Home / London /Luton / National Express coach to Heathrow vs Thameslink to Gatwick, via the Luton DART
LTN → London · head to head
National Express coach to HeathroworThameslink to Gatwick, via the Luton DART?
The short answer
For one traveler the National Express coach to Heathrow is cheaper by up to £3.50. The National Express coach to Heathrow fare is sold "from" a price rather than at it, so this comparison holds only at the advertised prices and the real answer can change with the day you travel.
The National Express coach to Heathrow is quicker: 55 min against 1 h 24. The Thameslink to Gatwick, via the Luton DART varies between 82 and 110 minutes.
National Express coach to Heathrow: 01:50–22:10. Thameslink to Gatwick, via the Luton DART: hours not recorded.
Priced against each other
Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in GBP. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
Travelers
National Express coach to Heathrow
Thameslink to Gatwick, via the Luton DART
Difference
1
from £20.50
£24
up to £3.50
2
from £41
£48
up to £7
3
from £61.50
£72
up to £10.50
4
from £82
£96
up to £14
5
from £102.50
£120
up to £17.50
6
from £123
£144
up to £21
7
from £143.50
£168
up to £24.50
8
from £164
£192
up to £28
Side by side
Where each one leaves you
National Express · National ExpressNational Express coach to Heathrow
From
Airport bus station, stands N, P or Q, outside the terminal
To
Heathrow Central Bus Station for Terminals 2 and 3, then Terminal 5; some coaches call at Terminal 4
Luggage
One large suitcase or two medium cases and one soft hand bag per person.
Runs
01:50–22:10
Journey
50–65 min
Terminals 2 and 3 are the Central Bus Station, where the coach calls first. Terminal 5 is 15 to 40 minutes further on, and only some coaches, the 240 and 231 among them, call at Terminal 4: check the timetable for the one you book.
National Express advises being at the airport three hours before a flight, so allow for traffic on the M1 and the M25.
Change & Go, £5 each way, lets you take any coach within twelve hours either side of the one you booked.
Thameslink · Thameslink and Luton DARTThameslink to Gatwick, via the Luton DART
From
Luton DART from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway, four minutes; the trains leave from the main-line platforms
To
Gatwick Airport station, beside the South Terminal, on one direct train
Luggage
Racks by the doors and overhead; the DART is built for suitcases.
Journey
82–110 min
The £4.90 DART is easy to pay twice or forget once. Touching in at Parkway does not cover it, and a ticket to "Luton" does not either; only a ticket to "Luton Airport" has it inside.
The train is the same one that crosses central London, stopping at St Pancras, Blackfriars and London Bridge, so it takes 78 minutes by day and 87 to 110 at night, plus the DART.
Trains run through the night on a reduced service, hourly through the small hours on a weekday night, and the DART runs around the clock. On a night or a Sunday with engineering work the ride can need a bus: check the day you travel.
The coach is cheaper, from £21.50 against £24.00 here, but takes about an hour longer.
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