My husband and I are celebrating ten years of marital bliss this month with my first trip to Europe (he's been to London twice on business). We have a hotel in London reserved for June 13 - 15th, nothing planned from the 15th to the 18th,an apartment in Amsterdam from the 19th-24th; and a flight out of London-Gatwich on the morning of the 25th.
For the 4 nights of unscheduled time, I would love to hear your favorite locales. Our criteria is:
*walking distance from trail stations or easy, hassle-free bus/taxi.
*INEXPENSIVE...which translates to less than 80 euros (possibly more) for accommodations and prefer en suite
*not 'touristy' unless well worth it.
We have not yet purchased transport from London to Amsterdam.
Have flip-flopped from deciding to spend the time in Ireland (golfing/pub tours) or Scotland; to trailing to Austria; to Cotswolds; to staying put in London; to 956 other ititeneraries...our reluctance to finalize is due to confusion with the rail systems, limited $$$, and allure of mystery and freedom to go on our whim of the moment.
Our interests are mostly in pub atmospheres in order to talk leisurely with locals and drink yummy beers/liquors; visit life changing natural/man-made sites. Not interested in pomp/shopping.
Your recommendations will be appreciated!
jill

Not an easy one! I'd say Paris PARIS PARIS but for your budget and the fact you say you are not interested in pomp/shopping. But for a one-off trip to Europe, I would suggest you consider it. It comes into your "life-changing man-made sites"! You can take the Eurostar train from London to Paris (though the cheap tickets for your dates will probably be gone by now), and find a 2-3* hotel within your budget, or a bit more. There are loads of threads on this site on dining economically in Paris. Then you can get a train to Amsterdam.

Otherwise, stay in London and take a day trip to Bath+Stonehenge, or York.

Ruth, How do you go about getting cheap tickets from London to Paris and how far in advance do these have to be purchased. We will be doing that next April.

OK - you have not been to London before so you need to know a couple of things. First London is HUGE and there is soooooo much to see/do you will not even barely scratch the surface in 2 + days. And second - you actually will see even less since your first day will be pretty much given over to exhaustion/jet lag.

If it were me, I'd stay at least 2 more days in London w/ maybe 2 days out in the countryside like the Cotswolds (and I'd really recommend all 4 extra days in London).

Or, you <i>could</i> take the train or fly up to Edinburgh for two days and then fly to EasyJet to A'dam.

But in any case you need more time in London

One other problem you have - the budget airlines are really only &quot;budget&quot; when you book wells ahead. When you book at the last minute they will be as expensi9ve as anyone else.

Hi M,

&gt;We have a hotel in London reserved for June 13 - 15th, nothing planned from the 15th to the 18th,....&lt;

I would stay in London, with a daytrip.

Is there a reason why you are coming back to London instead flying home from AMS?

sharonf - the fares on Eurostar are on the website www.eurostar.com, but the cheaper ones get sold out, and then only more expensive ones are left. I'm no expert, I just look at their website.

Though I love Paris also, I think you should stay longer in London, and really get to know it. (Paris can be your second trip!)