North London to Gatwick

[wipeout]

I'm wondering what is the cheapest way to travel from North London to Gatwick. I'm travelling this Monday and need to arrive before 10 am. Will be returning same day in the evening (around 5pm). Looking to travel from Arnos Grove/Oakleigh Park/Totteridge and Whetstone (either or all of them!)

I've had a look at some of the options including direct tickets, oyster and tickets to stations within the travelcard area (eg East croydon) and then another ticket but with the number of operators and options (ie oyster/not oyster, gatwick express/fcc/southern), I'm confused as to what is the cheapest fare.

In terms of requirements, I'm really just looking for the cheapest way, don't mind using paper tickets or oyster. A travelcard is not essential (but wouldn't hurt!).

 

[yorkie]

You want the absolute cheapest combination of tickets to arrive by 1000 and depart after 1700?

To be sure of the cheapest would require quite some time making calculations and comparisons!

I cannot answer the question and say "this is the cheapest..." but my initial thoughts are that PAYG single fares between Oakleigh Park & East Croydon (changing at Kings Cross for St Pancras Intl), plus an East Croydon to Gatwick CDR will be hard to beat.

 

[wipeout]

Ah, I thought about that, you would have to hop off the train at east croydon to touch out, wouldn't you? Which sounds quite inconvenient, I forgot to mention in the first post!

I'm not asking for anyone to spend any serious time on lots of comparisons, I suspect the gut instinct of most on here is better than nothing!

Thanks for the quick answer

 

[yorkie]

Cheapest is usually less convenient.

So we're looking for a balance now, which only you can really judge, as it's subjective, so suggest you take a look at transcanbecheaper.info / BRfares.com and see what you can come up with.

I'll just make the rather obvious suggestion of an Oakleigh Park to East Croydon route: Not Underground SDR, and an East Croydon to Gatwick Airport CDR.

But that's not the cheapest.... but then we're no longer looking for the cheapest

It would be much more expensive to go via Victoria and use Southern's Gatwick Express service, and as nice as it is to get an entire coach to yourself, it's not worth it, and the inconvenience of faffing about with escalators at King's Cross and Victoria is greater than walking up & down the ramp at East Croydon to touch in/out.

 

[transmanche]

If you can arrive a little later (10:26) then an Off-Peak Day Return (route Not Underground) from St Pancras is good value at £10.40. Valid on the 09:40, return anytime. I've used it myself a number of times (with Oyster PAYG to get me to St Pancras) as it saves a lot of faffing about.

 

[bicbasher]

If you decide to Oyster PAYG it to East Croydon, as I found yesterday, the interchange at East Croydon is easy enough. They now have two entrances since a new footbridge was installed with a new gateline in Cherry Orchard Road, so you can be at either end of the platform and walk to one.

You may be lucky if you're on the FCC service if it's on time and be able to rush up the ramp to the main gateline and return to the same train as they can be held for two minutes. I'd only recommend this if you're on the first car towards Gatwick and last car towards Bedford.

 

[wipeout]

Many thanks to all the replies. I forgot to mention in the first post that I have a 16-25 railcard but I'm not sure that its all that useful given that its before 10am!

The general consensus here seems to be to use Oakleigh Park rather than any of the tube stations, correct?

Cheapest is usually less convenient.

So we're looking for a balance now, which only you can really judge, as it's subjective, so suggest you take a look at transcanbecheaper.info / BRfares.com and see what you can come up with.

I agree, we are looking at a balance. Your link in the first post suggests the cheapest route between Oakleigh Park and East croydon is avoiding zone 1 via Highbury & Islington and Stratford, which I'm never going to take!

I guess, if using oyster from oakleigh park, you mean getting to St. pancras with a direct service or changing at Finsbury park (not Highbury and Islington)

If you can arrive a little later (10:26) then an Off-Peak Day Return (route Not Underground) from St Pancras is good value at £10.40. Valid on the 09:40, return anytime. I've used it myself a number of times (with Oyster PAYG to get me to St Pancras) as it saves a lot of faffing about.

Unfortunately 10:26 would be too late. Will bear in mind for future one day!

 

[John @ home]

I have a 16-25 railcard but I'm not sure that its all that useful given that its before 10am!

The £12 minimum fare before 10am does not apply in July and August. See 16-25 Railcard Terms and Conditions.

 

[wipeout]

Looks like I'll be getting a SDR between Oakleigh Park and East Croydon (£6.85) and CDR between East Croydon and Gatwick.

2 questions:

1) Why is the FCC only CDR between East Croydon and Gatwick more expensive than the any permitted?

2) Is there a reason the minimum fare does not apply on the 16-25 railcard in July & August?

 

[bb21]

1) Why is the FCC only CDR between East Croydon and Gatwick more expensive than the any permitted?

Probably because FCC's pricing manager hasn't realised it is the case.

It is not an entirely pointless fare though, as it has a more generous time restriction than the Any Permitted fare.

 

[MikeWh]

1) Why is the FCC only CDR between East Croydon and Gatwick more expensive than the any permitted?

It probably wasn't when first introduced, but Southern's policy has seen the any permitted fall below it over time.

2) Is there a reason the minimum fare does not apply on the 16-25 railcard in July & August?

To encourage more use. Universities and Colleges have all closed and schools are shut from mid July.

 

[transmanche]

1) Why is the FCC only CDR between East Croydon and Gatwick more expensive than the any permitted?

The 'Any permitted' £5.90 Off-Peak Day Return carries restriction B1 - meaning it can be used from 09:30 onwards.

The 'FCC Only' £6.00 equivalent carries restriction B3 - meaning it can be used from 09:00 onwards.

So the FCC-only ticket is useful if you're travelling between 09:00 and 09:30 - on Southern you'd have to pay £9.40 for the Anytime Day Return

 

[Muzer]

2) Is there a reason the minimum fare does not apply on the 16-25 railcard in July & August?

My guess - to encourage college/university students to travel in the summer holidays without worrying about peak fares being high?