Gatwick airport

What time of the year? Gatwick is a busy airport albeit not as busy as Heathrow. Peak periods can often bring huge queues for check in and bag drop and I have friends who nearly missed their flight as a result. If you have carry-on luggage and can check in online then that will be an advantage but I would still arrive at least two hours prior to departure as per the recommendation by the airlines.

I fly from Gatwick regularly- when I have checked in online and already have my boarding pass, and don't have a checked bag, (so can go straight to security), I arrive at least 90 mins before the flight. If you need to check a bag I would definitely arrive at least two hours before. In general I find their security to be faster/better organised than Heathrow.

We'll be at Gatwick on Sunday, February 23rd for our flight to Spain. Thinking that just to be completely safe, we'll arrive 3 hours before the flight. Since we're staying in Central London I plan on using the Gatwick Express.

If you want to use the Gatwick Express buy your ticket on their own website (not any other site or at the station) and you save 10%, paying £20.50.

If you take a marginally slower Southern Railway train (also from Victoria), and pay by Oyster Card or a Contactless method you pay £10.10.

by a "marginally slower" Southern train from Victoria, the difference is usually 3 minutes, because the train stops once midway at East Croydon.

That double price is expensive to skip one three minute station stop. Same tracks, same stations. Same company under the skin.

Thanks for the advice. I'd rather spend less money and add a few minutes to the trip!

Depending on your starting point in London, a Thameslink train to Gatwick might be a better.

Hmmm...our hotel is very close to the South Kensington station. Easy to take the tube to Victoria.

So Ken is so easy to Victoria

It wouldn't make much sense from South Kensington to stay on the same tube train for longer to Blackfriars to change onto the half hourly Thameslink train when Victoria is closer and has more frequent service.
Thameslink takes 35 minutes if you catch the half hourly fast train. Other trains take longer, as long as 57 minutes in some cases.
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We took the train from Victoria Station one April in 2023. We purchased our tickets at the station.
Just be aware that you go through a separate gate and there are 2 tracks. Not much signage. We figured either side was okay but it wasn’t. We almost got on the wrong train. Thank goodness we asked first.
Also, we sat in first class because that was the car that stopped in front of us. When the conductor came by we just paid for the upgrade, £11 pp at the time. We were too comfortable to move.