Dartford to Gatwick Airport Taxi

Dartford to Gatwick Airport taxi fares

One-way fixed fares from Dartford to Gatwick Airport by vehicle, with the Gatwick drop-off charge included. The price you are quoted is the price you pay.

These are our published fixed fares for this journey. Your exact price is confirmed in writing before you travel. Returns are priced as two one-way fares. No booking fee, no card surcharge, child seats free.

Route & Real-World Timing

The numbers

• Distance: 35.2 miles, Dartford station to Gatwick South Terminal.
• Clear-road time: about 43 minutes. You get that on a late evening, very early in the morning, or a quiet Sunday.
• Real-world time: longer whenever the M25 is busy. The buffer table further down shows what we actually allow.

Road by road

1. A226 East Hill out of the town centre.
2. A296 Princes Road to M25 Junction 2 (Darenth). From most DA1 addresses you're on the motorway within minutes, and you skip the A2 run from Bexley that drivers coming from further in have to deal with.
3. M25 anticlockwise from J2 to J7 (Merstham). This stretch passes J3 Swanley, J4 Badgers Mount, J5 Sevenoaks/Chipstead, where the M26 joins, and J6 Godstone.
4. M23 southbound from J7 to J9. J8 to J10 is smart motorway, so watch the overhead signs for variable limits.
5. J9 for the airport. The South Terminal is signed straight off the J9 roundabout. The North Terminal is along the J9a spur. Airlines are split between the two terminals, so the driver checks your flight number before setting off.

Plan B: south to Swanley

If the Crossing traffic has clogged Princes Road or the J2 slips, the driver can head south on the A225 Hawley Road through Sutton-at-Hone, pick up the A20 and join the M25 at Junction 3 (Swanley). That avoids the Darenth merge altogether. The driver makes the call on the day, based on live traffic.

Bottlenecks and what each one costs

• Crossing spill-back onto local roads. Traffic queuing for the Dartford Crossing (the A282, junctions J1a and J1b) can back up onto Princes Road and around the town centre. For an outbound trip this mostly affects pickups near the centre and the station. If it's jammed when we arrive, allow an extra 10 minutes or let us use the A225 option.
• J2 Darenth, weekday mornings. A2 traffic from Bexley and Bexleyheath merges here. Expect slow lanes from about 07:00.
• J3 Swanley. M20 traffic from Kent joins the anticlockwise carriageway. Busy in both rush hours.
• J5 Sevenoaks. Lane-changing where the M26 comes in often causes stop-start traffic, even outside peak times.
• J6 to J7 and the M23 slip. This is usually where the most time goes. The slip road at J7 regularly queues back into lane 1 between 07:00–09:30 and 16:00–19:00. Allow 15–20 minutes.
• The drive home. From about 15:30 on weekdays, clockwise traffic heading for the Crossing often queues back past J2 towards J3. The driver will either come off at J3 and use the A20/A225 back into Dartford, or take a J2 local exit before the queue, rather than sit in the Crossing traffic.

Pickup buffers by departure window

Worked example: a Tuesday 09:45 flight to Malaga

Gatwick asks passengers to arrive 2 hours before a short-haul flight, and 3 hours before long-haul. For a 09:45 departure you should be at the terminal by 07:45. That drive falls straight into the morning peak, so we allow 70 minutes and send the car to your Dartford address at about 06:35. Leaving that early also gets you onto Princes Road before Crossing traffic starts building.

Gatwick Terminal Drop-Off Rules 2026

The drop-off zones

• North Terminal: lower level, between the Sofitel and the multi-storey car park.
• South Terminal: lower level. Follow the "Drop Off" signs from the approach road.
• Neither zone has barriers. ANPR cameras log each car's number plate on the way in and out.

Charges and payment

• Since 6 January 2026: £10 for the first 10 minutes, then £1 per extra minute.
• Daily maximum £30, maximum stay 30 minutes. The same rules apply at both terminals.
• The charge is paid online, by phone on 0330 174 4503, or through an AutoPay account, by midnight the day after the visit.
• An unpaid charge leads to a Parking Charge Notice, issued by Times24.

The drop-off charge is included in your fare. We pay it ourselves, so you get no separate bill and there's no risk of a PCN landing on you. Unloading a couple of cases at the kerb takes a few minutes, so you'll be gone well within the first 10.

Blue Badge holders don't pay the charge, but the vehicle has to be pre-registered with Times24 first. Let us know when you book and we'll give you the car's registration so you can sort it out before the day.

Coming home: arrivals pickup

We track your flight and time the driver for when you actually land, not the scheduled time. You get 60 minutes' free waiting from touchdown, so a slow passport queue or a late bag won't cost you anything. Ask for meet and greet and the driver will be waiting in arrivals with a name board. You'll have the driver's name, car and registration the evening before.

Taxi or Train from Dartford?

The rail option

1. Dartford to London Bridge: typically 35–40 minutes.
2. Change to Thameslink for Gatwick Airport: typically 30–35 minutes.
3. Door to terminal: typically 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, counting the trip to the station and the change. Gatwick's station is next to the South Terminal. For the North Terminal you take the free inter-terminal shuttle.

All rail times are typical. Check National Rail or TfL on the day.

When the taxi wins

• Luggage. Getting big cases up and down the stairs at Dartford station, then across London Bridge at rush hour, is hard going. By car, the bags go in the boot at home and come out at the terminal.
• Groups. The fare is for the vehicle, not per person. Four people in a saloon (sedan) at £72 works out at £24 each. Six in an MPV at £81 is under £24 each. Eight in the 9-seater at £115 is £22 each. Compare that with eight separate rail tickets.
• Early flights. For a 06:30 departure you need to be at the terminal around 04:30, and the first trains don't connect in time for that. Our price is the same at 03:45 as it is at noon.
• Late arrivals. If an evening flight lands late you can miss the last useful trains back through London Bridge. We follow the flight, so the car is still waiting when you land.
• Direct route. The car drives straight down the M25, 35 miles door to door. The train goes north into London first, then back out again.

The train works fine if you're on your own with a small bag in the middle of the day. For families, groups, heavy luggage or anything before 07:00, a fixed-fare car is the more reliable choice.

Gatwick pickups across Dartford (DA1/DA2)

We collect from any address in Dartford, including the town centre, Temple Hill, West Hill, Wilmington, Stone and Darenth. The fare above is the starting price for the DA1/DA2 area; your exact fixed price is confirmed when you book.

Pickups from Dartford station are easy too: give us your train time and the driver meets you outside.

How to book your Dartford to Gatwick Airport taxi

Dartford to Gatwick Airport taxi — questions

Related journeys & areas