I presume it is the easiest thing to take the train from Gatwick or is there a better way?
Also we leave initially from Gatwick very early in the morning, are staying very close to Victoria Stn so how long will it take to get there and which train do we get on so we catch the 6.40am plane.
Am dreading the early start as i'm not a morning person!
Gatwick to York - take the Thameslink train to London St Pancras then walk to the adjacent station, Kings Cross and get a direct train to York. c 3.5 hours total travel time. Quicker than driving. depending on where you are coming in from, it maybe easier to fly into Manchester airport or Leeds/Bradford, which are closer. You can book cheap tickets 11 weeks out, but these are non-changeable and if your flight is late, you will have to buy new tickets.
To catch a 6.40 plane, you will need to be at Gatwick at 4.40 or 3.40 if flying to the States. I wouldn't leave it any later than a 5am arrival. Trains from Victoria take c 50 minutes and leave on the hour at that time of day, so be safe, you would need to catch the 3am train, arriving at c3.50 (this varies slightly depending on the day of travel). An hour earlier if going to the States.
From Gatwick buy a walk up ticket and take a train to St Pancras. At St Pancras walk one minute across the road to Kings Cross. Trains to York leave from Kings Cross.
Book the London Kings Cross to York train in advance unless you’re happy to pay crazy walk up fares.
https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/
If you’re outbound flight leaves at 06:40 then best stay at Gatwick the night before. Plenty of trains from Victoria to Gatwick.
I would be cautious about flying to Leeds/Bradford airport. I'm not sure there are any flights from Gatwick anyway. LBA has poor links to anywhere and you have to take a taxi or convoluted bus ride into Leeds to catch the train to York anyway, so you might as well go by rail all the way. I'm prepared to bet rail will be quicker in the long run.
We live about five miles from LBA, it's our local airport but we get there by taxi. Alternatives are press gang family member to take us there (and there's no free drop off/pick up zone), convoluted bus trip, or walk! Local authority looking at improving links but seem obsessed with road building rather than improving public transport links - it needs a railway station, but only proposal builds station a mile distant and uses shuttle buses to get there. All this is also years and years away!
I'd stick with the train and I hope you have a grand time in York!
Ian
I had no idea we'd have to leave so early. We're flying to Italy so long haul flights have to be there 1 hr beforehand according to their site. But if the train only goes on the hour and takes almost an hour, it will be even earlier than I thought that we have to be up.
Staying at Garwuck the night before sounds like a good idea, Ai dud gave my accommodation booked in London but may be able to change the last night as it will mean a later start and a lot less stress!
Thanks for the details from Gatwick to York. I take it you don't book all the way from the airport, just get to St Pancreas Stn first and have your seat booked from there.
Thanks for your answers everyone, really aporeciate the help, feeling very stressed here in NZ about all the connection and changes we're having to make everywhere it seems on our overseas trip.
In theory, you can arrive with 60 minutes to your flight, but Gatwick always takes ages to get through and that is one of the busiest times of day at the airport, so I would never arrive with less than 1.5 hours to spare. They will start boarding the flight 30-40 minutes before departure.
Tthanks very much for your replies.
There's no way I can be up at 3 o'clock or so, so I think we'll stay at the airport the night before and see if we can maybe check in the night before, as well. less stressful once we're actually there and not such an early start needed.
"....We're flying to Italy so long haul flights have to be there 1 hr beforehand according to their site...."
Are you saying you're flying from Gatwick to Italy? If so, that isn't long haul it's short haul so you really only need to be there an hour before. However, as has been pointed out previously, that time of day is very busy with many package holiday flights so I would aim to be there two hours in advance. You'll be tired but less stressed!
Oh and stay at the airport the night before, far less stressful than trying to get from London.
I've pretty much given up on early morning flights, particularly when it comes to holidays. They're supposed to be relaxing so if I can get an afternoon flight I'll take it, get to the airport with plenty of time to spare and relax in the lounge. It may be more expensive but it's worth it to avoid all the stress.
Thanks everyone. The night before we fly out from Gatwick, we're going to stay at the airport.
When we return, we're going to get a ticket to Kings Cross where we're going to book a ticket soon for the train, leaving 3 and half hours after we land, for York. Hopefully that's enough time to get through the airport and take the train to Kings Cross. Just need everything to fall into place now, more stress, so I see why you wouldn't book early morning flights. Can't believe how dear the train prices are at the times we need them and how quickly they go up!
There are several things I would have done differently if I'd known all about the train situation! Flying to Gatwick is one of them!
