares:

• Varies according to length of journey.
• Prices are fixed, rather than metered.

Pros:

• Checker Cars get a lot of business from Gatwick, so it's reasonably well regulated.
• They're convenient.
• They may be your only option for cheaper off-airport hotels.

Cons:

• More expensive than many pre-booked taxis.
• No black cab privileges, such as bus lane use.
• The road from Gatwick to London is very slow and very congested, once you get past the M25 (London Orbital Motorway). This can take 2, even 3 hours at peak times.

Pre-Booked Taxis

Fares:

• Varies according to length of journey and company involved.
• Flyertalkers have noted Addison Lee and Airport Direct as options.

Pros:

• Cheaper than a rank taxi, and cheaper than the Gatwick Express in a large group.
• You will get met at arrivals.
• You can order MPV taxis, usually seating up to 7.

Cons:

• Much lighter regulation than the official rank Taxis. While I personally have had nothing but good experiences with the companies mentioned above, it is extremely important only to deal with reputable private hire ('minicab') companies in London. The PCO (website above) has a licencing scheme, which is a good indicator. You can also go on personal recommendations. But, I cannot stress enough, do not just get into a 'taxi'. Black cabs are fine, decent minicab companies are fine. But there are instances of all sorts of problems reported in London, from dangerous vehicles and driving, through to armed robbery and rape in illegal minicabs. Never take a taxi from a tout.
• Credit cards are not generally accepted.
• You are still subject to the vagaries of London traffic, without the ability to use bus lanes.

Tips:

• Private hire companies are not bound by per-mile or other fee regulations. Always agree a price beforehand.
• Unless you specify otherwise, a taxi will sit 3, 4 at a push.
• 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm are the peak times in London. Yes, they are that long. Be warned.

Coach Links

National Express run a series of coach (bus) services to Central London from Gatwick, mostly from the South Terminal. They also run direct, long-distance buses further afield.

Fares:

• Search on the National Express website above for fare details, as these vary according to many factors.

Pros:

• Opens up a number more direct destinations within London, and around. Of particular interest are:
  1. Stockwell (well, interesting for me )
  2. Heathrow Airport
  3. Luton Airport (this does take a long time)
  4. Stansted Airport (this does take a long time)
• Dedicated luggage storage.
• Reasonably priced option, particularly on longer distances.

Cons:

• Again, traffic.
• Also, for longer distances, they're not always the most comfortable.

Tips:

• You can book e-tickets online, using the National Express website.
• You can also pay the driver, but it's cash only and subject to availability.
• There is a National Express ticket office at Gatwick, but it's not open 24 hours.
• If you wish to be dropped off at Victoria Railway Station (as opposed to Victoria Coach Station, where the service usually terminates), you can only do so if you have all your luggage in the bus with you (not stored underneath).

Bus Links

There are a number of bus links around Gatwick, if you are headed to the local area. These are run by Metrobus, and a map of services is here.

Fares:

• Varies according to distance.

Pros:

• Cheaper than a taxi for local journeys.

Cons:

• Very limited selection of routes.

Tips:

• Have change ready!