Expert: Michael - 12/5/2005

Question
Dear Sir,

I'm a Malaysian student who would like to visit my brother who is staying in UK next January. My flight would land in London Gatwick airport & my brother is staying in Aberden, Scotland. I would like to ask few questions here:-

1. What is the cheapest and best way for me to travel from London Gatwick Airport to Aberdeen, Scotland?

2. How much it will cost if I take the train and how long is the journey? From which station (nearest to London Gatwick Airport), I should take the train and where I shall stop my journey (nearest to Foresterhill Road, Aberdeen, Scotland)? How often is the train and how could I travel from London Gatwick Airport to my departure railway station? How much it would cost?

3. How much it will cost if I take the bus and how long is the journey? From which station(nearest to London Gatwick Airport), I should take the bus and where I shall stop my journey (nearest to Foresterhill Road, Aberdeen, Scotland)? How oftenis the bus and how could I travel from London Gatwick Airport to my departure bus station? How much it would cost?

4. Am I eligible to get any discounts for my ticket since I'm a student & holding the International Student Card.

For your kindness in voluntaringly helping me, I would like to end with millions of thanks.  

Answer
Hello,

Thanks for your email.
I'm afraid the journey from Gatwick to Aberdeen is a VERY long journey. It would probably take about 10 hours by train, or about 15 hours by coach or bus. Costs can be very different depending on what time of day you plan to travel and how far in advance you book your ticket.

Train journeys depart from Gatwick Airport South Terminal. You can get a train into London, and then there are services from London. From London you must take another train to Edinburgh in Scotland, and then in Edinburgh take on final train to Aberdeen. To complete the journey you would need to leave Gatwick early in the morning and you would not arrive in Aberdeen till late in the afternoon. Alternatively, you could take the night train from London to Aberdeen. One train leaves London each night and gets to Aberdeen at about 7am the next day.
The total cost for a return ticket could be up to £300.
The cheapest tickets are about £26 one-way, but this a very hard ticket to get. You can find more about day-time trains on the website at:
www.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney
and more information about the Night Train (called the Caledonian Sleeper) on www.scotrail.co.uk

If you took a coach, you could take coach from Gatwick Airport South Terminal direct to London, and then another coach from London to Aberdeen. In total, the journey would take about 15 hours. The cost would be around £50 or £60 if you booked it online now. There is more information about National Express Coaches in britain at:
www.nationalexpress.com

Unfortunately, none of these companies offer a discount to students holding the ISIC card. You can, however, purchase a UK student card for trains which would cost about £20. This may be worth doing if you travel by train as you would then get a 33% discount off you fare. You can read more about RailCards at www.youngpersons-railcard.co.uk

You can buy a similar card for the national coach services which costs just £10 and gets upto 30% discount off the coach fare. There is more information at:
http://www.nationalexpress.com/save/nx2.cfm

I hope that all of this information as been useful. If you would like more help planning your journey and you can tell me the dates and times you will land at Gatwick (and when you return) I shall be happy to try to help you.

Best Wishes
Michael