There is a direct Southern train from Gatwick Airport to Eastbourne, and it is the one to take. It takes just under an hour, and because it is a service from London Victoria, picked up at the airport part-way along its route, there is no change to make anywhere. The airport trains make six stops, three fewer than from Victoria, and take about half an hour less than the London journey.
On a weekday the direct trains left Gatwick about every half hour between 06:22 and 22:26, mostly at 26 and 56 or 57 minutes past the hour. The longest wait of the day was at the start: after the 06:22, which reaches Eastbourne at about 07:15, the next direct train on the timetable we checked was the 07:20.
For a late flight, 22:26 is the time to watch, as it was the last direct departure from Gatwick on the timetable we checked, getting in at about 23:20. After it came two trains with a change at Brighton, at 22:49 and 23:01; that routing took about 1h25, so the 23:01 got to Eastbourne at about half past midnight.
Daytime journeys from Gatwick changing at Brighton, Haywards Heath, Three Bridges or Polegate also show up, but they took between about 1h05 and 1h45 against 54 minutes on the direct train, so there is little reason to choose one. By road the trip is 51 miles via the A23 and A27 and takes about 72 minutes, which makes the train around a quarter of an hour quicker than driving as well.
Eastbourne station to Terminus Road is a walk of around eight minutes, about 600 metres, so allow a little over an hour from the airport platform to the centre of town.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From Gatwick Airport on the weekday we checked: about every half hour between 06:22 and 22:26.
By road it is about 51 miles from Gatwick Airport to Eastbourne, mostly via the A23 and A27 — roughly 1h 12m with clear roads. Car parks in Eastbourne are listed on the Getting Here page.