Airport Transfer between London Heathrow to London Gatwick Airport
By road London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports are about 40 miles apart.
Time to allow for a transfer:
At both Heathrow and Gatwick it takes on average about 45-75 minutes from landing to clearing customs with luggage.
The route is all motorway, but a very congested motorway where delays are very common. Without traffic congestion the National Express will take around an hour to complete the journey. A Licensed Private Hire Minicab will take about 45 minutes, and more professional ones should have alternative routes for most transfers. Very few trips during day time will not experience some level of traffic congestion though. Journeys between 07:00 and 10:00 and 15:30 and 19:00 will routinely take 90 minutes or longer. Avoid transferring on Monday mornings and Friday and Sunday afternoons - the traffic is impossible and time scales can double or treble on the motorways!
National Express Coach Service
The only direct transfer link is by National Express coaches, there is no direct rail link. There are around 100 coaches a day between Heathrow and Gatwick taking around an hour if there is no traffic congestion. The coach service is almost a 24x7 operation.
At Gatwick the coaches pick up from each terminal, at Heathrow the coaches start at the bus station between Terminals 1,2 and 3, they do not pick up or set down from each terminal at Heathrow. The coaches visit Terminal 5 at Heathrow on their way between Heathrow and Gatwick. If you are using Terminal 4, you need to catch the free Heathrow Connect train that runs every 15 minutes to the central area where the bus station is. There are luggage trolley friendly underground tunnels between Terminals 1,2 and 3 and the central bus station. Allow 10 minutes from exiting customs. The ticket office at Heathrow Bus Station can have very long queues at peak times.
National Express coaches allow a maximum of 2 medium size suitcases. Folding bikes, surfboards etc are carried only at the discretion of the driver. Bikes must be packaged like that required by the airlines. No animals except guide dogs.
Cost
The one-way fare is very high considering the 1 hour journey time perhaps reflecting the monopoly position. The cheapest route between Heathrow and Gatwick is not direct, but uses the rail link from Gatwick Airport station to East Croydon (takes 15 minutes, frequent service, costs about £5; ask for a Southern ticket, the other operator charges more). Just outside East Croydon station is the end of the run for the X26 Metrobus (timetable online at www.metrobus.co.uk ) which takes between one hour and 20 minutes and about two hours to reach Heathrow, at a cost of £2 single and is free for children under age 11. Another way, more arduous, is to use the London Underground between Heathrow and London Victoria and bus or train between Victoria and Gatwick. This is much slower though and the London Underground is very crowded, especially uncomfortable with luggage or coming off a long flight. The cheapest underground/bus option will commonly take 3.5 hours airport to airport.
At Heathrow Terminals 1,2 and 3 allow 15 minutes to make your way between the terminals to the bus station.
For Heathrow Terminal 4 allow 20-30 minutes between Terminal 4 and the Bus Station via the Heathrow Connect train.
At Terminal 5, the buses pull up in front of the terminal.
At Gatwick, the buses visit both terminals.
Hey, see that? Without even moving my lips :-) I'd make a great ventriloquist!
Yeah, I'd probably have said the same as Martin, albeit with much less information. Seriously mate, did you swallow a wikipedia for breakfast or something? :)
Not only is the south of London where I grew up but my airline career, back in the 1970's, started at Gatwick when I worked for the late, and great, Sir Freddie Laker, Americans would know it as the 'Skytrain' service, indeed I was working back at Gatwick 2002-2005.
Actually it was Trip Advisor that I earlier swallowed however I knew it was National Express anyway.
And if Rodan should need a hotel they'll be cheaper at Gatwick than Heathrow, many sites that could be checked for a hotel but one that I have found, previously, to have the better prices is www.opodo.co.uk