kristadee

I would love ANY advice, critiques, suggestions about our upcoming trip to London. Does this itinerary look doable? Too much? Missing something? I am trying to incorporate a little bit of everything. We are horse people (thus the emphasis on the horses). Would love any advice you can provide.
Day 1
6:30am
Arrive Heathrow
Clear customs, get bags, Tube passes etc 30 minute train ride
9:00 am Arrive Chelsea-Flat— Relax, unwind, Get some breakfast
11:00 Walk to Kensington Palace Kensington Gardens, Princess Diana Memorial- Hyde Park
2:00 Get lunch (Need suggestions)
3:00 Hop on 24 hour Double Decker Bus Tour- Tour Kensington/Hyde Park
Bus past Big Ben- Westminster- Bridge (just to give everyone an idea of what is in store)
5:00 London Eye
6:00 Back to Flat
7:00 Dinner at Traboudour
Day 2
8:30 Breakfast at the Flat
10:00 Tower Of London (opens at 10am) Beefeater Tour and Crown JewelsDistrict or Circle Line to Tower Hill Station- 5 minute Walk
12:30 Tower Bridge 1:45- Hop on/off Bus to pass London Bridge/Shard
2:15 Lunch at Borough Market or Wright Borthers seafood restaurant or Pub (if eating at Market go to Southwark Cathedral where there was an opening into the courtyard of the church.
The Market is located next to London Bridge station which is serviced by the Jubilee and Northern Lines 8 Southwark St and Borough High Street
Pick up food fruits and veggies at Market for the week
(Watch Tower Bridge raise from Thames River side)
3:15 Tour Globe Theater (Shakespeare)
4:15 Walk across Millennium Bridge
4:45 St Paul’s Cathedral—Sunday Organ Recital (4:45-5:15)
6:00 Return to Flat—Dinner at Flat- BBQ—or out locally
Day3
Breakfast at Flat- Starbucks
Tour to Stonehenge/Windsor/Bath
Day4
9:00 Royal Mews (45 mins-1 hour)
St James Park
Birdcage Walk
Trafalgar Square
11:00 Horse Guards (Changing of the Guards)
11:30 Covent Gardens for lunch—suggestions??
1:00 Buckingham Palace (2 hours)
3:15-4:30
Westminster Abbey (last person in for viewing at 3:30)
4:30-5:00
Abbey shop, museum-
5:30 Harrods
6:00 Dinner --suggestions around South Kensington
7:30 Chelsea- back at Flat
Day 5
9:00-1:00
Walking tour with Jonnie (Bowl of Chalk)
around Westminster, Big Ben, Westminster Bridge, Parliament West End –GET tickets in queue for Wicked
1:00 Lunch at Pub—suggestions???
2:00-4:30 Victoria and Albert Museum of Art and Design
4:45-5:45 Chelsea/Flat—get ready for dinner and show
6:00 Dinner near Apollo Victoria Theatre -- suggestions???
7:30 Wicked
Day 6
Leave at 10:45 for
12:30 Harry Potter- Warner Bros Studio
5:00 Back at Flat- Dinner relax-

Day7
7:30-8:30 Horseback Riding in Hyde Park
9:00 Notting Hill- Portobello Market—shopping, gifts, souvenirs
12:00 Lunch in Notting Hill or Market
1:00-4:30 British Museum
Day8
Morning-TBD
2:00 Departure out of Heathrow

Things to possibly fit in
London Bike Tour
London Duck Tour on Thames
Regent Square or Oxford Street
Chocolate Tour
Afternoon tea—ANYWHERE but Orangery, unless it’s gotten better from 3 years ago—Suggestions???

Sassafrass

Day 1, after an overnight flight (is that correct?) is pushing the activities. I would save the London Eye for a time when you would not be too exhausted to enjoy it.

Your whole itinerary seems too tightly planned time wise, and a bit over planned. You might think about your top five or six things. Make sure they are on the itinerary with plenty of time for them, one or two each day. Have a list of extra things each day in case you finish the important things early.

Also, you are overlapping the same places. Day 1 you are walking and including Kensington and Hyde Park, then doing the HOHO bus to tour Kensington and Hyde Park, then going riding in Hyde Park on another day. Redraw plans so you visit Hyde Park the same day you go riding. No point going back and forth all over London. Get a map and group things together a bit more. This applies to your whole itinerary.

IMHO, seeing Westminster, big Ben, etc., from the bus, then taking the tour yourself, then seeing it on a guided tour is overkill. See them on the tour or separately if they are not included on your tour. Big, big waste of time to drive around first. The only good reason for the bus is to actually get on and off at different places.

Personally, the HOHO bus in London was on of my absolute worst travel experiences. We were stuck in traffic in the middle of the block many times for long periods of time. Fumes from cars made sitting outside uncomfortable, poor speaker systems with static was useless. We finally abandoned the bus altogether and used only the metro to get around.

It will be hard to stick with 30 minutes at Harrods. I am not even a shopper and I could not do it.

The tour of Stonehenge, Windsor and Bath all in one day is not a good tour. It is just too, too much.
Bath, alone will occupy at least a whole day. Doubt the kids will find Stonehenge that interesting. If the 12 year old is reading Jane Austen yet, she might enjoy Bath a lot. The Abby and the Roman Baths in Bath are worth a lot of time - beautiful and very, very interesting. A chance to see Roman history as well.

Would your kids enjoy seeing a play at the Globe? If they have an interest in Shakespeare yet, they might. It is fun, but ONLY if they know some of the plays and the right one is playing.

A trip on the Thames is OK, but even better, especially for kids, would be a long- boat tour on the canal that begins in Little Venice and goes to Camden or the Zoo. This is a favorite thing we did in London. It is rarely in guide books, but such a fun experience.

*****One thing I strongly suggest, even if you must cut something else is Hampton Court Palace. Kids will love it. I would certainly do this before trekking out to Stonehenge or squeezing Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor into one day.

janisj

Why 2 threads?

Sassafrass give lots of good info/advice.

You will fall off your tightly planned schedule about half way through day 2.

ANY itinerary w/ times listed in 15 minute increments is bound to fail Things just don't run to exact timetable.

>>9:00 Notting Hill- Portobello Market—shopping, gifts, souvenirs
12:00 Lunch in Notting Hill or Market<<

Is day 7 a Saturday? If so - fine because that is when the market runs. But assuming it IS a Saturday -- you will want to be out of there long before noon/lunch time. (And better arrive before 9AM). Plan on arriving by 8AM (8:30 at the latest) and get out of Dodge by 10AM at the latest. By 10 AM it gets EXTREMELY crowded. So crowded that you'll actually have a hard time getting out because you'll be struggling against hundreds and hundreds of people streaming in from the tube station.

On day 8 you will not have any free tim that morning. You need to be at the airport by about 11AM and need to plan on an hour from the flat to LHR. By the time you finish packing and tidying up the flat it will be time to depart.

Day 2 is very busy (as is most of your plan) - and you plan on carrying your week's fruit/veg through the Globe, across the bridge and to St Paul's?

Is your flat near a tube station? Large parts of Chelsea aren't - but if it is it will take more than 30 mins from LHR. 45 mins minimum if it is say near Sloane Square.

Tulips

That itinerary would be way to packed for me.
Where in Chelsea are you? As Janisj says, not all of Chelsea is close to a tube station. Does it take only 15 minutes to get from V&A to your flat in Chelsea - as you have planned?

Just a few comments;
Picking up fruit and veg from Borough Market for the week, and then going to the Globe and St Pauls with your shopping? Not practical. Depending on where your flat is, see if there's a farmers market nearby.

Changing of the guards 11 -11.30? I think you need more time, it gets very crowded. I would drop that.
Dinner near Apollo Victoria; the Mango Tree.
Afternoon tea: The Wallace Collection
I wouldn't do the HOHO bus; it's expensive, you'll get stuck in traffic. Figure out the bus routes and take regular busses, and the tube.

Tulips

If you want to go and see Wicked, just order the tickets in advance. Why queue for them? There's usually no discount on these kind of tickets anyway.

Just noticed the Sunday organ recital at St Pauls on day 2. If day 2 is a Sunday, Borough market is closed.
So then day 7 is a Friday? There's market at Portobello Road on Fridays as well. It's less busy than a Saturday.
Lots of places for lunch along Portobello Road; the Electric is nice.

Sassafrass

If you do the longboat canal trip from Little Venice, to Camden, the market there is quirky and fun. Kids might enjoy it more than Portobello Rd. The boat lets you out right at Camden Lock Market. Just plan on staying an hour or so when you get off the boat, perhaps have something to eat there.

Janisj is dead on. Portobello can get so crowded on Sat that you can hardly move. It is OK early, but by noon is a mess. With kids, I would do it, but do it early and keep it to an hour.

For lunch at least once or twice, eat in one of the crypts of the churches. Simple, but inexpensive and filling meals. Look up Cafe in the Crypt or Eating in the crypts of London. We did several of them and enjoyed them. One or two is open at night once in awhile.

There are great sandwich shops all over London. One good one is practically under the Globe Theater. I know you are taking a tour, so good place for a bite. There is also a crypt cafe in St Pauls, so another good place if you get hungry. St Martin in the fields has an interesting crypt and very good food. There are so many. Some of the sandwich shops offer unique stuff (crayfish and avacado), not to my taste, but others are simple with soups and salads and fresh ingredients. It is nice to know about these ahead of time, so if you get hungry, rather than taking time to travel to someplace on a preferred restaurant list, you can all plop down wherever you are and have good food at a decent price and rest a few minutes.

PalenQ

Pretty ambitious - I wonder if the kids will think they're in a London boot camp - more serendipity and not scripting every second is my opinion. Too tight a schedule for kids and even adults. How about taking the kids to the Serpentine in Hyde Park and doing a boat ride, etc.

socaltraveler

ANY itinerary w/ times listed in 15 minute increments is bound to fail Things just don't run to exact timetable.

This. Just this. You need to relax your trip a whole lot, talk to the girls about what they really want to see and do. In fact there may be a morning when they simply do not want to get up and start moving by 8:30 am. This is a vacation right? And on the last day, I also think you should toss TBD out the window. Packing, getting the flat back in order and getting to the airport with plenty of time for an international flight is going to take more time than you think.

PalenQ

slow down - more can be less especially for kids even no matter how mature they are.

Scootoir

Indeed more serendipity needed. Please consider some of the other posters’ advice to slow down and plan fewer things each day. Instead of the bus tour to Bath try a day trip to Hampton Court Palace or Windsor on your own. If Hampton Court you might take the train there and cruise back on the boat.

Have a lovely afternoon tea at one of many hotels or at Maids of Honour in Kew. I haven’t done this but on my list for a future trip to London is this tea: http://www.bbbakery.co.uk/afternoon-...-tea-bus-tour/

Even with prebooked tickets you may have a wait for the London Eye. Without reservations the wait can be very long.

Check for the closest Underground stops near your flat and what line runs there. Some stations close on weekends so confirm what will be open.

Harry Potter Studio is a great idea. I wouldn’t miss Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station if the girls are big fans. Nice shopping at the adjoining St. Pancras (they might like Cath Kidston).

In Notting Hill I recommend lunch at Daylesford Farm. There is also a location in Pimlico near Chelsea. Could be a delicious way to stock your flat, best breakfast in London!

Please post when you return so we know how your trip was.

texasbookworm

Listen to the advice above. It's good.

Some random comments:

On a "ok, so what SHOULD we do?" note, narrow down to 2-3
big things per day, grouped by area, and then have 1-2 others IN THE AREA that you have as "maybe if there's time" (which I can bet there almost never will be).

Get a good map to see how far things are from each other.

Plan to walk a lot, and far (last trip in June adult daughter and I walked an average of 10-12 miles a day in London) and plan to use the Tube.

Plan for plans to fail--weather, transport issues, fatigue, crowds, unexpected is GONNA HAPPEN and if you have such a tight and packed schedule, the dominoes fall and .....

Put your priority "thing" first--like the Tower first thing is wise.

For such a short week, I'd suggest you reconsider day trips but...that one IS probably too much. Salisbury/Stonehenge is not too busy. Or just Bath. Windsor is half a day you can do by yourself if want--no need to bundle with a tour.

If you are horse people, skip Wicked--see WARHORSE!!

If you have some plans, and you have a lot of wiggle room, you will have a blast whatever you end up doing. But don't try to do so much--on paper--then if you get it all "done' and you can do some extra, it will feel like a bonus!

I teach Shakespeare and love all "that" but I kinda doubt if 9 and 12 yearolds would much appreciate the Globe tour. See if there's an appropriate play on (as you don't say when you are going, I don't know)

Also check openings against your day of the week that you will be there (like for markets especially).

London is huge. Trite understatement of the week. But if you underestimate it, you will be bewildered and overwhelmed and disappointed. If you allow plenty of time and don't have too much on your agenda per day, you will fall in love with it, I predict. As will the girls.

And how are you getting to flat? You need to figure out that transport--check address for nearness to Tube stop . What "train" for 30 minutes are you meaning? And while my last 2 arrivals in London have seen very quick times through immigration/passport control ("customs" takes seconds-it's passport control that can back up), it may take up to 2 hours from time of arrival til you are ready to leave with your luggage

(Speaking of which--for a week--I challenge you to pack lighter and each of you have a personal bag and a carry-on--it's totally doable and makes one less thing to do on arrival--and no chance of luggage gone astray. And less to mess with on trip to flat.)

PalenQ

Instead of the bus tour to Bath try a day trip to Hampton Court Palace or Windsor on your own. If Hampton Court you might take the train there and cruise back on the boat.>

Yes indeedy - and the Maze is pure fun for all ages - Hampton Court is the most alive palace I have visited - there are period-costmed performers in many rooms - playing music or telling about things - the Tudor Kitchens are intriguing - and a boat ride could be fun too - it's a bit long to do all the way perhaps but you can boat to Kingston - about 4 miles then take the train back or to Richmond and hop the Tube to anywhere in London.

Hampton Court pure fun for all ages and kidds will love to hear about the ghost of one beheaded Henry VIII wife who it says still haunts part of the Palace - home to Henry VIII and his wives - "divorced, beheaded, divorced; divorced, beheaded, survived!

And I think they'd love Windsor Castle too and the town center, a shopper's paradise. Not on the same day however.

carolyn

For afternoon tea that is less expensive than the big hotels, try a Richoux shop. They are cozy and have good food. You can Google for locations.

historytraveler

As others have said, you really need to cut back on your itinerary, so I won't add other possibilities. I would suggest you nix Portobello Market and you really don't need 31/2 hours at the British Museum, at least in one visit. I like the idea of Hampton Court Palace and would replace Portobello Market with a trip to H.C.P. Return in the afternoon, then visit the British Museum. The boat is nice, but you simply don't have the time, and if it rains ( it does sometimes rain in London ) it's not that much fun. For the British Museum 90 minutes should suffice but, with more flexibility, you could add a bit to that.

For afternoon tea, I recommend the Wolseley. Much nicer than Richoux, and they offer both the traditional afternoon tea and a lighter version.

irishface

Just to be a niggler: it's divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

Sorry!

janisj

>>Just to be a niggler: it's divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.<<

Everyone knows that -- even PQ. It is just that the paint is eating the little gray cells

maureen_16

My 18 year old niece and I went to London two years ago. While we arrived early in the day after flying at night from NYC, my niece struggled with jet lag. I had an itinerary for,every day but my position was if we deviated from the itinerary that was fine. I found my niece did not enjoy the museums. It really enjoyed vupisiting the churches. I did not have a time frame for each day. We did leave the hotel by about 8:30 a.m. every morning and was back at the hotel by 8:00 p.m. at night. We did the London Eye on Saturday which is a busy day to do this. I did not want to buy tickets in advance because you really want a good weather day to do this. We waited a couple of hours to enjoy the ride. Also sometimes we would sit down on a bench and just soak up the city. Here was our itinerary:

Tuesday
Arrived
Went to V&A Museum
Lunch
Checked in at hotel
Went to Sopranos restaurant on High Kensington St (okay restaurant)

Wednesday
Breakfast went to Starbucks
Changing of the Guard
Royal Mews
Westminster Abbey
Walked by Big Ben and House of Parliament
Had dinner at Pub (don't recall name but was okay)

Thursday
Breakfast at French bakery
Tower of London
Walked over Tower Bridge
Walked along Thames River
Tate Modern
Walked over Millennium Bridge
Walked and saw outside of St. Paul's
H&M - shopping
Harrods - shopping
Zia Teresa for dinner ( good restaurant)

Friday
Breakfast at hotel
Covent Garden
Trafalgar Square
Piccadilly Circus
Walked up Mall by St. James
Viewed Buckingham Palace
Took cab to hotel - rested for a bit
Went to Spahetti House in Leicester Square for dinner (do not recommend this restaurant)
London Palladium to see A Chorus Line
Cab to hotel

Saturday
Breakfast at hotel
St. Paul's - climbed the stairs to the top
Bus ride to Waterloo Bridge
London Eye
Walked over Westminster Bridge
Dinner at Rocco's on Brompton Road in South Kensington (good mid price range restaurant)

Sunday
Home

I hope this helps. Enjoy!

PalenQ

Just to be a niggler: it's divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

Sorry!>

Yes as janis says I had an inkling that that rhyme did not quite rhyme the way it should.

irishface

Apologizing for the correction. I truly did not mean to be an offensive know-it-all.

kristadee

Thank you everyone for your replies. I have taken all of it to heart and done some revision. The time thing is more or less to see what can fit-- by no means do we have to adhere strictly to it-- except for where we are doing advance purchase to avoid lines-- (right now-- only the London Eye because I remember last summer's nightmare or a wait.) Also, I had a pleasant experience on the HOHO bus several years ago (my first trip to London after just working a flight in, I didn't want to go to sleep and I remember that I really enjoyed it-- albeit as long as it is not raining-- and you are correct about traffic. We are airline crew bringing the girls for the first time. So much to do, of course I want them to see it all... So WHAT do you all recommend the first day-- the girls are NOT going to want to stay in the flat. We are staying 5 minutes from the Earls Court station. One train ride from Heathrow. So many of you have mentioned Hampton Court and that was not even on my radar. It seems everyone is in agreement to do it over the Stonehenge/Bath-(nixed Windsor)tour? (I opted for Windsor on a different day IF we are able to get the riding in out there too-- if not we can do Hampton Court that day.)
Maybe we should do a tea the first day?? Portobello Market is also available the first day, I just don't think I will be able to handle the numerous amount of people after just flying in...
So thank you again for all your help!! I very much appreciate it and all your comments.
NEW and "improved" itinerary:
Day 1 Saturday
6:30am Arrive Heathrow from Washington DC- (First or Business Class—Airline employee so we will be able to sleep) Assuming we get on this flight—might be later arrival
Clear customs, get bags, Tube passes etc 30 minute train ride
9:00 am Arrive Chelsea/South Kensington Flat (4 minute walk from Earls Court station— Relax, unwind, Get some breakfast
11:00ish Walk to Kensington Palace Kensington Gardens, Princess Diana Memorial- Hyde Park
1:00-4:30 –Walk around take possibly do the Hop on/Hop off Bus (HOHO) -- just to give everyone an idea of what is in store)
5:00 London Eye— 5:15-Fast track- skip queue
6:30 Back to Flat
7:00 Dinner at Traboudour/ near Flat

Day 2 Sunday
8:30 Breakfast at the Flat
9:00 Walk St James Park/ Birdcage Walk
10:00 Horse Parade Guards (Changing of the Guards) (St James)
10:30-11:30
Royal Mews (45 mins-1 hour) with Hands on experience for kids
11:30-12:30- Lunch
1:00-2:30 Buckingham Palace (2 hours)
3:00-5:30/6:00 Harrods—
6:00 Dinner in the way back to Flat
6:00 Home—Possibly Notting Hill for NH Carnival Celebration

Day3 Monday—
Breakfast at Flat, grab Starbucks on way to Bus Tour station
Tour to Stonehenge & Bath
OR Hampton Court--
5:00 Return to Flat—Dinner at Flat-or out locally

Day 4 Tuesday
10:00 Tower Of London (opens at 10am) Beefeater Tour and Crown Jewels District or Circle Line to Tower Hill Station- 5 minute Walk
12:30-1:30 Tower Bridge walk Glass Walkway
1:30: Lunch
2:00-3:15 Walk Southwark- Globe Theatre, Millenium Bridge
(Watch Tower Bridge raise from Thames River side)
3:15-4:30 Westminster Abbey (last person in for viewing 3:30)
4:30-5:00 Walk around Big Ben/Abbey/Parliament
(Alternatively—3:00-5:45) British Museum or V&A Museum
6:00 Return to Flat—Dinner at Flat- BBQ—or out locally

Day 5 Wednesday
9:00-1:00 Walking tour with Jonnie- Trafalgar square, Piccadilly, Corams Field
1:00 –Lunch-Covent Garden- Street Entertainers
3:00-4:45 Victoria and Albert Museum (Shoes Exhibit—Girls love their shoes)
5:00-5:45 Flat/Get ready for show
6:00 Dinner --Jamie's Italian Victoria. Just about 2 blocks from the theater
7:30 Wicked

Day 6
Leave at 10:45 for
12:30 Harry Potter- Warner Bros Studio
5:00 Back at Flat- Dinner relax-

Day7
7:30-8:30 Horseback Riding in Hyde Park
9:00 Notting Hill- Portobello Market—shopping, gifts, souvenirs
12:00 Lunch in Notting Hill or Market
1:00-4:30 British Museum
Alternate Day 7
Trip to Windsor
Horseback riding in the morning- Tally Ho Stables
Windsor Castle in afternoon
Day8
Morning- Possibly Portobello Market
2:00 or 4:00 Departure out of Heathrow

Things to possibly fit in if we ditch some of the other stuff
London Bike Tour
London Duck Tour on Thames
Regent Square or Oxford Street
Chocolate Tour
Afternoon tea—ANYWHERE but Orangery, unless it’s gotten better from 3 years ago—Suggestions???