1st Time Traveller
 

Just wondering if anyone, could give my husband a few tips on travelling for the 1st time to the UK from New Zealand.
He has 2 weeks, from late December to early January, to fill in, in Scotland.
He is flying to Edinburgh first, then travelling down to London to stay with relations.
We wondered what was the best way to travel to London. Bus or Train. Any suggestions?
Also while in London, he would like to visit Stonehenge, has anyone done this?
Maybe a day trip to Paris, would be possible.
Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Hi im,

>Maybe a day trip to Paris, would be possible.<

Very doable.

1. Take an early Eurostar over and a late one back.

2. By an open jaw ticket into London and out of Paris. Take the Eurostar to Paris for a couple of days and fly home from there.

Ticket information is at www.eurostar.com.

Use the UK site.

Hi,

For Stonehenge, you can take the train down to Salisbury (which is itself worth the trip), and then a bus will take you the 10 miles to Stonehenge - they run pretty regularly.

People do this all the time.

Karen

The bus from Edinburgh to London will take forever. The train takes about 4 hours, but it's not cheap.

Check out easyjet.com for cheap flights from EDI to London Luton Airport (from Luton, take the Thameslink train into London Kings Cross station.)

Thanks for all your help, was a bit disappointed today, when a cousin, told me that Christmas, New Year, is not a good time to visit in Scotland. Family, other commitments etc. So my husband appears to be on his own, for a week.
Your tips were most helpful.
Another question - Do you have any tips for Heathrow Airport, for a 1st time traveller?
Has anyone done an organised tour of Europe, and can recommend it?
Thanks again. IM

Tips for Heathrow really depend on which airline you are using; as that determines the terminal that you will arrive at. The Piccadilly line offers the cheapest way of getting into the city, but it can be daunting for a first timer having to navigate the underground and it is not luggage friendly. The Heathrow Express offers a faster but more expensive alternative. Most of the chauffer services you will find on the Web are cheaper than a taxi, but still expensive for one person.

Some time ago, we were looking for London to Glasgow trains and discovered that it was cheaper to fly with British Midland.

We have done European trips with Globus, Trafalgar and Insight, all offer good value, but Insight would be our favourite ? more expensive but less additional costs. All three companies have web sites. They do offer special Christmas tours.

Days are going to be short, particularly in Scotland ?think Dunedin in June!

Thank you Tangata, that was really helpful.
I will look up those web sites.
Yes, I take the point about Dunedin, I have daughters there studying.
My husband is travelling part of the journey, with one of our daughters, she is enroute to Korea. He is passing through. I believe Korea, can beat Scotland any day, with its winter temperatures.

I have only visited Korea once and that was in mid winter and it was cold! I unthinkingly gripped a metal rail with my bare hand and lost a lot of skin.

One of my daughters went to University in Dunedin; I only ever visited her in the summer.

Hi, just wondered if someone would be so kind as to help me, with a few more ideas?
Perhaps I should start from the beginning.
My husband and daughter are flying mid December from N.Z. to London, via Korea.
Having Christmas in Northern Ireland with friends, then she departs for Seoul,(visiting) and he is on his own.
As I was born in Scotland, I have many cousins, but I don't know some of them well enough to ask for help, having lived in New Zealand, most of my life.
However, one who lives in Pittenweem, Fife, has offered to have him for a few days. So this is fine.
Early January, maybe 2nd, he will travel down to London, to another cousin of mine, this time a Kiwi, living over there. (Shepherds Bush area.)
My husband now has 10 days before he returns, to N.Z. In which to see London and he hopes Paris.
You have been very helpful with ideas and tips so far. Thank you.
I have been thinking that it would be nice for him to take a couple of days to see Paris, or do a small tour.
I would imagine, that my Kiwi cousin will take my husband around London, and point him in the right direction, according to his interests. History, Antiques, Vintage Vehicles, Historic Buildings, and he loves Boat rides. Just to name a few.
I have asked for brochures from our Travel Agent, but I am bogged down with trying to sort through them. Most tours are too long, or not at the right time.
My husband, is appreciative of any help he can get, to guide him through his holiday.
Can anyone recommend a place for him to stay in Paris, so that he can see the sights?
Is it possible to get an organised tour, once there? Where do we look for this?
Thanking you in anticipation. IM

Your husband will have a wonderful time. Being in Scotland over New Years (Hogmanay) is great fun and Pittenweem is a neat fishing village in a good area for sightseeing.

In London - while your cousin may be able to show him around some - getting around and sightseeing on one's own is VERY easy. General sightseeing info is not the sort of thing many travel agents do very well. They are in the business of selling tours and he doesn't need any for London. The Tourist Information Centers in London and the Visit Britain web site will give you/him better/more useful info. The Big Bus or Original hop-on-hop-off bus tours are good for getting the "lay of the land" but in Jan. it may be too cold to sit upstairs on the open top double deckers.

Original London Walks do MANY small group walking tours. They are all listed on their website. Other companies also do good walking tours and are listed in the weekly Time Out magazine.

But he doesn't need any sort of organized tours to see any of the major/minor sites in London.

As for Paris - I really recommend he do at least 2 days/1 night. 2 nights would be better because the days are very short and the daylight hours are quite limited. I Like the Hotel du Quai Voltaire for a single. It is RIGHT ON the river directly across from the Louvre and has moderate/cheap-ish singles. There are many other good 2 or 3 star hotels all over Paris and searching on here will bring up many recommendations.

Make sure he goes to the London Transportation Museum to see the vintage buses and trams. It may be full of kids, but it's great!

There is a hop-on/hop-off bus in Paris also...L"opentour..they have several different routes. They give you a map and you can see where they stop and where you can switch from one line to another. I liked using it better than the metro because you were above ground and can see things as you ride around. There are various tour companies in Paris if he might want to check them out..Paris Visions and Cityramma. They have web sites. A lot of posters on here and other boards like the Hotel Mugeut (SP)...I personally have never stayed there but it's very reasonable, clean, and in the Rue Cler area. Also, there is a website: anamericaninparis.com that gives a huge amount of hotel listing, phone numbers etc. You can e-mail Fred with questions etc. so you might try that. With two weeks, hopefully your husband can take two days for Paris anyway and as was suggested, leave from Paris back to New Zealand rather than going back to London. If he can do it..I really suggest the Eurostar from Waterloo to Gare de Nord..center of town to center of town in about 2 1/2 hours. The time savings and convenience is just great. I think that you can fly cheaper most times but then you have to factor in getting to the airport from London and then getting into Paris from the airport there..so for me anyway, the eurostar is it.