WWYD - long layover in London right after all night Graduation Party

Parent Cafe
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Okay, wise CC community -----

D18 graduates on a Saturday and there’s a district wide all night (substance-free) party that she’ll attend that night-- not sure she’ll stay all night, but maybe? We leave the next Sunday afternoon for our summer vacation – two weeks in Italy! Wohoo!

We are using FF miles for our tickets which means we have funky itinerary with airport change and long layover in London.
(Hey, free is free, right?)

STAGE SETTING:
Sat night: D18 potentially up all night at her grad party. Leave for airport around 3:00 pm on Sun.
Sun night: All four of us (We also have S21) on overnight nonstop to London; economy seats

Arrive: 6:00 am London Heathrow
Depart: 3:20 pm London Gatwick for 2.5 hour flight to Italy
(so 9 hours!!)
Italy: When we arrive we’ll have a private transfer drive of about an hour and will get to our Italy hotel around 7:30 that evening.

I know I don’t want to go directly to Gatwick (an hour via express coach) and just hang out in the airport that long in the general waiting areas, shops, etc That sounds miserable. Worth noting: We have some time in London on way home (and have visited b4) so seeing the city is not really a factor.

So, here’s 2 options I’ve come up with – would love your feedback. Both cost about the same so that’s not driving factor for decision.

OPTION A:
Train to Paddington Station arriving around 8:00 am, store luggage there (I’ve found a place), find nice hotel restaurant to have a big breakfast, walk around Hyde Park for a while, and then take train to Gatwick. We’d need to leave at Noon so we’d have a total of 4 hours in the city.

Pros: get some fresh air and exercise, sunlight good for adjusting to new time zone

Cons: stress about any travel snafu back to airport, “ours as**es be dragging” so not really fun - teen and adult grumpiness factors are high, it’s really not much time.

OPTION B:
Take express coach directly to Gatwick and check into a pod hotel inside the airport around 8:30 am and we’d have about 6 hours to sleep, chill, shower before checking in for next flight. Am thinking try to sleep for 2 to 3 hours, probably at the beginning.

Pros: sleep in real bed and shower!!! My son thinks the pods are pretty darn cool and they great reviews, no stress about catching next flight.

Cons: do we want to be cooped up again in a pod after being on overnight flight? Will sleeping for 2 to 3 hours a) be possible? b) mess us up for adjusting to new time? [My D18 thinks being outdoors and sun (Option A) would be better?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?? Or, any other ideas?

Thanks in advance!!!

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Breakfast in Hyde Park

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First, she’s young so should be able to bounce back with little sleep. At least my kids are good at that. She can sleep on the flight over to London which will be even better for getting her on the right sleep schedule for Italy time.

If it was me, I’d be more active. Stay awake on the arrival day as much as possible to adjust right away and avoid jt lag. Have a big traditional English breakfast than, if you think you all might be tired, use the free hours in London to take one of those double decker sightseeing buses. Good way to see some of the sights in London and if anyone is too tired they can sleep on the bus.

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We travel internationally quite a bit and I’m always inclined to do more than I should. Family has to reign me back in. The practical and easiest thing to do would be the direct train to Gatwick. Then you can relax knowing that you won’t miss next flight. The train into Paddington, storing luggage, eating, dragging luggage to another train etc sounds nightmarish. And I think that will take a lot longer than you think. Instead of a pod, I’d investigate an airport hotel with shower, dining, etc. You could check your luggage in and then go for a rest with just your hand luggage.

We generally go into an airport club lounge with long layovers; many even have showers and quiet rooms with loungers. My cc includes membership. Send me a message and I can tell you more about it. Been a lifesaver on many trips.

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Hmmm… that’s a tough one!

You sound like experienced travelers, so my vote would be for a gigantic breakfast in London and a stroll around. Usually I try to avoid sleeping in the morning after an overnight flight - I wait until the proper bedtime in the “new” time zone, otherwise it really does throw me off for a few days. You may not even be tired until it’s time to get on your Italy flight. My only hesitation is the weather. If it’s a super rainy day in London, that just might be a drag. Can you wait to decide - maybe a few days before so you can get a fairly accurate weather report?

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You arrive Monday morning, and by the time you are through passport control and customs it will likely be 7am. The M25 is a disaster area at that time, and so I wouldn’t count on being at Gatwick until closer to 9am, maybe later. That will limit your sleep time to not much more than 2 hours.

So on balance I’d probably pick the option of going into London and trying to stay awake. But if the weather is poor, think about a backup option to walking in Hyde Park. Maybe the National Gallery?

Another possibility is renting yourself a car for the transfer since that will probably be cheaper than the bus and gives you somewhere to leave your bags. Drive to Windsor, which is quick from Heathrow and is the opposite direction to rush hour traffic. Get breakfast there and walk around the town or Windsor Great Park and then head to Gatwick around 12 when the traffic is fine. If you don’t want to drive you can leave bags at left luggage in Heathrow and take a cab/Uber or local bus to Windsor, before returning to Heathrow for the coach, though your time will be a bit more limited.

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If you have Amex platinum then you could hang out at one of those priority lounges. Free food, drinks, and shower.

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@oldfort I believe the PP with the Amex card does not include guests but one can pay for guests. I have one with Chase that includes guests.

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The platinum cards gives you 200 Uber $$, good membership to Marriott, Hilton and car rentals. Even though the membership is expensive, I think the perks pay for itself. It also gives protection on purchases. Sounding like an Amex advertisement…it also provides emergency air lift back to the states for medical emergencies. That insurance alone is few hundred $$, and the actual cost could be 20k+.

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Even if you don’t have platinum, you can often buy a day pass. I’m not sure what they charge these days but AA used to be $50. Sometimes you can use your FF miles for those as well. Given they include food, drinks, and sometimes showers, it can be $ well spent.

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These are all good suggestions! Thank you!

I have an AmEX but not platinum and it only allows access to Sky Club when I’m traveling Delta (which I’m not this flight). I could use my American Airlines Visa to pay $50 for day pass for the lounge at Heathrow BUT they don’t have one at Gatwick which is where I’d rather spend the time just to be settled. I don’t have right card or status to use BA lounge. :frowning: Maybe if I upgrade one of my cards, but I hate the big annual fees and don’t travel enough to justify really…

I’m going to sleuth around and see about other lounges in Gatwick and how to get access… could be a good compromise – not sleeping when we arrive but access to more comfortable digs to hang out.

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Here’s some info on lounges at Gatwick not affiliated with particular airlines:
https://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the-airport/flying-out/Airport-lounges/

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Were it me, this would be an easy decision: book a hotel near Gatwick and go to sleep. Jet lag is a nuisance going to Europe. The likelihood of sleeping in economy is nil for me anyway. So get a hotel, get some rest, and show up in Italy ready to go.

If you want to go the lounge route, consider getting a credit card with Priority Pass lounge access. You might already have one without realizing it. Chase Sapphire Preferred is a good travel card. The annual fee is $450 but you get a $300 annual travel credit that is automatically accounted for on your statement so the net annual fee is really $150. You get free Priority Pass lounge access - can’t remember if you have to pay for guests.

If you already have AMEX, you could upgrade to Platinum for yourself and up to 3 additional card holders. The points you get can roll into British Airlines Avios system if that is valuable for you. The fee is high but offset by Uber credits (domestic Uber only) and you get free Priority Pass that includes guests. You also get access to AMEX lounge and Centurion lounges. You get $200 annually for an airline credit and credit toward global entry. If you don’t yet have Global Entry and have time, consider getting it for your whole family. It lasts 5 years, gives you automatic TSA recheck, and when you return to the USA you simply scan your finger prints, bypass the lines, and walk through. FYI, AMEX is not very useful in Italy except for expensive hotels, but VISA is accepted almost everywhere.

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Your D will be just fine.

If you opt for the the London idea, there is a really nice Hilton attached to Paddington. Also if you go this route plan for it to take an hour longer than you are planning for.

Perhaps you could grab a snack at Paddington or the Hilton and then take a one hour taxi ride past a few key sites with your luggage safely the boot of the taxi before heading off to Gatwick.

The chances are good that on a 2.5 hour flight that you will each be able to get in a 30-45 minute catnap and then all you need is to try and stay awake until 9pm and you will be golden!

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Your timeframes sound rather tight. If it were me and my family (we have a very high traveling:grumpiness/anxiety ratio) I would take the express coach directly to Gatwick and check into the Yotel pod inside the airport and rest. I would want to be at my next destination airport ready to go as early as possible. If your flight to London is delayed for any reason, it will throw off your entire schedule. At Heathrow, you will need time to walk through the airport, gather your luggage, get through customs, etc as @Twoin18 mentioned. It sounds like getting from Heathrow to Gatwick will take longer than you think. Also I would think you would also need additional time to get your bags checked and get through security at Gatwick and be at your gate an hour before takeoff/boarding. I would take every opportunity to nap in a bed along the way so you and the family can arrive fresh and rested in Italy as @WISdad23 suggested.

Last month my daughter and I took Amtrak Acela from New Haven to NYC Penn Station because flights back to the midwest were cheaper via NYC (we flew on points). It took us nearly an hour to emerge from the depths of Penn Station up the street (part of the time was spent navigating a way out to the surface streets, and then locating a bathroom, any bathroom) where we found ourselves at Madison Square Gardens, then spent 30 mins waiting for a Lyft ride to LGA due to heavier than normal traffic. The car ride to LGA itself was 30 minutes longer than I had planned. Security wait at LGA was nearly 1.25 hours. All those little delays add up. We made it to our flight on time, but I am really glad I booked the earlier Amtrak.

If it were my daughter, I would request she come home from the party at some point so at least most of the family can get a decent night’s sleep. My daughter traveled to France and Italy last spring and was surprised about how little overhead storage was available on her flight between France and Italy (basically none).

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Option C: hang out at Heathrow, eat, and shop (Heathrow has amazing shopping and good food) until it’s time to head to Gatwick.

With my family, I wouldn’t consider any other option.

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Here is another hotel inside Gatwick South Terminal if you take this route: Bloc Hotel Gatwick.
I will be using it this summer for an early flight back to the US.

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@ProfessorMom1 - i get priority pass with Amex, and I am always able to being a guest, I would be hard pressed to pay 45 for lounge access.
I don’t think I could get my kids to leave the airport after an overnight flight. Our thing is usually sleep in the morning then go out in the late afternoon. Most Europeans have late dinners, so we would eat at 9 or 10 and then sleep in next morning.

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I’m in agreement with @ProfessorMom1 and others who have said they expect your time may be tighter than you think. Last time I flew into Heathrow (recently), weekday arriving about the time of your flight it took well over 45 minutes to get through the immigration lines - and there were very few planes with the immigration room only about 1/3 full. It just took F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get through. (Unless you are US Registered Travellers?) Also, the immigration lines were a long hike from my arrival gate, so the entire process was about two hours before I got through to begin the trek to that train to Paddington that you are considering (and then waited for the train, etc). Yuk. I hope you have a better/faster experience! (Happier note - my Asia resident kid met me in London on that trip, arriving several days later than me. Flew through immigration. I hope this is your experience!!!)

I would be inclined to get to Gatwick sooner rather than later as others have also suggested. All sorts of weird things can go wrong. I generally travel with a Plan A and a Plan B for arrivals just as you’ve considered. If all goes well, I can follow through with a leisurely paced plan, but I always have the most efficient option ready to go. You never know when flights will be delayed, lines are slow, strikes will happen, etc.

Do enjoy the trip!! D will be fine whatever you need to do for logistics of the situation.

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We flew US to Amsterdam and had a lovely relaxing 6 hour nap at the yotel. (The great thing about yotel Amsterdam is it is airside, so you don’t have to go through security again.) Then we flew on to Turkey. It was the best thing ever! I agree with those who suggest you get to Gatwick asap and nap and shower. A long economy overnight trip makes one feel like crap, and a shower then nap can do wonders for the grumpiness. Best start your trip rested