Why go
- Town in Kent, England.
- Served by Bradleys Lawn Airstrip.
History
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, 30 miles southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism. The prefix "Royal" was granted to it in 1909 by King Edward VII; it is one of only four towns in England with the title.
Airports
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) 19 mi to the centre
London, ENG, GB — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 47 airlines (easyJet, British Airways, Transavia France, Norwegian Air Shuttle…) · direct flights to 165 destinations incl. Arrecife, Tenerife, Larnaca, Orlando, Alicante… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 47 airlines, 165 direct destinations
- easyJet U2 (A319, A320) · 101 routes: Aberdeen, Agadir, Ajaccio, Alicante, Almeria, Amsterdam, Antalya, Arrecife, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Bastia, Belfast, Bergen, Berlin, Bodrum, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Catania, Chania, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Duesseldorf, Edinburgh, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Geneva, Gibraltar, Glasgow, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza … +61 more
- British Airways BA (734, A319, A320, 777, 737, Dash 8-400) · 43 routes: Algier, Alicante, Amsterdam, Antigua, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bari, Bermuda, Bordeaux, Bridgetown, Cancun, Catania, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Faro, Genoa, Glasgow, Hewandorra, Jersey, Kingston, Larnaca, Las Vegas, Malaga, Male, Malta, Marrakech, Naples, Newquai*, Nice, Olbia*, Orlando, Paphos, Pisa, Plaisance, Rome, Salzburg, Tampa, Tenerife, Thessaloniki, Tirana … +3 more
- Transavia France TO (737-800, 75W, 787-8) · 43 routes: Agadir, Alicante, Amilcar Cabral, Antalya, Arrecife, Boa Vista, Bodrum, Cancun, Catania, Chania, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Enfidha, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Izmir, Kerkyra/corfu, Kos, Larnaca, Malaga, Malta, Marrakech, Menorca, Mykonos, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Plaisance, Preveza, Punta Cana, Rhodos, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife, Thessaloniki, Thira … +3 more
- Norwegian Air Shuttle DY (737-800) · 30 routes: Aalborg, Alesund, Alicante, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bergen, Budapest, Catania, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gothenborg, Gran Canaria, Helsinki, Ibiza, Larnaca, Malaga, Nice, Oslo, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Sandefjord, Split, Stavanger, Stockholm, Tenerife, Thira, Tromso, Trondheim
- Monarch Airlines ZB (A321, 757-200, A330-200) · 22 routes: Alicante, Antalya, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Enfidha, Faro, Funchal, Heraklion, Hurghada, Larnaca, Malaga, Menorca, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife, Venice, Villafranca
- Thomsonfly BY (737-800, 75W, 787-8) · 19 routes: Agadir, Amilcar Cabral, Antalya, Arrecife, Cancun, Dalaman, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Larnaca, Marrakech, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Plaisance, Preveza, Rhodos, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife
- Iberia Airlines IB (777, A320, A319, 734) · 13 routes: Alicante*, Antigua*, Arrecife*, Barcelona*, Bermuda*, Bridgetown*, Florence, Hewandorra*, Kingston*, Malaga*, Orlando*, Tampa*, Tenerife*
- Thomas Cook Airlines MT (757-200, 757-300, A321, A330-200) · 11 routes: Antalya, Arrecife, Dalaman, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Larnaca, Palma de Mallorca, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife
- Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (747-400, A330-300, 330) · 9 routes: Antigua, Beijing, Bridgetown, Cancun, Havana, Hewandorra, Las Vegas, Montego Bay, Orlando
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 5 routes: Cork, Dublin, Kaunas, Sevilla, Shannon
- Air Transat TS (330, 310) · 4 routes: Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver
- Aer Lingus EI (A319, A320) · 3 routes: Belfast, Connaught, Dublin
- American Airlines AA (777) · 3 routes: Las Vegas*, Orlando*, Tampa*
- Finnair AY (777) · 3 routes: Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa
- TAP Portugal TP (A319, A320) · 3 routes: Funchal, Lisbon, Porto
- Air Arabia Maroc 3O (A320) · 2 routes: Casablanca, Tanger
- Air One AP (A320) · 2 routes: Catania, Palermo
- Alitalia AZ (A320) · 2 routes: Catania, Palermo
- Condor Flugdienst DE (330, 757) · 2 routes: Arrecife*, Cancun*
- Delta Air Lines DL (747-400) · 2 routes: Las Vegas*, Orlando*
- Germania ST (A319, 737-700) · 2 routes: Erfurt, Pristina
- Meridiana IG (A320, 737) · 2 routes: Naples, Olbia
- Royal Air Maroc AT (737-800) · 2 routes: Casablanca, Marrakech
- SATA International S4 (A319, A320) · 2 routes: Lisbon*, Ponta Delgada
- Transaero Airlines UN (A320, 747-400) · 2 routes: Moscow, Orlando*
- Turkish Airlines TK (737-800, A321, 737-900) · 2 routes: Istanbul, Istanbul
- Vueling Airlines VY (A319, A320) · 2 routes: Barcelona, Florence
- Air Baltic BT (735, 73C) · 1 route: Riga
- Air Berlin AB (734) · 1 route: Salzburg*
- Air China CA (330) · 1 route: Beijing
- Air Europa UX (737-800) · 1 route: Madrid
- Air Malta KM (A319, A320) · 1 route: Malta
- Atlant-Soyuz Airlines 3G (A319) · 1 route: Freetown
- Aurigny Air Services GR (Embraer 195, ATR 72) · 1 route: Guernsey
- Belavia Belarusian Airlines B2 (735, Embraer 175) · 1 route: Minsk 2
- bmibaby WW (A320) · 1 route: Keflavik
- Caribbean Airlines BW (767) · 1 route: Port-of-spain
- Croatia Airlines OU (A320) · 1 route: Split
- Emirates EK (A380, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
- Flybe BE (Dash 8-400) · 1 route: Newquai
- Icelandair FI (75W) · 1 route: Keflavik
- Maastricht Airlines W2 (A320) · 1 route: Keflavik*
- Montenegro Airlines YM (Fokker 100) · 1 route: Tivat
- Nas Air XY (330) · 1 route: Jeddah
- Qantas QF (A380, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai*
- TransHolding System YO (A320) · 1 route: Hassi Messaoud*
- Ukraine International Airlines PS (735, 73N, 737-800, Embraer 190) · 1 route: Kiev
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) 17 mi to the centre
London, ENG, GB — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day.
Rochester Airport (RCS) 18 mi to the centre
Rochester, Kent, ENG, GB — Indoor waiting area, but you walk out to the aircraft to board — bring an umbrella or a coat if the forecast is poor.
Lamberhurst Airstrip 7 mi to the centre
Cranbrook, Kent, ENG, GB
Bradleys Lawn Airstrip 10 mi to the centre
Heathfield, East Sussex, ENG, GB
Where things are
Local search powered by Geoverts and geo-intelligence by Better Mapping
base map © OSM
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
Tourist season
May – September
The warmer, longer-day half of the year is the safest bet for a first visit.
Shoulder season
April, October
Cooler and quieter, with fewer visitors and better value.
Worth avoiding
Deep winter
Short days and the coldest weather — check local conditions before travelling.
Getting there & around
Getting there. The nearest airport on record is Bradleys Lawn Airstrip; 1 other airport serves the wider area. Check rail and road links from the tourism sources below.
Getting around. Use the map above to orient yourself; nearby hotels, attractions and places to eat are listed from the live Ultimate data for Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK. Local transit details will be added as the guide is expanded.
Trains & rail
National rail
Coaches & shuttles
Intercity coach
Intercity coach
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.
Broker · Any aircraft via operators worldwide · Global charter broker with 30+ offices; private jets, group charters and cargo.
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Marketplace · Operator network · Transparent on-demand jet charter marketplace showing the operator and tail.
FBO, charter, management · Managed fleet · FBO network and management across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Fractional, jet card · Embraer Praetor, Bombardier Challenger & Global, Gulfstream · Fractional ownership and jet cards in North America and Europe.