Gatwick to London

People on this forum have tested the Heathrow ATMs and found them NOT to have an unusual exchange rate. But if you're offered Dynamic Currency Conversion, then do refuse that. You should only see your withdrawal amount in pounds, not dollars.

Gatwick Express tickets are 10% cheaper online.

I had heard that the Travelex ATM's where not good to use on this forum. Hadn't read anything about other ATM machines at Heathrow. Last time I was in London I didn't use any ATM's at the airport.

This post from Larry is the one I indicated above.

If you are also leaving London from Gatwick, your return tickets on the Gatwick Express will qualify you for the Days Out 2-4-1 offers during your stay.

https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/travel-by-train/is-my-ticket-valid-for-2for1

Depending on where you are staying the Thameslink trains may be more convenient. As you haven't said where you are staying can't be more precise.

We are staying in Notting Hill, near the Paddington train station.

Depending on where you are staying the Thameslink trains may be more convenient. As you haven't said where you are staying can't be more precise.

This is almost always true, and cheaper, but the Gatwick Express must do some amazing marketing as it is always suggested.

Consider changing your hotel to accommodate the Thameslink trains from Gatwick, there are many hotels within walking distance of the Thameslinks stations (many right in central London: London Bridge, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon, St Pancras all work well) and these are pretty much all more strategically located than Paddington area. Getting to your current hotel requires both a train and then transfer to the tube, so buying train tickets and oyster cards right off the bat. And transferring from the Gatwick Express to the tube at Victoria after an overnight flight is kind of ridiculously unpleasant thing to do deliberately.

If you do buy the Thameslinks tickets, you may buy a group ticket (for up to 5) online for the same price as at the station, then just print them out using your same credit card + PNR number code at a kiosk when you arrive.

Found this post helpful, I'll be heading to London from Gatwick in October (27th). My hotel is Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington, looks like High Street is the closest stop. Would you all suggest the express over the Thameslink?

Cheers!

Raymond - As Tom mentioned, checkout the Thames Link website(www.thameslinkrailway.com) for group deals. If you're a group of three to nine adults, travelling together Off-Peak, you can save 34% on the price of individual tickets.

dantbarnes:

Taking the Southern trains to Victoria (express or not, up to you) makes the most sense trying to get to Kensington High Street, however staying east of Kensington makes even more sense (to me anyway).

My prior post has been linked above, but I see some are not looking at it. So I will repeat:

I did a test at a Travelex ATM at Heathrow - and my account was charged exactly what it would have been elsewhere, in other words, the US$ were equal to the GBP times the exchange rate, plus .4 of 1 percent. It also did not try to do a DCC. There is no reason to think that a Travelex ATM would behave differently based on location, but if you are at the airport and see nothing but Travelex ATMs it would stand to reason that they should be okay to get cash from without any "vulture" fees.

Tom_MN.

The hotel was part of a package I got, so I've not got an option there but looks to be a reasonable location based on Google maps. Thanks for your help!

Abbreviating names in London is often eventually non productive. There is a reason that stations, streets, roads and towns have unique names, because there is so much duplication and similarity.

There is no High Street station, it is Kensington High Street.

I can work out what you mean but a stranger on the street may very well be fogged.

So getting it right will pay dividends and save you time and embarrassment.

To add to Nigel's post, a "high street" in Brit-speak is the main shopping street - of ANY town or city. So, there's a gazillion High Streets in the UK.

"Abbreviating names in London is often eventually non productive."

Absolutely, I think a lot of us here have heard about the American family that took the train to Liverpool instead of Liverpool Street Station.

Very helpful to know, thank you! This will be only my 2nd trip to Europe, and first to the UK. I really appreciate your insight. Just getting started on research.

Unless you are revisiting London on a short stay and spending time in Kensington seeing the V and A Museum and nearby attractions, a first visit to London and staying in Kensington means a fair amount of seat time on the tube and time spent finding the often hidden tube stations, which can be frustrating when you want to be spending your time doing other things.

I recall once looking for the French Embassy on Kensington High Street, and asking someone, "Where is High Street?" and getting a puzzled look. As it was my first exposure to the name I thought it was unique. I've since figured out that asking for High Street in the UK can be interpreted as asking for the location of the nearest shopping street.