Gatwick Airport Review

Overall Rating

Excellent transport links
Comparatively affordable shops
Not as overcrowded as Heathrow

Old and run down
Mostly commuter trains, few Intercity rail links

Gatwick is the best connected of the London airports by far. If you live in the South East or South Central regions then this is probably the easiest airport for you to get to thanks to it having a mainline station right within the South Terminal.

ORIENTATION:
The airport is split into two terminals, North and South. South Terminal is the larger one, and holds the train station and majority of the shops, including Gatwick Village shopping arcade with practical shops such as Boots (UK pharmacy chain like Guardian) and W H Smith (general store selling books, newspapers, sandwiches, drinks etc.). This is accessible before heading through to departure's. The entrances are beyond the check-in desks. Also, there is a skytrain linking the two terminals 24/7, and the terminals are quite close together, unlike Heathrow T4, so it's perfectly possible to catch a bus or train to South, even if you fly from North. Most, if not all National Express bus services that serve the airport call at both terminals anyway.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Crowds here at not nearly as bad at Heathrow, and by comparison the airport is relatively clean and modern, though still not up to par with most major European or East Asian airports.
However queues here are much better than at Heathrow, and generally for most flights allowing about an hour and a half at the most from arrival at the airport to getting to your departure gate is OK.

TRANSPORT:
Trains run almost 24 hours (from around 5am to around 2am). The most frequent services are to London (Victoria and Thameslink stations), Brighton and Bedford. Services however run to almost all towns in Sussex, Surrey, and to Hampshire and Kent also.

Main towns with direct train to Gatwick:
London
Brighton
Bedford
Crawley
Croydon
Worthing
Eastbourne
Lewes
Newhaven/Seaford (for ferries to Dieppe, France)
Shoreham (for Brighton City Airport)
Chichester
Bognor Regis
Havant
Portsmouth (all stations - Harbour for IOW and Gosport, Ports. & Southsea for ferries for Europe)
Southampton (for Southampton Airport)
Fareham

There is a dedicated "Gatwick Express" train that connects to London Victoria in under half an hour. However, it's not noticeably faster than some of the conventional trains, and it is a lot more expensive. Check fares at www.thetrainline.com and www.gatwickexpress.com

National Express buses have stops in both terminals, and most services uses both stops. Services to:
London (Victoria Coach Station - many services)
Brighton (twice an hour)
Heathrow Airport (hourly at least)
Stansted Airport (hourly)
Cambridge (hourly)
Oxford (regular)

Less frequent services also run to other cities and via London or Heathrow. A National Express booking counter is in South Terminal, after you pass through the exit walkway tunnels through to the bus stops. Buses run more or less 24/7. Fares generally work out about half the price of an on the spot purchased train ticket. Check times and fares at www.nationalexpress.com

AIRFARES:
Gatwick has few long haul flights (besides a handful of transatlantic flights). As such, fares for those are generally not that good, and you would almost certainly save money by flying from Heathrow, or connecting through Amsterdam, Paris or Frankfurt. However, short haul European flights are the dominant traffic, particularly low cost airlines (EasyJet has a major hub at Gatwick) and charter airlines such as Monarch, and fares for these can be had for a song. Particularly good destinations from here are Spain, Greece, Egypt and Eastern Europe, as well as the usual suspects such as Prague, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Paris etc.

FOOD AND SHOPPING:
There are a lot of shops at Gatwick, far more than Heathrow even. Most of it is practically orientated, so it's very easy to eat fairly cheaply by buying sandwiches and drinks etc. from shops such as Boots and Smiths. The bars are, as you'd expect, grossly overpriced and best avoided. UK chains such as Yates and Wetherspoon operate here, but charge vastly inflated prices compared to outside. The usual duty free is also available.

As an end note this isn't such a bad airport really. Old and tatty now, but better than Heathrow by far, and fares are good. If you get bored of the shops in South Terminal, head up the stairs by the "Sports Bar" and you will find a little seating area which overlooks the tarmac.