Gatwick Routes
Menu

East Croydonto Gatwick Airport

Our pickTrainThameslink15–28 min£4.10–£6.60

Leave by train from East Croydon: fast Southern and Thameslink services reach the airport in 15 minutes for £4.10 by contactless, or £6.60 if you tap in during the weekday peaks. For a flight before about 07:00, work back from the hourly overnight Thameslink rather than assuming a train every few minutes.

Last checked Gatwick to East Croydon

Compare 6 ways

  1. Train

    Southern

    Southern direct

    15–27 min

    £4.10–£6.60

    Contactless pay as you go (off-peak to peak)

    Checked unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)

    Up to 4 per hour · Direct

    Details for Southern
    Contactless
    Yes
    Step-free
    Yes
    Luggage
    Both stations are step-free (National Rail category A).
    From
    East Croydon
    To
    Gatwick Airport station, South Terminal
    Notes
    First train is for a weekday (Tuesday 29 September 2026); the 04:59 ran to Three Bridges and took 27 minutes. Midday trains to Littlehampton and Portsmouth Harbour took 15 minutes. Same pay-as-you-go fare as Thameslink.

    Usually at least 32% of seats filled on weekdays; standing likely 05:00–07:00. Checked (GTR load-weighing counts, 26 Jul–22 Aug 2026)

    Other sources (3)
  2. Private transfer

    Private transfer

    4 vehicle sizes

    18–45 min

    Vehicle sizes and single fares
    VehicleSeatsSingle fare
    Saloon3£48–£80Checked 28 Sep 2026, unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Estate3£52–£90Checked 28 Sep 2026, unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    MPV (6 passengers)6£58–£115Checked 28 Sep 2026, unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Minibus (8 seats)8£75–£130Checked 28 Sep 2026, unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Checked unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Details for each vehicle size

    Saloon

    Operator
    Pre-booked private hire (5 firms)
    Luggage
    Every firm that states it sizes the saloon for two large cases; Gatwick Taxi Transfer seats three, the others four.
    Notes
    Fixed saloon prices for a Croydon pick-up from Gatwick Taxi Transfer (£48 for the town centre and South Croydon, £50 to £65 for Purley, Coulsdon, Norbury and Thornton Heath, £54 for New Addington), Skybridge Cars (£52 to £53 from CR0; the page prints both figures), Altcabs (£53), UK Airport Taxi (£60) and Express Airport Transport (£80). Gatwick Taxi Transfer charges the same both ways, includes the £10 Gatwick charge and adds nothing overnight or on bank holidays; Skybridge Cars and UK Airport Taxi say pick-up and drop-off charges are in the price; Altcabs and Express Airport Transport do not say. Stated drive times: 18 to 40 minutes depending on area and traffic (Gatwick Taxi Transfer), 35 to 36 (Skybridge Cars), 39 (Express Airport Transport), 41 (UK Airport Taxi) and 45 (Gatwick Airport). Airport Cars Gatwick, the airport's official private hire operator, quotes only through its online booking and prints no Croydon fare.
    Checked unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Other sources (6)

    Estate

    Operator
    Pre-booked private hire (4 firms)
    Luggage
    Express Airport Transport's estate takes three passengers and three large cases, Gatwick Taxi Transfer's four and three to four; Skybridge Cars and Altcabs do not say.
    Notes
    Fixed estate prices from Gatwick Taxi Transfer (from £52, same both ways, £10 Gatwick charge included), Skybridge Cars (£57 from CR0, drop-off charges included), Altcabs (£64) and Express Airport Transport (£90). Altcabs and Express Airport Transport do not list inclusions. Stated drive times: 18 to 40 minutes depending on area and traffic (Gatwick Taxi Transfer), 35 to 36 (Skybridge Cars), 39 (Express Airport Transport), 41 (UK Airport Taxi) and 45 (Gatwick Airport). Airport Cars Gatwick, the airport's official private hire operator, quotes only through its online booking and prints no Croydon fare.
    Checked unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Other sources (5)

    MPV (6 passengers)

    Operator
    Pre-booked private hire (4 firms)
    Luggage
    Gatwick Taxi Transfer lists five to seven cases and Express Airport Transport six; Skybridge Cars and Altcabs do not say.
    Notes
    Fixed six-seat MPV prices from Gatwick Taxi Transfer (from £58 for a five-to-seven-seater, same both ways, £10 Gatwick charge included), Skybridge Cars (£63 from CR0, drop-off charges included), Altcabs (£71) and Express Airport Transport (£115 for its six-passenger MPV+). UK Airport Taxi's six-seat van (£80) is left out because it carries five passengers. Stated drive times: 18 to 40 minutes depending on area and traffic (Gatwick Taxi Transfer), 35 to 36 (Skybridge Cars), 39 (Express Airport Transport), 41 (UK Airport Taxi) and 45 (Gatwick Airport). Airport Cars Gatwick, the airport's official private hire operator, quotes only through its online booking and prints no Croydon fare.
    Checked unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Other sources (6)

    Minibus (8 seats)

    Operator
    Pre-booked private hire (5 firms)
    Luggage
    Gatwick Taxi Transfer, UK Airport Taxi and Express Airport Transport each list eight large cases; Skybridge Cars and Altcabs do not say.
    Notes
    Fixed eight-seat prices from Gatwick Taxi Transfer (from £75 for six to eight passengers, same both ways, £10 Gatwick charge included), Altcabs (£85), Skybridge Cars (£98 from CR0 for its eight-seat MPV, drop-off charges included), UK Airport Taxi (£106, airport charges and 40 minutes' waiting included) and Express Airport Transport (£130). Stated drive times: 18 to 40 minutes depending on area and traffic (Gatwick Taxi Transfer), 35 to 36 (Skybridge Cars), 39 (Express Airport Transport), 41 (UK Airport Taxi) and 45 (Gatwick Airport). Airport Cars Gatwick, the airport's official private hire operator, quotes only through its online booking and prints no Croydon fare.
    Checked unconfirmed (not yet confirmed against a second source)
    Other sources (6)

Bars share one scale on this page. Hours are first and last departures as recorded; the ochre mark is the time now in London. Paying by contactless has its own rules at Gatwick: read the contactless guide. checked on the date in each option's details · not yet confirmed against a second source.

Check a live Kiwitaxi price

Kiwitaxi is a booking company. If you book through this box we earn a commission; the price you pay is the same.

Pressing it loads Kiwitaxi's booking form here, from Travelpayouts and Kiwitaxi, and lets them set cookies. Nothing from them loads before you press it. What they see

Which should I pick?

  • Early flight

    TrainThameslink

    Thameslink direct

    For a 06:00 departure, the 04:07 Thameslink reached Gatwick at 04:30 on the weekday we checked; the first Southern train, at 04:59, did not arrive until 05:26.

  • Lots of luggage

    Private transferPre-booked private hire (4 firms)

    Pre-booked estate from Croydon

    With the lifts between East Croydon's footbridge and platforms listed out of order when we checked, a car from your door avoids the station altogether, and three of the five firms we read say their fixed price already includes the drop-off charge a friend driving you would pay at £10 for ten minutes.

  • Group or family

    TrainSouthern

    Southern direct

    Three adults travelling off-peak pay £12.30 in total by contactless, against £48 or more for a saloon that only takes two suitcases; Southern trains shown as Littlehampton or Portsmouth Harbour stop at Gatwick too, so a group need not hold out for one marked Brighton.

  • After midnight

    TrainThameslink

    Thameslink direct

    Starting out in the small hours for a dawn check-in, the 01:28, 02:07 and 03:07 Thameslink trains were the only rail departures, each reaching the airport within 28 minutes.

Route notes

By day the ride from East Croydon is 15 minutes and Southern and Thameslink between them ran eight fast trains an hour at midday, so a missed train costs little. Before 05:00 it is a different journey: Thameslink ran once an hour overnight, with the 04:07 the last before a gap to 04:59, and those early trains took 23 to 28 minutes.

The contactless fare from East Croydon is £4.10, rising to £6.60 if you tap in on a weekday between 06:30 and 09:30 or 16:00 and 19:00. At £2.50, the difference is too small to justify catching a later train than your check-in needs. The ticket office is staffed around the clock if you need help. Do not wait for a Gatwick Express here: the airport describes it as non-stop from Victoria.

The platforms sit below the entrance, linked by a footbridge, and National Rail reported the lifts between them out of order on 27 September. If you are wheeling several large cases, check the station page before you set out; staff assistance is available at any hour.

On a 15-minute ride the airport end is a real share of the journey. Every train stops at the South Terminal, so a North Terminal check-in adds the free two-minute shuttle and the wait for it; check your booking for the terminal and budget for both.

A car makes sense for three or more with heavy bags, or when no train fits. Allow for the 45 minutes the airport quotes rather than the best case, and if someone is dropping you off, the forecourt charge is £10 for the first ten minutes.

Guides for this route

Questions

What is the earliest train from East Croydon to Gatwick?

Thameslink runs through the night. On the weekday we checked, trains left East Croydon at 01:28, 02:07, 03:07 and 04:07; the first Southern train was at 04:59.

How much does it cost to get dropped off at Gatwick by car?

Gatwick charges £10 for the first ten minutes in its terminal drop-off zones, then £1 a minute up to 20 minutes. Blue badge holders who register are exempt.