We knew that after a couple of weeks away seeing family and friends over the Christmas period and then jetting off to the beautiful island of Jamaica, we still had the dreaded return journey. Flights returning home always seem quicker which in most cases they are but not for us as we had the added complication of getting from the UK to Mallorca and in the winter time that isn’t as easy as you think. It’s the getting off of one plane and then getting back on another which is the pain. Only this pain was going to be slightly longer than we wanted. Landing at Gatwick at 06.45 in the morning, we then had to wait until 5pm to get our flight back to Mallorca.
So what do you do when waiting for a connecting flight at London Gatwick or any other airport for that matter? Our problem was that easyJet (others weren’t available) only allow you to check-in a maximum 3 hours before your scheduled flight time. Airports aren’t really designed for you to spend a significant amount of time landside, the fun only starts once you get airside. It’s a question though that will pop up again and again during this piece. Believe me when I say I exhausted all efforts to try and take away the boredom we faced.
The three hotels right by the North terminal where we landed and were leaving from are the Premier Inn, Sofitel and the Hampton by Hilton. The Sofitel check-in is from 2pm, the Hampton by Hilton is from 3pm. That is the same as the Premier Inn who were the only ones to offer an earlier check-in at 11am for only £10.00 but this is only payable on arrival and subject to availability on the day.
So a hotel was really a no go.
All the airport lounges are airside. Which when you think about it makes sense but why not offer one that is landside? I’m sure there’s many more people who will be in the same position as us with a connecting flight and also those who would like to take the stress out of actually getting to the airport in the first place. It’s an idea if you’re reading this someone at Gatwick Airport.(unlikely!)
I even considered leaving our luggage at the airport which you can do. I found a company called stasher.com that offer certain places that will store your bags for £4.75 a bag. Then you could take a train to London to see the sights, have a meal, go shopping or go to the theatre as on the Gatwick Express you can arrive at Victoria in 30 minutes. Or take the train to Brighton, go the pier, visit the lanes or have some seaside fish & chips! All of which you can get to also in only 30 minutes. The problem with either of those is you arrive knackered and you might not enjoy it as much.
Another idea which we did the night before we flew to Jamaica was to take the local bus from the airport to Crowley Cineworld. It takes 15 minutes and was £2.00 each, each way. We saw a film, well I say saw a film, as the one I went to I fell asleep in. My wife who’s my usual nudger had gone to a different one. Right outside the cinema you can eat at Nandos, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut or Five Guys to name a few.
What we eventually decided on was a place on the ground floor of the South Terminal called Yotelair. Basically they are pods that have either double beds or bunk beds with a TV, shower and toilet. The advantage is they’ll let you book in at anytime for a minimum of 4 hours. It cost us £49.99 for each pod for the 4 hours and £10.00 for every extra hour after that. To be honest I found them a little bit claustrophobic but my wife and boys slept without any problem. It was good though to have a shower after an overnight flight. After leaving our hotel in Jamaica at 12 midday on Thursday, we arrived back at our house in Mallorca at 9pm on Friday night.
I hope this will help anyone who has a similar journey to us coming up. As for us well we’re already planning on where we can go next year.