Seattle to London - Icelandair

I would always choose Heathrow over Gatwick. Heathrow is much closer to London and has multiple options for transport - HEx, Elizabeth line, Piccadilly line. Gatwick has the Gatwick Express and normal trains on the same lines, I think, so if there were problems with the trains, you’d have to take a much more expensive taxi in to London. Even in the unlikely event that all public transport out of Heathrow failed, taking a Taxi in would be pricey but less than from Gatwick.

Whichever is the cheapest flight.

On our trip to London this spring, with a side trip to Sardinia, we wound up flying into both airports. The HEx (Heathrow Express) offers early bird online fares for £15 per person each way, and the GX (Gatwick Express) offers a 10% discount if you buy tickets Online, so starting at £21. If you’re planning on doing more train travel on your trip, consider getting a Two Together rail pass, and you can cut those prices further.

The HEx gets into central london at Paddington Station, northwest corner of town, in about a half hour. The GX arrives at Victoria Station, southwest, and closer to Trafalgar Square, but in about an hour. If those locations make a difference, Gatwick would seem better.

If time is important, a few minutes either way, on our last flights, we had a shorter walk at Gatwick to reach immigration/border control than at Heathrow, but I don’t know where at either airport your Icelandair flights will dock, compared to our flights. Heathrow was also a LOT busier this time, with a bigger crowd to get through. So that all could affect overall commute times.

Are the schedules really the same - two flights departing Reykjavik for different airports in London at the same time? When do the Heathrow and Gatwick flights land, and with the commute factors, will that make a difference in your hotel check-in and sightseeing schedules? That might be the biggest determinant. Also, does either flight actually involve a longer layover in Reykjavik?

So everything else being equal, with Heathrow being closer to London, and with a little cheaper and quicker early bird commute price, Heathrow would be preferable. If arriving at Victoria Station in London via the Gatwick Express is better in the end, go with Gatwick. In the end, it might not be a big deal either way.

Trains from Gatwick don’t go just to Victoria. There is another route via London Bridge, Farringdon and St Pancras.

From LHR the Elizabeth Line is a better option than the HEX especially if you want to go somewhere other than Paddington and don’t want to use the Tube.

Heathrow. LAX to LHR overnight flight via Virgin Atlantic.

Heathrow is well signed and over decades of London travel I know what to suspect, how immigration works and where to get a cup of coffee after landing.

I’m used staying in the Paddington neighborhood so easy ride via the Elizabeth Line. For decades paid for the HEX booking at least 90 days out…

I’m not sure the advice about the 2 together Railcard working for the Heathrow Express upthread was correct. I encourage you to double check this before counting on it.

Why don't we look at where your hotel is located and figure the best way to get there....not what other people do to get to their hotels.

The Citadines Trafalgar Square is a four minute walk to the Embankment tube station.

Your easy options are this....

Heathrow....take the Piccadilly line to Hammersmith, walk across the platform (less than 20 feet) and get the District line to Embankment.

Gatwick...take the Gatwick Express or a Southern train to Victoria Station. From there get a District Line train to Embankment.

The fare from Heathrow will be cheaper and probably a little faster. Also less walking for the transfer as at Victoria you have to walk over to the tube station and enter paying a separate fare.

Taking the Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth Line will just be adding more connections, higher price, and saving of little time if any.

Icelandair uses Terminal 2 at Heathrow. The tube station is just a few minute walk, underground, from the terminal. Very easy.

So, flip a coin.

All National Railcards (including Two Together) are accepted on Heathrow Express in their normal validity period off peak- just checked it by a dummy booking on their website

I believe our Two Together pass cost £30. The savings on the Heathrow Express roundtrip tickets practically paid for the pass, right there. We had additional rail journeys over our trip, and that pass more than paid for itself.

For a couple who don’t mind not traveling during morning rush hour, when the pass isn’t accepted, the Two Together is a phenomenal deal.

The Underground fare from Heathrow to the center of London is 5.60 GBP each.

Taking the Heathrow Express discounted is 15 GBP. Then you sitll have to pay for the tube to your hotel which is 2.80 GBP. (2.70 off peak.)

So that's a total of 17.80 GBP versus 5.60 GBP and there is a lot more walking with your luggage with the Heathrow Express. (Both at Heathrow as the entrance to the Heathrow Express/Elizabeth line is further from T2 than the Underground, and you have a bit of a walk from the Heathrow Express tracks to the Underground at Paddington.)

And that's per person.

Even the Elizabeth line is a better deal than the Heathrow Express.

Your choice.

If money is no problem, then look into a private car transfer. Heathrow is closer. Or you could take the train to Paddington from Heathrow or the train from Gatwick to Victoria and a cab from there.

You could also take the National Express bus from Heathrow to the Victoria Coach station and then a cab from there.

You have a lot of options.

Thank you all for taking the time to answer. We will study the options given here. Guess I need a new transportation map for London, as the one I have from a RS book is probably before the Elizabeth line.