Help request for my UK trip planning
 

Hi fodoriites,

So I'm nearing my planned vacation to UK with my family (wife and two girls, 9 y.o and 3 y.o) in June. Really getting excited. I've been to London twice before but both business trips and so didn't really do much of sightseeing. I've been reading the postings at this forum for the last few months and it greatly helped in planning the trip- excellent tips for saving time and money, especially from alanRow, janisj, jamikins and many others

Please find my itenerary below for your review and valuable comments.

Planning to spent 5 days in London and 3 days in Edinburgh (attending my MBA graduation ceremony on at Heriot Watt). While in London, staying at a self-catering one bedroom (+Kichen, Living and Bath)accomodation at Pimlico, booked for 8 days (got for £1100) .

23-Jun Thurs
06:35 Arrive at LHR and take pre-booked taxi to Pimlico
13:00 Walk to Westminister
13:30 See Westminister Abbey and precincts
Buy Oyster card for 2 adults (£20 x 2) (PAYG)
15:30 From Westminister take tube to London Bridge
19:00 Borough market (buy food stuff for the trip)

24-Jun Fri
08:00 Walk to Victoria Big Bus Info Centre and board the bus
08:45 Get down at Oxford Circus and Walk along Regent Street
09:00 Shopping at Hamley's and LillyWhites
12:00 From Piccadilly, board the bus and get down at Trafalgar Square
13:00 Lunch near Trafalgar
14:00 Covent Garden
16:00 Reach St. Paul's Cathedral by Big Bus and see its precincts including millenium bridge
17:00 Ride the Big Bus and get down at Tower Hill stop
18:00 Take City cruises from Tower pier and get down Westminster pier
19:00 Reach South Kensington by Tube
19:30 Harrods

25-Jun Sat
08:00 Take tube to Vauxhall from Pimlico
08:30 Take train to Windsor Riverside st.
10:00 Windor Castle tour
13:30 Legoland (tickets purchased incldg. Q-Bot)
18:00 Eton Village
20:30 Take train back to Vauxhall & then tube to Pimlico

26-Jun Sun
08:00 Take Terravision to Stansted
10:00 To Edinburgh by EasyJet (departure at 11:35)
14:00 Check-in at Novotel Edinburgh
15:00 Explore Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile and Hollyrood Palace

27-Jun Mon
08:30 Rent a car from Edinburgh Airport and drive to Highlands
Loch Lomond, The Trossaachs, Callander and Stirling Castle.
21:30 Back at the Hotel

28-Jun Tue
10:00 Graduation Ceremony at Heriot Watt
13:30 Back to Edinburgh City and Check-out
14:00 Edinburgh City sightseeing - Please advice how to spend time.
17:00 Arrive at Train Station for train @ 17:30 - Got tickets for 2 + 1 child for £39 thru' advance reservation!! Thanks to fodors forum)
22:00 Arrive at Kings Cross and take tube to Pimlico

29-Jun Wed
08:00 Walk to Victoria- take 1day peak travel card for 2 Adults
Go to- Tower of London. Reach by opening time and do the Fooriites' suggested routine
09:00 Tower of London
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Take DLR to Canary Wharf (interest to an architect like me)- DLR covered by travel card?
13:30 Canaray Wharf
15:30 Reach Baker Street St. by tube
16:30 Madame Tussauds @ 17:00- 17:30 - tickets purchased online- latesaver ticket with 50% discount. Better deal than 2 for 1 on this.

30-Jun Thu
Morning Trip to Hampton Court and Kew Gardens (train from Vauxhall)
Train to Hampton Court from Waterloo
14:00 Boat trip back to London
15:00 Kensington Palace, Hyde Park and afternoon tea at Orangery
19:00 London Eye (Farewell to London)

01-Jul Fri
09:00 Fly back


A few things I'm unable to include which might be done later are - trip to Cotswold, Oxford, Bath and a few museums. I'll try to squeeze in Tate Britain and British Museum if time permits.

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers

YOu might want to move Borough Market to Friday.It is easily walkable across the Millenium Bridge. YOu can then take the City cruise from the pier on Southbank when you finish. Don't know why you are using Big BUs when you have 20 GBP on your Oyster.That is plenty for buses and tube. YOu can plan your trips at TFL.gov.uk
With kids the ages of yours they might enjoy the Ducktours more on the Thames. Big yellow buses that drive on the city streets then right into the thames where they cruise along

Will comment further later, but just wanted to add that Borough Market isnt open at 19:00, it closes at 17:00 and everything will be packed up: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

23-Jun Thurs
06:35 Arrive at LHR and take pre-booked taxi to Pimlico
13:00 Walk to Westminister
13:30 See Westminister Abbey and precincts
Buy Oyster card for 2 adults (£20 x 2) (PAYG)
15:30 From Westminister take tube to London Bridge
19:00 Borough market (buy food stuff for the trip)

As mentioned before, Borough Market closes at 17:00 on Thursday so if you want to buy food head there for 16:00 or earlier…

24-Jun Fri
08:00 Walk to Victoria Big Bus Info Centre and board the bus
08:45 Get down at Oxford Circus and Walk along Regent Street
09:00 Shopping at Hamley's and LillyWhites
12:00 From Piccadilly, board the bus and get down at Trafalgar Square
13:00 Lunch near Trafalgar
14:00 Covent Garden
16:00 Reach St. Paul's Cathedral by Big Bus and see its precincts including millenium bridge
17:00 Ride the Big Bus and get down at Tower Hill stop
18:00 Take City cruises from Tower pier and get down Westminster pier
19:00 Reach South Kensington by Tube
19:30 Harrods

There is no reason to get the HOHO bus this day – I personally think its overly expensive as you may not be able to hear the guides and it gets stuck in traffic. Take the tube to Oxford Circus and walk to Hamley’s on Regent Street – this will be way faster than taking the bus. Also it’s a short walk to Piccadilly/Trafalgar and you will likely get there faster by walking than by taking the bus!

There are lots of regular buses that go to St Pauls that you catch on the Strand. Are you not planning to go into St Pauls?

Again jump on the tube at Mansion House station to get to Tower Hill rather than the HOHO bus. The money you save will cover these extra trips on the tube/buses.

25-Jun Sat
08:00 Take tube to Vauxhall from Pimlico
08:30 Take train to Windsor Riverside st.
10:00 Windor Castle tour
13:30 Legoland (tickets purchased incldg. Q-Bot)
18:00 Eton Village
20:30 Take train back to Vauxhall & then tube to Pimlico

Sounds like a great day.



29-Jun Wed
08:00 Walk to Victoria- take 1day peak travel card for 2 Adults
Go to- Tower of London. Reach by opening time and do the Fooriites' suggested routine
09:00 Tower of London
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Take DLR to Canary Wharf (interest to an architect like me)- DLR covered by travel card?
13:30 Canaray Wharf
15:30 Reach Baker Street St. by tube
16:30 Madame Tussauds @ 17:00- 17:30 - tickets purchased online- latesaver ticket with 50% discount. Better deal than 2 for 1 on this.

Yes the DLR is covered. If your wife is interested in shopping there are malls under ground there.

I would give Madame Tussauds a miss – its just a horrible wax museum!

30-Jun Thu
Morning Trip to Hampton Court and Kew Gardens (train from Vauxhall)
Train to Hampton Court from Waterloo
14:00 Boat trip back to London
15:00 Kensington Palace, Hyde Park and afternoon tea at Orangery
19:00 London Eye (Farewell to London)

Hampton Court and Kew will likely take longer than you expect and may not leave you much time for tea…

Hope this helps – enjoy your trip!

Yes, the Big Bus trip will cost me £60. Maybe it is better to use the PAYG in the oyster card to move around on Friday. In that case, I could go to Borough market on Friday as I will not be constrained by the BigBus and City Cruise timings. I would try to get there by 16h00 since jamikins reminded of its closing time.

Thanks, jamikins for your valuable suggestions. Madame Tussauds- I read a lot of bad reviews about it in the forum but I cannot convince my 9 y.o daughter as she wants her photo sessions with the celebrities to show it to her friends!! My £43 gone!!
Are the malls at Canary Wharf expensive?
I've got plan B for the last day to cancel the trip to Hampton Court and instead take an organized trip to Cotwolds and Blenheim Palace (£44 per person).

Using the regular buses on your Oystercard as an alternative to HOHO:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...itor-guide.pdf

Most of the shops at Canary Wharf are chains, so their prices, like for like, will be the same as in their other stores. Because it's a centre for financial/legal/media businesses, there are luxury shops - high-end jewellers and the like - but also the same sort of chain clothes shops as in plenty of other places in London.
http://www.canarywharf.com/visitus/Shopping/

It also has the Docklands Museum, about the history of the river, trading and docks, which could be more interesting than that description makes it sound (and it's free, apart from the special exhibition on pirates which is on at the moment)
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands/
http://www.canarywharf.com/visitus/Shopping/

Having carefully followed your proposed itinerary I cannot see anything, other than the trip to Legoland & Hamleys, that will interest the average 8year old or 3 year old. Most of your days are packed with far too much, giving only fleeting impressions and are also scenery orientated. My children have always enjoyed riding ordinary London buses up on the top deck. The number 11 goes from Trafalgar Square right along the Strand to St Paul's.
Long train journey too from Edinburgh to London!!

Bellini brings up a good point that I never consider, as I dont have kids. Here is a good link for kids:
http://www.londontown.com/Most-Read/London-for-Kids

Yes, the kids get a raw deal IMO.
How long is the Windsor castle tour? If the kids aren't really into castles then consider skipping the tour on Saturday and just have a quick look at the castle or spend the whole day at Legoland. The earlier you get to the park the better especially on weekends.

End of June will hopefully have some nice weather so if the opportunity arises try to plan some extra time or an impromptu picnic in one of the parks.

I'd only take the London Eye if the weather is good (so be careful about saving it until your last day!). It's a great idea to do this near the start of your trip to get your bearings as lots of major sights can be seen

Here's the link for the Duck Tours

http://www.londonducktours.co.uk/

I'm in my 70's andI think I would enjoy it to! Someone above made agood point. The Number 11 regular bus goes just about everywhere the HOHO buses do.

Good point bellini & sassy_cat made. While planning, I was trying to satisfy my fancies thinking that kids will also love it. Being too selfish? I'll spend more time at Legoland, include duck tour and perhaps go for a theatre show meant for kids. Could anyone suggest a show for the kids? Cinderella, Charlie ad Lola?

Thanks

Lion King?

you are getting lots of good advice -- but just a hint: You cannot (REALLY can't) plan or stick to a plan w/ definite times like . . .

12:00 Lunch
13:00 Take DLR
13:30 Canaray Wharf
15:30 Baker Street St.
16:30 yadda yadda

yes -- you have to make certain train times or curtain at the theatre. But otherwise big cities (and especially London) just don't work like clock work. This IS better than some itineraries we see w/ times like 09:25 xyz, 10:22 visit abc, 11:15 tube to xxx. But it still does sort of look like a military exercise. 'Stuff' happens -- especially w/ two little ones. I'd loosen up a LOT.

13.30-18.00 is only 4 1/2 hours at LegoLand, and you've got to factor in getting there from Windsor, actually getting in to the place and walking to the attractions, plus you'll need to eat at some point.

Also, and this is my main point - you have planned this for a SATURDAY - this and Sunday are the very busiest days of the week. There will be queues. Big, long queues.

4 1/2 hours will be nowhere near long enough for Legoland if you want you children to go on any rides or actually DO anything other than look.

Shrerk is opening soon in LOndon . The kids might enjoy that

Hi there. re: Borough Market. It's not suitable for a large, food shop. Better to go to a large Sainsburys or Waitrose (there is one near London Bridge). B Mkt is only good for specialized purchases - a particular cheese or fresh fish, bread etc,

Lillywhites - nothing special about this store. I would skip it. Selfridges near Marble Arch has more of a wow! factor (you kids may love the huge confectionery and food departments)


Edinburgh: Grassmarket area for pubs and small shops just off the Royal Mile, Carlton Hill for great views over city (just off main street). Try haggis from a chip shop!

Hampton Court _ Kew Gardens in one morning sounds a tall order. I would skip Kew and give yourself more time at Hampton and for lunch etc.

As someone else said you have really packed a lot into this itin. and I hope the 'legendary' British public transport system doesn't wreck your plans!

@janisj, the time shown are for planning purpose only.I know this is not going to work. But atleast I can know that how much we are lagging behind!! I'll try to stretch the itinerary a bit more.

@julia, I'll try to be there at Legoland by 12:00 so we can get 6hrs. That'll give us 2 1/2 hrs at Windsor Castle (reach by 09h30). Is that enough?

I think you can cut the time at Windsor Castle even further (1 hour to 1 1/2 hours would be my limit with kids that age) and hopefully you will get to Legoland before 11.30 (according to your times you must have a personal teleporter!). Don't forget lunch .. maybe

I still think you would be better off going straight to Legoland.. arriving later than 10am on a Saturday in June will likely mean queuing to get INTO the park.

After Legoland if you and the family have the stamina for Eton Village then I'm impressed.
I'd be more inclined to find somewhere for a low key relaxed dinner and then collapse on the train back to London.

I see that you've already purchased tickets for Legoland so you can't change the day but it would be in your best interests to go as early as possible!

I would try to build more time to relax into your schedule. After the trip to Scotland you might want some downtime.
Has your wife seen your itinerary? Ask for her input especially regarding the 3 yr old (nap time? bed time? )

I think you sound flexible but it might be a good idea to write down all the things that you really want to do and fit those into a rough itinerary and have a list of possible things you'd like to do if you have the time and energy.
Maybe go to Canary Wharf solo?

PS this is a great place in Eton for lunch or dinner

http://www.gilbeygroup.com/eton/

The location is Eton but it is in fact walking distance from Windsor Castle (just across the river)

After all the other responses, have you decided NOT to use the Big Bus? If not, figure it out -- the fares are preposterous and those buses will NOT go anywhere that a regular double-decker won't. If time is a factor, hop on the Tube instead. Seriously, the idea of using a HOHO bus for nearly $100 when the 9, 11, 15 and 136 (I think) go wherever you'd want to see is simply stupid.

And why would you wake up to catch a bus that could take 45(?) minutes to get from Victoria to Oxford Circus (seems long) when you could jump on the Victoria line from Pimlico and be there in less than 10 minutes on the Tube? If your time is so valuable that you're setting up itineraries by the minute, why would you waste so much on an overpriced bus ride?

Three other things: (1) do NOT forget to use 2for1 at Hampton Court instead of booking tickets online. The 2for1 is far less expensive.

(2) Check with Vauxhall personnel to see if they sell vouchers for Windsor Castle at the station. If not, same question for Waterloo -- we took the train directly from Waterloo and bought our train tickets and Windsor Castle tickets from a manned ticket booth -- they give a slight discount (was 12 quid each instead of 15.50) and we jumped the LONG line at the Castle. And with you set to go on a Saturday, it will be a long line.

(3) You need to check closing times. There is NO way you can see the Castle, Palace and Royal Mile in Edinburgh between 3 pm and 6 pm when the Palace closes if you expect to go into the Castle and Palace and "explore". The last admission at the Palace is at 5 pm. Similarly, there's no chance you'll be able to do your 27 June itinerary with Stirling Castle as your last stop -- it closes at 6 pm. That whole day sounds like a LOT of driving for a pair of children -- rethink it.

One more thing -- you need a good pram for the 3 y.o. Your plans will wipe her out and she'll need to nap.

Russ has made some valid points regarding your Scotland/Edinburgh schedule. Rethink and revise.

As others have said you have to factor in more time for waiting on line especially at key venues.

We went to London for the first time last year with a 10 year old and we had a pretty aggressive schedule too. We must have waited about 45 min to an hour just to get into Windsor once we arrived from the train station. I imagine you want to also wait on the other line for the dollhouse too especially with two girls. I don't think you will be able to get to Legoland by 1:30. When will you eat lunch?

We did do Hampton Court and Kew on the same day and we were warned not to do that but we did it anyway because I wanted to squeeze it in during our visit. Take it from experience it is difficult to accomplish on the same day and really get to see both thoroughly.

We arrived at Hampton Court prior to opening. We went on a day they were doing the live kitchen demonstrations (which I highly recommend by the way) and my son loved it. He got to light the tinder box and turn the meat on the spigot. We were in the kitchens for a long time.

Then of course there are the rooms to visit each with its own spectacular paintings etc. Not to mention the absolutely fabulous gardens that we wandered around. Plus we saw the folks all dressed up in costume on their way to mini performances. We didn't even catch any but we saw them parading around the grounds.

Be sure to also visit the maze while at Hampton Court. All that and I think we left at around 3:30 or 4:00 because there is so much to cover at Hampton Court. They have a really good cafeteria for lunch by the way.

We then took the bus right outside the Palace over to Kew Retail Park and walked over to Kew Gardens which was closing at 7:30 that evening. However, the green houses close at 5:30 and we had just arrived at 5PM. We got to see one greenhouse before it closed and wandered around the property until closing and then took the train back to Central London. We were very tired and a little disappointed we did not get to fully appreciate Kew but at least we got to see a glimpse of it. Now if you wanted to take the boat that would take even longer.

Another point as others have said, you don't need the hop on hop off bus. Go to the TFL website and type in the journey planner how to get from point A to point B. Choose your method via bus, tube etc. and it gives you directions and even a map showing you how to walk from the station. It is simple to use. I did this because we had a senior with us and we took the bus everywhere so she wouldn't have to deal with escalators and stairs in case the escalators weren't working. I think I had a map and plan for a dozen bus routes.

Oh -- I didn't even look at the Edinburgh day until BigRuss mentioned it. Nope - nada - not possible.

The last admission at the Palace of Holyroodhouse is 5PM -- and you will be <u>lucky</u> to be done at the Castle by then.

Your plan for the driving tour on Monday is doable <u>without</u> heading up into the Highlands. Driving through the Trossachs, visiting Stirling, and back to Edinburgh is a doable day trip -- the Highlands are farther north.

Consider a boat trip out to Inchmahome Priory -- take a picnic lunch and enjoy a break in a beautiful setting and let the kids run/unwind a bit

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ory/index.html

Thanks a lot guyz for your critical review of my itinerary and pointing out the flaws. I'm now reworking it out trimming the earlier ambitious plan.
@janisj, could you please tell me if my drive from Edinburgh as per the plan below is feasible or not.

Start from Edinburgh Airport- Doune (skipping Stirling) - Callander - Lake of Menteith and boat-trip to Inchmahome Priory as suggested by you - Back to Edinburgh
Google map is showing 176km and 2 1/2 drive time. So if I start at 8-ish am and return by 9 pm (is it true the sun sets at 10 in June?, I think we'll get enought tiem to do the picnic at two or three spots.

@BigRuss, BigBus HoHo ride is cancelled and will opt for tube instead. Will spent the money in soemthing else, matbe the Duck Tour?

Cheers

I would think that jetlag might get in the way of all those 8am starts....for your children, but probably for the grownups too...
In fact all your days sound terribly long, especially for children...

@julia_t & sassy_cat, I managed to reschedule my trip to Windsor + legoland to Friday. Though the tickets were purchased, Legoland management was willing to change the date. That saves me a lot of trouble.

navas_am, that's good as it will help reduce the lines/ wait times at Windsor Castle and Legoland. It's still a very full day though!
You might want to check the train timetable again and return to London earlier... or relax on the following morning!

Overall your whole itinerary is very busy and as you're traveling with young children I still think you need to skip some things and be flexible.

"<i>Start from Edinburgh Airport- Doune (skipping Stirling) - Callander - Lake of Menteith and boat-trip to Inchmahome Priory as suggested by you - Back to Edinburgh
Google map is showing 176km and 2 1/2 drive time. So if I start at 8-ish am and return by 9 pm (is it true the sun sets at 10 in June?, I think we'll get enought tiem to do the picnic at two or three spots.</i>"

That is totally doable. You might even have time to visit Stirling Castle on your way back to EDI. And you'll be back in the city before 9:00 unless you just want to stay out late.

The drive alone will be about 3.5 hours give or take including a couple of diversions. After Doune, on to Callander. There you can pick up picnic food/drinks. Just up the road outside of Callander, you can walk to the Falls of Leny. There are lots of waterfalls in the area but this one is the easiest/shortest walk.

Then you could go to the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle http://www.scottishwoolcentre.co.uk/

A semi-tourist trap -- but they often have sheepdog exhibitions that the kids would enjoy. Seeing the dogs herding sheep and even duck is lots of fun. Plus there are crafts demonstrations.

Then on to the Lake of Menteith for the boat ride/picnic.

Whether you do Inchmahome or Aberfoyle first really doesn't matter -- mainly depends on the time. If you want to relax and have lunch - head to Inchmahome from Callander. If you are still going strong - hit Aberfoyle first.

Then - if there is time you can go to Stirling castle (and there is a cafe at the Castle if you need snacks)