Luton to Gatwick: train, coach or taxi?
There are three sensible ways to get between London Luton (LTN) and London Gatwick (LGW), and the right one genuinely depends on how many of you there are, how much luggage you have and what time you are travelling. This is the comparison we would give you on the phone — including the cases where we would tell you not to book a car.
Three options, three different winners
Luton is roughly 30 miles north of London and Gatwick roughly 28 miles south of it, on opposite sides of the M25. Nothing connects them directly through the middle, which is why every option — road or rail — takes considerably longer than the 48-mile straight line suggests.
| Option | Door-to-door | Cost | Charged | Changes | Wins when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-price taxi | 75–110 min | from £100 | per vehicle | None | 2+ people, luggage, odd hours, tight connection |
| Thameslink train (direct) | 100–120 min | ~£19–30 + £4.90 DART | per person | DART + train | Solo, hand luggage, daytime |
| National Express coach | 135–160 min | from ~£20 | per person | None | Lowest cost, time to spare |
Third-party fares and times are indicative, vary by operator and by how far ahead you book, and should be confirmed with the operator. Correct at time of writing, 2026.
The direct train — genuinely good, with two caveats
Thameslink runs direct between Luton Airport Parkway and Gatwick Airport, no change required, in roughly 80 to 95 minutes. It runs frequently through the day and close to around the clock, which is unusual and useful. On paper it is the obvious answer, and for a lot of people it is the right one.
Caveat one: the train does not start at the terminal
Luton Airport Parkway is not the airport. You need the Luton DART, the automated shuttle that connects the terminal to the station in about four minutes on a separate ticket from £4.90. Add the walk from arrivals to the DART platform, the wait, the transfer at Parkway and a few minutes of platform time, and the honest door-to-door figure is closer to 100 to 120 minutes than the 80 in the timetable.
Caveat two: rail fares are per person
This is the one that catches people out. A single is roughly £19 to £30 depending on time and how far ahead you book, plus £4.90 each for the DART. One person: excellent value. Two people: about £50 to £70 and closing on the taxi. Four people: comfortably past £100, while still being slower and involving a change with your cases.
Take the train if…
You are travelling alone or as a pair with hand luggage, in the daytime, with no tight connection at the far end. That is the train's journey and we will tell you so if you ring us.
The coach — cheapest, and slowest
National Express runs direct coaches between the two airports from roughly £20 one way, terminal forecourt to terminal forecourt with no change. Services run through most of the night, which matters at two airports full of 06:00 departures.
The trade-off is time: 135 to 160 minutes, because the coach takes the same M25 as everything else but with scheduled stops and turnarounds. It is also a fixed timetable rather than a departure that flexes with your flight — if your inbound lands 90 minutes late, your coach has gone and the ticket is generally not transferable.
Take the coach if…
Cost is the deciding factor, you are travelling alone, you have hours to spare, and there is a departure that happens to line up with your arrival. It is a poor choice for a same-day connection.
The fixed-price car — fastest, and priced per vehicle
A pre-booked private hire car runs the 70 miles — M1 south, M25 anti-clockwise past Heathrow, M23 south — in 75 to 110 minutes door to door, terminal to terminal, with no change and no timetable. With RushXO it is from £100 for a saloon, agreed at booking, and that is the total you pay however long the M25 takes.
The thing that decides it: per vehicle, not per person
Rail and coach fares are charged per head. A taxi fare is charged per car. That single difference is what makes the break-even point land at roughly three to four passengers: at four people the train is already costing more than £100 in total, and it is still slower and still involves a change with luggage.
What else the fare buys
Real-time flight tracking, so the pickup moves automatically with your inbound rather than leaving without you. 60 minutes of free waiting from touchdown, covering immigration and baggage reclaim. A driver inside arrivals with a name board. Luggage carried. And delivery to the correct Gatwick terminal — North or South — rather than to a station a shuttle ride from where you actually need to be.
Take the car if…
Two or more of you. Hold luggage, a pushchair, ski or cruise cases. A landing before 05:00 or after 22:00. A connection with less than five hours in it. Children, reduced mobility, or a business trip where certainty is worth more than £40.
Which one is right for your trip
| Your situation | What we would book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solo, hand luggage, midday | Thameslink train | Around £25 all-in and only ~20 minutes slower than a car. |
| Solo, cost is everything, time to spare | National Express coach | Cheapest headline fare; you are paying for it in time. |
| Couple with hold luggage | Fixed-price car | Roughly £50 each, faster, no change, no lifting cases on and off. |
| Family of four | Fixed-price car | £25 each and the cheapest option outright once the DART is counted. |
| Group of six to eight | MPV or 8-seater | £170 for eight is about £21 each — below every per-person fare. |
| Landing 23:40, departing 06:15 | Fixed-price car | Rail and coach thin out overnight; the car does not, at the same fare. |
| Connection under five hours | Fixed-price car | Flight-tracked and direct. On a tight connection the change is the risk. |
| Reduced mobility or travelling with a baby | Fixed-price car | One vehicle, door to door, luggage handled, free child seats. |
Leave five hours between the two flights
This applies to every option on this page and it is the single most important number in this guide. Luton and Gatwick are separate airports on separate tickets. There is no through-baggage and no airline obligation if the first flight runs late — miss the second departure and you are buying a new seat.
Up to 60 minutes at Luton for taxiing, immigration and baggage. 75 to 160 minutes in transit depending on what you booked and when you travel. Two hours at Gatwick, which is what the airport asks for before a short-haul departure — and bag drop closes 40 minutes before departure and does not reopen.
Five hours between the two scheduled times is comfortable rather than generous. Six or more in winter, over school holidays, or if either leg is a budget carrier on a tight turnaround. If your flights are closer together than that, an overnight near Gatwick is the safer plan — Crawley and Horley are minutes from the terminals.
Luton to Gatwick — cost and time questions
What is the cheapest way to get from Luton to Gatwick?
Is there a direct train from Luton Airport to Gatwick Airport?
At how many passengers does a taxi beat the train?
How long does each option really take, door to door?
What happens to each option if my flight is delayed?
Is it worth staying overnight instead?
Want us to tell you honestly?
Call and give us the flight numbers and how many of you there are. If the train is the better answer for your trip, we will say so. If it is not, you will have a fixed price in a minute.