Need Advice! Edinburgh to London
Nov 5th, 2015, 03:59 PM
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Need Advice! Edinburgh to London
Hello there.
Please be patient with me. I have never travelled outside of North America. I could really use some advice for a trip to Europe I would like to take in May with my two teen daughters. We only have two weeks to work with and we may never get back there again, so we need to choose wisely.
I don't find the planning of a trip fun like I know some people do. I find it overwhelming. For this reason I think we may go on a Globus trip for some of the time so I know my girls' trip will run smoothly. BUT I thought we should try to tack on a couple of days to be in Scotland, specifically Edinburgh before we need to be in London.
So, my question is: Can anyone suggest a nice, reasonably priced hotel in Edinburgh close enough to the castle so we could walk? Can anyone suggest any other tours or places we should see if we only have two days in Edinburgh? Finally, I think we would like to take a train from Edinburgh to London. Any suggestions on this??
Thank you very much. I hope to hear from some of you!
Toni
Please be patient with me. I have never travelled outside of North America. I could really use some advice for a trip to Europe I would like to take in May with my two teen daughters. We only have two weeks to work with and we may never get back there again, so we need to choose wisely.
I don't find the planning of a trip fun like I know some people do. I find it overwhelming. For this reason I think we may go on a Globus trip for some of the time so I know my girls' trip will run smoothly. BUT I thought we should try to tack on a couple of days to be in Scotland, specifically Edinburgh before we need to be in London.
So, my question is: Can anyone suggest a nice, reasonably priced hotel in Edinburgh close enough to the castle so we could walk? Can anyone suggest any other tours or places we should see if we only have two days in Edinburgh? Finally, I think we would like to take a train from Edinburgh to London. Any suggestions on this??
Thank you very much. I hope to hear from some of you!
Toni
Nov 5th, 2015, 04:23 PM
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Well first you need to give us a specific amount per night for the hotel and confirm that you are looking for a triple room.
With so little time in Edinburgh you can easily occupy it with the center of town - the Castle (don't miss the changing of the guard so you would need to go in the am), then explore down the Royal Mile and end up at Holyrood House (still the royal residence in town and the famed home of Mary Queen of Scots).
The first afternoon you will be jet lagged so I would just spend it walking around, getting comfortable with the town. Your hotel may have ideas of an afternoon tour into the countryside you might take.
With so little time in Edinburgh you can easily occupy it with the center of town - the Castle (don't miss the changing of the guard so you would need to go in the am), then explore down the Royal Mile and end up at Holyrood House (still the royal residence in town and the famed home of Mary Queen of Scots).
The first afternoon you will be jet lagged so I would just spend it walking around, getting comfortable with the town. Your hotel may have ideas of an afternoon tour into the countryside you might take.
Nov 5th, 2015, 06:25 PM
#4
I was going to add -- a group tour usually isn't a great idea w/ teenagers. They are usually VERY regimented and predominately older adults.
To make things easier on you you could just pick three cities -- Edinburgh, London, Paris are the easiest three-fer you could imagine.
Fly to London, train to Edinburgh, fly from Edinburgh to Paris, fly home. easy peasy . . . and a LOT more fun than being stuck on a bus for hours every day.
You'd only have to pre-book your flights, the train trip, and your hotels, so not at all difficult or complicated.
To make things easier on you you could just pick three cities -- Edinburgh, London, Paris are the easiest three-fer you could imagine.
Fly to London, train to Edinburgh, fly from Edinburgh to Paris, fly home. easy peasy . . . and a LOT more fun than being stuck on a bus for hours every day.
You'd only have to pre-book your flights, the train trip, and your hotels, so not at all difficult or complicated.
Nov 5th, 2015, 07:55 PM
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If doing a tour with teenagers, I certainly would not go with Globus. Have a look at Rabbies ( www.rabbies.com ) They do small group tours from London, and Edinburgh and several I have been on have included younger people. Very doubtful if Globus has very many ( or any ) participants under the age of 50.
Visiting the three cities janisj mentioned ( London, Edinburgh and Paris ) can easily be done without doing a tour. All three also have possibilities for day trips. IMO this would be a much better option than a Globus tour.
Visiting the three cities janisj mentioned ( London, Edinburgh and Paris ) can easily be done without doing a tour. All three also have possibilities for day trips. IMO this would be a much better option than a Globus tour.
Nov 6th, 2015, 03:16 AM
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Apart from Edinburgh, where else are you intending to visit?
If you are wanting ideas for Scotland, have a look at the Secret Scotland website, as this may be an answer for you.
http://www.secret-scotland.com/
They help you plan a holiday by yourselves. You can either buy an itinerary from them, or they will help you design your own itinerary. They provide you with routes, driving instructions, ideas of places to visit and ideas for accommodation which you can book. It is like having your own personal guid book.
Have a look at their itineraries here;
http://www.secret-scotland.com/Conte...and-tours.html
If you are wanting ideas for Scotland, have a look at the Secret Scotland website, as this may be an answer for you.
http://www.secret-scotland.com/
They help you plan a holiday by yourselves. You can either buy an itinerary from them, or they will help you design your own itinerary. They provide you with routes, driving instructions, ideas of places to visit and ideas for accommodation which you can book. It is like having your own personal guid book.
Have a look at their itineraries here;
http://www.secret-scotland.com/Conte...and-tours.html
Nov 6th, 2015, 05:25 AM
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We stayed at Richmond Place Apartments in Edinburgh. It's a sort of "apart-hotel", in a building mostly inhabited by university students. The students were a very quiet; they were mostly foreign students. The apartments have kitchens, so you can have some meals in, to save a little money. I will say, though, that there are lots of reasonably priced places to eat nearby. There was also a laundromat on the premises. There is a manned desk in the lobby, which was very helpful.
We walked everywhere from there, and never took a bus.
We walked everywhere from there, and never took a bus.
Nov 6th, 2015, 07:17 AM
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<<For this reason I think we may go on a Globus trip for some of the time so I know my girls' trip will run smoothly.>>
Do not do this. Your teenage girls do not need to spend hours and hours on buses with geriatrics. They do not need to spend a ton of time on their trip in the aura of Charlie Bucket's house ("it smells like old people, and soap" - Willy Wonka). There is hardly a better way for you to encourage them to get out the house ASAP.
In both London and Edinburgh there are numerous people who speak English. Supposedly that is the native tongue in both cities (even if the UK and US are two nations separated by a common language). Really, there are Scots who are comprehensible to the American ear (and the Brits and Scots understand Americans just fine because they air a ton of US programming and it's not all consigned to the one public television station - it's like learning a second language the way Mila Kunis learned English from the TV).
Edinburgh's Royal Mile and New Town sections are compact and easily walkable. The hills all go up, physics be damned.
Paris is a large city that hosts tourists from all over the world. It is easily navigable. There are TONS of websites on what to do, where to go, and how to do that.
And dangit, you HAVE TEENAGERS. That means they are fully capable of reading and analyzing information. It also means they are probably better at electronic device usage than you and can pull their own dang weight to contribute to making the trip "run smoothly." You'll be spending a ton of cash on them, tell the girls to get to work.
But whatever you do, don't subject your girls to riding in buses with oldies on Globus.
Do not do this. Your teenage girls do not need to spend hours and hours on buses with geriatrics. They do not need to spend a ton of time on their trip in the aura of Charlie Bucket's house ("it smells like old people, and soap" - Willy Wonka). There is hardly a better way for you to encourage them to get out the house ASAP.
In both London and Edinburgh there are numerous people who speak English. Supposedly that is the native tongue in both cities (even if the UK and US are two nations separated by a common language). Really, there are Scots who are comprehensible to the American ear (and the Brits and Scots understand Americans just fine because they air a ton of US programming and it's not all consigned to the one public television station - it's like learning a second language the way Mila Kunis learned English from the TV).
Edinburgh's Royal Mile and New Town sections are compact and easily walkable. The hills all go up, physics be damned.
Paris is a large city that hosts tourists from all over the world. It is easily navigable. There are TONS of websites on what to do, where to go, and how to do that.
And dangit, you HAVE TEENAGERS. That means they are fully capable of reading and analyzing information. It also means they are probably better at electronic device usage than you and can pull their own dang weight to contribute to making the trip "run smoothly." You'll be spending a ton of cash on them, tell the girls to get to work.
But whatever you do, don't subject your girls to riding in buses with oldies on Globus.
Nov 6th, 2015, 07:17 AM
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I think we would like to take a train from Edinburgh to London. Any suggestions on this??>
Well yes it's only about 4.5 hours I think and the last half is pretty scenic - the first half will be too if you've never been to England - see the lay of the land in between London and Edinburgh - flying you may see it from thousands of feet up but.
buying tickets in advance at www.nationalrail.co.uk or from the East Coast line site well in advance can save tons of money over walk-up fares - for lots on British trains check www.seat61.com- great info on discounted tickets; and for general info www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. First class is infinitely nicer IME on long-distance trains and discounted tickets are available in that class as well.
Well yes it's only about 4.5 hours I think and the last half is pretty scenic - the first half will be too if you've never been to England - see the lay of the land in between London and Edinburgh - flying you may see it from thousands of feet up but.
buying tickets in advance at www.nationalrail.co.uk or from the East Coast line site well in advance can save tons of money over walk-up fares - for lots on British trains check www.seat61.com- great info on discounted tickets; and for general info www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. First class is infinitely nicer IME on long-distance trains and discounted tickets are available in that class as well.
Nov 6th, 2015, 06:00 PM
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We had a triple room at the Holiday Inn Express at 300 Cowgate in Edinburgh. You can reserve online or phone at 011-44-20-3129-6178; rate includes breakfast. Gray Line picks up at the hotel for day trips, and the desk personnel were all very friendly and helpful.
There is so much to do in both Edinburgh and London, including lovely day trips, that I you may choose to spend your time in Britain rather than trying to include Paris. You could stop over and spend a night in York if you take the train between the cities.
There is so much to do in both Edinburgh and London, including lovely day trips, that I you may choose to spend your time in Britain rather than trying to include Paris. You could stop over and spend a night in York if you take the train between the cities.
Nov 6th, 2015, 07:04 PM
#12
We stayed with our two sons in University of Scotland housing right smack on the Royal Mile, near the castle end. Worked out great--apartment.
I'd consider a Scotland specialist travel agent rather than a tour; we got our rooms at the Uni that way.
I've taken the day train London to Edinburgh and also a night train (overnight) which was an experience, and so memorable, but not the best night's sleep, and you don't get the scenery! Love train travel and a great way to get around UK.
When I went it was the Night Scotsman. Now there's a Caledonian Sleeper.
Were we there again with teens, I would spend a week in London, trips to Oxford, Bath, Canterbury and the like, head north at stop at York, then back on the train and north to Edinburgh. All doable via train, as are trips from Edinburgh (Glasgow, for one).
Have a great trip!
Good luck with your planning!
I'd consider a Scotland specialist travel agent rather than a tour; we got our rooms at the Uni that way.
I've taken the day train London to Edinburgh and also a night train (overnight) which was an experience, and so memorable, but not the best night's sleep, and you don't get the scenery! Love train travel and a great way to get around UK.
When I went it was the Night Scotsman. Now there's a Caledonian Sleeper.
Were we there again with teens, I would spend a week in London, trips to Oxford, Bath, Canterbury and the like, head north at stop at York, then back on the train and north to Edinburgh. All doable via train, as are trips from Edinburgh (Glasgow, for one).
Have a great trip!
Good luck with your planning!
