Travel tips

If you are a frequent traveller, you must have cursed your bad luck and jinxed trip upheavals. I have been stranded at the airport a couple of times. And each time I swear it will be my last. Unfortunately finances and the Curse of the Billy Goat conspire each time, for people of meager means like me, to dictate my travel needs. So I travel cheap and when stranded, I can’t afford the VIP lounge. Having some advance knowledge of the airport you are flying through can be useful. Here is what I like about Gatwick Airport.

The Airport is 32 miles from the centre of London and 25 miles from Heathrow airport, the biggest airport in UK. The fast Gatwick Express train runs every 15 minutes into Victoria station, an important station that has bus and rail connections to the whole of England. Over 115 million people pass through the Victoria station each year.

I have had backpackers say that the airport is a good and popular airport to sleep if you are on transit. The places often cited as safe for passengers is the recliners past security, I cant independently confirm that. I know for a fact that, although inevitable sometimes, sleeping at the airport is not easy. There are the cleaning staff making noise scraping stuff off the floor, there are frequent and booming announcements to contend with and of course the noise and banter from armed police patrolling down the corridors.

For those travelling with children,soft children’s play areas are available after security controls on the lower levels of the North and South’s International departure lounges. There are also children’s interactive and educational games and consoles facilities for children under 6 years. However, play areas are unsupervised so all parents and guardians are responsible for the safety and security of their children. Arcade games for older children and teenagers including computer games, ice hockey and table football are also available. If you still have time before your flight you can always take the kids for a free rides on the Inter Terminal Transit train that runs every 3 minutes between the North and South Terminals.

There is a service only available to passengers travelling within the European Union including the UK and Republic of Ireland. The deal is that you can buy stuff while you wait for your flight and they will keep it all safe until you return. All you do is to tell the retailer that is what you want to do, and they will give you a receipt. Your purchases will be waiting for you to collect upon your return at the Shopping Collection point located in international arrivals.

The Airport also boasts great views of the runway and planes from both the North and South Terminals departure lounges, which is an educational and exciting way to keep your children amused whilst waiting to fly. The second floor smokers’ area had nice padded benches. And for the religious type, there is an inter-faith chapel is available for private prayer in section named The Village.This article is not a complete guide to Gatwick Airport. There are many guides out there on the net.

Author: Patrick Omari

About the Author:

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Gatwick Airport Parking., Gatwick Airport Hotels and I have a little hobby site safari news.