I am spending one night in London on Sept. 24th. We arrive in Heathrow on Wednesday morning, spend the night a Bakers Hotel in Victoria Station area, then fly out of Gatwick very early on Thursday morning.
My question is: Do i need to make any reservations or plans IN ADVANCE to get from Heathrow to Victoria Station or do I just get on a bus when I arrive. I was given www.nationalexpress.com to show bus times.
Also, we plan to go from Victoria Station to Gatwick. Hope to get to Gatwick before 6am. I am told that trains start at 5am, so it seems this should give us enough time. Do I need to buy tickets in advance for this trip or just hop on a train?
Thanks!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You do NOT need to make advance reservations for any of your routes.
Besides taking a National Express coach from LHR to Victoria Coach Station (£4), you could buy an Oyster card at LHR and take the Tube to Victoria Train Station. Load the card with about £10 and it will cover your trip from the airport to London and any Tube or bus trips you take the rest of the day in central London. Take the Piccadilly line from LHR to Hammersmith, walk a few feet to the other side of the platform, and take the District line to Victoria. At the end of the day you can get your £3 deposit back plus any unspent money that is left on the card.
If you take the Southern train that leaves Victoria at 05:02, you'll arrive at Gatwick at 05:49. The fare is a lot cheaper than the Gatwick Express. The GEX runs every 15 minutes and the trip takes 30 minutes.
Posted by
London, UK
286 posts
Hi Anya,
If you are a good walker, I'd skip the Oyster Card suggestion and do as you have planned. From Victoria, central London is very walkable if you want to see a few sights like Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar, Horse Guards, Westminster, Thames, London Eye, South Bank...
Take the National Express coach to Victoria Coach Station. Check into your hotel. If you walk back to Victoria Rail Station you can use the machines or stand in line to get your ticket for the next day but you don't have to. It is better to get a ticket from the station rather than on the train.
It will be a peak day ticket. I think the fare is £10.90 for a single and you may qualify for a group save if there are more than two of you.
You have two choices that time in the morning... either the Southern service or or Gatwick Express which is £6 more expensive. I usually take the Southern service.
Happy travels!