5 days in London
Mar 17th, 2013, 08:33 PM
#1
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5 days in London
Ok, My wife and I are goinig to spend 5 days (not including travel) in London with another couple, any suggestions of what/how to schedule that time? where to stay? all at the same place? should we go to Paris for a day? or spend the night there maybe? we have a budget of about $2500 per couple. We will be traveling there in mid May.
Thank you
Thank you
Mar 18th, 2013, 07:59 AM
#3
yes, we definitely need more info from you.
Assuming that $2500 doesn't include airfare,you are talking about a little over £200 per day. That is semi-doable but is awfully tight to cover accommodations/food/transport/entrance charges
It would be more doable if you rented a flat - but it is getting very late to find one for May.
A trip to Paris probably isn't feasible since the train fare alone will eat up more than 1/2your daily allowance.
Assuming that $2500 doesn't include airfare,you are talking about a little over £200 per day. That is semi-doable but is awfully tight to cover accommodations/food/transport/entrance charges
It would be more doable if you rented a flat - but it is getting very late to find one for May.
A trip to Paris probably isn't feasible since the train fare alone will eat up more than 1/2your daily allowance.
Mar 18th, 2013, 06:44 PM
#4
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Yes, that is for food, lodging, transportation and entrance fee's. I show about 1655 gbp. again this is just a budget, not an absolute.
We enjoy flowers/gardens, Churches, my wife is into Kings/Queens history. We love the show Downton Abbey. The couple with us wants to see Stonehedge. Some main attractions that will get our feet wet, this is our first time in GB.
Thats kind of what I thought about Paris too.
We enjoy flowers/gardens, Churches, my wife is into Kings/Queens history. We love the show Downton Abbey. The couple with us wants to see Stonehedge. Some main attractions that will get our feet wet, this is our first time in GB.
Thats kind of what I thought about Paris too.
Mar 18th, 2013, 07:32 PM
#5
>>I show about 1655 gbp. again this is just a budget, not an absolute.<<
Yep - that is approx £235 per day. Since even moderate hotels will cost around £150 for a double you don't have much left over for all the rest. For example a day trip to Stonehenge will cost probably £80 - £100 for two (including train/tour bus from Salisbury/lunch) and nearly twice that if you take a guided tour from London. An inexpensive dinner in London will cost £35-£40 for two. Getting to Highclere will involve a train and a fairly expensive taxi ride.
So a LOT depends on how flexible your budget is.
You need to get on londontown.com ASAP and find a hotel that fits in what ever you decide your budget is.
Yep - that is approx £235 per day. Since even moderate hotels will cost around £150 for a double you don't have much left over for all the rest. For example a day trip to Stonehenge will cost probably £80 - £100 for two (including train/tour bus from Salisbury/lunch) and nearly twice that if you take a guided tour from London. An inexpensive dinner in London will cost £35-£40 for two. Getting to Highclere will involve a train and a fairly expensive taxi ride.
So a LOT depends on how flexible your budget is.
You need to get on londontown.com ASAP and find a hotel that fits in what ever you decide your budget is.
Mar 19th, 2013, 09:11 PM
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Get some good guidebooks-Fodors,Rough Guide and even DK Eyewitness which shows more of an illustrated city.monuments
,etc.to decide what is important for all of you to see and do.
Go on Booking.com,Tripadvisor.com or airbnb.com to find reasonable housing with prices and real time prices and areas.
Go up to the SEARCH box on the upper right hand side of this page and put in London or any other place you want to visit and you will see past threads to read. Just click them to gain valuable information.
,etc.to decide what is important for all of you to see and do.
Go on Booking.com,Tripadvisor.com or airbnb.com to find reasonable housing with prices and real time prices and areas.
Go up to the SEARCH box on the upper right hand side of this page and put in London or any other place you want to visit and you will see past threads to read. Just click them to gain valuable information.
Mar 20th, 2013, 04:00 AM
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Don't think people aren't willing to help with specifics. I think it's just that London is SO big and there is SO much to see that it's more productive if you have some more specific questions or have more specific info for people to respond to. So don't give up. But having said that, here are some things I might suggest (other than to do as said above and do some research and definitely get feedback from the other 3 people in your group):
1. It's Stone HENGE when you google it. If you combine that with a trip to say Salisbury it makes a nice daytrip. Train to Salisbury; a bus that drives to Stonehenge picks up folks near the train station.
2.In London there are MANY areas to stay, and NONE of them are near ALL the top 4-5 places probably recommended that you see. So hard to recommend A place. But staying near the center of the city will pay off, making up for higher prices probably, by saving soooo much time and some transport money. Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Bayswater--some areas to consider but lots others. Being near a Tube stop is very very important.
3.No way would I take more than one day trip in 5 days in London. Actually, I'd not even take one--way too much to see. But I do understand the attraction for some to run over to Paris. But you can sooooo fill days in London, maybe better to stay.
4. and I don't understand your "all at the same place" question. Stay all your nights in same place? for sure. All 4 of you at same place? why not?
5. And when you get a list of sights, do know they will be probably spread all over one of the biggest cities in the world and you need time to get from place to place. So scheduling just 2-3 major sights per day is wise.
6.My recommendations--The Tower of London. The British Museum. and probably the British Library. Westminster Abbey and a walk around there (Big Ben, Bridge, etc.) Some of the Parks. Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. Some art museums. St. Paul's. A Southbank walk. The Globe Theatre. A play if time. Several of the bridges and the Thames views from each!
I could go on but won't until you say if any of this is helpful or have specific questions.
1. It's Stone HENGE when you google it. If you combine that with a trip to say Salisbury it makes a nice daytrip. Train to Salisbury; a bus that drives to Stonehenge picks up folks near the train station.
2.In London there are MANY areas to stay, and NONE of them are near ALL the top 4-5 places probably recommended that you see. So hard to recommend A place. But staying near the center of the city will pay off, making up for higher prices probably, by saving soooo much time and some transport money. Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Bayswater--some areas to consider but lots others. Being near a Tube stop is very very important.
3.No way would I take more than one day trip in 5 days in London. Actually, I'd not even take one--way too much to see. But I do understand the attraction for some to run over to Paris. But you can sooooo fill days in London, maybe better to stay.
4. and I don't understand your "all at the same place" question. Stay all your nights in same place? for sure. All 4 of you at same place? why not?
5. And when you get a list of sights, do know they will be probably spread all over one of the biggest cities in the world and you need time to get from place to place. So scheduling just 2-3 major sights per day is wise.
6.My recommendations--The Tower of London. The British Museum. and probably the British Library. Westminster Abbey and a walk around there (Big Ben, Bridge, etc.) Some of the Parks. Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. Some art museums. St. Paul's. A Southbank walk. The Globe Theatre. A play if time. Several of the bridges and the Thames views from each!
I could go on but won't until you say if any of this is helpful or have specific questions.
Mar 20th, 2013, 06:45 AM
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TexasBookWorm nail it.
To reiterate:
- Stay as close to a tube station as you can... it honestly doesn't matter where too much, so long as you're in Zone 1 (Central London) since the sites you'll want to see are all over the map. I'd try to stay west of "Bank" station and south of "Kings Cross" though.
- Buses are a GREAT way to see the city too, so don't rely just on the tube. Be prepared to do a lot of walking each day as well. You should look into the Zone 1-2 Travel Card, which, for a 7-Day card, will run you around $45 total... and should save you a lot of money getting around.
- Your budget is going to be EXTREMELY tight for London, but it's doable. Try to get a hotel in the $140/night range to stretch your money as far as you can on other things. There's a good little hotel near Russell Square called "The Academy" that we got for right around that amount last year. I can't promise the prices are still the same.
- I'd probably nix Stone Henge, unless it's really important to you. It's a long way to go for only 5 days and a small budget. It's also a long way to go if you don't combine that trip with more to do that that out there, like Salisbury as suggested, or a little further to Bath. Overall... an extra day in London may be better for you.
- Along with the sites that were recommended earlier, I'd also add the National Gallery (free admission), the Tate Modern (nice walk across the bridge from St. Paul's) and a walk down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, of course. Speaker's Corner (at Hyde Park?) is also really fun and unique to do on the weekend when the crazies are out talking.
To reiterate:
- Stay as close to a tube station as you can... it honestly doesn't matter where too much, so long as you're in Zone 1 (Central London) since the sites you'll want to see are all over the map. I'd try to stay west of "Bank" station and south of "Kings Cross" though.
- Buses are a GREAT way to see the city too, so don't rely just on the tube. Be prepared to do a lot of walking each day as well. You should look into the Zone 1-2 Travel Card, which, for a 7-Day card, will run you around $45 total... and should save you a lot of money getting around.
- Your budget is going to be EXTREMELY tight for London, but it's doable. Try to get a hotel in the $140/night range to stretch your money as far as you can on other things. There's a good little hotel near Russell Square called "The Academy" that we got for right around that amount last year. I can't promise the prices are still the same.
- I'd probably nix Stone Henge, unless it's really important to you. It's a long way to go for only 5 days and a small budget. It's also a long way to go if you don't combine that trip with more to do that that out there, like Salisbury as suggested, or a little further to Bath. Overall... an extra day in London may be better for you.
- Along with the sites that were recommended earlier, I'd also add the National Gallery (free admission), the Tate Modern (nice walk across the bridge from St. Paul's) and a walk down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, of course. Speaker's Corner (at Hyde Park?) is also really fun and unique to do on the weekend when the crazies are out talking.
Mar 20th, 2013, 07:02 AM
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I'll throw in www.walks.com for great walks, pub walks and a stonehenge/salisbury day trip.
Mar 20th, 2013, 07:59 AM
#11
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There is a destination guide on this website for London. There is londontown.com. There is timeout.com. And you must visit daysoutguide.co.uk and print 1/2 off vouchers before you depart for every site you might conceivably want to visit.
London is the most tourist-friendly (the list of no-admission-fee attractions alone could fill up your tour card), visited, populated and accessible city in Western Europe. There is no end of resources available for you to do your own research, map out what is where and determine what you'd like to visit. It's your trip, take ownership of it. When you have a draft, the board can help with specifics.
And bring extra passport-sized photos because you should be getting the 7-day paper travelcards when you get to London to use with the daysoutguide.co.uk offers.
London is the most tourist-friendly (the list of no-admission-fee attractions alone could fill up your tour card), visited, populated and accessible city in Western Europe. There is no end of resources available for you to do your own research, map out what is where and determine what you'd like to visit. It's your trip, take ownership of it. When you have a draft, the board can help with specifics.
And bring extra passport-sized photos because you should be getting the 7-day paper travelcards when you get to London to use with the daysoutguide.co.uk offers.
Mar 20th, 2013, 10:16 AM
#12
Oh crap! I mis-read your OP. My calculations/numbers were based on a <u>week</u>. For only 5 nights your budget is more doable. So definitely go on Londontown.com and plug in your specific dates - that really is the best site to start looking for accommodations. Then once you get some viable options we can help you sort them out.
Mar 22nd, 2013, 08:08 PM
#13
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Thank's for all your wonderful input and websites to check, I am having a tough time choosing a hotel that is close to nice places to see, close to transportation, high ratings, and under 200 GBP. any suggestions to help narrow it down?
Thank you
Thank you
Mar 23rd, 2013, 05:50 AM
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I did a quick search on www.londontown.com and found a number in that price range. We have enjoyed the Sloane Square Hotel. We lived a year in that neighborhood and stayed the night before we moved in. On that website it is showing for a random date in May 5 nights 157 pounds. The atmosphere of the hotel is a nice mix of mod and traditional. It is right across from the Sloane Square tube station. And good bus lines for tourist areas go right through there as well. There are a few restaurants right nearby and it is a quick walk to several of the "villagy" areas nearby where there is a wide selection of more restaurants such as Elizabeth Street, Ebury Street or Beauchamp Place.
Mar 23rd, 2013, 08:49 AM
#15
>>close to nice places to see, close to transportation<<
Don't worry too much about close to sites since they are spread over an enormous area and no single location is near more than a few (or none)
And don't worry about 'close to transportation' since almost all central London hotels are close to tube stations and several bus lines.
If the Sloane Sq hotel laurie_ann mentions fits your budget during your specific dates - that is a terrific location.
Don't worry too much about close to sites since they are spread over an enormous area and no single location is near more than a few (or none)
And don't worry about 'close to transportation' since almost all central London hotels are close to tube stations and several bus lines.
If the Sloane Sq hotel laurie_ann mentions fits your budget during your specific dates - that is a terrific location.
