I am planning my first trip to London with my 17 year old daughter. I would appreciate any and all advice.

My first ?? is what part of London to stay - we want to see all the touristy stuff - Big Ben - Buckingham Palace....

Second ?? is best way to get aroun - Oyster card? thanks in advance!!!

Hi oh2doula,

Clicking on your screenname, I see this is your first ever post, so welcome to Fodor's.

A number of posts have been written about that pesky Oystercard (what to do, how to understand them), as well as lots of stuff about London.

Browse past the first page of posts and you're sure to find helpful threads. Also try the search box (though not the greatest of methods, you will get some of the posts about your topic).

Do visit your local library or bookstore for some travel guides and read up!

Another tip I read on the boards, have your daughter plan part of the trip. Taking responsibility for some of the "action" can make her more invested.

Cheers!

Oh my daughter is very "vested" and excited - her name is Brittain and we have beent talking about going to Britain FOREVER!!! but yes she will get to help alot!!!

I could spend hours reading all the threads - its all so helpful!!! I know whatever will do will be amazing.

Again any info - tips are greatly appreciated!

People familiar with (and those actually living in London) would be happy to help but your request is a little vague. Do you have a $$$/per night hotel budget? What about meals--likes, dislikes, vegetarian? Special interests i.e. art, history, music, fashion? How long will you be there? London is not that vast geographically and has good public transport, so your options are limited primarily by time and budget.

Generally wherever you end up staying the tube and buses make it convenient to get anywhere. We really liked staying in Bloomsbury and found it good for dining and pubs, sights. Another area we liked staying was in Kensington.

However, personally I did not like staying in the South Bank/Southwark area.

I agree that you will get much better feedback if you give some more info--when? how long? ballpark figures for budget? general interests?

I have found this forum to be incredibly helpful in our planning (leaving for 2 whole weeks in London, with day trips, in only 8 more days!). BUT I did much homework and research first and so I think the answers were more specific and helpful.

SO post more specifics AND do some reading AND get a map now and plot out yourself some "must-sees" and some "want-tos" and some maybes.

My daughter was almost 16 when I first visited 3 years ago--you will have a blast!

This is what i know so far - tentative dates are March 7 - March 11 2009 - will arrive in London March 8th early morning. I will be traveling with three teens ( heaven help me) they are all vegetarians.

Budget is pretty tight. I have found air and hotel packages around $1000 pp - which sounds great. Daughters friends will pay their part. So I am planning hotel and air to be around $2000 for myself and daughter.

planning to do as much free stuff as possible. being there is the main things.....

so i guess info about better "neighborhoods" or where NOT to stay would be great.

I have started my research - there is great info out there


we are thrilled to walk/take bus.......

MUST are Big Ben - tower of London - Buckingham Palace -

where is Princess Diana buried??

again being there with my daughter is the main thing...

Am I correct that you only have 3 days including your day of arrival to see London? If so you might want to try to extend your trip by a few days to better experience the city. The major part of your cost in a trip like this will be your airfare and staying a few days longer may not cost that much more and will make your visit a lot better.

The TfL buses offer several advantages over the Tube - and cost substantially less.

A 7-day Bus Pass is only £13, and carries neither peak nor zone restrictions. You can even (if you have the stamina and don't bore easily) ride the bus from Heathrow to town.

Here are two maps you might find useful:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...al_bus_map.pdf

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/centlond.pdf

You mentioned finding air/hotel packages for $1000 per. Are you purchasing those? If so, why are asking for the best part of London in which to stay?

I also agree with the others who say that you need more time, especially since this is your first trip and you have to keep three teen-agers happy

an air/hotel package <i>might</i> pencil out for a single traveler, or possibly for a couple. But rarely do they make sense for a group.

That $1000 pp suddenly become $4000 since each person has to pay full price. Buying air separately and then booking your hotel or flat means you can usually find cheaper accommodations, and often in more convenient locations..

Princess Diana is buried at the family home up at Althorp - nowhere near London so you won't have time to go there.

&quot;<i>MUST are Big Ben - tower of London - Buckingham Palace - </i>&quot; Well - two of those are simply &quot;walk by's&quot;. Neither Big Ben nor Buckingham Palace take more than 5 or 6 minutes to &quot;see&quot;. The Tower will take about 3-4 hours.

I'd suggest you click on DESTINATIONS above and get an idea of what London has to offer.

You could also look at the Top Ten London guide book. I have one for Berlin and one for Amsterdam and they are good for planning days as they list sights in a particular area and give you a schedule as to how you can see them.

3 days is a very limited amount of time. You could see Buckingham Palace, walk through St James' park to parliament (big ben) and tour Westminster Abbey in one day.

Do the Tower first thing in the morning, then head to St Pauls.

What about going to the theatre. Wicked is a great musical for girls, or Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera...so many great choices...

I havent purchased anything yet - the $1000 pp is just what I have found so far - I want to know where to stay before I book anything.

the maps are huge help!

If you don't plan to go until March, keep an eye out for BA fare sales. Three years in a row I've snagged a good deal in the November sales for Feb/Mar travel including a couple of nights inexpensive hotel. Also, check into Priceline...London is a good city for it.

Is BA - british airlines?? thanks so much.

what are opinions on hostels?? there will be four of us with one male - i seen &quot;family&quot; room hostels for $78 per night.....

what about the passes for entertainment? i have seen mixed reviews. we mainly plan to do the free stuff....

Right, British Airlines.

I've never looked into the entertainment passes, but the consensus here seems to be that they aren't worth while. Considering that you'll only be there for a few days, and the fact that most of the WONDERFUL London museums are free, I would suggest that you start by making a list of your must-sees and go from there. As mentioned above, Big Ben and B'ham palace are essentially walk-bys (and thus free). If you're into theater, you'll find discounts on theater tickets online and at Leicester Sq.

Some hostels can be grim; others not so grim. I've done them but it's been 25+ years and while I love the UK (my DH Gadgetman is a Brit), the hostels in London were the grimest of the grim. But, times may have changed. If you post info on the $78 one we could advise you on the area, etc.

www.londonbedandbreakfast.co.uk has some B&amp;B, mostly small hotel, options. In addition to museums, the parks are all free (but chilly in March), street entertainment in Covent Garden is &quot;free&quot;--small donations appreciated. As they are strapped for funds, more and more churches now charge admission fees (gone are the days of voluntary donations) but some are so worth seeing, Westminster Abbey, for example.

I don't know anyone who has been to Althrop where Diana is buried but as janisj mentioned, it's a LONG day out and I'm not sure if it's open in March. At any rate, as I understand it, she is buried on a small island which your can't get near. Her wedding dress used to be displayed in Kensington Palace but I think it's now at Althrop. You can tour part of KP where she lived but not her rooms and I'm not sure the tour has any Diana associations. Harrod's is free to walk around, the food halls are interesting, and there are one or more memorials to Diana and Dodi in the store, very tacky IMHO, but to each his own.

There's a charge to get into the Tower of London, Crown Jewels included. Google for the web site and check the price because if you don't want to go in, you can't see much from the outside other than the walls and towers--which certainly gives you a sense of the size and its position on the river. For a first time in London, I think it is one of the most interesting if not the most interesting things to do.

I just scanned all the replies, so sorry if this has been mentioned:

You absolutely have to take one of the double-decker hop-on-hop-off bus tours of the city before you do anything. Even in March, when the weather's not good for open-top bus riding, it will give you a fantastic idea of geography -- what you want to see, what part of town it's in -- and of course you can get off the bus and take pictures at places like Buckingham Palace without having to make special trips there later.

I did this on my first trip (back in the day!) and I do it whenever I take someone new with me. It's been invaluable and a great use of time and money. Here are the two I've taken:

http://www.theoriginaltour.com/

http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/london/default.aspx

OH yes the double decker red bus is a must!! it wouldnt be London without it..... am i guess that at 17 pounds it would be about $34ish???

This may be asking way too much BUT any idea where the Day Care Center was that Princess Diana worked - anything Diana related or basically Royal anything BUT Camilla - NOT a fan!!!

Still looking at hotels.

so sorry - I misread the bus tour - its 20pounds - would that be $40???