Crawley is on the main London to Brighton rail line. Gatwick Airport station sits between the two terminals and connects directly to central London: Southern and Thameslink services reach London Bridge and London Victoria in around 30 minutes, and the Gatwick Express makes the Victoria run in 30 minutes non-stop. Crawley itself is served by its own station on the same line, two stops south of Gatwick.
By road, the M23 motorway runs north from Crawley to join the M25 orbital, putting central London an hour away under normal conditions. The A23 is the slower alternative through Croydon and Brixton.
Brighton is 25 minutes by fast train, or 30 minutes on the M23. Crawley is also the interchange point for buses into the Sussex countryside, including services to East Grinstead, Horsham, and Haywards Heath.