Gatwick is the airport south London thinks of first. Families from Croydon, Bromley and Sutton fly from it for the summer holidays, and wedding parties fly out of it to Spain, Portugal and Greece. Most Gatwick minibus transfers we plan come down to two choices. North or South terminal, and the A23 or the M25. Get those right and the rest is about leaving early enough.
Gatwick minibus transfers to North and South
Gatwick has two terminals, North and South, about a mile apart. A free shuttle runs between them in a couple of minutes, but with a group and a pile of luggage, you want the minibus to drop at the right one first time. Your airline decides which. Check your booking, because airlines have changed terminals at Gatwick before.
Both terminals are reached from the M23 spur at junction 9, and the signs split for North and South a short way before the airport. The drop-off areas sit close to the terminal entrances, with a charge for using them.
The A23 or the M25
From south London, the A23 is the direct line. It runs through Brixton, Streatham, Croydon and Purley, then joins the M23. At five in the morning it's quick. At eight on a weekday, the stretch through Streatham and the junction at Purley Cross, where the A23 meets the A22, can take as long as the rest of the trip. South of Coulsdon, the A23 joins the M23 at Hooley, and from there it's usually a clear run.
The alternative is the M25. From west London, the M4 and M25 down to junction 7 is often quicker than crossing south London. From south-east London, the A21 or A20 to the M25 and round to junction 7 works well. On a Friday afternoon in summer, though, the M25 between junction 7 and junction 10 is one of the slowest pieces of road in the country.
Rough times outside the rush hour:
- Croydon, Purley or Sutton, about 35 to 50 minutes
- Bromley or Orpington, about 45 minutes to an hour
- SE1 and central London, about an hour to an hour and a quarter
- Wimbledon or Kingston, about an hour
- North London, an hour and a half or more
We plan the pickup around the slow version of whichever route fits your address and the time of day.
Collecting a group after landing
We take your flight number and the driver checks the landing time before setting off. Summer arrivals at Gatwick can be slow through passport control, especially on Saturday afternoons when several holiday flights land together. Baggage reclaim for a family group adds more.
Pickups use the short-stay car parks or official pickup areas at each terminal, not the forecourt. For very late arrivals, after midnight, the run back up the M23 is usually clear, and a group can be home in south London within the hour. When you have your bags, ring or text the driver for directions.
Hotels at the airport
Both terminals have hotels linked directly to them, and more sit around the airport perimeter and in Crawley and Horley. A hotel night before an early flight is common for families from north London, who'd otherwise need a 3am pickup.
Hotels in Horley and Crawley usually run their own shuttles to the terminals, which suits groups who'd rather pay less for the room.
We can drop a group at a Gatwick hotel the evening before, and the hotel's own walkway or shuttle takes them to the terminal in the morning. Or we can collect from a perimeter hotel at the right time for the flight.
School holidays and peak weekends
The first Saturday of the summer holidays is the busiest day of the year at Gatwick for many families. Half-term Fridays and the days around Easter and Christmas come close. On those days, everything takes longer. The roads are busier, the terminal is fuller, and security queues stretch.
For those dates, we'll add extra time to the pickup, and we'd suggest booking as soon as your flights are confirmed. Vehicles go quickly in the school holidays, and the 12 and 16-seaters go first. If you're flying back on a Sunday evening, plan for a slow run into London as everyone else comes back too.
Coming home tired after a fortnight away, with children asleep and a pile of cases, is where a minibus waiting at the pickup area earns its keep.
Train or minibus
The Gatwick Express from Victoria and Thameslink trains from London Bridge and Farringdon are quick and frequent. For a couple with hand luggage, the train is often the sensible choice, especially from central London at rush hour.
For a group, it changes. Getting eight people with cases across London to Victoria first, then onto a busy train, then off at the other end, is hard work, and the cost of tickets for everyone adds up. A minibus from the door to the terminal takes that away. Weekend engineering works on the Brighton line also replace trains with buses fairly often, and weekends are exactly when most holiday flights leave. For families with young children and luggage, it's usually the easier option, whatever the clock says.
Tell us the terminal, the flight time, the head count and the number of large cases, and we'll come back with a vehicle, a pickup time and a price.
For Gatwick transfers from anywhere in London, call 020 7183 0567.