London Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport
National Express coaches link the two airports directly in about 1 hour 10 minutes from £14.90, with 58 services a day. There is no direct train — rail means changing in central London.
London's two biggest airports sit on opposite sides of the city with no railway between them. Anyone connecting Gatwick to Heathrow is really choosing between a coach that goes direct and a train journey that crosses London twice.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Heathrow Airport, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from £85). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from £14.9) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | £15 | £85 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | £30 | £85 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | £60 | £85 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From £14.9, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
The only single-vehicle link between the airports, running via the M25. Book ahead — walk-up fares climb steeply and a full coach will leave without you. Allow much more than the 70 minutes if you are catching a flight: the M25 is the M25.
Where to catch it: Coach stands at both Gatwick terminals; ticket desks sit inside North and South, though the online fare is lower.
Best for solo & budget travellersPrivate transfer
The usual choice when the connection is tight and the bags are checked through. A car leaves when you land rather than when the timetable says, which on a same-day connection is the whole argument.
Where to catch it: Collected at your Gatwick terminal and dropped at the Heathrow terminal you name when booking.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsTrain
Thameslink or Southern into London, across town to Paddington, then the Elizabeth line to Heathrow. Three legs, two sets of stairs and roughly two hours. Chosen only when the coach is sold out or the M25 is closed.
Where to catch it: Gatwick Airport station, South Terminal.
Best for budget travellers near a stationTaxi
Expensive for what is essentially an orbital motorway run. Priced per vehicle, so a family of four moving between terminals is not paying four times over.
Where to catch it: Ground Transport Centre or the arrivals rank.
Best for small groups in a hurryGetting from LGW to Heathrow Airport
Two airports, one city, and no railway between them
This is the journey that most exposes how London's transport was built. Gatwick is 45 kilometres south of the centre, Heathrow 24 kilometres west, and there is no direct rail link joining them. Every option is either a road crossing of the M25 or a trip into London and back out again.
The distance by road is about 76 kilometres and the scheduled time is 70 to 75 minutes. Treat that number carefully, because the road in question is the M25, and the M25 has moods.
The coach, which is the default for good reason
National Express runs the only single-vehicle link between the two airports: 58 services a day, fares from £14.90 one way, about an hour and ten minutes scheduled. Coach stands are at both Gatwick terminals, and there are ticket desks inside North and South, though the online fare is meaningfully lower than the walk-up.
Two practical points. Book ahead — walk-up prices climb steeply and a full coach simply leaves without you, which on a connection day is a problem rather than an inconvenience. And check which Heathrow terminal you need; the coach serves the airport's central bus station and the outlying terminals separately, and getting off at the wrong one costs you a shuttle ride you had not budgeted.
How much time to allow
Not 70 minutes. If you have a flight to catch at the other end, the honest planning figure is closer to two and a half hours from Gatwick arrivals to Heathrow check-in, and three if you are travelling between four and seven in the evening. The anticlockwise M25 between the Dartford direction and the M4 junction is one of Britain's least predictable stretches of motorway, and a coach stuck on it has no alternative route.
If your bags are checked through and the connection is under four hours, most people who do this regularly pay for a car instead. Not because it is faster on average — it is not — but because it leaves the moment you clear customs rather than when the next departure is scheduled.
The rail option, and why it is a last resort
There is no through train. Doing it by rail means Thameslink or Southern into London, crossing the city to Paddington, then the Elizabeth line out to Heathrow. Three legs, two changes, roughly two hours if everything connects, and a fare in the £25 to £45 range depending on tickets and time of day.
It exists as a fallback when the coach is sold out or when the M25 has closed entirely, which happens often enough to be worth knowing about. It is not a route to choose while carrying checked luggage and watching a clock — each change means stairs, crowds and another chance for the plan to slip.
Cars, and the group calculation
Booking a car ahead costs somewhere between £85 and £130, settled before departure, with the driver watching your inbound flight number. Taking one from the rank instead is dearer — £110 to £150 for what is, in the end, an orbital motorway run.
The number that changes the decision is passengers. A car is priced per vehicle. Two people moving between airports pay about £15 each by coach and £45 or more each by car. Four people pay £60 by coach and roughly £25 each by car, and they get door-to-terminal service with the luggage staying in one boot. Families and small groups almost always come out ahead in a car on this route; solo travellers almost never do.
The overnight problem
National Express runs through the night on this corridor, which matters because inter-airport connections are often awkward hours by design — a late long-haul arrival at Gatwick and an early departure from Heathrow. If the gap is genuinely small, the calculation many people make is that a hotel near Heathrow plus a car beats sitting in a terminal, and that a hotel at Gatwick plus an early coach beats both. Price all three before assuming the transfer is the only cost.
What not to do
Do not hire a car for this. You will pay a one-way drop fee between two airports of different operators, you will spend the whole journey on a motorway, and you will hand the keys back ninety minutes later. It is the most expensive way to do the simplest version of this trip.