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Short answer: Book a vehicle based on your luggage and group size, not just the number of passengers. Arrange child seats in advance, provide your flight number, and book your return transfer at the same time. For early flights, pre-booking a fixed-price transfer helps ensure the vehicle is ready when you need it.
Family travel days are long. The transfer is the first hour and the last hour of the holiday, and it sets the tone for both. Getting it right is mostly about decisions made weeks earlier.
Size the vehicle by luggage, not headcount
Two adults and two children is four people, which technically fits a saloon. It does not fit a saloon once you add four cases, a pushchair and a bag of things for the plane.
| Your party | Realistic vehicle | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2 adults, 1 child, hand luggage | Saloon | Fine for a short trip |
| 2 adults, 2 children, 4 cases, buggy | People carrier | The buggy is what tips it |
| 2 adults, 3 children, holiday luggage | 8 seater | Seats plus cases exceed an MPV |
| 4 adults, 3 children, two weeks away | 8 seater | Seven people, seven or more cases |
| Multi-family group of 9 or more | Minibus or two vehicles | Quoted as one booking so you travel together |
Full capacities are on our fleet page, and there is a longer breakdown in our guide to choosing a vehicle for group travel.
Child seats
Child seats are provided free on request, but they have to be arranged in advance because they are fitted before the driver sets out. Give the ages of the children when you book so the right type is fitted: infant carrier, forward-facing seat or booster.
Do not rely on bringing your own and fitting it at the kerb at 4am. It is possible, but it is a poor use of the ten minutes you will not have.
The early-morning problem
Family holidays are disproportionately booked on the cheapest flights, which are disproportionately at 06:00. That means a pickup between 02:30 and 04:00, an hour when ride-hailing supply is thin and prices are not.
Pre-booking is the only reliable answer. A fixed price at 3am is the same fixed price as at 3pm, and the vehicle is confirmed rather than hoped for. This is the single biggest saving available to family travellers, and it is also the difference between a calm start and a bad one.
Delays, and why the flight number matters
Coming home is where families get caught. Charter and budget flights are delayed more often than scheduled long-haul, and a two-hour delay on a return leg is common enough to plan for.
Giving your flight number at booking lets the driver track the actual landing and shift the pickup automatically. Without it, a delayed arrival means either a driver waiting on the clock or no driver at all, and you rebooking at midnight with tired children. With it, nothing happens: the car arrives when you do.
Small things that make the day easier
- Book the return with the outbound. One conversation, cheaper than two bookings, and nothing to arrange on the last day.
- Give the full postcode at both ends, including the villa, hotel or holiday park name.
- Ask for a boot-space check if you are close to the limit rather than hoping.
- Keep essentials in one bag that travels in the cabin of the car, not the boot.
- Confirm the meeting point the day before, so nobody is hunting for a driver in arrivals.
- Check what is included: parking, waiting, tolls and the Congestion Charge. Ours are all in the quote.
Cost per head
A transfer price covers the vehicle, which is why families do better with a car than with rail. Four rail tickets from Gatwick to central London come to around £52 to £80 before the last leg with the cases. One fixed-price car is £75 to the door, and nobody carries a suitcase down a staircase.
At five or more travellers, it stops being close. See cheap UK airport transfers for routes and fixed pricing.
Call 020 8150 6922 Get a family quote
Also useful: Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted transfers, plus cruise port taxis for family sailings.
Frequently asked questions
Do you provide child seats for holiday transfers?
Yes, free on request. They are fitted before the driver sets off, so give the children’s ages at the time of booking and the correct infant carrier, forward-facing seat or booster will be in the car.
What size vehicle does a family of four need?
Usually a people carrier rather than a saloon once you count four cases and a pushchair. A saloon works for a family of four only when everyone is travelling light.
Can you do a 3am pickup for an early flight?
Yes, 24 hours a day, and at the same fixed price as any other hour. Early departures are the journeys where pre-booking saves the most, because app pricing at that hour is unpredictable.
What happens if our return flight is delayed?
We track the flight from your flight number and move the pickup automatically at no extra cost, with an hour of free waiting after landing. You do not need to contact anyone from the aircraft.
Is a taxi cheaper than the train for a family?
Usually, from three or four travellers upward, because the fare covers the vehicle rather than each person. It also delivers you to the address instead of a station platform.
Can we book the outbound and return together?
Yes, and it is cheaper than two separate bookings. It also means the last morning of the holiday involves no arranging, which is worth something on its own.
