If it is just London, then I'd do it alone.

The public transport is relatively cheap and easy to use, language will not be an issue, and there are enough itineraries and self guided tours in guidebooks and on the web to make it simple.

Because you have such a short time there I would take one of the hop off hop on bus tours that will show you the highlights. You can get off when you want to see something and then hop back on and go off to the next place.
I think this is good for a first trip.
Self exploring is a great way to see things if you plan ahead and find out where everything is. The tube is a great way to travel and easy to use.

www.walks.com offer great cheap walking tours and I would highly recommend them!

Second the two suggestions above...I did both on my short stay. You will be fine on your own with a couple of walking tours. The guides are great and informative.

I would take some walking tours and/or tours offered at various and do the rest on your own. I find I get a lot out of docent-led tours rather than just reading a book about the venue.

I've done a few London Walks tours and enjoyed them, especially the evening pub walk and the Wren walk.

I am not a big fan on HOHO buses - i think they are overrated and too expensive. I would suggest get a good guide book or go online and search for walking itineraries and print some off before going - and go at your own pace. Use public transport - sitting on the top in the front of a regular double decker bus is a much more rewarding experience imo than a HOHO.

For a first trip and a limited amount of time, I would also recommend the HOHO bus, in contrast to those people who say they are overrated. They are a convenient way of covering the main points of interest with the option to spend as much or as little time at individual sites as you like, and they save you the difficulties of trying to figure out bus routes and finding tube stops. You get basic information about the places you are passing by which you don't get on a regular bus. I wouldn't use them on my 2nd 3rd or 4th trip but definitely worth the money on a first visit.

The London Walk tours are terrific.

Really depends on what you want to see. There's a lot of things in London that show up in guidebooks as "top London attractions" that I wouldn't take time to see or do, never. Guided tours usually focus on the same things, they don't show you anything you couldn't see on your own if you wanted to. And you might end up being taken to things that don't much interest you.


On the other hand, London is huge, you don't have much time there, and there are lots of interesting places that are miles and miles from each other. Public transportation is fairly easy to figure out, but streets are NOT. You can waste a lot of time getting lost. So if you look at a couple of guided tours and they look like they'd be taking you to interesting places, then it would be very efficient, plus they do tell you things so you understand better where you are.

If you want to go on your own and put together your own tour, there are good maps you can buy there or even take a GPS with you. I'm not kidding.

Better add that I've got nothing against London Walks and some of them do unlock doors so you get into special places, and you can pick a "walk" that just focuses on your interest, and skip seeing pubs if you're not interested, or royal stuff or mystery tours if you don't care. I was really talking about the bus tours, because you can't walk to all the interesting sights in 3 days. The bus tours try to please everybody.

Dear All,
Thank you very much for your tips and views on my London trip. That really helps and may probably end up getting the best of both worlds. I may just add 1 more day to make sure I have more time in London. Still have some time before I settle down to do the details, etc.
Cheers.

Hi Johnsonng,

I'm going to have to disagree that London is "huge", although my opinion is, admittedly, coming from someone who lives in Los Angeles and here, with 464 square miles of city, I clearly have a different perspective.

I have, at different times, walked from one end to the other end of the "touristy" portions of London, and it has taken me just a few hours of meandering. I can (or at least 20 years ago when I was, uh, 20 years younger), able to get from E4 to W1 in less than an hour without breaking a sweat. And that was during a time when I didn't even live or work there. Just me and a guide book and a map.

The hop on hop off buses are a relatively new phenomenon, and although it seems like a really neat concept, I don't think I'd do it in London, just because the public transport there is so amazing, and you'd get the same, but cheaper experience with public transport and a guide book. If it were L.A., then, yes, it makes a lot of sense.

I know this is terribly old fashioned, but most people coming to London for the first time have a general idea of the highlights of what they "must" see, then flesh it out a bit with a guide book or Ipad/pod application on London, and a decent pocket map.

You could make a list of the basic "top ten", then using a map, plot out what is closest to what and do it in chunks. Or if you have a specific preference, like "literary London" where you want to seek out the haunts of specific authors or literary figures, you can create your own tour after plotting out the places you want to visit. Dickens, as an author, is one example. Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey, as a literary figure, is another.

Or you might be interested in the art, or the architecture, or the shopping, or the historical sights, or the legal community, or the music scene. Each has its own path to follow that you select.

So that's why, at least for me, I prefer the individual exploration style, since I have my own idea of what I want to see, and it's usually thematic.

Hi Surfergirl,
Thank you very much for your advice. I may just follow what you suggested, listing down the 'must see' top ten places that I need to visit during my trip to London.

ive gone to london many times on my own. With a London A to Z, available at newsagents and bookstores. its very simple to use the tube and easy to walk around. you can buy a pocket sized ones.
THe walking tours are graet: Ive done a bunch, the Beatles london, a historic pub crawl at night, Jewish London, Legal London, Oscar Wildes london, and ohters. THe guides aer excellent and at times like going to the East End on Jewish London i went to areas i probably wouldnt have gone to. SOmetimes i met people on the walk adn we went out afterwards.
I love london/ its my favorite place, most museums are free, both the art and historical ones are great and you can get 1/2 price tickets for the theater at the booth in Leicester Sq. you have to line up but they often have tickets for many plays. Some plays are not ever available but many are.
I recommend Wagamama, an asian style food chain for casual dinners alone and Pret a Manger has ready made sandwiches,etc and is good for a uqick lunch or snack. they are pretty prevalent. have fun

The HOHO buses in London are a huge waste of money. Fact is, you should have a personal list of places you want to go and see and once there can join a tour (e.g., Beefeater Tour at the Tower) or can find a tour that encompasses the destination (pick a London Walks tour at random).

And because you speak something close to the same language that the Brits do (see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_words_not_widely_used_in_the_United_States), getting around and obtaining information is easy without a guide.

And go to Londontown.com for self-guided walks ideas. They have a large variety.

If it helps, here's the official Transport for London guide, showing regular bus routes in relation to the main attractions:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/15101.aspx

Pretty well every bus stop now has a diagram map showing buses from that stop (and, in busy central areas, all the surrounding stops as well), and there's a number you can text with the number of the stop to get an update on what buses will be stopping there next, and when.

I too think the HOHO buses are way too expensive, you can get to the same sites by Tube or bus. Make a list of the places you want to see and try and group them together; the London walks are also extremely interesting. London is very easy to do on your own, get yourself a good guidebook and you'll do just fine, enjoy!

London is certainly not huge relative to LA, but it is a huge distance to walk between sights like the Tower of London and the V&A, let alone trying to see someplace at the perimeter like Kew. For somebody who only has a short time in the city, some form of wheeled transportation to get around is likely to be a necessity. There are very few tourist itineraries that can be entirely walked unless you aren't interested in some of London's biggest tourist draws.

The HoHo buses might be overpriced but I still contend with a limited amount of time and wanting to get an overview of the things that most people want to see in London for the first time for a limited time, it is a good alternative. And while you can get from one place to another by Tube or bus, sometimes it is just great to get on and let someone else do the thinking while you are on holiday.
I am sure I will hear back on that one.

Here's a good thread on general walking distances.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/london-attractions-within-walking-distance-of-each-other.cfm

We were just in London for three nights. DH had a conference, and I was free to visit sites on my own. One really fun day I spent at Victoria and Albert, then walked through the neighborhood and window shopped at Chanel and the other couture shops on my way to see Harrods. It was a really interesting and charming little area.

All you have to do is take the tube to South Kensington for the V&A. Walk to Harrod's and take the tube there from Knightsbridge. Really easy, and a great day of walking and exploring. Actually you could do this in a half day and catch lunch. I think I spent 2 hours at V&A, and probably a total of 4 hours exploring, without sitting for a meal.

Johnsonng1954, I agree with Kelsey:

“The HoHo buses might be overpriced but I still contend with a limited amount of time and wanting to get an overview of the things that most people want to see in London for the first time for a limited time, it is a good alternative.”

The trip gives you an excellent overview of London. And remember your ticket is good for 24 hours and includes a cruise of the Thames (highly recommended) and a walking tour.

The HOHO tours only run during daylight hours.

Enjoy London….

If you follow PeaceOut's advice, as you walk from the V&A, and on the same side of the street, just before you get to Harrod's there is a Richoux Tea Shop where you can have lunch, a full afternoon tea, or just tea and a scone. There are three or four of the shops in London, and they are cozy and cost less than having tea in one of the big hotels--not as special but still quite nice. Harrod's Georgian Room has a lovely afternoon tea.

Forgot to specify that the little area with designer shops was a y-shaped right-hand lane I took off Old Brompton Rd, as I walked from the V&A to Harrods. I think the lanes were Beauchamp, Pont and Sloane.

It was partially residential with very nice brownstones, too. Reminded me of Boston or New York. (Gee, why would that be?? haha)

The Brompton Oratory is in that area, too, but I missed it.

Carolyn, I wish I'd known about the tea shop. Sounds fabulous. Next time. . .

I would do it on my own as opposed to a tour. I wish I had taken the hop on hop off bus but the public transport in London is really good. I would also recommend getting a London Pass if you want to go into some places like Tower of London or Westminster Abbey - it is well worth it.

Definitely make a list of things you want to do because London is very large and if you only have a few days you might find having a to do list easier. I was there for ten days and I still didn't get to Westminster Abbey because there is so much to do!!

London is a great place for exploring and an awesome city - I am planning my 2nd trip there for Sept next year.

The London pass is generally a waste of money for most tourists! Do a search here for 2for1 deals if there are more than 1 of you for information on how to get deals on the tower and lots of other sites or look here: www.daysoutguide.co.uk

I agree with Surfergirl. You need to make list of the top 5-10 things you want to see or do in London. You should also try to group things by neighborhood, so that you make good use of your time.

I would not take the Hop On Hop Off bus. It costs a lot more than public transport and you can only take the company bus you book.

Public transport is easy to use, and you have the option of taking the subway known as the tube or underground or a bus. Take a look at a map of London, and at the underground and bus maps. there are also public transport boats on the Themes.

I have taken London Walks. excellent tours and the guides are knowledgeable. there are many tours of different parts of London. take a look at their website.

National museums in London are free, except for visiting exhibits.

If you want to go to the Tower of London you can book in advance and the tours within the tower are included.

Consult a few guide books and the Visit Britain website for starters.

Dear all,
Thank you once again for sharing your experiences and offering your advice on London. I will definitely make a list of the places to visit and plan my itinerary from there.
Looks like there is so much to see and do in London.
Cheers.