kaski4

ive never been on a rivercruise on NYE so cant really comment - how much do they charge on NYE?

OK...I have to weigh in on this one. I'll just share my experiences and hope they will give you a clue to what it is like.

My husband and I are (now) in our late 20s and have been going to London every year for New Year's for awhile. We are from New York City and like to party and are kind of disappointed at how difficult it is to go out on NYE in london (in comparison to NYC). But, it IS fun and the january shopping makes up for it!). Anyway, long story short - unfortunately, it is incredibly difficult to pub or bar or club hop that night.

The first time we went for NYE, we went to Trafalgar Square (big mistake - all tourists and way too crowded). Getting home on the tube was a nightmare, even though it was free.

After that year, we booked tickets for a club through a london club promoter and it was OK...we didn't know anyone and everyone seemed to be in big groups but we had fun - we met a few people and danced. But we had been told in advance that we had to arrive at by 10 and once we left, we couldn't be re-admitted. So we stayed till almost 4 and had no trouble with the tube at all.

Then last year, we went to a pub (that usually closes at 11, but stays open until 2am on NYE) that we have been to many times on our various different trips to London, and spent the night there until closing (2am)- but then when we tried to get into a club in Westbourne Park that we had already purchased tix for (and for which we were on "the list") we were told to wait because they were full - they way overbooked. so we just left and went all the way back to our hotel near marble arch and got home at about 4 after waiting for the tube for almost an hour. it was a bad ending to an otherwise fun night.

we learned our lesson - this year we are most likely returning to our favorite pub for some fun (it's a festive atmosphere, not too crowded w/ a fair share of locals and tourists - they even sing at midnight!) and when they close at 2, if we can find somewhere to get in, then we will go, if not, we'll go back to the hotel. i just don't want to pay and not get in again.

oh - and if you find anything good, please post the info becuase we're still trying to decide what to do ourselves! :)

hope this helps and good luck!

good luck!

Thanks for the info sdtrach!
I'm still looking for good ideas so if i'll find anything i'll let you know ;-)
But definitely we won't go to Trafalgar. We're thinking of booking a table at a bar restaurant, for dinner and drinks later on. I'm still searching for the right one though!

Give us an idea of where you're from and the types of places you'd frequent if you were there on NYE.

another option is to go outside London and stay at a country hotel for the night as part of a package