Hello - please help me figure out how to spend a few hours in London. I will arrive at Gatwick at 11 pm and leave from Heathrow the next day at 11 am. I have never been to London and would like to "see" it for a bit. I have not booked a hotel or hostel yet.
I might just walk around with my 22" rollaway for a few hours and then take a train to a Heathrow hotel.
Sorry, Dave, I don't think you can do it.
Gatwick is about 25 miles south of central London. Heathrow is about 20 miles to the west.
By the time you get from Gatwick into a central London hotel, it will be about 1 a.m. You will need to be at Heathrow around 8 a.m. for an 11 a.m. flight. (It's the busiest airport in Europe and one of the very busiest in the world. And, IMHO, a complete mess.) Allow at least an hour transit time to or from either airport.
Even if you don't sleep, you'll be walking around (subways are down at that hour) a closed London in the dark.
Resign yourself to your fate. Book a Heathrow hotel, go there from Gatwick, and get some sleep.
You arrive at Gatwick at 11..by the time you clear immigration and customs, and get the train into London it will be nearly 1 AM......most things will be closed. And you don't want to be walking around central London in the middle of the night with a suticase. You need to be at Heathrow no later than 8 AM.....it takes about an hour to get to Heathrow from Central London. You'd have to leave London at 6:30 AM or so.
My suggestion would be to forget going into London. My thought is to do one of the following:
Book a room at the Gatwick Yotel (it's located right in GAtwick airport and rents by the hour.) and the following morning take a National Express coach to Heathrow (it takes 75 minutes).
Or, catch a late night National Express coach to Heathrow and book a room at the Heathrow Yotel (in Terminal 4.)
Yotel
National Express Coach
Is your flight from Heathrow back to the States or within Europe?
If it is within Europe, then 2 hours at Heathrow is enough if you do online check-in. That would give you until 8am before you would have to depart London. You could stay somewhere in central London (like the Premier Inn County Hall) which is on the Thames near the London Eye. If you got up early, you could take a walk along the Thames.
JC, Frank and Laura - thank you for your help.
Laura: I'm flying from Heathrow to JFK.
Depending on how adventurous you are, you could just spend the night at Heathrow. I did this about a year and a half ago. My flight got in to Stansted at 6:30 pm. I bought a couple of sandwiches and a couple of bottles of Diet Coke and took the National Express bus to Heathrow. (Turns out that buying food at Stansted was a wise move because the shops at Heathrow were closing up as I arrived.) I found a relatively comfy bench amongst a group of other people who were sleeping in the airport, and settled down for the night. There are a surprising number of people who do what I did, and I felt perfectly safe. At the time, the Heathrow Yotel was not yet open, and I'd like to stay there next time, but sleeping in the airport was fine.
At 11 pm most places in London are closed, or closing. If you just want to "see" the sites, you can go to the city centre, but you will need to realize the time schedule for the bus, tube, etc that late will be limited.
Your best bet will be to get to Heathrow, and perhaps just visit Windsor and that surrounding area... and get ready to be at the airport by 7 am.
No way to change your plans,eh??
You can catch a shuttle bus from Gatwick direct to Heathrow without going into London or catch the train from Gatwick to Victoria station and the underground out to Heathrow.Having lived in London for several years, I wouldnt recommend messing about trying to sightsee at night... just head out to Heathrow.
Why not rent a car at Gatwick and drop it at Heathrow? That way you could drive into central London and give yourself "the tour"! The traffic is certainly not that bad at night. Also - you have somewhere safe for your luggage, and you could grab a couple of hours sleep as well!!
Roger Bruton
The only problem with driving in London is that in certain areas you need a special permit to drive in and if you don't have it, you could get fined. And it's a hefty fine. (Congestion Charge).
Do you really want to start driving on unfamiliar roads, at night (when you will probably be tired), on the other side of the road, with the steering wheel on the other side of the car?
Unfortunately, there are no trains between London and Heathrow between midnight and 5 AM. I checked the tube, Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect. The only public transport would the Night Bus.(It takes forever and you have to make a few changes). A cab from London to Heathrow would cost about 50-60 GBP.
My suggestion would be to put London at the top of your list for your next trip.
The congestion charge does NOT apply at that time of night. You do NOT have to worry about that at all!!
A night in a hotel is probably going to cost you as much as a rental car.
Realistically, I think your choices are ...
1. boring coach ride and airport lounges
2. comfy car, sightseeing, memorable little adventure!
Go for it!! Live a little!! :-)
Roger
Seven hours at the Yotel at either Heathrow or Gatwick will cost 58 GBP. The coach between Gatwick and Heathrow is 19.50 GBP.
The cheapest rental car I could find to pick up at Gatwick and return to Heathrow is a tiny car for approximately 76 GBP (stick shift) or 106 GBP (automatic) plus insurance plus gas.
Your choice.
The other choice is to take a train into London (Victoria Station). Normally I'd suggest storing your luggage there but they close at midnight and there is no way you'd make it there by midnight. Find a hostel or cheap hotel. Grab a cab and ask the driver to drive by a few major sights enroute to your hotel. (By that hour, the tube and the normal buses will have stopped running. There is a night bus service but it is limited.) Get a few hours sleep and then take the tube to Heathrow the next morning. Or if you find a place to stay near Paddington station you could take the Heathrow Connect to save about a half hour--but it will cost a little more.
Remember, at that hour, the city, the pubs, just about everything will be closed.
If you are flying back to States, you really should allow 3 hours at Heathrow. I usually push it to about 2.5 in advance using the automated check-in... but must warn that I am very familiar with London and Heathrow ... not sure that I'd suggest this to a first-time traveler to London.
I am not clear, does your flight from LHR leave at 10am or 11am?
If it is at 11am, then I would suggest the following.
Take train at night from LGW to Victoria.
Take taxi to hotel. You could ask driver to take you by some of the sights.
Early morning (6am) take a walk along the Thames near London Eye, Parliament. You can see St Pauls, Tower Bridge, other London landmarks from the walk along the river. Nothing will be open.
Depart at 7am for Heathrow (1 hour to Heathrow). Could just take tube.
If your flight to States is at 10am, then probably not worth it.
Hi Everyone. Thank you SO MUCH for your advice. I'm probably going to skip London and take a bus from Gatwick to Heathrow and sleep in the Yotel. I really appreciate everyone's help. I'm sure many other people will now have some great ideas on how to spend eight hours in London.
@Laura - My flight leaves Heathrow at 10 am.
Frank -- If you had been advising at NASA in July 1969 ......
I took your research as a challenge. "AUTO EUROPE" just quoted me 41 pounds (plus optional insurance and fuel).
Dave -- you will remember my "dare" when you're sitting on that coach!! :-) Have a good trip anyway!
Roger
Had I been working at NASA in 1969 I would have looked forward to the landing on the moon--well planned out, ready to go, made sense. (Always loved aviation and aerospace and would later get my pilots license.)
I went to Auto Europe and could not find a 41 pound rental rate. But since we don't know the dates Dave is traveling, it's irrelevant.
Roger, if you like driving around cities in the middle of the night, more power to you. I'd prefer making a trip during a time I can spend time there and really see it. It's not about risk taking or being adventurous--it's about getting the most out of that adventure.
And to use your insult as an example. If Dave followed your advice and rented a car, it would be like all he did was "circle the moon." Planning his next trip to include London would be like "landing on the moon." Perhaps you feel circling is better than nothing. I'd prefer to return and land on it.
I doubt this will be Dave's last trip to Europe. As Rick Steves, and most of us here say, "Plan to go back."
Frank -- Apollo 11 was one of the most "seat of the pants" journeys ever taken! It's a miracle Armstrong ever landed that thing, and a tribute to his skill and daring. There is more computer power next to my left foot than they used to control that flight.
Don't be so serious -- it wasn't an insult, just a "nudge" -- I'll buy you a beer, next time we meet!!
Driving around London at night is one of the best times to see it. Believe it or not, back in the 70's I drove a cab there for a while, so I know it quite well, even now.
Sometimes you have to take a chance. That's often when the most fun happens.
Roger
I actually had to laugh when you insinuated that I don't take chances. If you only knew.....
But, I'm not going to argue with you anymore...I have to get to the grocery store. So, I better go check my maps, check the traffic reports, check my shopping list, make sure my tires are at the proper pressure, check my oil, make sure I have enough gas, check the weather...after all, I don't want to take any chances.
I realized I arrive in London at 9 pm, not 11 pm. I misread 20:55 as 10:55. I don't think this changes my options. I would opt for the driving idea if I could drive along a picturesque route, such as a coastline. Since I wouldn't arrive into London until 11 pm, when most stores and pubs close, I think I'll either stay at a nice B&B by Gatwick, to experience some English charm and the countryside, or opt for the Heathrow Yotel idea.
Thanks again for everyone's advice.
I have another question, and I don't think I have any options, but I just thought I'd ask. I'm flying out of Iceland and into Gatwick (don't ask why I'm going to Iceland). My Iceland flight departs at 5 pm Sunday and, as you know, I'm leaving Heathrow the next day at 10 am. My big regret is that I did not plan to spend more time in Iceland; I'll be there three full days, plus 1/2 days on either end.
To change my itinerary would require paying a $50 Iceland Express fee and likely a $250 Delta fee (the London flight home). I don't want to spend $300 for one more day in Iceland. In case it matters, my ultimate destination is JFK, then Washington.
I'm not sure what question you are asking...is it how to extend your time in Iceland without paying a penalty?
If so, there is a possible way but you'd have to take a CHANCE....sometimes, after you have taken your outgoing flight, and you want to change your return, the airline might do it. This means contacting Delta AFTER you arrive in Europe. I'm not saying they're going to do it....but they might.
I think someone posted a walking tour of London at around 18:00 NY Time, but it appears to have been removed. Can someone repost the helpful guide?
