Kato

We will be visiting London in late March for the first time. In doing my homework for the trip, I have discovered that the things we want to do will more than likely take 8 days instead of the 6 that we have! Does anyone have any time saving tips or suggestions that have worked for them, as I am certain I am not the only one who has faced this dilema? Thanks, Karen

jmw

Hi Karen. My only suggestion is to assume that you will visit again and that anything you don't accomplish this time will be enjoyed eventually. I find that it makes for a more enjoyable trip. On the other hand, I'm sure that there are lots of folks here who will give you pointers on how to fit in as much as possible. Have a wonderful time. J.

adnil1962

This is a tough question to answer without knowing your itinerary (and if you are taking kids - which will slow you down).

I found that the best thing to do is to make a list of everything that I want to see and try to plan out a day by day itinerary based on opening/closing times and proximity to other attractions.

I know that I will never see everything on my list, so I prioritize the "must sees" vs. the "would be nice to sees".

Of course everything changes once you get there.... You talk to people, read papers and see brochures of interesting things that you hadn't considered.

Things that you thought wouldn't interest you take more time than expected because they are interesting.....

Always assume that you will go back someday to see the things that you missed. A trip can tend to get very tiring after several days of running to see the next thing, take your time and enjoy!!

vanny

I am interested in hearing your itinerary.

Kato

There are 4 of us traveling together, my husband, his brother and sister-in-law and me. We are all near 60, so we don't have the kid slow-down factor, only the age slow-down one! We are staying at the Royal Horseguard Hotel so we will be very centralized for all the attractions. I am still working on the itinerary but should have it later today. Thanks, Karen

Kato

OK..I give up, here is what I have, maybe someone can help. These are in no particular order except day one. Arrive Gatwick @6:50. Take Gatwick Express to Victoria Station, cab, bus or tube to Royal Horseguard Hotel. Do the hop on hop off bus. Day 2.. Kew Gardens, Kensington Gardens and Palace, Orangery for Tea, Harrods. Day 3..Tower of London, Greenwich. Day 4.. Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey..stay for Evensong at 5pm. Day 5.. Cambridge. Day 6. My problem day...Cabinet War Room, Whitehall, Royal Mews, Parliament, Downing St., Buckingham Palace, (last 3 are simply walk-bys) Trafalgar Square, St. Martins-in the Field, Covent Gardens, Royal Courts, Old Bailey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, British Museum, National Gallery, A few walks, and a few pubs. I think we can fit a few of these things in on the first day and perhaps a few on other days. I just don't know which ones to leave out. All help is appreciated! Karen

ira

Hi Kato,
As earlier suggested, make a list of the 'must sees' and do them first.
Do you have to go to Cambridge?
As a last resort, split up and take lots of pictures. (%>)

Christina

The only time-saving tip I might have is to plan activities in proximity to each other geographically, so you aren't criss-crossing all over. Other ideas of cutting things are really a matter of interests and priorities, usually, or perhaps how much time something might take that I wouldn't consider worth it on a first-time trip to London (which I think this is?).

I personally would completely scratch day 5 trip to Cambridge and then fit in the other things you want to do. I don't find these small English private school towns that interesting, nor the places themselves (Cambridge or Oxford). I've been around a lot of universities in various cities and countries and just don't have much interest in that, myself. I went there many years ago and it was of moderate interest but isn't anything I look back on with particular fondness or something I say to others how great it was or you must go there.

I would scratch Harrods, if necessary, because I'm not interesting in dept. stores or shopping in them, but that's obviously personal, also. I did like Kew Gardens a lot, but if I had to, I might scratch that as you have other gardens on there and it takes more time going to/from. If gardens are one of your passions, you wouldn't, however.

Grasshopper

Karen, I think you will be surprised to find that many of your places are quite close together and you will see them quickly. For example, if you move your Big Bus ride to the day with all the sites, you will see many of them from the route. Can "drive by" count as "walk by"? Also, be flexible enough to save that for a non-rainy day! It's just not the same to ride inside. You see building fronts and facades. Not nearly as interesting.

I think when you get there, these pre-trip worries will melt away and you'll be in the moment.

Derek

In addition to the others' suggestions, visit certain museums during their late evening hours. I think (check website) that the British Museum opens late on Thursday. This doesn't help if you have to cover the entire museum as only the most popular half is open late (like Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, etc.)

Also consider what to do on Sunday morning when few things are open. Harrods is closed all day, I think. You could go to church or use the morning to travel to farther away places such as Windsor, Cambridge, or Greenwich (which isn't too far).

I am a big fan of not taking the Gatwick Express if you arrive at 6:50 a.m. The hotel won't be ready. Why not relax over breakfast, take a 30 min. nap if you can fall asleep, then take the local train to London (which is several pounds cheaper and takes only about 10 minutes and 3 stops longer) The last stop is the same, Victoria. By then, you may arrive at your hotel at 9:30 or 10:00 and your hotel room might be ready.

You may not want to take the hop on and off bus the 1st day because the rocking motions may make you sleepy. My father slept through half of London because we did this the first day! If you, for example, go to St. Paul's, you may doze off but will be awake when you walk into the cathedral.

Derek

clarification: If your hotel is ready, I nap until noon, never past noon the 1st day.

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace occurs only every other day until summer, when it is daily.

Some of the sites are "walk-bys" though not listed as such by you. For example, I don't know what to see at the Old Bailey. I thought the Houses of Parliament was restricted so you only see the outside. 10 Downing St. has been closed for years because of potential terrorisms. All you can see is a barricade. The #10 door can't be seen from the barricade.

JmVikmanis

I'm doing the same thing as you are--planning a 6 day trip to London for the first time. We got lucky. Our original plan was to spend only 4 days but the US military comandeered our plane for the ride home and we were forced to extend for 2 more days. So I'm feeling almost flush to have 6 days instead of 4 and it feels fairly doable. We're a party of 4 in our late 50's/early 60's and I am slowed a bit by arthritis so I hope my daily itineraries are walkable for me. I do substantial planning to fit things together for maximum coverage in minimum time and would be happy to send you a copy of the detailed 6 day itinerary I'm working on if you'll e-mail me your address. Mine is [email protected].

janis

For this short timeframe, skip the trip to Cambridge. I totally disagree w/ Christina -- Oxford and Cambridge are two of my favorite places. But you simply do not have enough time to devote a full day outside of London.

Also - four sightseeing together will take a LOT more time than a single, and almost twice as long as a couple. Everyone will have different interests, boredom thresholds, meal preferences. It is not unusual to see two couples standing on a street corner in London for over 20 minutes just debating where to go for lunch! One person will want to spend 30 minutes in a gallery - someone else will want three hours. That can all be solved - but it isn't fast and it isn't easy.

Some of your days don't make a lot of sense logistically. Kew and Harrods; Windsor and Westminster Abbey; the Tower and Greenwich -- none of these pairs make best use of travel time, etc.

For instance - Westminster Abbey is in a small triangle that includes the War rooms, Downing St, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament. It would be much better to group these sites together instead of Windsor/Westminster.

St Pauls is good to pair w/ the Tower.

There are a lot of other ways to save time . . . . but everything will take longer than you expect.

Karen

For museums, take the guided tour. It will force you and your friends to stay on schedule.

I love museums, and could spend a lot of time in them, but I do have my limits. My mom must read every detail about 8 times and it takes her FOREVER to see an exhibit. I learned a few years ago to take the guided tour. This keeps me from going nuts. Yes, I know I don't see everything this way, but it helps my sanity. And probably mom's too. (The 35-year-old daughter complaining 'are you done yet?!?' Similar to the years of 'are we there yet?' from the road trip years)

You might want to divide up some things. You don't have to be chained together for the entire time.

Talk about food before the trip. Some might want 5* multi-course meals every night. Some might want take out sandwiches. Some must eat at a certain time and some eat when hungry. The food issues will drive you nuts. If you are one who likes to snack, take granola bars or something packaged with you.

Get to the Tower of London as it opens. You can but tickets at the tube station. See the crown jewels first, before the line gets too long.

jsmith

Karen, Janis has a good point that a foursome can be cumbersome. You might plan some of your schedule with wives together and couples another. Do husbands want Harrods? Might they prefer the Imperial War Museum? My wife and I took a trip ONCE with our best friends (and they still are) and spent so much time trying to be sensitive to each other that it became an exercise in frustration and we vowed never to do that again.

My wife and I never have a set itinerary but do have a list of things we'd like to do. We don't consider it a necessity to accomplish it all. If we go to a museum we sometimes split up and agree to meet at a certain time and place. We've been married 44 years and find this works well for us.

You can save a lot of time by planning with a good tourist map. For instance, you could start your day with a visit to Westminster Abbey, walk up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. You pass the Cabinet War Rooms, #10 Downing Street, Horse Guards. Time it right and you can catch the ceremony at 11:00(?). In Trafalgar Square have lunch in the crypt at St Martin-in-the-Field and pop into the National Gallery for the Titian exhibit and then head for Covent Garden for a pint and buy your souvenirs in the Transport Museum if they are still open at that time.

Incidently, the hop on bus ticket is good for 24 hours.

Enjoy.

jsmith

Karen, had another thought while making the dinner salad.

Instead of Windsor Castle and Kew Gardens consider substituting Hampton Court for the two. Kew is one of our favorite places so I'm reluctant to make the suggestion but you are in a time bind and the gardens at Hampton Court are among the more impressive in England. Just don't venture into the maze.

nancy

Hi, Kato. There's so darn much to see that I made an itinerary for my one week (out of a month in England) for London. Since I love the planning I looked at a map and basically planned out the directions I could go. If you would like my week's trip please e-mail me at [email protected]. The hop on/off bus will give you a great overview plus the ability to jump off and see things then catch another. Frankly, Kensington Palace was not that interesting altho' the gardens were lovely. I spent a whole day on my second trip in Kew Gardens - it's huge. Only spent a morning in Cambridge on my driving trip north and would cut that out of a week in London (I would add Hampton Court). There's just too much to see in London proper. Probably only the women will be interested in Harrod's but I would always go there on every trip. The store is gorgeous. Nothing like you will see in the U.S.

dg

I'm in agreement with grasshopper on bus tour... I did as much as i possibly could in 5 days, and i was by myself. after seeing so many things on tour, i was able to check off some things, and go back to others that interested me. also agree with Karen on Tower. i thought i'd do a walk-through to save time and move on, but arrived just as Beefeater started tour, so ended up doing tour - A MUST! also just did a walk-through of Harrod's - was glad to say i'd seen it, but just not my style. it supposedly has anything anyone ever wanted, but the two items i really wanted - they didn't have...
tube, of course, is wonderful way to get around... instead of Cambridge, i did a day trip to Bath - give it some thought; it was wonderful, plus i was able to see some of the countryside by train. as was mentioned, once you get there it'll all fall into place. have a fantastic time!
d
oh, and as mentioned, eat in crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Field - one of my favorite experiences from the trip

carolyn

I am one who didn't care much for Kew Gardens, and March might be early for it anyway. I had rather walk in the London city parks--Hyde Park, St. James, Green. They are so pretty and restful. If you do go out to Kew, though, try to have tea at the Maids of Honour teashop across the road from the Gardens. (It is closed on Sundays.)

bob_brown

Hmm. My first suggestion: let Cambridge wait. My second suggestion: Day 6 is impossible, cut something from it like the Southwark Cathedral, and move one or two attractions to Day 1. At the pace you describe, you will not remember any of it well because it will go like a blur. In your haste you will give some of the highlights short shrift. For example, the British Museum is worth much more than your allocation of time.

I think you should reconsider what you do on Day 1. Why the hopping on and off? Why not pinpoint some of your Day 6 objectives and squeeze them in on Day 1? Hire a cab to take you there.

If you are going to drop anything, my suggestion is Southwark Cathedral. Not seeing it will not diminish the quality of life. Harrods? Just another big department store, in my opinion, that is full of high priced goods.

My last suggestion this: everybody prioritize and split up the group.
Let various individuals go to the attractions he or she values the highest. Otherwise there is going to be disappointment all around.

If you delete Cambridge, the schedule becomes more manageable. But don't discount the fatigue factor. I remember a few marathon days in London when I was 41 and could run 2 miles with no trouble, but I still got tired getting out of the hotel at 7 AM and not returning to sleep until midnight. We not only went to the daylight sights, but we went to a play or a concert 4 nights out of 7. One other night we were guests for dinner and on another we had a special invite to the boat show.