Just Returned from London
Jul 20th, 2012, 05:44 AM
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Just Returned from London
I am so grateful to our Fodors friends for being so helpful in making our recent 5 day trip to London so flawless. Here's what you taught us:
1. Travel light. We took everything we needed in our carry on bags and stowed another one under our seats in the size required by our airlines. We needed nothing more and I packed in the "bundling method" as mentioned in this forum at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdRl3dBGxRs
(We didn't buy any of the supplemental containers from this luggage salesman but just put everything into our suitcases. We put our shoes in newspaper wrappers, one in each.) Saved us lots of time waiting for airport carousels. We will do this again.
2. Take proper shoes. I have minor issues with arthritis and I found that most walking surfaces in London, while quaint, old and beautiful, were not pedestrian-friendly. There are cobblestones and sloped sidewalks, as you would expect in an old city. And oftentimes the surfaces are wet. We went to a home town running company and bought well fitting shoes and never got a blister. We stressed comfort over style. In addition, there are some places where you just can't have an elevator. Tower of London with its medieval treasures, isn't handicapped friendly, so you will be going up stairs. FYI.
3. Pros and cons of pre-purchasing vouchers to attractions. We came to London as part of a package and loved what we got for our money. We also bought several other vouchers for other tours and found that this saved us money. Con? We bought one voucher for a four course French meal on Groupon and didn't have time to use it. So we gave it to a darling, doorman that we liked. Hope he and a guest can use it when he's not working.
4. Go on an "overview" tour right away when you arrive. You will get the lay of the land and find things that you want to see more in depth later. Helps for planning what to see when, based on close proximity. After our double decker bus tour, we booked an amazing two hour black taxi tour with Michael Bloom at www.affordablelondontyaxitours.co.uk and he took us to "secret sights in London." He also does a Harry Potter tour, and a few others, but he was a riot and found out what we were interested in and then took us to the most amazing and surprising places! We were enchanted by him and felt he was a true ambassador for London. It was a bit pricey, a bit over $200 for two of us in his cab for a bit over 2 hours, but we felt it was well worth it.
5. Pubs aren't just bars. We only had three meals that weren't part of some tour or another and for those meals we always went to a pub. While they do serve liquor, they have amazing food (like fish and chips) for a reasonable price. Fodors had recommended Minories for their Toffee Sticky Pudding, so we were surprised to see that it was very close to where we were staying, right by The Tower of London. It was fun to taste the pudding, but their fish and chips had the most amazing tartar sauce that I've ever tasted. So that was a good spot to us. When going into a pub, you place your order at the bar and then they bring it to your table when it's ready.
5. Plan taking "loo breaks". When you are at your hotel or restaurant, use their facilities because when you're in mid city, it costs you 30 pence to use a public restroom. (Ask for a "restroom" and they might not know what you mean. The word there is, "toilet." THAT got some getting used to.)
6. Get some British currency while you are home, before you leave. We avoided trying to get cash of any kind in London because we brought both American and British money and then used my new CitiBank credit card that I got expressly for using in London because it's one of the few cards that charges no foreign fees. (That came from advice mentioned in this forum.) We charged everything we could and used currency as needed. Some taxis take credit cards, but watch for the sign that says using it generates a 10% "convenience fee." Our newspaper today says that some London ATMs are running out of cash, so this is something to prepare for if you are going there during the Olympics.
7. Go to attractions early. We got this advice here too. But in the five days we were in London, we never stood in a line. We'd enter palaces or castles or the Royal Mews early and find that we'd be in a tour group of my daughter and me and one other person! When we left, after a few hours, there were long lines.
8. Have a good time. We were blown away by the friendliness of the people we met. Our tour package put is in a somewhat remote eastern London hotel (Grange Tower Bridge Hotel) but they treated us like royalty! Nearly everyone did. We saw "royal oriented sights" but loved Westminster Abbey as well. If you're interested in obscure royal things, go to The Royal Mews where you will see carriages that are used by the royals for big events. Really interesting. We loved having high tea in the Kensington Palace gardens on The Orangery outdoor porch. (18.95 pounds each. Pricey but an amazing experience.)
This trip was a trip of a lifetime and we are still thinking almost non-stop about our experiences and what we saw. There was not one glithch because we had read fodors.com and did a lot of preplanning before we left. Good luck on your travels.
1. Travel light. We took everything we needed in our carry on bags and stowed another one under our seats in the size required by our airlines. We needed nothing more and I packed in the "bundling method" as mentioned in this forum at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdRl3dBGxRs
(We didn't buy any of the supplemental containers from this luggage salesman but just put everything into our suitcases. We put our shoes in newspaper wrappers, one in each.) Saved us lots of time waiting for airport carousels. We will do this again.
2. Take proper shoes. I have minor issues with arthritis and I found that most walking surfaces in London, while quaint, old and beautiful, were not pedestrian-friendly. There are cobblestones and sloped sidewalks, as you would expect in an old city. And oftentimes the surfaces are wet. We went to a home town running company and bought well fitting shoes and never got a blister. We stressed comfort over style. In addition, there are some places where you just can't have an elevator. Tower of London with its medieval treasures, isn't handicapped friendly, so you will be going up stairs. FYI.
3. Pros and cons of pre-purchasing vouchers to attractions. We came to London as part of a package and loved what we got for our money. We also bought several other vouchers for other tours and found that this saved us money. Con? We bought one voucher for a four course French meal on Groupon and didn't have time to use it. So we gave it to a darling, doorman that we liked. Hope he and a guest can use it when he's not working.
4. Go on an "overview" tour right away when you arrive. You will get the lay of the land and find things that you want to see more in depth later. Helps for planning what to see when, based on close proximity. After our double decker bus tour, we booked an amazing two hour black taxi tour with Michael Bloom at www.affordablelondontyaxitours.co.uk and he took us to "secret sights in London." He also does a Harry Potter tour, and a few others, but he was a riot and found out what we were interested in and then took us to the most amazing and surprising places! We were enchanted by him and felt he was a true ambassador for London. It was a bit pricey, a bit over $200 for two of us in his cab for a bit over 2 hours, but we felt it was well worth it.
5. Pubs aren't just bars. We only had three meals that weren't part of some tour or another and for those meals we always went to a pub. While they do serve liquor, they have amazing food (like fish and chips) for a reasonable price. Fodors had recommended Minories for their Toffee Sticky Pudding, so we were surprised to see that it was very close to where we were staying, right by The Tower of London. It was fun to taste the pudding, but their fish and chips had the most amazing tartar sauce that I've ever tasted. So that was a good spot to us. When going into a pub, you place your order at the bar and then they bring it to your table when it's ready.
5. Plan taking "loo breaks". When you are at your hotel or restaurant, use their facilities because when you're in mid city, it costs you 30 pence to use a public restroom. (Ask for a "restroom" and they might not know what you mean. The word there is, "toilet." THAT got some getting used to.)
6. Get some British currency while you are home, before you leave. We avoided trying to get cash of any kind in London because we brought both American and British money and then used my new CitiBank credit card that I got expressly for using in London because it's one of the few cards that charges no foreign fees. (That came from advice mentioned in this forum.) We charged everything we could and used currency as needed. Some taxis take credit cards, but watch for the sign that says using it generates a 10% "convenience fee." Our newspaper today says that some London ATMs are running out of cash, so this is something to prepare for if you are going there during the Olympics.
7. Go to attractions early. We got this advice here too. But in the five days we were in London, we never stood in a line. We'd enter palaces or castles or the Royal Mews early and find that we'd be in a tour group of my daughter and me and one other person! When we left, after a few hours, there were long lines.
8. Have a good time. We were blown away by the friendliness of the people we met. Our tour package put is in a somewhat remote eastern London hotel (Grange Tower Bridge Hotel) but they treated us like royalty! Nearly everyone did. We saw "royal oriented sights" but loved Westminster Abbey as well. If you're interested in obscure royal things, go to The Royal Mews where you will see carriages that are used by the royals for big events. Really interesting. We loved having high tea in the Kensington Palace gardens on The Orangery outdoor porch. (18.95 pounds each. Pricey but an amazing experience.)
This trip was a trip of a lifetime and we are still thinking almost non-stop about our experiences and what we saw. There was not one glithch because we had read fodors.com and did a lot of preplanning before we left. Good luck on your travels.
Jul 20th, 2012, 06:00 AM
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Great trip report and so glad you loved Londno - its always nice to hear that the people here are friendly and helpful!
I am surprised by your comment about ATMs running out of cash - I havent heard anything about that and as I live and work here I would expect to! Nothing in the papers here, nor have any friends mentioned it today so I dont think its a concern.
Its much cheaper to use your ATM than buy currency in N America.
I am surprised by your comment about ATMs running out of cash - I havent heard anything about that and as I live and work here I would expect to! Nothing in the papers here, nor have any friends mentioned it today so I dont think its a concern.
Its much cheaper to use your ATM than buy currency in N America.
Jul 20th, 2012, 07:10 AM
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Here is the AP story I was referring to from our newspaper this morning.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120719/AP0409/307199940
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120719/AP0409/307199940
Jul 20th, 2012, 07:40 AM
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Thanks for that!
I have to laugh at this though because I have not seen one word about this in the press here (someone please correct me if I am wrong) and didnt hear anything about it over the Jubilee weekend!
The Jubilee weekend was a 4 day weekend - hence the machines were not topped up for 4 days and some may have run out (although like I said I didnt hear anything about this). There are no such problems with the Olympics and I assume (maybe wrongly so) that the banks plan to refill the machines on a regular basis.
Of course Britain only accepts GBP.
And yes, as in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics, only Visa is accepted at Olympic venues and Olympic stores.
Thanks for posting the link!
I have to laugh at this though because I have not seen one word about this in the press here (someone please correct me if I am wrong) and didnt hear anything about it over the Jubilee weekend!
The Jubilee weekend was a 4 day weekend - hence the machines were not topped up for 4 days and some may have run out (although like I said I didnt hear anything about this). There are no such problems with the Olympics and I assume (maybe wrongly so) that the banks plan to refill the machines on a regular basis.
Of course Britain only accepts GBP.
And yes, as in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics, only Visa is accepted at Olympic venues and Olympic stores.
Thanks for posting the link!
Jul 20th, 2012, 07:43 AM
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jamikins, I hope you and other wonderful fodors posters realize how you help my family in planning our trips. We are naive travelers and had never been to anywhere in Europe before and had some anxieties. But help from folks like you make it so much better and less overwhelming. Our two best vacations: to London and to New York City were both guided by fodors people, such as yourself. Thanks for taking your time to help us.
Jul 20th, 2012, 07:46 AM
#6
It's a couple of years years since I read Omaha.com (I worked with an American business based there).
As Jamikins says, no news about ATMs running in London in the UK press, but I guess during Sports Day all the kids get so excited anything can happen.
Glad you had a good trip
As Jamikins says, no news about ATMs running in London in the UK press, but I guess during Sports Day all the kids get so excited anything can happen.
Glad you had a good trip
Jul 20th, 2012, 09:10 AM
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I'm doubting that this board told you #3, #4 or #6. ATMs are easy to use and get you a better exchange rate than whatever you received at your bank when you bought pounds in the US.
This board is a HUGE proponent of the daysoutguide.co.uk two for one deals and each of those vouchers are FREE.
And only a small minority here advocates orientation tours in London because the Hop on Hop off bus is hideously expensive.
This board is a HUGE proponent of the daysoutguide.co.uk two for one deals and each of those vouchers are FREE.
And only a small minority here advocates orientation tours in London because the Hop on Hop off bus is hideously expensive.
Jul 20th, 2012, 10:19 AM
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What a lovely thing to say, tarquin!
We came on a Living Social "deal" arranged by Premier Travel. Our first day the package included a red bus tour which helped us drive by things that we knew we wanted to visit later. We also bought some vouchers for Kensington Palace (no wait line), half day to Windsor and buffet at Harrods, and the Black Taxi tour. Those were through AAA but some ended up being delivered by Premier Travel as well. We opted not to use ATMs because our bank had a percentage fee to use it, but brought the card anyway, in case of emergencies. We could get any amount of currency for London at our bank for a flat fee of $5, so we did that and found that it worked well for us. We had bought an Oyster card while still in the U.S. so didn't do the two for one deal. Folks are welcome to glean whatever works best for them from this forum, so it's a win-win!
We came on a Living Social "deal" arranged by Premier Travel. Our first day the package included a red bus tour which helped us drive by things that we knew we wanted to visit later. We also bought some vouchers for Kensington Palace (no wait line), half day to Windsor and buffet at Harrods, and the Black Taxi tour. Those were through AAA but some ended up being delivered by Premier Travel as well. We opted not to use ATMs because our bank had a percentage fee to use it, but brought the card anyway, in case of emergencies. We could get any amount of currency for London at our bank for a flat fee of $5, so we did that and found that it worked well for us. We had bought an Oyster card while still in the U.S. so didn't do the two for one deal. Folks are welcome to glean whatever works best for them from this forum, so it's a win-win!
Jul 20th, 2012, 10:35 AM
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"We loved having high tea in the Kensington Palace gardens on The Orangery outdoor porch."
I suspect that was "afternoon tea", don't know if any places do high tea any more (it now tends to be called dinner)
I suspect that was "afternoon tea", don't know if any places do high tea any more (it now tends to be called dinner)
Jul 20th, 2012, 02:35 PM
#14
Great report! You obviously enjoyed the trip.
One thing though . . . "<i><blue>We opted not to use ATMs because our bank had a percentage fee to use it, but brought the card anyway, in case of emergencies. We could get any amount of currency for London at our bank for a flat fee of $5, so we did that and found that it worked well for us</blue></i>"
For future reference (and for anyone else reading this TR) - the $5 fee you paid your bank is only part of what those £££ cost you. The exchange rate was much worse than you would have paid using an ATM. So too late for this trip - but next time you will save $/£ if you use ATMs
One thing though . . . "<i><blue>We opted not to use ATMs because our bank had a percentage fee to use it, but brought the card anyway, in case of emergencies. We could get any amount of currency for London at our bank for a flat fee of $5, so we did that and found that it worked well for us</blue></i>"
For future reference (and for anyone else reading this TR) - the $5 fee you paid your bank is only part of what those £££ cost you. The exchange rate was much worse than you would have paid using an ATM. So too late for this trip - but next time you will save $/£ if you use ATMs
Jul 20th, 2012, 04:50 PM
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Enjoyed your report. Ate at Minories Pub my first night in London last trip - see my report for remarks:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
This forum has been my go-to instead of travel books.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
This forum has been my go-to instead of travel books.
Jul 21st, 2012, 10:54 AM
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Yes, janisj is right about the exchange rate you get through a US bank vs the exchange rate when using an ATM at your destination.
While we do like to have a few dollars worth of local currency in hand before we leave, the majority of our cash needs come from our ATM card. Even with fees, it is still better than our local bank exchange rate.
While we do like to have a few dollars worth of local currency in hand before we leave, the majority of our cash needs come from our ATM card. Even with fees, it is still better than our local bank exchange rate.
Jul 21st, 2012, 01:28 PM
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Glad you had a nice time but I agree with Janisj and the others. The $5 fee you paid was in addition to the exchange rate you were charged at your bank which was significantly higher than the exchange rate you would have paid by taking the money out of an ATM once in London.
Did you enjoy Kensington Palace? When we were there they were undergoing rennovation and they had some silly theme going on for visitors to keep them occupied which was a waste of time. The gardens outside were nice but the inside of the Palace was not that great. Unless the rennovations are complete now.
Did you enjoy Kensington Palace? When we were there they were undergoing rennovation and they had some silly theme going on for visitors to keep them occupied which was a waste of time. The gardens outside were nice but the inside of the Palace was not that great. Unless the rennovations are complete now.
