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5-hour layover in Gatwick this month

Posted by (New York, NY) on

My husband and I land at Gatwick (south terminal) at 10am on Saturday 2/18, and our next flight doesn't leave until 3:40pm from the north terminal. We love London and hope to have enough time to at least eat lunch in the city during our 5-hour layover. What are your suggestions for the following: What to do with our luggage (2 rolling suitcases, and should we store them in south or north terminal?); getting into London (I hear the Gatwick Express is pretty convenient?); and where to go in London. We were in London a couple of summers ago. I was hoping to visit to Notting Hill this time for some photos, but it looks like Notting Hill is really out of the way. Where does Gatwick Express take us, and what's good around there?

Thanks in advance! If this information is helpful, our first flight is Norwegian Airlines from JFK, and our second flight is EasyJet to Marrakech.

Posted by
2505 posts

if your flight leaves at 3.40 you need to be back at Gatwick at 1.40

which means you need to leave central London at 1pm

Let's say you arrive at 10am then another 1hr to get into London - that's now 11.00am

so you might have two hours in London (between 11am and 1pm) - up to you if you think it's worth it

Posted by
2705 posts

We faced a similar dilemma although our layover was a few hours longer. Even so the commute to London proper and back did not pencil out. Gatwick has several decent restaurants. In addition they have a Yotel in the South Terminal. You can book a small cabin by the hour, have a shower, a needed nap, keep your luggage there while dining. We are lucky to be returning to London for our RS tour after visiting Portugal so, in the spirit of full disclosure, we did not feel the impetus to lunch in London that you express.

Posted by
6113 posts

Ramblin hasn't allowed any time to get off the plane!

IF your inbound flight is on time, you it may take an hour to deplane and get through the terminal. That's 11am. Drop luggage, say 15/30 minutes. Wait for a train and into London, arriving say 12/12.15.

You need to be back at 1.40, so leave central London at 12.40, allowing for a wait for a train and having to pick up your luggage.

That's 30/45 minutes in London, assuming your flight is on time and that there are no train delays. Too tight.

Posted by
32738 posts

Jennifer took the words - and timings - right out of my mouth...

Posted by
1113 posts

I've flown Easy Jet between European cities 3 times and 2 of those 3 times, the flight was delayed 3-4 hours. I kid you not. In fact, one flight from Paris to Barcelona, our plane was out of service and we had to wait for the place from Marrakesh to arrive so we can use that plane! I wish I had checked on the flight status before making my way to CDG because that would have been 4 more hours I could've spent in Paris. So, I say when you land at Gatwick, check the flight status of your EasyJet leg. If it's delayed 2 or more hours, you may have time for a quick visit. If however, you're lucky enough to not have a delay, I wouldn't risk it.

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