First timers to the UK...where do we begin?
 

I would like a some beginner information for a first timer to the UK. DH & I are thinking of traveling to London, along with my dad, in late May/early June 2014. I know that is two years away but next year is Hawaii year for DH & I (we go every two years) and I'm obsessed with traveling so I need something to think about to keep me busy!

About us: In 2014, DH will be 33; I will be 32; my dad will be 52. We will be flying from Austin, TX. I'm thinking the trip will be 10 days not counting travel days.

I need beginner information because I don't know anything about London. When I think of Paris or Rome the main tourist sights come to mind but I'm at a loss with London. Fodorites, I need your help!

What main sights do you think we should visit? (Dad is a major British history buff.)
What area/neighborhood should we base ourselves at?
As for a hotel: I like b&b type places; if we stayed in a hotel I wouldn't want to pay more than $200 a night.
As for venturing outside of London, what do you recommend? Castles; Stonehenge; Bath; seaside town; etc.
What about venturing outside of England? Wales; Edinburgh for two days? (We could possibly stretch our trip to 12 days.)

Thanks in advance! Cheerio!

yeh- I thought i was the only one who planned that far ahead :-)

I think it could be cool to sample a bit of each of England, Wales, Scotland. How about 4 full days London, 3 full days Wales somewhere on the coast maybe tenby

http://www.virtualtenby.co.uk/

then 3 full days Edinburgh. It would be good to have a car to take you from London to wales and drop off in Edinburgh. That way you can explore places near Wales base..

Just a though but might be nice to get a vibe of each place

I would also say definitely stretch to 12 days if you can, and maybe stop somewhere for a couple of nights between Wales and Edinburgh-York perhaps

just initial thoughts....

hmmm i had not actually thought about how long it is between places to drive....tenby to york 6 hours so maybe not the best plan after all....sorry i should think before i post!

which bit of british history is your Dad especially keen on?

no point in focussing on castles if it's WW2.

the obvious things are, in [roughly] age order, Stonehenge, the Tower, Westminster Abbey, Windsor, Hampton Court, St. Paul"s, The Royal Observatory at Greenwich, & the Cabinet rooms.

for a first visit, if you REALLY only have 10 days, I'd do 2 places maximum - either just London [why not rent an apartment?] or London and Edinburgh.

Why don't you get a guidebook for London? There are loads available (Lonely Planet, Timeout, Eyewitness, etc). They have info from the basics - getting around, money, etc - to sites, things to do, sample itineraries, etc. This way you can filter down sites to your likes as you read.

The time period is not WW2. He is most interested in the Middle Ages.

I would say for beginners planning let's skip Edinburgh. It's best that we plan the trip strictly for focusing on England.

There is so much to do in London that you could spend an enjoyable ten days there. Buy a guide book as suggested earlier and you can decide for yourself. You can get day trips by bus or train to places close by. I would not bother about renting a car.

FIrst, get a good guide book from your library or bookstore to give you an idea of the highlights of the UK. We like the Michelin Green Guides and the DK Eyewitness Guides. There is so much in and around London that you could spend your entire 10 days there.

British history is all around. As Annhig says, it all depends on what era of British history your dad enjoys -castles or WWII. We love English gardens so usually combine some time in London with a tour of gardens. We also like Edinburgh and have spent 3 nights there on a couple of trips.

Use the destinations guide on this site and a good guidebook and decide what calls to you. Once you have a little better idea of where you want to go, come on back. You are planning will ahead and planning is part of the fun.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to offer other than to "get a guidebook". I don't want to come off in the wrong way but I have helped many people on this site to find their way for a trip. I've given cabin/condo suggestions; sights; etc. I thought this site was to hear what others have done or what they have to suggest.

I'm at work right now and was hoping to hear some insight on my first time to London not have someone suggest I go to the bookstore.

Don't be so defensive. The go get a guidebook suggestion is a good one. I'm a seasoned traveler who goes to Barnes and Noble as a matter of course to look at . . . GUIDEBOOKS of places I intend to or wish to visit. Guidebooks contain knowledge from people who travel frequently to the guidebook locations so that they can then impart their findings to you. The photos in a DK guidebook are generally excellent and can help inspire itinerary spots - this has worked for me. Similarly, websites like Fodors.com, F----ers.com and L-----P----t.com will have information because London is only the largest city in Western Europe (by far, it's New York to Paris/Berlin/Rome as Chicago). Londontown.com is a no-miss website for travelers to London.

You live in Austin, which is a civilized community that prides itself on its erudition and cultural uniqueness. It has many bookstores.

Look: this is a research it yourself and test your findings type of forum, not a "please provide me all the information I need" type of place and especially not for a city as large as London or an area as packed with potential sites of interest as the UK. The fact is that your dad is only 50 now so he has some computer literacy and you're two years from your trip, so Internet research would be easy and quick and would take only your time, not the time of the contributors to this board. Coming onto this board and saying you have no clue about London means that you need to do some work yourself to obtain one considering the iconic symbols of London are well-known and easily identified (e.g., there's a large Tower, there's a tower with a clock face, there are men in red uniforms with big furry hats standing outside a particularly large residence, there is a bridge near the aforementioned Tower that is frequently misidentified, there are enough TV shows and movies set in London to get some sense of what is interesting, and there are ton(ne)s of museums).

Starting with a rough outline. I would limits your home bases to two or three. London has endless opportunities - a would suggest an apartment for a <b>7 nights in London</b>. From this base, I would suggest a full-day day trip to Bath via train.

$200 a night (£130) in London doesn't get you much of a hotel, especially for three.

Here is a 2BR in central London just over your budget (it's $237/night) but you'll easily save that $37 just having one meal in per day. http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/402991

As for neighborhood, anywhere within Zone 1 is OK and will allow tourists to get to the main sights within a reasonable time frame - the closer your apt/hotel is to a tube stop, the better. See this map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-tube-map.pdf For hotels in your price range, look here (look at the actual RANGE given, when it says prices "from", that means the smallest room in the lowest season.): http://www.eurocheapo.com/london/ Also, click on: "Expect to Spend" One hotel that is VERY central and possibly within budget is http://www.sevendialshotellondon.com/

Things you won't want to miss in London are:

British Museum (allow at least one full day, two days isn't too much)
Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens
Imperial War Museum
National Gallery
National Maritime Museum
Natural History Museum
Royal Botanic Gardens
Science Museum
St. Paul's Cathedral
Tate Modern
Tower of London
Victoria and Albert Museum
Westminster Abbey

These are in addition to time just strolling the nicer neighborhoods/parks, relaxing, seeing a show (go to at least one!), shopping, etc.

You'll discover town upon leaving that six full days in London is/was NOTHING.

For the other <b>three nights</b> head via train to <b>Edinburgh</b>, Here, a hotel/B&B makes more sense than an apt. The similar website for budget hotels: http://www.eurocheapo.com/edinburgh/ You'll want the "Old Town/New Town" neighborhood.

Here's a suggested mad-rush itinerary for a mere three nights in Edinburgh. These are full, FULL days. You can rest when you return home to the U.S. http://www.frommers.com/destinations...050020791.html

You could do this this as an open-jaw (into London and home from Edinburgh) but you may have enough nights to split London into two and do 4 nights on the front end and 4 nights on the back. This may bring your flight costs down but it may get back up as you'll need round trip train or plane fares to Edinburgh instead of one-way. It's a personal call.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to offer other than to "get a guidebook". I don't want to come off in the wrong way but I have helped many people on this site to find their way for a trip. I've given cabin/condo suggestions; sights; etc. I thought this site was to hear what others have done or what they have to suggest. >>

that's a bit rich, louis, considering that you didn't specify until asked the period that your dad is interested in, and bardo has come up with a very reasonable list.

but if it's the middle ages, then as well as London Chester springs to mind as does York. and also my home town of coventry [the 6th biggest city in the middle ages in England], but since the depredations of WW2, there is not as much left of the middle -aged bit as one would like. and the castles of Wales and the Welsh marches would fit in very well with this time period.

also I have a recollection of a recent thread of a fodorite touring england looking at ancient books in libraries such as winchester.

happy planning!

Thank you so much bardo1! Great suggestions!

After I posted I, too, started thinking of an apartment. I definitely want to rent an apartment. My DH & I actually rented an apartment for our stay in Paris.

I truly was not intending to be rude with my guidebook post. I'm sorry to all that perceived it as so.

I found this apartment: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...n-zone-2/76557

Is it in a good location?

louis - it's pretty cheap, and that's because it's not really where most tourists want to be.

it's much more a business location or one that might be chosen by someone who has been to London many times before.

you have absolutely loads of time to plan - i suggest that you work out what it is you want to see [and how long you want to spend actually in london itself] before you commit yourselves to any accommodation.

I agree with those who suggest a guidebook.

I first began traveling in the 60's, without a guidebook. I missed a lot by not doing that.

I travel to Europe at least once a year nowadays, and I always consult a guidebook. This year I even replaced my 2002 Frommers with a 2012 issue, since my next trip will be to the former East Germany, and a newer book will be more up to date, especially in regard to hotels and restaurants.

Guidebooks can also give you transportation information, such as travel time, frequency of departure and arrival by bus or train, highways, etc.

Though I've been to Berlin many times, I'm now consulting my guide for suggestions about Third Reich and Communist era sites, most of which I haven't visited.

My guidebook(s) also fuel my daydreams, a benefit which can not be overstated.

Though I've been to Berlin many times, I'm now consulting my guide for suggestions about Third Reich and Communist era sites, most of which I haven't visited.>>

Peg - sorry to highjack the OP's thread, but we visited this area last September and had a wonderful time. i particularly recommend Leipzig and Halle, particularly if you can book a tour guide there to take you round - the lady we had was absolutely fascinating. [and don't miss Handel's birthplace either!]

i never finished my TR, but if you want a flavour, click on ,y screen name!

yeah, i have to agree i love guide books and my bookcase looks like the travel department of waterstones (UK book store). Friends visit and i feel bad as they think i must have been to all these places when often i buy the books and then decide its not somewhere to go (just yet). Id say of the 100 or so travel books i have only half are of places i have actually been too!! but one day...... :-) I have a New England Lonely Planet that has been sat there for years!!! i have not yet ever visited but one day truly want to.

HG001 - not you too? i must have about that number, most of them used once if at all, but then left to moulder on the shelves until they are hopelessly out of date.

and I've got some weird ones about places I know I'll never see - overlanding across the sahara, an ancient guide to touring florida [actually we used that once] and a 25 year old guide to Sri Lanka - which IS getting used as we're finally going there, 25 years after buying the book, in september. i don't think that many of those buddist temples have changed much.