Which airport should you fly from in the New Forest?

The gap between the cheapest and dearest transfer in that table is substantial each way, and doubles on a return. Because the transfer is priced per car rather than per person, that difference is the same whether one of you travels or four.

So a flight from Stansted would need to be meaningfully cheaper than the same flight from Southampton before the transfer difference alone is covered — and that is before the extra hours in the car, parking, or baggage charges that may differ between the two.

It is not a rule about which airport is cheaper: that depends on the fares available on your dates. It is simply a cost most people leave out when comparing one flight price against another. If you are weighing up two airports, ask us for both transfer quotes before you book the flight rather than after.

They take a similar time from the forest but head in opposite directions. Heathrow is north — A337 to the M27, up the M3 past Winchester and Basingstoke, then a short hop west on the M25. Almost all motorway. Gatwick is east — M27, then the A27 past Chichester and Worthing before turning north on the M23, and rather less of it is motorway.

That A27 stretch through Worthing and Lancing is the reason a Gatwick departure sometimes needs an earlier start than the mileage suggests. Heathrow's equivalent is the M3/M25 interchange at Sunbury, which backs up from about 06:30 on weekdays.

Stansted and Luton are the longest airport runs we do from the forest, and they are usually booked because a particular route flies from there rather than for convenience. Luton adds winter ski charters to that.

Both are two hours or more and both depend on the M25, which is the least predictable road in the country at the times these flights depart. If you are booking one, book the transfer early — driver availability between midnight and 03:00 is genuinely limited.