i forgot.. here's the link to the photos
http://kakijalan8.fotopages.com/?&page=8

Thereyet, in central London, the river rises and falls 20-30 feet twice a day on the tides, which have effect up to a few miles short of Hampton Court.

Tide tables are published, so you could work out when it's going in or out if you really want to. But a simpler alternative is to use the train between central London and Richmond or Kingston (i.e., outside the tidal area) and a boat to or from there and Hampton Court.

There are occasional days when boats do not run from London to Hampton Court, because the low tide is in the middle of the day when the boats are due to pass the shallowest part of the river.
The journey between Westminster and Hampton Court takes anything from two and a quarter to four hours, depending on the tides.
If anyone wants to know the tides on a specific day, post a question here and I can look them up.
It generally makes more sense to get the train to Hampton Court and return by boat. The first boat from Westminster normally leaves at 1030 so you will not get there till lunchtime even on a good tide.

Just took my son to Hampton Court in April and thought it was well worth it. We got a brochure for a 2-for-1 admission when we bought our train tickets. Don't know if that special deal will still be available when you travel. We were a bit too early for the formal gardens, but they were still lovely. With only 4 days in London, you might want to do just one day trip out of the city because there is so much to see in London itself. We thought the Sir John Soanes museum to be fantastic, and I liked the Courtauld museum at Somerset House. If you have never seen the Tower of London, perhaps you should see that while your friend does something else, like going across to the Tate Modern. Also, do not miss the Victoria and Albert museum. You could spend a whole day there! And the British Museum! Plus, London Walks are lots of fun. So much to do, so little time. P.S. Take loads of money for food. Unbelievably expensive...double what it costs in the U.S. at least!

I think I read the 2-for-1 deal stops June 3.

Since the 2 for 1 deal ran from June '06 to June '07 this time, I'm pretty sure it will renew at the end of this time too. I printed my vouchers out and they had no date on them anyway. Since I'm going in mid-June, I guess I'll print new ones out right before we go anyway.

If you decide to do Hampton Court AND the Tower there is a special price that you can pay for your tickets. You can purchase them at either location for both sites. You can get more info at the website: (http://www.hrp.org.uk/)

I've done both ... and so worth it. You also might want to look up the "Ceremony of the Keys" at the Tower. It's the ceremonial locking of the Tower. It's free, but you have to send away for the tickets. The info for that is on the above website also.

The first time my husband and I went to England we took a really nice tour package on Globus Gateway and traveled throughout the English countryside and into Scotland. It was a great package for our first trip. We initially had 4days and 3 nights in London. While we did make several high points...Tower of London, Changing of the Guard, Westminster Abbey,Madame Tudaud's Wax Museum,Cats and a few other sights we did not have enough time to see a lot of other things we wanted to see because we took a day trip to Windsor Castle which we loved and also a day trip to Stonehenge, Bath and Salisbury. So many friends encouraged us NOT to go to Stonehenge(their comments were that it's just a pile of rocks). We loved it! My opinion is if you've ALWAYS wanted to go to Stonehenge and to also get to go to Bath I say go for it. We've been twice since then and we did go back to a few places that we had already been to but we also went to most of the other places we did not get to go to. We are going again this year the week of Thanksgiving...Friday to Friday and we are really looking forward to going on the London Eye. Have a great trip! luvlondon / aka Molly

I hope you're correct, Crazy4Hawaii. I'll be in London the same time you will be & could use them.