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Heathrow or Gatwick?

Posted by (North Carolina mountains) on

My husband and I are planning on flying from Orlando to London in early September on Icelandair. They currently have a one-way fare for $375. We'll be flying back on another airlines from Paris with friends who will not be adding London to their itinerary. It's our first time in London, so I'm not sure which airport we should fly in to. Icelandair has flights in to both airports.

Once we get to London, our plan is to head to a town/village in the Cotswolds for the first four nights of our trip, before we head back to tour London for another 3-4 nights.

So, I guess my question is - which airport will make it more convenient to take a train or bus to a good base town in the Cotswolds?

Thanks for your help

Posted by
7548 posts

Geographically, Heathrow works much better since it is essentially between London and the Cotswolds, Gatwick is well south of London.

Without a car, the bus will likely play a part in your trip, if only to get to a train station. Look into the National Express website, you should be able to plan your journey there.

Posted by
8667 posts

Heathrow is a major transportation hub for Europe. Huge, crowded and more convenient to the Cotswold villages. Are you renting a car? Transport to the Cotswolds is best done by car. About an hour and a half from Heathrow depending on traffic, route and your ability to adjust to driving on the opposite of the road. Can be daunting. Otherwise consider taking a bus to Oxford. An hour ride, pick up you car rental there and proceed to which ever village you've chosen to stay in. I'm certain that others will chime in with other options and opinions about transport to the Cotswolds from Heathrow.

Posted by
16893 posts

Most trains from Gatwick Airport to Moreton-in-Marsh go via London and require a connection from Victoria station to Paddington station by taxi or Tube. Travel from Heathrow to London by Heathrow Express avoids this issue, since it serves Paddington station and you connect within that station. That reduces driving in a new country while jet-lagged. In Moreton-in-Marsh, you can arrange to meet up with Steve from Value Self Drive (stevebradleycars@aol.com), whose car rental office is located a few miles away (see also the intro to Rick's Cotswolds chapter).

Posted by
420 posts

I'd go to Heathrow and take a National Express coach from the central bus station there (it's well sign-posted) and if hiring a car, do it at one of the towns the coach takes you to. That will be much easier than coping with the traffic snarl around Heathrow driving on the left in an unfamiliar car. But you can easily get around the Cotswolds by local buses. This website will give you all the links you need.

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