Airport parking (Heathrow & Gatwick)
Discussion
I'm looking for a bit of advice please.
In April I'm going to America for a couple of weeks. I'm flying with Virgin and flying out of Heathrow (T3) midweek at 11:30am and then returning on a Saturday morning to Gatwick South Terminal.
Whenever I travel normally, I drive to the airport and use some sort of meet & greet facility as I use a wheelchair and it makes me life easier as I've normally got loads of luggage and am on my own.
However this trip is with the misses and we'll only have 2 large bags/cases and some hand luggage, so the meet & greet option is less of a necessity.
One friend has done a similar trip before and also lives oop north and so does the trip all on the train. However I'm not sure how easy it would be to get into St Pancras, then presumably get a tube across London and catch the appropriate train to the airport, with wheelchair and luggage.
Therefore, I'm thinking of driving, but I'm not sure what the easiest/best option is? I think that ideally I'd have the car at Gatwick for on the way back, so I can just get straight in, get on the M25 and M1 and go home. Which obviously means leaving the car at Gatwick on the way out, but having to then get to Heathrow for 8:30-9am?!
Has anyone done this recently? Any idea of cost? Should I be considering doing it another way? The sensible part of me thinks I should drive down the night before and stay in a hotel. But the tight northern part of me thinks I should get up at silly o'clock and drive down on the morning.
Please help!
In April I'm going to America for a couple of weeks. I'm flying with Virgin and flying out of Heathrow (T3) midweek at 11:30am and then returning on a Saturday morning to Gatwick South Terminal.
Whenever I travel normally, I drive to the airport and use some sort of meet & greet facility as I use a wheelchair and it makes me life easier as I've normally got loads of luggage and am on my own.
However this trip is with the misses and we'll only have 2 large bags/cases and some hand luggage, so the meet & greet option is less of a necessity.
One friend has done a similar trip before and also lives oop north and so does the trip all on the train. However I'm not sure how easy it would be to get into St Pancras, then presumably get a tube across London and catch the appropriate train to the airport, with wheelchair and luggage.
Therefore, I'm thinking of driving, but I'm not sure what the easiest/best option is? I think that ideally I'd have the car at Gatwick for on the way back, so I can just get straight in, get on the M25 and M1 and go home. Which obviously means leaving the car at Gatwick on the way out, but having to then get to Heathrow for 8:30-9am?!
Has anyone done this recently? Any idea of cost? Should I be considering doing it another way? The sensible part of me thinks I should drive down the night before and stay in a hotel. But the tight northern part of me thinks I should get up at silly o'clock and drive down on the morning.
Please help!
Gatwick to Heathrow would take at least an hour and probably you should allow for an hour and a half. That direction at that time of day is along one of the busiest bits !
EasyBus do a direct service from memory.
The train would involve Gatwick to Victoria, underground to Paddington and then the Heathrow express to Heathrow.
Both options are at best ugly. A (mini) cab between the two would probably be £75 but you might get lucky if all they do is airport work and a run between might be a bit cheaper.
Virgin might even do a bus service
EasyBus do a direct service from memory.
The train would involve Gatwick to Victoria, underground to Paddington and then the Heathrow express to Heathrow.
Both options are at best ugly. A (mini) cab between the two would probably be £75 but you might get lucky if all they do is airport work and a run between might be a bit cheaper.
Virgin might even do a bus service
I don't have your mobility rstrictions, thank God, sympathy with that. However I do also suffer from the born and bred in Yorkshire "Not tight just careful" gene.
I think I would approach this as follows:-
1) Investigate cost of:- Park at gatwick on way out, take a taxi to Thiefrow, overnight at a hotel, easy run to T3.
Comment I wouldn't consider the alt ie park H'row and the do the transfer on return trip tbh)
2) Investigate cost of a decent cab firm to do the Home > H'row and Gatwick > Home service.
3) Compare the relative costs of options 1 and 2 above.
I hate being driven and have had some awful journeys to / from airports by cab, including saving one driver from a camera fine that would have removed his licence, and whacking another round the back of the neck for blind bend overtakes on the Snake.
Of course you may be SO FAR North that option 2 is silly money but I'd bet not that silly.
I think I would approach this as follows:-
1) Investigate cost of:- Park at gatwick on way out, take a taxi to Thiefrow, overnight at a hotel, easy run to T3.
Comment I wouldn't consider the alt ie park H'row and the do the transfer on return trip tbh)
2) Investigate cost of a decent cab firm to do the Home > H'row and Gatwick > Home service.
3) Compare the relative costs of options 1 and 2 above.
I hate being driven and have had some awful journeys to / from airports by cab, including saving one driver from a camera fine that would have removed his licence, and whacking another round the back of the neck for blind bend overtakes on the Snake.
Of course you may be SO FAR North that option 2 is silly money but I'd bet not that silly.
Use the Marriott Courtyard at the LGW South terminal over night and for parking for 2 weeks - just checked it's £85 for all that. Decent hotel too, then get the early National Express transfer to LHR - takes 55 mins for about £20 each.
Edited by fatboy b on Wednesday 24th February 09:01
Thanks for the tips and advice chaps. I'm going down from Sheffield, so it's a fair old trek. Therefore we've decided to go for a relatively cost effective way of doing it, but hopefully the easiest way.
The hotel thing didn't work unfortunately as they all quote prices for 14 days, but we're away for longer than that and so the price started getting silly....around 200+ quid from memory.
Just in case anyone wants to do something similar in the future; we're setting off from here at silly o'clock in the morning and are supposed to be meeting the meet and greet car parking people at the terminal at Gatwick, then I've found a taxi company that do Gatwick to Heathrow for 46 quid (versus 40 for National Express). When we get back to Gatwick on the return flight back, the car will be waiting at the terminal again, so we can set straight off home again.
We've booked the whole lot for less than 150 quid...which as they're classing our parking as 18 days, seems like an ok deal (parking and taxi transfer).
The hotel thing didn't work unfortunately as they all quote prices for 14 days, but we're away for longer than that and so the price started getting silly....around 200+ quid from memory.
Just in case anyone wants to do something similar in the future; we're setting off from here at silly o'clock in the morning and are supposed to be meeting the meet and greet car parking people at the terminal at Gatwick, then I've found a taxi company that do Gatwick to Heathrow for 46 quid (versus 40 for National Express). When we get back to Gatwick on the return flight back, the car will be waiting at the terminal again, so we can set straight off home again.
We've booked the whole lot for less than 150 quid...which as they're classing our parking as 18 days, seems like an ok deal (parking and taxi transfer).
Flying to LA then back from Vegas by any chance?
I've done this a few times. If there is more than a two of you I found the easiest was was to use the parking at a hotel at Heathrow (marriott is nice) and then just get a cab round from Gatwick when you get back. I think it is a fixed price fair (well we certainly have always got drivers to do it on a fixed basis although the last time I went was 4 years ago). I think we used to pay around £50 - its easy as well as the flight gets in mid morning so hopefully the rush will have died down. Then rock back up at the hotel and sleep of the jet lag...
I've done this a few times. If there is more than a two of you I found the easiest was was to use the parking at a hotel at Heathrow (marriott is nice) and then just get a cab round from Gatwick when you get back. I think it is a fixed price fair (well we certainly have always got drivers to do it on a fixed basis although the last time I went was 4 years ago). I think we used to pay around £50 - its easy as well as the flight gets in mid morning so hopefully the rush will have died down. Then rock back up at the hotel and sleep of the jet lag...
mike325112 said:
Flying to LA then back from Vegas by any chance?
I've done this a few times. If there is more than a two of you I found the easiest was was to use the parking at a hotel at Heathrow (marriott is nice) and then just get a cab round from Gatwick when you get back. I think it is a fixed price fair (well we certainly have always got drivers to do it on a fixed basis although the last time I went was 4 years ago). I think we used to pay around £50 - its easy as well as the flight gets in mid morning so hopefully the rush will have died down. Then rock back up at the hotel and sleep of the jet lag...
You're almost right, into San Francisco, out of Vegas.I've done this a few times. If there is more than a two of you I found the easiest was was to use the parking at a hotel at Heathrow (marriott is nice) and then just get a cab round from Gatwick when you get back. I think it is a fixed price fair (well we certainly have always got drivers to do it on a fixed basis although the last time I went was 4 years ago). I think we used to pay around £50 - its easy as well as the flight gets in mid morning so hopefully the rush will have died down. Then rock back up at the hotel and sleep of the jet lag...
I think it's horses for courses Mike....if you're only away for 14 days, then the marriott can't be beaten for price and comfort. However, once we looked over 14 days, the prices went up rather a lot. Also I'm old school, once I get in the car, we don't stop till we get home and I want to get home to enjoy the bank holiday weekend.
FiF, thanks, I'm happy enough with that...with a couple of looseners on the iron bird, I should snooze away a fair bit of the flight. I'm thinking it should take just over 3 hours to get to Gatwick at that time....not done it in a while!? Obviously got to take the j28-25 roadworks into account.
mondayo said:
I'm thinking it should take just over 3 hours to get to Gatwick at that time....not done it in a while!? Obviously got to take the j28-25 roadworks into account.
And obviously check for overnight works and lane closures etc scheduled for the day of travel a week or so before you go. They quite regularly shut the M25/M23 interchange overnight at the moment - giving a detour that would add not too much time but better to be early than sat in Reigate fretting.
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