Long distance taxi from Gatwick to Salisbury?

On the National Rail website I can see fares for 4 people (with the purchase of a Friends and Family Card £30) for a range of prices in June, from £66 to £154 for the four of you. Some routes have 1 change and some have 2 changes. They take about 2 hours. What kind of Taxi prices are you looking at?

Thank you for your reply. The rail service to travel any time of day (which I think is what I'd want in case the flight is delayed?) is $154 right now and requires a change at Clapham Junction. The taxi price for 4 people and luggage is a flat $110 (Castle Cabs). Even with a tip for the driver, it looks like I'd save $ using the taxi service. I'd just never considered using a taxi for this travel distance, but if there is not a hidden problem I'm not seeing, it looks like a good choice.

Is your taxi price of 110 dollars or pounds? It does seem to be competitive with train fares for 4 people so this might be a good solution for you after a long flight. Hopefully they monitor your flight and adjust your pick up time if your arrival is late.

I'm using this taxi to take 3 of us from Gatwick to Salisbury and have also booked him to go to our early morning Stonehenge visit. He's been very good about getting back to me and communicating with me. The cost looks to be slightly less than the train, and the train doesn't leave directly from Gatwick, so there'd be transportation to the train station added to that (both in terms of time and money).

http://www.stustaxi.co.uk

BB, I will definitely contact your suggestion. It does look like taxis are a viable choice when traveling with a family.

BB, By the way, the train does leave directly from Gatwick airport. The station is part of the "South terminal".

But, with the prices Chris quotes, the taxi would be better.

Chris, Please don't confuse $ and £. Did a British taxi really quote a fare in $, and if so which sort (Canadian, Australian, ...)? I doubt it.

No, you were correct. I looked again and all quotes were in pounds. My mistake -- Still easy enough to compare, but I don't want to confuse anyone.

My mistake. We are actually travelling from Heathrow. (Our other flights arrive/depart from Gatwick, which is why I was confused.) No matter for us, anyway, as we've already decided to go by taxi (and, yes, he will monitor our flight and meet us with a sign, but asks that we call him when we have our baggage).

But my research said one has to transfer at Clapman Junction in London from Gatwick:
http://www.rome2rio.com/s/London-Gatwick-Airport-LGW/Salisbury-England

I find it really confusing when there are two simultaneous conversations in one question.

What day of the week?

No need for Anytime fares - they are the most expensive. You will be going off peak so take off peak fares.

Older teens? What does that mean? Both over 16 means both will be treated as adults and a Family Railcard is not valid. One or both under 16, you can use a Family Railcard (available at a National Rail station for £30) as long as at least one adult and one child are traveling together. Also - any children between 5 and under 16 go for half price, or a Groupsave 4 ticket may be better.

Don't take the Rome2Rio prices and routings as gospel. They aren't, and while they are a good initial guide you need to go to the source.

Use National Rail Enquiries at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and play around with it.

£101.60 for 4 adults Off Peak (take any trains on the appointed routes) Paddington (plus Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect) to Salisbury, change Reading and Basingstoke. £95.45 2 adults, 2 kids. 1 hour 44 minutes from Paddington.

Or (preferred) take the RailAir bus from Heathrow to Reading since you change there anyway, and then it is only £41.90 plus the coach for 2 adults 2 kids or £44.60 for 4 adults RDG to Salisbury in 1:13 from Reading. 7 minutes past each hour, change in Basingstoke. Use the magic words "Groupsave" when buying.

I bet a taxi isn't that cheap. And I haven't even played around with splitting the ticket price at Basingstoke.

As Nigel said, the ages of the teenagers makes a difference for all rail tickets and passes. How will you continue from Salisbury? By train or rental car?

Just have to say that Stu was absolutely terrific. We used him for our airport pickup, our ride to and from Stonehenge early in the morning, and our trip back to Salisbury to catch the train. He is very honest ( tried to charge us 20 pounds less for dropping us in Salisbury, instead of Amesbury, (so we could see the cathedral before going on to Amesbury), even though he had offered to take our luggage on to Amesbury and drop it off for us! (We insisted on paying him the full fare.). He picked us up 4 times, and was punctual and reliable each time. We felt like we had our own personal driver. I can't recommend him highly enough.

Just wanted to update to let everyone know that we recently returned from our 30 day Europe trip, and my plan to hire a taxi out of Gatwick was our only big error. The website I'd used, and the phone number I called, http://www.castle-cabs.co.uk/salisbury-airport-transfers/, appears to be a scam. I had good communication (email and by phone) right up until the day before we planned to arrive. I called to confirm but it only went to voicemail. Hours before boarding the plane, emails weren't returned. Even now -- more than a month later -- nothing. My partial payment deposit is all we were out, but it was a lesson learned. We arrived tired, and as we were heading to the train to figure out a new plan, my husband just decided to save the frustration and called for an Uber. We Uber-ed our way from Gatwick to Salisbury for about £117. Not cheap -- but for four people not as bad as I expected.

Doing it again, would I plan a train? I don't know. Our trip was a mix of trains/car rental/metro/uber, and I liked them in different places for different things. In contrast, our only train travel in England was a train from Chesterfield (near the Peak District) into London. It should have been a 2 hour travel time, but flooding in London's stations stranded us about an hour outside of London for four hours . . . turning our 2 hour trip into a 6 hour trip and not reaching our destination until after midnight. We just ended up taking an attitude that however you decide to travel becomes part of the trip -- good or bad. Overall, we spent 30 wonderful days in England/Europe, and that first day was really the only time I felt like I'd really made a bad decision by trying to arrange a taxi pickup. It looks like someone else found a reputable service, so that might be a great way to go, too.

Thanks for the update, Chris. I'm sorry the first day was difficult. It didn't hold you back from a great holiday did it?

Castle Cabs is based in Christchurch (near Bournemouth) - although they say they cover Salisbury a local firm (or even one based in the Gatwick area) might have been a better bet. Direct complaints to Bournemouth Borough Council who licences them. Webform here: http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Business/Licensing/TaxiLicensing/TaxisAndPrivateHireVehicles.aspx

Chris, have you checked your spam folder?

I saw you had mentioned that company in your first follow-up on this thread, apparently attracted by the price. How did you come across them?

I found them originally just using a web search, and I did indeed check my spam folder. We have international phones, so when multiple emails, phone calls, and texts during the 24 hours before and when they should have honored our reservation received no reply AND when there was no cab at Gatwick to pick us up (despite announcements made in the taxi pickup area), I have to assume the business is either a scam or simply has the worst level of customer service.

Once it was behind us, though, we had a fantastic vacation. I just thought folks might like to know our experience.

Once it was behind us, though, we had a fantastic vacation

Now that's a great thing to hear.