Hi, my wife and I are traveling from Florida to Nairobi with my 77 year old father. We will arrive at Heathrow @ 6:10 am on Dec 3 and have a room @ Renaissance Heathrow. We depart @ 10:10 am Dec 4.

We would love to go into London and see a few sites. What is the best way to travel, the tube? How would you get there from the hotel? Any suggestions on what to do with so little time?

Thanks for your help!

How soon can you get into your room at Renaissance Heathrow?

Given the age of your father, combined with an overnight flight and the likelihood of very chilly weather that time of year, I wouldn't want to be slogging around the tube during morning rush hour. In fact, I'd want a car transfer into London.

It will get dark quite early in London at this time of year, so my recommendation would be to take a morning bus tour of the city, topped off by a nice lunch in some place fun, then back to the hotel for rest. You might need to be back at the airport by 7am for your 10:10 flight. You'll want the sleep.

For 3 of you, a car transfer back and forth from your airport hotel, bus tour tickets, and lunch will run into hundreds of dollars.

Thanks for the advice! We booked a room for the night before so that my father can check in immediately. I do have concern over the chilly weather, he may end up staying at the hotel so that he can rest up for the remainder of the travel and then the safari.

We are mid-40s and hope we can make a good day of it and the morning tour, nice lunch and back for rest sounds perfect!

I read in some other threads that Windsor Castle and London Eye may be good choices, what do you think? Lunch suggestions?

You could do either the London Eye OR Windsor but not both as they are in different directions and as you only have a day, it would be pushing it.

The London Eye would be great if it's fine. If it's very overcast or raining you wouldn't have a very good view, which is the whole point. There are some nice restaurants along the Thames near the Eye, it's nice to wander along there even if you are not eating.

I think I would pick one thing to do and that allows time for travelling to and from the hotel and time for a rest as well. What about the Tower, or walk from Picadilly down through Green Park to Buckingham Palace, or walk around Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden.

It depends on what your interests are. There are lots of great museums and most are free. In Kensington, there is the Victoria & Albert (V&A - my favourite), the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum - all undercover if it's raining and all free. Lots of places to eat and Harrods is nearby is that takes your fancy.

Kay

If you are thinking of a castle, I would check out the logistics of visiting Hampton Court, not all that far from Heathrow. But that would be instead of a visit to central London. Depends on what you'd think you'd enjoy.

If your father prefers to rest, you might find negotiating the tube OK.

My feeling about the London Eye is that it means more to people who are familiar with London and its history, spotting the famous landmarks from above. It's possible you might get a very good view of London coming in on your flight! Also, if it's very rainy, the Eye may lose some of its visual impact.

I'm not a fan of bus tours, except when its pouring rain, you have limited time, and you think you'd enjoy catching sight of Big Ben, the Tower, Buckingham Palace, etc. Picking out one thing to do is fine, although you should get detailed directions about getting there from the Renaissance hotel, so you don't end up lost on the tube, or slogging through pouring rain in the chill, etc. (As usual, different strokes for different folks. I can't stand the V&A and would much prefer the British museum or the National Portrait gallery-- but I still think I'd rather gawk out the window of a bus.)

As for lunch, you could go for a characteristic pub, a place with a view, a grand hotel lunch, or a popular london hotspot. Since you'll be between flights, I would pick food easy on the stomach. I'm sure you can get recommendations here once you decide if you'll be getting of a tour bus in Picadilly or leaving the V&A around lunch time.

Some basic logistics: at the Heathrow Tube station, buy a six zone, off-peak Travelcard* for £7. This will get you to town and back, plus provide unlimited Tube, bus, tram, and train transport all over London. Ride the Piccadilly Line from the airport to Piccadilly Circus, and your options from there are infinite.

I highly recommend using buses in preference to Tube unless you need to get all the way across town in one go. A good map for navigating from sight to sight is http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...al_bus_map.pdf You can print it out before you leave home. When you buy your Travelcard, pick up a copy of http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/centlond.pdf for an idea of how things are laid out.

* You can save 50p by buying an Oyster Card and loading it with £6.50. But you have to pay a £3 deposit and stand in line again to get it refunded. Or you can keep the card for your next trip

When you arrive with bags you will probably want to take the Heathrow Hopppa Bus to your hotel (£5 per person; the hotels don't have any free shuttles) - make sure you catch the right one.

To get back to the LHR tube station to go into the city or to catch a bus to Windsor, however, ask the hotel concierge about the free local buses that run along Bath Rd. to the Heathrow central bus station. They're not so easy with bags but just fine for day trips.

Or you decide on Windsor, it might be easier just to take a cab or car service there from the hotel; certainly faster.

I wouldn't bother with a car service.

Go to your hotel, have a shower, something to eat, then head off on the tube. you won't have luggage, it won't be rush hour, it won't be a problem.

A hop-on hop-off bus tour might be the best idea. You can jump off for a mooch around a couple of places, and get lunch somewhere, then head back late afternoon for dinner and a rest.

Even if you don't want a car service into London, I think the three of you might prefer a taxi to your hotel. At 5GBP per person, a cab is cost effective and quicker, and if it's raining or dark or freezing, the "Hoppa bus" can be a pain to wait for. It also does a milk run around the terminals and hotels, a short trip in a taxi can turn into a long commute waiting for the bus to arrive and waiting for it to make its rounds.

But you really should think hard about whether the "savings" of taking buses and tubes is really worth it given that you've got so few hours of daylight and so little time in London, and might be awfully cold.

Were it me, I would not want to eat up time waiting for a Hoppa bus, and then also wait for a bus to take me back from my hotel to Heathrow tube stop, and then take the tube to Picadilly. Unless I was really trying scrimp, I'd use a cab for some and perhaps all of those trips in the morning, and use public transport just to get back to the hotel from London at the end of the touring day.

Hoppa or taxi to your hotel - 6 of 1/half dozen of the other. Your hotel is right off of LHR so either option will only take a few minutes.

But the tube really is your best option into London . You won't have luggage to worry about - and the tube to the center of London is faster and MUCH cheaper than a taxi or car service.

If you want to see Big Ben, the river and the eye first thing - take the tube from LHR to Hammersmith. Get off the train and walk a few feet to the other side of the same platform. Then get the next train and get off at Westminster. You will come up out of Westminster tubes station looking directly up at Big Ben. The river/Eye will be over your left shoulder and Westminster Abbey to your right.

From there you can walk any direction - across the bridge to the Eye if the weather is decent. (the Eye is not just for "old London hands" BTW. The views are amazing! But only if the weather is halfway decent) Or over to the Abbey if you want to tour it. Then you can walk down to Trafalgar Square or over to Buckingham Palace or anywhere else you want.

When you are ready to head back - get on the tube at any Piccadilly line station and your go straight there.

A walking from Westminster to Trafalgar or Buckingham Palace is also only appealing if the weather is "halfway decent". At least come armed with information about other things to do.

What constitutes "amazing' views (of what) is in the eye of the beholder. The London Eye is a big hit with some people, but not everybody. Most people your age have a pretty good idea if they thrill to that sort of attraction or would rather skip it, so don't let me influence you.

This picture taken from the Eye might help you decide how to budget your time:

http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen6/f52-london_eye.html

<i>You will come up out of Westminster tubes station looking directly up at Big Ben. The river/Eye will be over your left shoulder and Westminster Abbey to your right.</i>

Very true - if you come out of Exit 4 (see map*). If you leave the station through any of the other five exits, your left and right shoulders will be oriented differently with respect to the sights.

* http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/Dow...estminster.pdf

captharry, listen to what janis said, forget the rest as I don't think they understand that you have most of the day and night. Some people stay up late, take in a show and don't stop roaming just because it gets dark or if it is raining. Have a grand time.

<i>Author: rogeruktm
Date: 11/29/2008, 01:52 pm

captharry, listen to what janis said, forget the rest as I don't think they understand that you have most of the day and night. Some people stay up late, take in a show...</i>

...and if they just flew in from Florida that morning, they tend to fall asleep before the end of the first act. See the sights, but don't plan on being awake very long after supper.

ummm, the original poster wrote, before janis posted:

&quot;I do have concern over the chilly weather... the morning tour, nice lunch and back for rest sounds perfect!&quot;

How about listening to what the traveler says?

Regarding the Eye, what is the cost these days and what happens if you wait to see what the weather is like before buying a ticket? Do you face a long queue on a sunny day? What is the cost of the basic ticket, or the added cost of paying not to wait in line if there is one?

Sunsets at 4pm in early December in London.

Also, what are realistic time budgets for arriving in central London given all the OP (with our without father) has to do between stepping off the flight and arriving in central London?

You and other did offer some good stuff. Just though janis covered it better.

<i>Also, what are realistic time budgets for arriving in central London given all the OP (with our without father) has to do between stepping off the flight and arriving in central London?</i>

From docking at the gate (which may be five minutes or a half-hour after touchdown), figure an hour to get through immigration, baggage claim, and customs. At the time of your arrival, there probably won't be a crowd ahead of you.

An hour to get a taxi to the hotel, check-in and get settled - hoping your room is ready.

Fifteen minutes to get to the Hounslow West Tube station on a city bus #81 or 222.

An hour to Piccadilly Circus (including wait time).

You'll be in the city by ten o'clock, easily.

Your trip sounds wonderful,(we did the safari many years ago while living in Africa with 3 kids, and it was one of the big highlights of my life.) We'll NEVER forget it. Hard to put into words... Kenya, Tanzania !)
First week in Dec. is a beautiful time in London and you'll have a nice day. The Christmas lights are spectacular...and if you are up to doing some walking then any route around Trafalger Sq, Picadilly, down to Buckingham OR up to the Oxford/Bond Street area. Whatever walk you take, the Holidays will be in the air. You can also jump on a city bus; I think it is #11 that goes from Victoria Station and follows a wonderful route past Westminster CAthedral , l0 Downing, Convent Garden, Trafalger, Fleet STreet. etc
OR you can take a 2 hour bus tour which covers the main sights, and just staying on the bus, with a narator (though you MIGHT fall asleep)
How great that you booked your room also for the night before so you can check in early that morning and your father can possibly rest some.
I&quot;d see about a car service straight into central London (Ray Skinner has a great one , I think called London Transport.com ?????
THEN after walking around and eating lunch and seeing a little more of central London, you could...as others have mentioned, make your way back to the airport via public transportation.

OR Windsor Castle is but 5 or 10 minutes from Heathrow and your father might enjoy that for a little while. In the town of Windsor you could have a nice lunch..walk around some and return to the hotel.
Getting dark at 4 PM at that time of year makes it seem later....but I know you will, as you said, want a good sleep that night....to get ready for your &quot;onward journey!
(is this being dramatic?)sorry.

BTW, I think walking from Westminster to Trafalgar Square or Buckingham Palace - or any other walk of more than five minutes - is a waste of valuable time, if you're interested in covering some territory.