Getting From Gatwick Into London (Waterloo)

[artnbarb]

I've played around with several scenarios, and the one I think works best is for us to fly out of Rome and into London Gatwick. We can turn in our rental car at FCO then catch our flight. I'm not a fan of Ryan Air at all but would consider them or EasyJet, if the logistics worked, but they just don't, and then there's the luggage issue - we'll be traveling as light as we can but will still need to check one bag each.

British Air looks like our best option, but their flights are limited. One leaves around 1 in the afternoon and the other not until 8:30 at night. I'm not sure if we'll have to clear customs, but we will need to wait for our luggage, then we'll have an hours journey into London. For this reason, and knowing whatever can go wrong will go wrong, I'm just not comfortable arriving at night - I don't want to arrive at our (Air BnB) apartment at midnight and still have to settle in!

So - if we arrive in the afternoon we can either takes the ThamesLink train to London Bridge station, then taxi to Waterloo - unless they're connected? OR we could take the MUCH cheaper EasyBus, but then we face traffic delays - and I have no way to gauge these trade-offs! EasyBus uses small minibuses, not the long distance coaches, so not as comfortable, but for an hour, and to save a lot of money, I wouldn't mind, especially during the day.

Our host will be working, so my plan is to stash the luggage at Waterloo station, which is very close to 'our' apartment, spend the afternoon (probably no more than a few hours) wandering the area, walking along the Thames, then retrieve our luggage and 'check-in' once our host arrives home.

Does anyone have any feedback regarding the train versus EasyBus for getting from Gatwick into London?

 

[jonathan]

I've never done the journey, so can't give any genuine feedback. But if you do go for the rail option, you can save money by missing out the taxi stage.

Get off the Gatwick train at London Bridge, wait (at the same platform, I believe) for the next train to Charing Cross (very frequent) and take it, just one stop, to Waterloo East. This is a separate station from the big Waterloo - but is joined to it by a level walkway - only about 5 minutes walking.

 

[Pauline]

BA has more Rome flights into Heathrow. I know from Rome they have several flights each day. Easyjet uses Gatwick, but BA uses both Gatwick and Heathrow. Do your search using "All Airports for London". Also see if you can find a flight into the London City airport. Ann R came in this way from Italy - and then you are in London.

 

[artnbarb]

If we're going to fly during the day I guess we could fly onto Heathrow - when I thought we'd be flying at night I wanted to fly into Gatwick to cut the travel time into London. thanks!

Jonathan, thanks for those directions regarding Waterloo - I wasn't sure what the difference was between Waterloo and Waterloo East.

 

[Panda]

There is major work going on at London Bridge that is messing up transfers to Waterloo East at the moment. A more straightforward journey in my view is to take a Southern Railway train from the airport to Clapham Junction, then change platforms ( there are lifts to take you up to the connecting footbridge if you have much luggage ) for the frequent trains straight into Waterloo Station ( not Waterloo East ) .

It is a total journey of about 45 minutes for about £15.40. To answer your earlier query on timing, you would have to go through passport control ( we are not a Schengen country) then luggage then walk through the customs channel.

 

[Panda]

Or from Heathrow.....you could either get the train ( the Heathrow Connect, rather than the expensive Heathrow Express) to Paddington Station and then the Bakerloo Underground (Tube) to Waterloo or ( my preference) take the Piccadilly Line Tube from the airport and change at Green Park Underground for the Jubilee Line Tube to Waterloo.

 

[Panda]

And again......just taken a look at the easybus site. Cheap tickets, though you would have to hope there were no major hiccups or delays in the flight or getting through immigration and collecting your bags. I see the ticket would be valid within an hour if you missed your booked bus, though subject to availability of space.

The advantage would be direct, no changes. It is a straightforward road route - the main motorway M23 from the airport turning into the main artery A23 road once it hits the outskirts of London. A rather dull, stop / start journey with lots of traffic from there - to be avoided during the peak rush hours, IMO .Depends on how you feel about travelling in a minibus in traffic.

 

[jonathan]

I was hoping that Panda might come in to the discussion - as a current Londoner, she has her finger rather more on the pulse that does an ex-Londoner living out in the sticks...

Barbara, I was intrigued by your choice of Gatwick over Heathrow because of shorter travel time. I suppose that actual public transport times aren't much different, but in terms of actual distance, Heathrow is a good deal closer to Central London - it's on the tube network, for example, as Panda's (and my) preferred Piccadilly Line/Jubilee Line route shows.

 

[Pauline]

Don't forget London City airport. Another option.

 

[artnbarb]

Thanks to everyone for offering several options. I won't make this journey until July, so once I've decided on an airport and time of day I'll check back in for updates.

Panda, thanks for the construction info - that's when knowing a local really pays off! It's also one reason the EasyBus concerns me. OTOH, dragging all our luggage on and off the tube if we arrive at Heathrow is also a concern!

As far as I can tell, BA does not fly into London City, and I'm hoping a check of their website will let me see who does. I don't even know where it's located in relation to the city!

Jonathan, the reason I selected Gatwick (initially) was because I thought it would be an easier (more direct) commute to our destination in London, Belvedere Rd, just behind the London Eye. I thought we'd arrive at night so I was hoping traffic wouldn't be as bad for the EasyBus. Now that I'm leaning towards a daytime arrival, that could change.

One concern for an afternoon arrival is that I'd like someplace close to our apartment to store our luggage until our AirB&B host gets home from work, which is another reason I thought arriving at Waterloo station might be easiest.

BA prices are still high, especially if you're checking a bag, so for now I'm content to wait and will continue to explore all the options you all have mentioned. Thanks again!

 

[Panda]

Great location, Barb - nice strolls along the Southbank, plenty of reasonably priced places to eat ( EAT does nice soups , salads and sandwiches) or there is a Marks & Spencer Food at the station ( actually shut at the moment for renovation and expansion but will be reopened by then) which does very good ready to heat meals or, for July, ready prepped salad items. And a walk over Waterloo Bridge for my favourite view in London.

 

[Pauline]

Ann flew from Florence, so maybe only Florence flights go into London City.

 

[SusanSeattle]

I like using the website RometoRio.com I find it's a good starting place when I'm not sure what trains, planes, or buses go between two locations. If you put in Rome to London, it shows that Alitalia flies nonstop into London City. I only see a 9 am flight, but of course, you'd want to go to the Alitalia site and see what their flights are in July.

 

[artnbarb]

this is so much more complicated than it should be!

 

[Panda]

Should I mention that there are two more airports classified as London Airports - London Stansted and London Luton ! Both way to the north of the city and would involve even more changes to Waterloo so, moving swiftly past:

To get to Waterloo from London City Airport, with the least changes/ walking with luggage would be: DLR ( Docklands Light Railway - dinky, elevated line) to Woolwich Arsenal and change for the South Eastern rail line which goes into London Waterloo East. Then walk up the ramp and across the interchange to Waterloo Station and then down the escalator. The problem is that the direct trains from Woolwich aren't very frequent.

There is another DLR route via Bank Underground station then changing for the equally dinky Waterloo & City Line that would take you directly into Waterloo Station but, sigh, Bank Station - I don't think I want to send you there with luggage ....

 

[artnbarb]

I know about Stansted - the connections are way too complicated, but I know nothing about Luton. We'll probably eliminate London City because I don't wan to deal with Alitalia - unless someone can convince me otherwise! I'm leaning towards BA - we can earn miles on American/USAir, and they give us the choice of Heathrow or Gatwick without the luggage restrictions of the bargain carriers like Ryan Air and Easy Jet.

 

[Pauline]

I have been on the BA site a lot the past few days, so I had a look at Rome to London in July. Are you flying one way or return? The cheapest fare I see is £77 each way with 1 checked bag. Many of the flights are much more expensive - which makes me think the cheap flights are selling out. They currently have a sale on that ends on the 29th I think.

I have not found with BA that the prices go down closer to flight time. Maybe you should be booking now? Someone else jump in if I am wrong about this. I usually buy our tickets from London to France or Italy 3 or 4 months before to get the best prices.

 

[Panda]

Agree, Pauline.

 

[artnbarb]

Sheesh! I think I usually buy tickets way too soon, and I thought the real sale prices wouldn't be posted for another 2-3 months....but now I have to reconsider! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[artnbarb]

OK, I just did it! I found the flight times I wanted, taking price into consideration, and bought our tickets! We ended up paying about $150 each, but we do get to check one bag each plus 2 carry-ons. I did NOT opt to spend an additional €18 per person to select my seats in advance. If we have to sit in the back of the plane, so be it.

Now the only big thing I have to book is our car rental for England......

So now back to the original question: what's the best way to get from Gatwick to London Waterloo? We'll be arriving around 2:30 in the afternoon, so once we clear customs and pick up our luggage I'm guessing it will be at least 3:30, maybe even 4 o'clock before we're ready to get on a train or bus. I'm not sure there's EVER a good time regarding traffic into London, so perhaps the train is our best option?