We're leaving for England in two weeks and I need to find the cheapest way to get from Gatwick to our first destination in Bath. In a nutshell, after Bath, we'll be heading to Birmingham and Coventry and and then back to London. We have day trips planned to Worcester area and Cotswolds.<BR><BR>Is it cheaper to book a car and/or bus before I leave? Or should I just buy tickets or rent cars as we need them?

PS ... I should mention that, there are three of us in our family, but my daughter is a teenager and so we don't qualify for any special family passes or 1/2 price deals, even though she's still a dependent.<BR><BR>Thanks for any input you can give me!!

Susan - it is much cheaper to book a car from the States. But daily rentals are expensive. Your big savings come with weekly rentals. Renting a car for one day cane easily cost 33% of a full week's rental.<BR><BR>Your itinerary is fairly unusual - are you visiting friends in Birmingham/Coventry? If so, maybe they can loan you the use of their car a couple of days.<BR><BR>Getting from LGW to Bath is fairly complicated and will require a couple of changes of trains or buses. No matter which route you take, it will take you a few hours to get there.<BR><BR>Consider renting a car at Gatwick and driving to Bath. Then drive from Bath to B'ham/Coventry, Worcester, Warwick, the Cotswolds, etc. Then drop the car back at either LHR or LGW before going into London.

Don't give up on family discounts quite yet! Many British museums, attractions, and the tube consider kids to be "children" until they're 16.

Your input is very helpful. I think we'll rent a car from Gatwick as you suggested, but will drop it in Coventry (and do bus into London before we head home a few days later). Any thoughts on on manual versus automatic transmission - I want to keep spending down and manuals are so much cheaper, but is it dangerously awkward to drive? Thanks!!

We rented a manual for a two week stay in England a few years ago and loved it. It took a bit of getting used to at first (especially with the lack of sleep from the plane ride) but once I got used to it it seemed surprisingly natural.<BR>Make sure to have a good road atlas - we got ours at the Alamo pick-up at Heathrow - it was essential! <BR>Also, remember that streets throughout England are notoriously narrow and absolutely require the smallest car you can rent. It went against our nature to rent that small but we would have hated the driving with any other car. At the time we got a Peugeot and the power it had was better than most rentals in the US. Hope this helps.

I think you are smart to rent a car and pick it up at the airport. We have done that three times. My husband loves driving in England, although he has to keep on his toes so that he doesn't turn out of a parking lot into the wrong lane, for instance, as an automatic response. Our advice, and the advice of many of our friends who have driven over there is GET AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION! It is one less thing the driver needs to worry about. And a big one, at that! I know all about keeping expenses down, but this is something we always feel is a good use of our money. Rick Steves recommends it as well. And the best piece of advice my husband received before driving in England for the first time, and one which he repeats frequently whenever we are starting out, is KEEP THE PASSENGER IN THE DITCH. That really helps him remember on which side to drive. (I just wish he wouldn't take it so literally!)

Susan - You might want to think about turning the car in a Heathrow instead of Coventry. There is a lot to see between the Midlands and London -- Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Windsor, etc. Then drop the car at LHR. You won't be driving in central London traffic since the airport is west of London with easy connections from the M40 main motorway from B'ham/Coventry.<BR><BR>Most people on this forum freak when they think about driving a stick in the UK - but I actually find shifting not to be a problem.. Afterall - you won't be street racing (hopefully) or power shifting. Just slowly moving up and down the gears. In fact, I believe that having a gearshift actually HELPS you convert to driving on the "wrong" side of the road. With an automatic, some people sort of go into autopilot and that is when they can get into real trouble. If you have to think about shifting you are more likely to remember that things are different and keep on your toes.<BR><BR>The savings is substantial - so if the drivers are at all competent with a standard transmission at home they should be able to manage after just a few miles.

ohmygosh! Many thanks for all your helpful hints! We'll definitely be booking a rental for our stay in England and will probably go for an automatic! Now if I can find a broker to get me a huge discount, we'll be set! Cheers! (oh, and please let me know if you know of any hot deals out there!)

Susan, Janis' idea about the car is a good one, but if you don't want to risk London traffic (and the M25) then you could instead drive from Coventry to Luton Airport (just off the M1 and on the way to London) and drop it there, then get the train into central London.<BR><BR>Personally, I hate travelling by bus. It always seems longer then it needs to be - and as I recall the Birmingham - London trip is one of those!

Susan- We have rented cars in England for years and ALWAYS go with AUTOEUROPE- we book from the US and get a guarenteed rate for the time we need the car-<BR><BR>ALso we ALWAYS get an AUTOMATIC- it's hard enough driving on the opposite side of the road, watching to the right and left AND trying to shift-Not worth the aggrevation---<BR><BR>Also, since there will be 3 adults, make sure your car is LARGE enough for all your luggage- AutoEurope can help with that decision also--tell them the size of the luggage you are bringing ( ALL OF IT! ) and then make sure it will all fit in the TRUNK of the car-<BR><BR>Cars ,for the most part,are much smaller than US standard cars-so make sure your luggage fits!<BR><BR>Have a GREAT time-you are hitting some wonderful areas-<BR><BR>And do NOT drive in LONDON-it is a nightmare--Return the car to the airport.