Gatwick is the nearest major airport to much of Surrey, and for some of our towns it is dramatically closer than Heathrow. Our Reigate office is 9.0 miles and about 22 minutes from the South Terminal. Our Kingston office is 29.3 miles and about 55 minutes. That is a 33-minute spread to the same terminal, which is exactly why we quote each Gatwick car individually rather than publishing a price per town.
Clocktower Cars runs cars to Gatwick from eleven offices across Surrey and south London. Fixed price agreed before you book, licensed drivers, North and South Terminal both covered, and flight tracking so a delayed arrival does not cost you the car. Everything on this page is measured from journeys we actually drive.
Taken route by route to the South Terminal on 1 October 2026. Where a sensible alternative route exists, both are shown, because on this airport the choice between them matters more than almost anywhere else on our network.
| Office | Route | Distance | Typical drive | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reigate | direct | 9.0 miles | about 22 min | about 25 mph |
| Reigate | alternative | 15.4 miles | about 22 min | about 42 mph |
| Sutton (town centre) | M23 | 17.5 miles | about 32 min | about 33 mph |
| Sutton | Brighton Rd/A217 and M23 | 19.7 miles | about 31 min | about 38 mph |
| Carshalton | M23 | 17.9 miles | about 35 min | about 31 mph |
| Carshalton | Woodmansterne Rd/B278 and M23 | 18.0 miles | about 36 min | about 30 mph |
| Epsom (head office) | M23 | 19.4 miles | about 32 min | about 36 mph |
| Epsom | Brighton Rd/A217 and M23 | 19.2 miles | about 1 hr 7 min | about 17 mph |
| Chessington | M25 and M23 | 24.0 miles | about 40 min | about 36 mph |
| Chessington | A243, M25 and M23 | 26.7 miles | about 40 min | about 40 mph |
| Weybridge | M25 and M23 | 29.8 miles | about 39 min | about 46 mph |
| Kingston | M25 and M23 | 29.3 miles | about 55 min | about 32 mph |
| Kingston | M25 | 33.8 miles | about 53 min | about 38 mph |
| Guildford | M25 | 33.6 miles | about 40 min | about 50 mph |
| Godalming | A3 and M25 | 40.1 miles | about 49 min | about 49 mph |
| Godalming | A281 | 35.2 miles | about 59 min | about 36 mph |
Gatwick is the clearest demonstration we have that mileage is a poor guide to a journey. Six of the routes above are inversions, where the shorter road is the slower one.
From Epsom, the A217 route to Gatwick is 19.2 miles and takes 1 hour 7 minutes. The M23 route is 19.4 miles and takes 32 minutes. Two hundred metres of apparent saving costs you 35 minutes, because one road averages 17 mph and the other 36. This is the sharpest example anywhere on our network, and it is why we do not price by distance.
From Kingston, staying on the M25 for 33.8 miles beats cutting across for 29.3. The longer way is quicker, and a driver who knows the road takes it.
Guildford is 33.6 miles from the South Terminal and gets there in about 40 minutes, averaging roughly 50 mph. Kingston is 29.3 miles away and takes about 55 minutes at roughly 32 mph. Fast roads beat short ones, every time.
From Reigate, 9.0 miles and 15.4 miles both take 22 minutes. Reigate is still the quickest Gatwick run we have, and by a wide margin.
From Sutton, 17.5 miles via the M23 is 2.2 miles shorter and one minute slower than the 19.7-mile A217 route. From Godalming, the 35.2-mile A281 route is 4.9 miles shorter and ten minutes slower than going round via the A3 and M25.
Because we measure both, we can tell you something a radius map cannot. The ranking of our own offices reverses depending on which airport you are flying from.
| Town | To Heathrow | To Gatwick | Which wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Godalming | 30.2 mi / about 47 min | 40.1 mi / about 49 min | Heathrow — 9.9 miles nearer and 2 minutes quicker |
| Weybridge | 12.2 mi / about 19 min | 29.8 mi / about 39 min | Heathrow — 17.6 miles nearer, 20 minutes quicker |
| Carshalton | 30.4 mi / about 45 min | 17.9 mi / about 35 min | Gatwick — 12.5 miles nearer, 10 minutes quicker |
| Epsom | 24.3 mi / about 32 min | 19.4 mi / about 32 min | Gatwick — 4.9 miles nearer, same time |
Read the Carshalton and Epsom rows together and the point lands: Carshalton is nearer to Gatwick than Epsom is, yet to Heathrow Epsom is six miles nearer than Carshalton. Our offices do not sit in a neat line between Surrey and the airports, and no single published price list could describe both journeys honestly. If you have a choice of airport, ring us before you book the flight. Our Heathrow transfers page has the full Heathrow table.
Gatwick has two terminals and they are genuinely separate buildings. Getting this right is the single easiest way to avoid a stressful start.
| Terminal | Who mostly flies from it |
|---|---|
| North Terminal | easyJet, following the airline consolidation there |
| South Terminal | British Airways long-haul and a range of other carriers, after the 2017 terminal swap |
The two terminals are linked by an elevated, two-way automated people mover covering 0.75 miles. It is quick and it is free, but it is still a transfer with bags, and it is time you did not plan for. Tell us the terminal when you book and the driver takes you to the right door.
Say so, and we will look it up with you from the flight number. That is a thirty-second conversation on the phone and considerably better than guessing. Booking a car to Gatwick North when you are flying from South is a mistake that only reveals itself when you are already late.
Coming back is where an airport transfer earns its money, because the start time belongs to an airline rather than to you.
Give us the flight number, not an expected landing time. We track the flight, so if you are two hours late the car moves with you, and if you land early we already know. Your free waiting period starts when the aircraft lands rather than when you guessed it would. Beyond that period, waiting is charged by the quarter hour, and we ring you before the clock starts rather than letting it run quietly.
A great many people search for a car from Gatwick rather than to it, and we run that leg just as often. Gatwick to Epsom, Gatwick to Sutton, Gatwick to Kingston, Gatwick to Reigate: same distances, same measured times, booked the same way.
Book it at the same time as the outbound journey if you can. It is one phone call, the driver is allocated in advance, and you are not standing in the arrivals hall at midnight trying to arrange a car with a flat phone battery. If your return date is not fixed yet, book the outbound and ring us when you know.
People ask us for a car to Gatwick airport, a taxi to Gatwick, Gatwick airport cars, a cab to Gatwick, a Gatwick minicab. They all describe the same thing, and it is worth knowing what that thing is in law, because the difference is a pricing difference.
Clocktower Cars is a private hire operator, so every Gatwick car we send is pre-booked and fixed-price. For an airport run that is the structure you want: the traffic risk is ours, and you know the number before you leave the house. Our minicab versus black cab page goes into the distinction properly.
The practical difference between Gatwick cars is usually where the car starts. A car sent from Reigate is nine miles from the South Terminal. A car dispatched from central London is doing a long empty run before it even reaches you, and that is in the price whether it is itemised or not. We have eleven offices, so the car that collects you is a local one.
Most people ring us asking for a taxi to Gatwick, and that is exactly what this is. A Gatwick airport taxi, a Gatwick taxi, a cab to Gatwick, a Gatwick minicab and a car to Gatwick airport are all the same pre-booked, fixed-price journey with a licensed driver. We do not price one differently from another because of the word you used.
The only thing worth knowing is that we are a private hire operator, so a Gatwick taxi from us is always booked in advance rather than hailed. That is what lets us quote a fixed price instead of running a meter, and on a journey that can be anything from 9 to 40 miles, a fixed price is worth having.
The South Terminal serves British Airways long-haul and a range of other carriers. Every measurement in the table above was taken to the South Terminal, so those distances and times are the South Terminal figures: Reigate 9.0 miles and about 22 minutes, Epsom 19.4 miles and about 32, Guildford 33.6 miles and about 40. Ask for a taxi to Gatwick South Terminal by name and the driver takes you to the right set of doors.
The North Terminal is where easyJet consolidated its operation, so for a great many Surrey holiday flights the North Terminal is the one you want. It is a separate building reached by a different road entrance, and the drive time from our offices is within a couple of minutes of the South Terminal figures. The important thing is to say North Terminal when you book, because the two are 0.75 miles apart once you are inside the airport.
A taxi from Gatwick works the same way in reverse, with one addition: the flight number. Tell us which terminal you are landing at and what you are flying on, and the car is there when you clear the hall. A Gatwick minicab booked in advance beats joining a queue with a trolley at the end of a long flight, and you already know the price.
A genuinely lower Gatwick fare comes from travelling outside the peak, being collected by the nearest office, taking one correctly sized car rather than two small ones, and sharing the fare between you. A cheap Gatwick taxi quote that excludes airport entry charges or arrival waiting time is not cheaper, it is just incomplete. When you compare two Gatwick cab quotes, check that both cover the same address, the same terminal, the same car size and the same waiting allowance.
We quote each Gatwick journey rather than publishing a fare table, for the reason the measurement table makes plain: 9.0 miles from Reigate and 40.1 miles from Godalming are not the same job. Here is what the quote is built from.
Airport entry and drop-off charges are included in what we quote, not added at the barrier. For a full explanation of airport pricing, including how to compare two quotes properly, see what an airport taxi costs and what sets the price.
People do search for one, so here is the straight answer. A published price covering a whole town would be too high for customers at the near edge of it and too low for those at the far edge. The alternative — advertising the lowest number and adjusting upwards once a real address is known — is not a price list, it is a hook. We would rather give you one figure that holds, in under a minute, from your actual address.
Once you have a quote and the booking is placed, a slow M23 is our problem rather than yours. The price does not move. What can change it is a change to the job: an added stop, a different terminal, a bigger car, or waiting beyond the free period on an arrival.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Realistic luggage | Typical Gatwick use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saloon | Up to 4 | 2 large cases and 2 cabin bags | Couples, solo business travel |
| Estate | Up to 4 | 3 to 4 large cases | A family of four genuinely going away |
| MPV | Up to 6 | 4 to 5 large cases | Families, small groups, golf and ski bags |
| Eight-seater | Up to 8 | 8 cases | Group holidays, sports teams |
| Executive saloon | Up to 3 | 2 large cases | Client collections, corporate arrivals |
| Wheelchair accessible | Varies by vehicle | Varies | Ramped access, chair secured in the vehicle |
One larger car is nearly always cheaper than two smaller ones, and much easier to keep together on the M23. If there are more than four of you, ask about the MPV and the eight-seater before booking two saloons. We also run wheelchair accessible vehicles and pet friendly cars to Gatwick; both need allocating in advance, so mention it when you book.
Sometimes not, and we will say so. Gatwick has a railway station that has served the airport since 1958, with the Gatwick Express running non-stop to London Victoria, Thameslink to London Bridge and on to St Pancras International, and Southern services to both London Bridge and Victoria. If you are one person with one bag starting near a direct line, the train is likely cheaper.
Gatwick is the second-busiest airport in the UK by passenger traffic, and a lot of that is business travel. If your company sends people there regularly, an account replaces repeated card payments with one monthly invoice, named cost centres, and bookings placed by a PA or EA without a card each time. Details on our corporate chauffeur service and executive travel pages.
Every town we cover can be quoted for Gatwick, in both directions. Pick yours for local detail, or ring the nearest office.
| Town | Office and number | The Gatwick journey |
|---|---|---|
| Reigate | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | 9.0 miles, about 22 minutes. Our quickest Gatwick run. |
| Redhill | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | Very close to Gatwick. Also has a direct train, so compare both. |
| Chipstead | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | Straight down to the M23; a short, fast run. |
| Kingswood | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | M25 junction 8 then the M23. |
| Banstead | Reigate, 01737 333 700 | No direct rail to Gatwick, so the car is the sensible option. |
| Sutton | Sutton, 0208 643 2255 | 17.5 miles via the M23, about 32 minutes. |
| Carshalton | Carshalton, 0208 773 0700 | 17.9 miles, about 35 minutes. Nearer Gatwick than Epsom is. |
| Epsom | Epsom, 01372 747 747 | 19.4 miles by the M23, about 32 minutes. Avoid the A217 route: 0.2 miles shorter, 35 minutes slower. |
| Ewell | Epsom or Ewell West, 0208 330 5555 | Same corridor as Epsom; the M23 route is the quick one. |
| Cheam | Sutton, 0208 643 2255 | A217 and M23 corridor. |
| North Cheam | Sutton, 0208 643 2255 | A217 and M23 corridor. |
| Worcester Park | Sutton or Kingston | Ask which office is quoting; it can make a real difference here. |
| Morden | Carshalton or Sutton | A217 then the M23. |
| Ashtead | Epsom, 01372 747 747 | Via Epsom to the M23; no direct rail service. |
| Chessington | Chessington, 0208 397 4747 | 24.0 miles, about 40 minutes via the M25 and M23. |
| Tolworth | Chessington, 0208 397 4747 | A243 to the M25, then the M23. |
| Kingston | Kingston, 0203 388 9999 | 29.3 miles, about 55 minutes. Staying on the M25 for 33.8 miles is quicker. |
| Surbiton | Kingston, 0203 388 9999 | Allow more time than the mileage suggests. |
| Thames Ditton | Kingston or Weybridge | Ask which office is quoting. |
| Esher | Weybridge, 01932 598 598 | M25 then M23; no direct rail. |
| Weybridge | Weybridge, 01932 598 598 | 29.8 miles, about 39 minutes. Heathrow is much closer from here. |
| Guildford | Guildford, 01483 301 000 | 33.6 miles, about 40 minutes. Further than Kingston, 15 minutes quicker. |
| Godalming | Godalming, 01483 422 222 | 40.1 miles, about 49 minutes. Heathrow is nearer and quicker from here. |
Not listed? We cover a good deal more. The branch locator will point you to the right office, and find us lists every address. Other airports: Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, or everything on the airport transfers page.
Then ask for the fixed price. Book through book now or ring the office nearest you; both reach the same system and the same price.
More detail on particular journeys, terminals and the things people ask before a Gatwick run.
Gatwick sits near Crawley in West Sussex, about 30 miles south of Central London. From our offices it ranges from 9.0 miles at Reigate to 40.1 miles at Godalming, with drive times from about 22 minutes to about 55.
It depends on where you are starting, and the range is wide because the distances are. We quote from your actual address, terminal, time, passenger count and luggage, and the figure we give is the figure you pay. Give us those details and you will have a price in under a minute.
Check your airline confirmation. Broadly, easyJet operates from the North Terminal and British Airways long-haul from the South, but allocations change and only your confirmation is authoritative. If you are unsure, tell us the flight number and we will look it up with you.
They are linked by an elevated automated people mover covering 0.75 miles. It is free and frequent, but it is still a transfer with your bags, so it is worth being dropped at the right terminal in the first place.
It genuinely depends on the town, and the answer is often not the obvious one. Carshalton is 12.5 miles nearer to Gatwick than to Heathrow. Godalming is 9.9 miles nearer to Heathrow than to Gatwick, and quicker too. If you have a choice of airport, ring us before you book the flight.
Yes, if you give us the flight number. The car moves with the flight, so a delay does not mean a missed pickup or a second booking, and your free waiting time starts at landing.
Yes. Airport entry and drop-off charges are in the quote rather than added at the barrier. If a competing quote does not mention them, ask.
Yes. An eight-seater carries eight passengers and eight cases, and it is normally cheaper than booking two cars as well as much simpler to keep together on the motorway.
Yes, and we run that direction constantly. The distances and times are the same as the outbound journey. Book the return at the same time as the outbound if your dates are fixed.
No, and deliberately so. A town-wide published price is wrong for everyone who is not exactly average, and quoting the low end and adjusting later is not transparent. We quote per journey from your real address and the figure holds.
Unsocial hours are priced into the quote, and so is the fact that the roads are clear. A 04:00 run is a quicker journey than the same job at 07:30, which works in your favour. Ask for both if your flight gives you the choice.
Yes to both. Card payment is available on every booking, and an account gives regular travellers one monthly invoice and bookings without a card each time.
Tell us the terminal, where you are starting and when you need to be there. You will get one fixed price from a licensed local operator with eleven offices across Surrey and south London.
Get a Gatwick quote and book online — or ring your nearest office: Reigate 01737 333 700, Epsom 01372 747 747, Sutton 0208 643 2255, Carshalton 0208 773 0700, Chessington 0208 397 4747, Kingston 0203 388 9999, Weybridge 01932 598 598, Guildford 01483 301 000, Godalming 01483 422 222, Bookham 01372 727 727, Ewell West 0208 330 5555.
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