Getting a train form Gatwick advice please.

[WATFORD zero]

Whenever i pick up friends/family from Gatwick, they ring or text as soon as they land. I leave and drive up while they walk the 3 miles to baggage reclaim, hang around there, through customs etc and we normally get to the drop off point at the same time and Bob's your Aunties live in lover

 

[Colossal Squid]

Sometimes you find people manning the little travel desks around the baggage reclaim hall and they can sell you regular tickets for the train which will save you the horror of queuing for the station ticket machines. I would never go to Gatwick station without a ticket already sorted as those queues are absolutely UNBEARABLE, especially with all the foreign tourists dillying about unable to comprehend how the machines work, trying to slot their Euros in one at a time and wondering why they keep coming out again.

Drives me WELL mental

 

[Pinkie Brown]

If you have the option to buy the ticket and have it in your hand before you leave, do it. Trying to purchase a ticket at Gatwick can take as long as a flight from Europe on a bad day!

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Because it so much grief for everyone, We always used to do this but you can't set down and wait like you used to, you have to park up and walk to terminal and wait.Ad its the North terminal which she is unfamiliar with, if its delayed etc etc, just as easy to jump on the Train, of if that too much stress can just jump in a cab.
We usually use the valet parking which was £80-90 (cheaper than a taxi each way) but due to works up there and limited space price has jumped to over £350 ! just to park a car.

Why use expensive valet parking? We've always used the short stay car park, with a frequent shuttle bus to and from each terminal. It's usually around £60-£70.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Must admit I've never found buying a ticket at Gatwick for Brighton to be that much of an ordeal. For sure, the queues at the manned ticket office are grimly slow, but the single queueing system for the ticket machines moves along fairly briskly. Or maybe I've just been lucky the last dozen times I've had to use them. BTW ignore the devious Gatwick Express branding on the machines that are designed to give the impression they only sell Gatwick Express tickets, it's not the case. Somebody further up the thread mentioned the potentially-useful Southern ticket desk in the baggage reclaim area. I don't recall ever seeing that desk manned in the past five years at least. Says it all about Southern really.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Tell her to park in Maccy D's at Gatwick and come get you at pick up when you are there?

 

[Easy 10]

Whenever i pick up friends/family from Gatwick, they ring or text as soon as they land. I leave and drive up while they walk the 3 miles to baggage reclaim, hang around there, through customs etc and we normally get to the drop off point at the same time and Bob's your Aunties live in lover

Yup, this. I set off as soon as I get the text that they've landed. Might have to do a couple of circuits sometimes when Mr High Viz starts getting aggy, but its not usually an issue.

Fannying about getting a train to Brighton, then picked up from Brighton...stuff that for a game of soldiers.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

as others have said the queuing 'system' at gatwick airport station is absolutely infuriating. Badly laid out (so the people at the front of the queue can't necessarily see if any machines are free), understaffed and of course the machines are clunky (bad enough if you're english and vaguely understand the system- can't imagine what it's like for a foreigner)

"welcome to england"

 

[seagulls4ever]

I recently got the train from Gatwick to Brighton after purchasing a ticket on the day and it wasn't a problem. The queue for the ticket machines was long but it went down very quickly. There was staff present helping to keep the queue moving along and answering any questions. It must have taken less than ten minutes to buy my ticket. I was waiting for a train anyway so it wasn't a problem.

By knowing which train I was going to get since it was the next train to arrive, I was also able to purchase a ticket for a Thameslink service which was a couple of quid cheaper than a Southern/any service ticket. It was only about £5 if I recall correctly.

For me I felt it was easier just to rock up and buy a ticket after my plane had landed. Others may feel differently.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Why use expensive valet parking? We've always used the short stay car park, with a frequent shuttle bus to and from each terminal. It's usually around £60-£70.

Truth being having paid for 5 of us for holidays and now its just the two of us it quite cheap comparatively so the cost of valet parking is a luxury I'm happy to pay for.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Tell her to park in Maccy D's at Gatwick and come get you at pick up when you are there?

Not a bad idea, is there a Mc'D's outside the north?
We come back to the north terminal.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Not a bad idea, is there a Mc'D's outside the north?
We come back to the north terminal.

It's on the roundabout as you come off the M23. On Ring road north. Well worth a look.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...284c7a757f8ef7c!8m2!3d51.1585793!4d-0.1555265

 

[Easy 10]

Does anyone else get really CONFUSED when driving to Gatwick to pick someone up at the pickup/dropoff point ?

Number of times I've missed that turn and had to go straight through the carpark and round again. I even did it twice in a row once (but it was about 2am).

 

[CHAPPERS]

Does anyone else get really CONFUSED when driving to Gatwick to pick someone up at the pickup/dropoff point ?

Number of times I've missed that turn and had to go straight through the carpark and round again. I even did it twice in a row once (but it was about 2am).

Whenever I successfuly navigate around Gatwick I do leave with a small sense of achievement.

 

[Badger]

as others have said the queuing 'system' at gatwick airport station is absolutely infuriating. Badly laid out (so the people at the front of the queue can't necessarily see if any machines are free), understaffed and of course the machines are clunky (bad enough if you're english and vaguely understand the system- can't imagine what it's like for a foreigner)

"welcome to england"

The last time I bought a ticket at Gatwick station I spent about 5 minutes queueing up, not too bad I guess. Then one of the staff ushered me towards the next free machine and I happily went through the process of selecting a ticket and inserting my debit card. It gave me an error message so I tried my credit card and had the same issue. Then after a couple of minutes of trying again, the SAME staff member came over and informed me the card reader wasn't working on that ticket machine Thanks for telling me in the first place you CLOWN.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Does anyone else get really CONFUSED when driving to Gatwick to pick someone up at the pickup/dropoff point ?

Number of times I've missed that turn and had to go straight through the carpark and round again. I even did it twice in a row once (but it was about 2am).

This is one of the points that i've decided its not a good idea for dear daughter to pick us up.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Ive been to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk, www.takethetrain.co.uk, www.thetrainline.com, http://www.redspottedhanky.com/ and a few other
and had an absolute nightmare trying to buy tickets, how anyone anyone succeeds is beyond me, as an occasional user.
Primary the prices changes from when you get the prices to when you want to actually pay, ie, most were charging £16.80 for two single anytime adults.
but at the checkout price goes up to £20.20, then they want 75p booking fee, then they want £1.00 to send them to you ! one won't let you book tickets until you register you credit card with them, they won't accept a single payment. kin nightmare.
so.............
Can i go to Falmer station to purchase two single Adults anytime tickets to travel from Gatwick to Brighton? or can you only purchase tickets from a station that you want to travel from.
Ie only buy tickets form falmer for journeys beginning form Falmer?

 

[Ernest]

Ive been to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk, www.takethetrain.co.uk, www.thetrainline.com, http://www.redspottedhanky.com/ and a few other
and had an absolute nightmare trying to buy tickets, how anyone anyone succeeds is beyond me, as an occasional user.
Primary the prices changes from when you get the prices to when you want to actually pay, ie, most were charging £16.80 for two single anytime adults.
but at the checkout price goes up to £20.20, then they want 75p booking fee, then they want £1.00 to send them to you ! one won't let you book tickets until you register you credit card with them, they won't accept a single payment. kin nightmare.
so.............
Can i go to Falmer station to purchase two single Adults anytime tickets to travel from Gatwick to Brighton? or can you only purchase tickets from a station that you want to travel from.
Ie only buy tickets form falmer for journeys beginning form Falmer?

Yes, go to Falmer when it's open just say you want 2 x GTW to BTN singles whatever date and it will be done there and then and you know it will be the right price

 

[Garage_Doors]

Yes, go to Falmer when it's open just say you want 2 x GTW to BTN singles whatever date and it will be done there and then and you know it will be the right price

Thank you

 

[easynow]

4 pages about how to get a train from Gatwick to Brighton?