Going to London for Vacation?

Show all answers

Paul L

London can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. I like to stay somewhere central rather than move from hostel or BB every few nights. I don't know your arrangements for staying, but there are great places to stay if you have not already booked. The London Tourist Information centres have great listings of where to stay on a budget. Google "London information centres" and be sure to note they are information centres and not run by a tourist company. Remember when taking tours, a brochure will say both see and visit. See means sit on the bus and look at a building or site from inside your bus, you do not get to go inside. Visit means the opposite, you get to discover whatever that sight might happen to be. I like getting a pass for London Transport before I leave. These allow you unlimited travel on the tube or underground (subway in North America) and all city buses. London is a huge city and you can spend 4 days in one museum alone. The Victoria and Albert along with the British Museum takes days to go through. Decide on a wing or area of interest and investigate that one particular area. Food is available in chain restaurants, specialty restaurants and fast food places throughout the city. Take out is over there called take away. The London Eye is thrilling and worth the price of the exhibit. Look for street fairs and festivals which are free. A great tour book is called Lets Go and designed for students with great descriptions of attractions, prices and maps. As for money, take as much as you can afford. It is easy to go through in the city as there is so much to see and do. Make a list before you go. Find their locations on a map and try to spend each day in that one area. You will see more that way. Threatre tickets can be purchased at special kiosks the day of a performance for last minute savings. Read and study your maps before you go. A street might run for miles but it may have 12 names to it as it changes name at each intersection although it runs in a straight line. London can be disorienting as so many of the buildings are 6 stories high. It is difficult to get a bearing as to where you are once in the city streets. Find a land mark and use that as your guide to guess if you are heading in the right direction. Don't forget Covent Garden, a great place to people watch and have a snack. Never buy event tickets from booths or people on the street as they could be fake. If the deal is too good to be true, then it is! Some of the sight seeing busses offer great discounts as the sunsets. People are in theatres at this time and it is a great way to see London at night. St. Paul's Cathedral is remarkable lit up at night! Do not be afraid of the underground. IT looks confusing but all stations and platforms have great diagrams on the platforms so you know where you are going before you head onto the train. The multitude of public parks offer a respite from the noise and dirt of the city. Yes, after being there 3 hours you will blow your nose and it will be black. Green Park and St. James Park along the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace are great, but if you decide to sit in one of the chairs someone will ask you to pay for the priviledge. Hyde park is also wonderful. Greenwhich, the home of the Maritime Museum, Prime Meridian, Queen's House is only a short ride from the Tower of London and you can spend a day there easily. Day trips out of London via train can take you to Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and all about 30 minutes away with 40 trains a day or more! Do as much research as possible before you go and you will have an even greater time! I have spent over 200 days in the city and have yet to see 1/2 of what I want too!

john ags

Take the original London bus tour:
Website: www.theoriginaltour.com
It's fab!. The cost is Ā£20 (approx $40), it includes a free river cruise on the Thames. You can hop on/off the bus at any time and you get a chance to see all the major attractions. You must do this when you get here, it is really fantastic!. Saves you wandering around London getting lost. The tour guides are really knowledgeable. Do it, do it, do it!!!!!. Have a fantastic trip!.

Countess

My friend and I went a few years ago, and only had a short time in London. I'd suggest looking at all the travel sites others have posted, then make two lists: Your "A" list for MUST see things, and a "B" list for things you will see if you have time.

I highly recommend planning all your sightseeing before you leave, since you can waste lots of time figuring out where you want to go next.

The underground ("Mind the Gap") is the way to go, and you can get anywhere fairly easily. If you can, change dollars for pounds at your local bank, because if you do it in London, they charge a fee.

Food is expensive, but we stuck with the pubs and had sandwiches and beer most of the time. We didn't find many salads anywhere, even in the upscale restaurants. We bought fruit from a street kiosk, and that was fine. London has almost every cuisine, and the Indian food was spectacular.

Oh, and the hotels don't have wash cloths, so take some with you. Have a wonderful trip!

London_calling

Hi, please don't take a London bus tour, they are amazingly expensive and you can do it for far cheaper on normal buses. Take as much money as you can because it is expensive to do anything here. Expect warm weather in early/mid July especially on the tube where it gets very hot. As for our teeth and police, both are very good, those are awful American myths. In two weeks you can easily do all of the landmarks, a cheap guide book will tell you the main ones. Have a good time!

manxbiker

London is a great city no matter what others say yes like any great city it has some problems but all the Museums are free and good to go into not all stuffy and dusty there is the London eye you can book on line or when you get there there is so much to do and see in London where do I start if you take a taxi at any time make sure it is a black on they display the price on the meter DONT TAKE A MINI CAB A PRIVATE CAR LOOKING FOR A FARE THEY ARE UNLICENCED try these sites
http://www.londonpass.com/attractionsFullList.asp?ref=ppc018&gclid=CKuEgYCqp4wCFRWOEgodHB_N6w
http://www.londontourist.org/beginners.html
http://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/what_to_do.htm
http://www.heritagebritain.com/county/London.html
http://www.whatisoninlondon.com/?gclid=CMeS97qqp4wCFRWOEgodHB_N6w
http://www.alllondontours.com/?pref=02&aid=ltg1197&gclid=CNTF3tSqp4wCFSQHEgod6iqP5w
http://www.londoncitytourist.info/london-attractions.html

Ollie

Hope you have a lovely time.Try Hyde Park.Piccadilli Circus
infact take in has much has you can.

i,m here if you need to talk.

your lucky i with i was going.see the men in fury hats. and the big ben clock.

jay jay

take one of the bus tours to get an idea of where things are. Get a travel card as transport costs are high. If you are using London as a base for 2 weeks take a few day trips out of the capital to the likes of Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury and Windsor.
As for cash bring your own bank with the exchange rate as it is an expensive place is now even more expensive.

ā† Heavenly ā†

Congrats! London is so much fun!

Hit Frommers for really good tips on all the must sees.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london/

I suggest getting an Underground card and using the Rail for everything you can. Taxi's are really expensive and the rail takes you everywhere! Buses are also really good there and the cards work for all day. Things you have to see are Parliment, Big Benny, Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the Queenies house (both Windsor and Buckingham Palace if you can) and Trafalger Square. There are loads of places to see and lots of things to do at really good prices (someplaces are free and you can usually walk from one site to another so take a map with you and a list of things you want to do.

A great place to stay in London (in case you don't have one yet is the Strand Palace. It's a great hotel and it's in the middle of everywhere, walking distance from a lot of places.
http://www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/

Good Luck and you are going to have a fabulous time! Enjoy!

Remember that pounds are at douoble the dollar so prepare to spend alot.

mjsw17

One of the best ways of really seeing London is to join a guided walk. The absolutely best company is the link below. You will be taken down all the quirky back alleys the tourists never see and hear about the real history of London. The guides are great and quite theatrical! One of the best is David, I think he's from Idaho. (No I don't work for them, but I do go on lots of their walks myself) . It's cheap too, about Ā£6 for a two hour walk. Eating out in London is VERY expensive so my tip is to avoid eating near the tourist landmark places by wondering down any back alley, (London is very safe) and eat in a small cafe, they are all over the place and much cheaper than the tourist places. Enjoy your trip!

Paula B

hi London is pretty expensive but a cool place to visit,Covent Garden good for street entertainers and decent market far too many places to mention. tourist guides usually pretty accurate, enjoy.

raindovewmn41

i have never been ,,would love to go ,but i hope this helps it seems to have good info its the sort of info i look for when i do get to go places and rick steves the second link has many time and money saving information the air him on the pbs channels and he has all the best possable info for you some of it might be a little dated but im sure most of it is right on!! have a fun and safe trip if i wiere you just have money in the bank and an atm card to get it out they have access there like, here threw the same system when my friend visited here from london he just got money from the atm this way you arent carrying to much with you just ask your bank to give you info

Knownow't

There are the usual suspects Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, St Pauls Cathedreal, Tower Bridge, and all the Art galleries and Museums...London has one of the most extensive Metro systems in the world..but avoid Rush Hours 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm as millions travel then....Dont bring loads of cash, like any city there are pick pockets, con men, muggers etc...besensible don't look too much like a tourist and don't use big flashy mobile phone.
There is a train link from Heathrow to the centre of London...watch out for taxi touts who will promise a taxi and hotel...avoid like the plague...many cheaper hotels in Earls Court area, (Lots of Aussies) Do enjoy your stay...the Police are not out of control like your countryman said..
England is not that big and a 3 hr train journey will take you to the North of England where I am from...try York which is very historic with many attractions, and Stratford upon Avon in the Midlands.....enjoy, its a great country.

princess12341005

okay go to the natural science museum - especially if you have children. The British airways london eye. Buckingham palace is quite good.

Also do the tour of london.

As for money, bring your mastercard. You will need it

This website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ is the official TRANSPORT FOR LONDON website. If you check this before you go it gives tips on getting around london and some places of intrest.

I hope you enjoy your stay.

Jody W

I'd advise bringing abut twice as much as you would to new york, I was there a few weeks ago and prices were pretty much like for like but with the pound being so strong, everything was effectivley half price

I'd recommend the london eye, bus tours and walking tours if you can find them! the tower of london is cool adn you can do that and then use the river to travel to the london eye

Central London is quite easy to walk around, although it's a long way, I would recommend using buses rather than the tube as much as possible, they are pretty good, generally less crowded adn don't get as hot as the underground, also cheaper!

get a weeks travel pass if you are intended to spend the whole time in london, works out quite a bit cheaper

I'd budget for about Ā£40 a day per person at very least, not including your travel (which can be up to Ā£8 if you aren't careful!)

if the weather is bad, lots of london museums are free and well worth a look (esp. british museum - not about the british btw! - and the V&A)

hyde park is lovely to chill out in, I'd also venture a bit further afield to places like hampstead heath (daytime!!) or richmond

greenwich is pretty, shame you've just missed the cutty sark! and places like nottinghill/portobello are kinda cool (but a ripoff - keep wallet in pocket!)

Tina UM

Okay you can do a great London tour in three days .....

Day 1) Westminister

Visit the Houses of Parliament and Westminister Abbey where the unknown soldier and other dignatories are buried. Westminister Abbey is our version of the Pantheon except Royal weddings take place there..

From Westminister cross over the Thames via Westminister Bridge and go on the London Eye which is a big ferris wheel (see the whole of city of london) and voted most favourite London attraction many years running ...You will see the eye from the bridge and get a great view of the Thames....

Then you might want to break on the River for a packed lunch and then walk down the river away from the Abbey towards
the Tower of London which you may want to visit but the real attraction near here is opposite is the Tower of London and the crown jewels and yeomanry.

In the evening you can walk back towards Westminister near here is the Buckingham Palace and the Horseguards Parade and Downing Street near Charing Cross.

or you can take a boat trip back to westminister.

Day 2)

South Kensington

Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Musem and the Royal Albert Hall.

At Knightbridge is Harrods (next to South Kensington)
Round the corner Sloane Square a lot of designer shops

Evening as you are in the area see Wicked the musical at Victoria.

Day 3) Hampton Court Palace in Hampton Surrey - The home of King Henry VIII get a taste of Tudor England and life outside London

Shopping in Kingston next door. Watch a movie at the Cinema in Kingston, Get the Bus to Richmond and chill out in the summer sun with a beer in a quaint English pub

Day 4) In July Brighton is a must for the seaside and the pier and shopping and this can be done in a day trip from London.
Visit Harry Ramsden and have fish and chips. Visit the Pavillion. You will love this.

Day 5) Trip to Oxford to visit Oxford University and Town this is a day trip and

Day 6) Move on to Stratford Upon Avon to visit the home of Shakespeare... Stratford had outstanding natural beauty.

Day 7) Birmingham - Bull Ring - Big Shopping Mall - Theatre

Day 8) wembley - Ikea Home Shopping and visit the new Wembley Stadium for a match ??

try and find a homestay with a family as you will save money and this will help you out .....For two weeks you should get homstay for two hundred pounds....

Stay near the Richmond area as this is an easy commute into London and to other parts of the country and it is relatively safe. Use daily or weekly pass on trains and you will save money. Book tickets and research before coming as this saves your time and effort. In London you need 5 pound for a good lunch (sandwich coffee and cake) or 7 pound for a two course meal there are plenty of eateries around. For dinner there are many places in Richmond and in London to get dinner for around 10-15 pounds in a very good restaurant .

Tickets entrances to many places are free except London Eye and Tower of London -- Again if you research your plan online you have the flexibility to change your plan when your arrive and you wont lose time because you know what days places are open and where to get tickets.

You can book event tickets on ticketmaster.co.uk for theatre concerts and also matches. Give yourself 100 dollars a day and you will do fine...

lil

i live in london. there are so many places yoyu could visit or see such us big ben, london eye, tower of london e.t.c i would say bring at least enough money fro transport, food, shoping e.t.c

Joe Kool

At nearly Ā£1=$2 bring as much money as you can. For places to go etc. check out http://www.visitlondon.com/

larty b

England is silly.

jesse h

I got herpes there

I have never heard anything good about London. Why not go to South Beach dude? All I ever hear about London how their teeth are awful and their police lack any control.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: