Business transfers from Margate for meetings, offices and flights

When Margate business transfers beat the train

Start with the train, because it is good. Southeastern runs around 68 direct trains a day from Margate to London St Pancras International, and the fastest take 1 hour 24 minutes. If your meeting is a short walk from St Pancras and you are travelling light, the train is hard to beat.

A car makes more sense when the day is more complicated than one station to one office.

• Several stops: two client visits and an airport, or a London office and then a site in Kent
• An early start before the first useful train, or a late finish after the last one
• Samples, display stands, laptops and cases that are a burden on the Underground
• Three or four colleagues travelling together, where one fixed fare covers the car
• A destination nowhere near St Pancras, where the train is only half the journey

Executive saloons and what they carry

The executive class seats up to 4 passengers with 2 to 3 large cases, and a standard saloon takes up to 4 with 2. For a team of five or six, or a lot of kit, an MPV seats up to 6 passengers with room for 4 or more large cases.

The back seat is your own for two hours: time to read papers, prepare for the meeting or make calls without an audience in the carriage.

Margate to London: routes and timings for meetings

Cars leave on the A299 Thanet Way or the A28 and take the M2 near Faversham towards London. For east London, the route continues on the A2 to the Blackwall Tunnel, the same way the car runs to London City Airport, which is a typical 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes from Margate. That gives a rough guide for meetings in that part of London.

The tunnel has weekday peak hours, northbound from 6am to 10am and southbound from 4pm to 7pm, and Transport for London charges for using it from 6am to 10pm. Tolls on the journey can be added to the fare where they apply.

The fare itself is fixed before the day. A slow approach to the tunnel or a diversion on the M2 changes your arrival time, not the price, so build the margin into the pickup time instead.

Flying for work from London City or Heathrow

For short trips, London City is the quickest airport from Margate. For long-haul business travel, Heathrow describes Terminal 5 as British Airways' main hub; the typical drive there is 1 hour 55 minutes to 2 hours 25 minutes.

Gatwick is the other common choice, a typical 1 hour 35 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes from Margate. Its North and South Terminals are linked by a free shuttle that runs around the clock and takes about two minutes, which helps when a meeting runs late and the check-in clock is ticking.

On the way back the flight is tracked and the car is timed to the actual landing, with no extra charge for delays outside your control. The driver meets you in the arrivals hall with a name board and takes your bags, so after a long day you only need to find a sign with your name on it.

Hiring a car and driver by the hour or the day

For roadshows, site visits or a day of client meetings, a car can be booked as directed, by the hour or by the day, so it stays with you between appointments rather than doing a series of one-way runs.

Give the plan when you book: the stops, the rough timings and where the day ends. Stops that were not in the booking, or big route changes asked for on the way, can be added to the fare, so the more complete the plan, the fewer surprises.

Bringing clients or new colleagues to Margate

Visitors flying in to Gatwick or Heathrow can be met in arrivals and driven to a hotel or office in Margate, Westgate or Birchington. If the address is in the Old Town, where most lanes have nowhere to stop, or on Northdown Road in Cliftonville, where double yellow lines apply at any time, agree a set-down point when you book.

Free waiting at a pickup address is 10 minutes after the agreed time; beyond that, waiting is charged at the standard rate, which you can ask for in advance.

Paying, changing and cancelling

The online booking system shows the fixed fare for the exact addresses before you confirm. It accepts card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and Revolut, and the code ExpressTravelKent takes 10% off. Bookings can also be made by phone on 01843 247247, on WhatsApp or by email.

Meetings move. Cancelling more than 24 hours before the pickup costs nothing; between 6 and 24 hours, up to 50% of the fare may be charged; inside 6 hours, or once the car has left, the full fare may be charged.