Sapphire

My husband and I will be stopping over in London Aug. 22nd on our way to South Africa. Will arrive at Heathrow airport at 6:25 a.m. on a Tuesday and leave the next day at 7:30 p.m.

Would like to see something of London while we are there. On a previous visit 10 years ago, we missed seeing the British Museum because of car trouble (only saw the Elgin marbles before the museum closed) but did ride the double-decker bus, see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, etc. Would like to see the Museum and perhaps take a trip down the Thames.

Any suggestions of where to stay? (Would probably want to keep the cost under $300 US.) Have been reading previous posts and see pros and cons of staying near Heathrow airport.

Someone recommended Renaissance Heathrow to us and also suggested using Kemwel (Alamo) if we decided to rent a car. Wonder if it would be better to stay closer to the British Museum and not rent a car? Any thoughts?

I'd appreciate any help you can give us. We recently returned from a business trip to Ghana and Togo so I'm a little behind in planning this next trip.

Thanks!

janisj

W/ a 7:30 p.m. flight out, I see no reason to stay near the airport. (7:30 a.m. would be a whole different matter)

By the time you get your luggage and get into London it will be about 10:a.m. You would have all day Tues and until about 4:30 p.m. wed free in Londoin and that is enough time to see quite a bit.

WHO recommended renting a car?? That is plain silly. Absolutely no reason to have a car. You can get into town via the tube, the Heathrow Express train, or a pre-booked car service - but drive yourselves - no.

For your return journey to LHR the Heathrow Express train makes the most sense since it only takes 15 minutes from Paddington Station. You can stay anywhere - but if the British Museum is your main "must see" I'd stay near Russell Square.

alanRow

For British Museum (and British Library) I'd recommend the Bloomsbury area (do a search).

If you want something a bit more central though, the Marriot at County Hall can't be beat

As for renting a car - total insanity

Tere

You don't have to stay near Heathrow airport, you can book a hotel in the center of London and easily take your flight the next day.

Sapphire

Thank you for the great responses. My husband had talked with someone who recommended a place to rent a car in London, but I don't think they were necessarily suggesting it for this trip. But your specific input on the various methods of getting to and from Heathrow were just the kind of information we needed.

The suggestion to search for a hotel in Bloomsbury area was also extremely helpful. I did look up the Marriott at County Hall, and it looks like a wonderful place to stay but didn't have any vacancies that night (and is a bit over our budget).

Thank you again for your help!

Pumbavu

Budget wise you could get a Travelinn or travel Lodge in Central London for about $150 for a night (that's for a room and up to I think 3 adults)

Pumbavu

London Kensington Premier Travel Inn is £82 for that night www.premiertravelinn.com


www.travellodge.co.uk have rooms at Covent Gardens for £89 (again room rate not per person)

peterw

Hope you have managed to sort out your accomodation. As for the sightseeing, the British Library has now moved from the British Museum to near kings Cross station. Has some temporary exhibitions and also standard ones on really old books and documents.

For your trip down the Thames you will need to start at Westminster Pier, just by Westminster Bridge. Boats will go all the way to Greenwich, which is a good place to wonder around and loose a couple of hours.

Otherwise, you could walk along the Thames from the Museum and go to the Tate Modern, then over Millenium Bridge and back to the city Centre via St. Pauls, walking back up the Strand to end up at Sommerset House or the South Bank for a drink. Depends on how much you want to see. The virtual tour on http://www.the-london-map.co.uk may also give you a couple of ideas.

Sapphire

Our trip is coming up quickly now, and we did find a nice hotel within walking distance of the British Museum.

I tried to arrange for a pre-booked car service, contacting someone who was recommended on this forum, but I never heard back. (I filled out the form several weeks ago.) Any suggestions?

Thank you all for your help.

janisj

You can't rely on e-mails 100%. They get mislaid/screened out and there are technical problems. How do you know they even received it? OR - maybe they did answer and you didn't receive it.

If I hadn't heard w/i 4 or 5 days I'd have been on the phone to follow up.

If you want a car service and haven't heard anything - call them.

Tere

Sapphire , if you want a a hotel in Bloomsbury, next to the British Museum, check The Academy. It's a lovely and good hotel. The site is www.theetoncollection.com.

For a car to pick you at the airport check www.justairports.com. A car from Heathrow to London is GBP 23. You can book it online.

Sapphire

I have booked transportation with justairports. Thank you!