We are planning our first visit to the UK. Right now we have a car rental reservation when we arrive 12/20 picking up at Gatwick, and returning it 12/22 less than 1 mile from our London Hotel where we check in on the 22nd. (Marriott Country Hall) We will spend our first 2 days visiting cousins in a semi-rural area West of London. We have no car rental for the days we will be in London, but have a rental to pick up on 12/27 in London that we will eventually return to Gatwick after driving to Wales and down to Devon. Having never driven outside of the U.S we have reserved an automatic, and our English cousins want to meet us at the airport to follow them to their home and drive around in front of us the first 2 days "until we get used to it"

The question, my spouse thinks we should return the car (and pick up the second rental) outside of London and take the train in and out of the city. My opinion is, we have the car, why hassle with the train and taxi to get to the hotel? We can drive to the hotel, check in and drop off luggage, then return the car. Then we can pick up the car, pick up our luggage at the hotel and be on our way?

I have driven in many major US cities, Chicago, San Fran, etc., is London traffic really so horrible that we should avoid it at all costs? We don't plan to keep a rental car during our stay in the city, just to get there and to leave again.

Driving in London is NOT so "horrible"!

You say you're experienced drivers, I say, Do it.

I would agree that you should drive-I have been living in Paris the past 3 years and had to drive around London on business many times-and I can tell you that driving in London became a lot easier last year when they imposed the "congestion tax" for driving in the city limits (I don't know how the tax affects rentals, but am guessing it isn't an issue........). There is a lot less traffic now. However, I might also make my decision based on how much luggage you will have-because the distance to airports is a long way in London and the train is easy and actually kind of fun-but less so if you have 5 or 6 bags.

The only other thing I would say is to not underestimate the difficulty of getting used to doing everything "backwards" and not knowing where you are going-but with 2 of you-so one can be a navigator and if you leave plenty of time-I think you should be fine......

Well - picking up the car at gatwick is no problem. But Dec 22 is the Monday before Christmas and London will be a ZOO. Plus Waterloo (near when you would be returning the car) is a very congested area.

Exactly where do your cousins live? "west of London" covers a LOT of territory. Depending on where you are coming from there might be a better place to drop the car off. Even back at Gatwick - you could just jump on the gatwick Express train and be in London in 30 minutes (it would take a lot longer to drive that route). So let us know what town your cousins are near and we can give you better advice.

As for the 2nd rental - Dec 27 is a Saturday so it would be better than a weekday - but still very busy. And you are going to have to drive all across central and western London just to get on your way to Wales.

If I were you - I'd arrange to pick up the car at Heathrow and drop it at Gatwick. This will not cost you more. You could take the Paddington Express to heathrow and pick up the car outside of the worst London Traffic. LHR is right on the two main motorways heading west (M4 and M40) so you will have a much easier time than trying to negotiate through all that London traffic.

To give you some perspective: I drive in the UK a LOT - I lived there for 5 years, and can get around London fairly easily (well not EASY - but at least I know where I am). I avoid driving in central London unless I absolutely have to. It is not impossible but is probably not the best way to start out your visit.

we will be staying at a hotel in Farnborough, a few miles from our cousins home the first two days.

The 27th we will probably drive out and stay that night in Bristol, and won't be returning to London, just to Gatwick when we leave at the end of our vacation.

2 adults and 1 child, but as we also will be bringing along some gifts I expect 2 large suitcases, 2 pilot cases, 1 laptop bag and 1 childs backback.

the issue i would raise immediately that has been alluded to above is the new tax for entering the city at certain hours....check it out more carefully...i would consider returning your car to heathrow or some other place west of london and hire a cab to drive you to your hotel---maybe $50=+/-....you would not be disappointed....county hall is also near one of the main train stations so that might be a help to you as well (i can't remember which station at the moment)...

as for driving....it is different, but you will adjust quite quickly especially with your cousin's help---the brits are much more courteous than are we in driving, but they have som strict rules about entering roadways, especially at roundabouts (rotaries in usa)....if you are not use to a shift car it is probably worth the extra money for the automatic...one less thing to think about....are either of you left handed....let that person drive???i am and it makes things easier....

stop worrying and just enjoy it....england is magical at christmas....you do know that things (almost everything) are shut down on the 25th and the 26th...

I drove in the UK for the first time during our last visit in November. I picked up the car in central London and drove throughout Devon/Cornwall and Southern Wales. I hadn't driven a manual in a while so I was doubly concerned. I ended up going very well. We drove 2,500 kilometers without incident. I got so used to it that every now and then back here in the States, I suddenly feel like I'm on the wrong side of the road. Just try to plan your route ahead of time and concentrate on the road.

Enjoy the Marriott County Hall. We stay there every time we visit London. This November will be our fifth stay with them. We love it. The location and view are outstanding.

Enjoy the trip!

GJ40

Why indeed hassle with a train etc?

The congestion charge simply means you go to almost any convenience store within about 100 miles of London, or the Web (though that can be messier) and pay 5 pounds, before your journey or up to 10pm on the day of the journey. It almost couldn't be simpler.

London won't be a zoo on Dec 22: traffic will already be winding down pre-Christmas (people go away), and traffic within the congestion zone is down anyway.

But do remember before you make your decision that driving in NY is a complete piece of cake compared to London. New York drivers are far better mannered, and much slower. And, compared to London, you could practically navigate NY blindfold.

Don't even attempt the journey without a copy of A-Z (every bookshop has one, and you want the one with the most blown-up map of very central London possible). Personally, I'd ensure the man drives and the woman navigates. However hard you try, you'll get lost. So you want a navigator who's VERY relaxed about asking people for directions.

And talk to a good divorce lawyer now, as you'll need him afterwards.

But don't listen to the wimps. You'll have an achievement to be proud of, and you can bore the pants off dinner guests forever about how you survived it.

PS. Also, it's fun.

I'd also say go for it. It will be an experience .... the comment on buying a London A to Z is good advice.

I regularly drive in London and while different from the rest of UK driving, i.e. more stressful and aggressive, is not so bad. Take it easy and enjoy.

I think its all a matter of confidence.
If you feel comfortable with the car and driving on the wrong side, which by then you should be, I would say do it.
However be aware that you will be a little disorientated your navigator will have to be pretty sharp with the A-Z to ensure you get to your London destination safely.
I think central London is greatly improved since the charging came in to effect. And lets face it, it will never ever be as bad as Paris will it.
The County hall is a great choice of hotel I consider it a perfect tourists location for London.

Good Luck

Muck

Justame, I assume the Farnborough you are talking about is just off the M3. The rental company should give you a map showing the dropoff point in London and I don't think you will need an A-Z map as long as you have a good road atlas which contains a map of greater London. I would drop off the car there and take a taxi to the hotel.

Take a taxi on the 27th (Saturday) back to the rental office and go your merry way. Your luggage is not so great that it would cause any problems in a taxi.

Your trip would be easier if you were to head to Wales and Devon after visiting your relatives and then return to London but you must have reasons for the break in the middle. It does mean you waste some time and increase the car rental costs the way you have planned.

I have always driven in London, and although not the easiest place, I have found drivers generally courteous. Parking is very expensive in London; make sure you calculate that in! Check with the car rental firm about the congestion charge and how to pay for it; you will have to pay if you drive in certain areas in the center; the rental firm will not do this for you. It is easy to avoid those areas; even Harrods is outside the congestion charge area.

The congestion charge only operates Monday-Friday, so you won't need to bother on the 27th. Check with your rental company on the procedure when you pick up the car. Non-payment incurs a hefty fine, which they WILL pass onto you.

It will be a nightmare driving across London to head out to Wales, but not impossible, and traffic on the 27th will be less as it's the Christmas period.

On the 22nd what time will you arrive in London? At all costs make sure you get there after 11 or before 4pm (or earlier) to make sure you miss the rush hour. The evening rush hour will be especially intense at this time of year, as more and more people head out of london for Christmas.

Do get an A-Z of central London - you'll find the biggest difference between the US and London is the road layouts - nothing like the convenient grid system you find in US cities. Many roads are based on original medieval road layouts and you'll find confusing junctions and one-way systems everywhere. From County Hall it isn't desparately hard (drive over Westminster Bridge, past Big Ben, and follow signs for the M4/West), but the roads are always more confusing than the maps.

You talked about dropping off luggage before returning your car to the rental garage. Check with your hotel about parking outside first, as there is very limited parking in that busy area of town - you may need to just throw the family and bags out at the door and drive straight off.

You'll find us Brits generally very courteous and well-trained drivers outside of London, but inside London is a different story - angry taxi drivers will cut you up, lost drivers will daudle in the middle of the road winding everyone up, people will attempt to jump lights (which is an absolute no-no in the UK), so you'll need to drive with confidence to survive. Many Brits refuse to drive in London - it's like a different planet.

But what the hell, you only live once. I drive in London all the time (although the traffic and millions of traffic lights drive me spare)

thanks for all the info. According to the car rental website, the rental firm pays the congestion fee on the day you drop off or pick up, but I would of course confirm this when there. We would probably drop off luggage and spouse to check the bags, not bother parking. We've done this routine in NYC and Chicago before, then return the car and walk to hotel the 22nd. Will keep the times in mind and not plan to arrive until 11 a.m or so. Same when leaving, we will check our bags, go get the car and swing back and pick up the bags. At this point I'm pretty sure we will do this... sounds like a bit of an adventure, but if driving seems more difficult than we anticipate we can always change the drop off or pick up location while there.

I will also pick up the A-Z book many referred to, I hadn't heard of it before, thanks.

From experience, driving in London really isn't like driving in a US city like Los Angeles or Chicago. For starts, there aren't any motorways heading through the centre of the city - coming from Gatwick for example, you'll more likely approach the city via the A23 which narrows quickly as it goes past Croydon and becomes basically not much more than a High Street in some places.

To be honest, you would be quicker getting in and out of Central London by train - as someone said, it would take about 30 minutes from Gatwick but my experiences driving (from Sutton, about 15 miles north of Gatwick) have usually meant the journey taking anything between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. If you can put up with this stress then it comes down to what's the easiest for you.

One other contrast between many US cities and London--the layout of London streets can be quite confusing. London is hardly a grid like midtown Manhattan, with logically numbered and named streets. London streets run at all angles, street names change without apparent reason, etc. Add to that the challenge of driving on the "wrong" side of the road....Suffice to say, if you decide to drive it, best of luck.