Gatwick or Stansted

credit_crunch

Hi
I am planning a surprise trip to London (from Belfast) for my husbands 30th birthday.
We will hopefully catch a chelsea match & will do some other stuff.
Would you recommend flying into gatwick or stansted? Prices are pretty similar but I know both are a train / tube journey from central London.
Only been to London once before & my husband organised it so I'm at a loose end!
Thanks in advance :-)

dacouch

Where abouts is your hotel?

googler

Are Gatwick and Stansted your only choices?

Heathrow and Gatwick both run express train services into the city. These are the most pleasant ways to get to and from the airports, but not the cheapest.

As was said, have you booked the hotel yet? If not, are you booking somewhere close to Chelsea's ground ?

tower

Trains from Stansted airport run 4 times a hour, and the journey into London is about 50 mins. You can change at Tottenham Hale to the London underground for the Victoria line to west London which is another 40 mins.

Trains from Gatwick go straight to Victoria in under a hour.

pompeyrich

I would go with Gatwick, wouldn't bother with the Gatwick Express, although a non-stop service and takes about 30 mins, it's around £20 each way you can save a fiver by using the regular Southern trains, the fastest ones only stop once, at East Croydon and take about 3-5 mins longer.

To add to the confusion, you could buy a single to East Croydon for £4.50-£5 then use an Oyster card capped at £8.50, or paper travelcard for £8.90, this method would cover all your travel costs in london for the day of arrival.

margaretclare

EasyJet flies to Southend from Belfast. Southend Airport station is right opposite the passenger terminal, off the plane, through the terminal, walk across, train to London Liverpool Street.

charis18uk

There are coaches a plenty from stansted for a very reasonable price or use the express train.

credit_crunch

thanks for all your replies.
I haven't booked the hotel yet. That was going to be my next question
I am using my nectar points to book the flights. I just assumed it would have to be Stansted or Gatwick.
Any hotel suggestions?
Budget around £100 per night, not bothered if its room only. Would like something clean & central so that we dont have to travel for miles to get into town.
Thanks

credit_crunch

i've just booked the gatwick flights as the times were much better & there is a general mixed opinion on each airport.

Now the hotel search begins!!

I am also trying to source tickets for the Chelsea match on 21st Sept, but if I dont manage it, I am sure my husband will be happy to watch it in a bar

Thanks for all your opinions

credit_crunch

just having a quick look in work & I would love your opinions.
I dont think I fully appreciate the size of London as a city so I know its impossible to be close to everything.
It would be good to hear your opinions on these few places:
http://www.olotels.com/hotel.php?oloreqsource=1&key=20130920201309231205000000500000050000111112625&id=103361&referer=06658hbHty5C_uk&curid=GBP&langid=1&px=20&pp=LSEtKytySFhMcUlRTUlTVjVhRzNqUjJFaTZVNzkyanIvTWIydlM3UkRaVFQ0YXZvUUhXbTh0VmRnPT0=&rdesc=LSEtcGZCZGFDS2hxU3hPQ24venhPb1JQaTZQdjZ6Z3lmN2ZYZHVCYUxrSjRQST0=&olotrackid=161378271&lc=70728001



http://www.official-rates.com/united-kingdom/london/hyde-park-executive-apartments/?&showBestPriceFirst=1&fromdate=2013-09-20&nbnight=3&nbadult=2&nbchildren=0&currency=GBP&lg=en&FSTBKNGTrackLink=FB-PACK-PPC-SITE-Hotelcombined


http://hotels.travelsupermarket.com/SearchedHotel.aspx?fileName=The_Gainsborough_Hotel&languageCode=EN&currencyCode=GBP&destination=place:London&radius=0mi&checkin=2013-09-20&checkout=2013-09-23&Rooms=1&adults_1=2&returnPath=%2FSearchResults.aspx%3FlanguageCode%3DEN%26currencyCode%3DGBP%26destination%3Dplace%3ALondon%26radius%3D0mi%26checkin%3D2013-09-20%26checkout%3D2013-09-23%26Rooms%3D1%26adults_1%3D2%26pageSize%3D15%26pageIndex%3D1%26sort%3DPopularity-desc%26showSoldOut%3Dfalse%26view%3Dhc_sr_summary%26scroll%3D1000%26mapstate%3Dcontracted


http://hotels.travelsupermarket.com/SearchedHotel.aspx?fileName=Holiday_Inn_London_Kings_Cross_Bloomsbury&languageCode=EN&currencyCode=GBP&destination=place:London&radius=0mi&checkin=2013-09-20&checkout=2013-09-23&Rooms=1&adults_1=2&returnPath=%2FSearchResults.aspx%3FlanguageCode%3DEN%26currencyCode%3DGBP%26destination%3Dplace%3ALondon%26radius%3D0mi%26checkin%3D2013-09-20%26checkout%3D2013-09-23%26Rooms%3D1%26adults_1%3D2%26pageSize%3D15%26pageIndex%3D1%26sort%3DPopularity-desc%26showSoldOut%3Dfalse%26view%3Dhc_sr_summary%26scroll%3D5200%26mapstate%3Dcontracted

kkgree1

Looks like match on 21/9 is Chelsea V Fulham at 5.30pm so a local derby (popular game). Might be worth looking on viagogo which is the official site to buy tickets from other fans (my husband regularly uses it when he needs to sell his Chelsea ticket). Otherwise, I suspect it will be a televised game with the late kick-off so could find a nice bar to watch it in nearby and visit the megastore beforehand?