Best way to get 6 people from Gatwick airport to London?

If you land at 08:30, it will probably be nearer 09:30 once you've negotiated immigration, baggage reclaim and customs. I would have thought the rush hour would be over by then, but I could be wrong. Certainly, the train to London Bridge and St Pancras wasn't busy when we used it at that time of the morning back in July.

If you don't fancy the Gatwick Express, you could take a train to London Bridge and then a taxi, or the Jubilee Line to Westminster. This link offers a number of suggestions: https://www.rome2rio.com/s/London-Gatwick-Airport-LGW/London-Marriott-Hotel-County-Hall

Note that regular Southern services to Victoria or Thameslink to London Bridge are less expensive than the Gatwick Express, although Southern has been suffering disruption this year due to an industrial dispute (maybe not an issue by the time you get here).

The rush hour will have abated by the time you are through the airport. Southern Rail is the best way to go - presumably you have already got your Oystercards by post ? - only £8 single, so much cheaper than the Gatwick Express.

Please don't book a van as you will get a commercial vehicle with no windows! The correct terminology here is people carrier. This will be slower and more expensive than the train.

The Southern train will be the one crowded with commuters during rush hour; I don't think you will have a problem finding seats on the Gatwick Express. There is a group saver discount.

The so-called Gatwick Express is no longer an entirely dedicated Gatwick-London train as some are extended to Brighton, so will at that time be used by commuters. These though would have long gone by the time you are interested in.

If going to the Marriott County Hall it may make sense anyway to take a train to Clapham Junction and change there for Waterloo.

I agree, the southern railway will be crowded during the rush hours. The Gatwick Express is the best way to reach the destination and also its cheaper option.

Julie

You don't say when next week but the Southern rail company is on strike Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd. What trains there are, including the Express, will be really full, and I wouldn't try and use them on those days.

On other days I would have thought the trains won't be too bad by the time you've cleared the airport.

Alan

I'm not the one to answer this question since I don't know about Gatwick, but I can say that if you need a taxi we love Just Airports. We have used them on two trips and the most recent was for 7 people and luggage. On their website they don't show a van choice, I don't think, but if you email them and they can give you a quote. They are on time, courteous, and reliable. I was really worried with such a big group, but we all fit in just fine and each with our carryon luggage and day bags. I was also worried that they would try to charge more once they saw all of our stuff, but they charged their quote. And, the van had big windows BTW.

We landed at Gatwick about 8 a.m. last June. I had pre-purchased Gatwick Express tickets, but had to collect them from the machines. Bit of a madhouse, but there were attendants to help with problems. I don't recall the exact time we got on the train, but it may well have been before 9 a.m., and it was packed to the gills. We spent the entire ride standing near the end of a car, our bags in the aisle in front of us. Not the most comfortable trip after traveling some 18 hours previous and our bodies feeling it was 2 a.m. with no sleep. Still, the logistics were easy and the train got us directly to Victoria Station, near our hotel.