Airport choice in London

Better is generally cheaper for me, after that arrival time. It will probably cost a bit more to get into the city from Gatwick and take a tad more time - - neither is a deal-breaker. Gatwick is a bit easier airport to work, but both are well-signed.

If you're packing light and can handle taking the Tube from Heathrow to the station closest to your hotel, that will be cheaper than taking a train from Gatwick to London plus the Tube from the train station to your hotel. Heathrow is closer to London than Gatwick. If you take either a private car service or a taxi from the airport, doing so from Heathrow will cost less. And a car service will cost less than a taxi.

Only a small minority of transatlantic flights use Gatwick, the bulk of flights use Heathrow. But when given the choice I always go with Gatwick; it's smaller and more manageable. Even though it's further away from central London, IMO Gatwick's compactness actually makes the journey time into the city more or less the same, as you don't have walk as far to get to the airport train station.

I am firmly in the 'avoid Heathrow at any cost' camp....any terminal - although T5 is the most painless. However, it is not always possible as more long haul flights fly into LHR than LGW. I would go with cost and time of departure and arrival over other considerations, as well as the fact that LHR is closer to London and has more travel options into central London.

"...LHR is closer to London and has more travel options into central London.." Gatwick has just as many ways go get into London. While it doesn't have a tube connection like Heathrow, there are commuter trains which Heathrow lacks. Of course both airports have airport express trains.

Susan, If you are flying from Boston I think the only choice you will have for nonstop flights is to fly to Heathrow. In my opinion, getting a good flight route (e.g. nonstop) is far more important than Gatwick vs Heathrow. A direct flight from Boston to Heathrow would be better than a connecting flight from Boston to Gatwick. While there seem to be a lot of people who hate Heathrow, I find it no worse than any major airport. Yes it is big and busy and crowded, but it is also well-signed with convenient transportation into the city. I've probably flown through Heathrow at least 50 times and I can't recall any major incident for me. I've had far worse experiences at other airports.

Given the choice, I prefer Heathrow. Both the Heathrow Express and the Gatwick Express are very expensive, but at Heathrow you have the option of taking the tube, which starts the line there so you'll always get a seat. Yes, there are non-express trains that depart from Gatwick, but these are often full - I was on one just yesterday, and it had come from the south coast and so was already full up when it arrived at Gatwick airport station. Only a couple of people got off, so almost everyone who got on there had to stand.

Heathrow. Direct non stop flight from Boston. Yes it's a large airport, it's a major hub. Very modern. Been through it at least a dozen times. Never a problem. Part of my regime for London is coughing up the bucks (actually using my cc in the ticket machines) and taking the Heathrow Express train into London 15 minutes from Heathrow to Paddington Station, then a tube ride to where ever I'm staying. It's London. Always happy to be there, can't wait to check in and go out on the town.