OK Need you opinion - England Itinerary
 

Spending 10 nights in June with husband and three boys ages 20, 19, &15.

Starting off 5 nights London, then off to Stratford - Bath - Isle of Wight - Brighton
will spend one night in three of the locations after London but have an extra night where do you think is most appropriate to spend two nights. Do you think 5 nights in London is too much, I thought the kids would probably enjoy London the most with the action and people.
the hotels we are thinking about are:

either Intercontinental - Mayfair or one in Hyde Park
Stratford - Welcombe Lodge
Bath - Paradise House
Isle of Wight - need suggestion
Brighton - Need suggestion
What is the best way to get from Gatwick to the hotel in London. can we take the tube with our luggage?
Thanks for much for your help.

5 nights in London seems a bit much to me, but I like rural England best. A friend's son (age 18) just came back and thought 5 nights was too short. Just a word of caution that lots of hopping around England can mean you don't see the country as it really is.

Is this your first trip to England? If so five days shouldn't be to long in London you are not going to see all of it in that time anyway.So it should be okay.

I would re-think the itinerary. Five nights is a very short time for London, especially since the first day will be VERY tiring due to the overnight flight and jet lag.

Your other 5 nights will be very rushed because you are packing and moving every day. The Isle of Wight is a glorious place - but NOT on a rushed trip from Bath and enroute to Brighton.

All of your out-of-London days will be spent traveling from place to place, and not IN any place.

If you are limited to 10 days think about 6 or 7 in London and 3 somewhere in the Cotswolds. These 3 nights would be a base to see the Cotswolds, Stratford and Bath.

OR - 6 or 7 in London, a night in Brighton and 2 in Bath (you could see the New Forest and Salisbury enroute to Bath and then see Bath the next day.

OR - 6 or 7 days in London, One in Salisbury and 2 on the Isle of Wight.

In other words - saty in a place 2 or 3 nights - you will see a lot more using a cebtrally located base instead of moving to a B&B every night.

(Going to the Isle of Wight by car is very expensive - the ferry is cheap for foot travelers but a car costs an arm and a leg. Not a good use of time or money for a 1 day trip.)

thanks for all your advise do you know how I would find out how much the ferry is to the Isle of Wight?

these two web sites will get you started (an easy search on google will turn up all the info you need)

www.redfunnel.co.uk/
www.wightlink.co.uk/

ps: And do remember for 5 adults (well 4 adults and a teenager) you will need a large car or a mini van. Normal UK cars will not hold 5 adults and their luggage. So when looking at the websites factor in that you will most likely be in a Toyota Previa or other large vehicle.

The Metropole in Brighton is quite nice

I spent a delightful first-time-ever week in London in March with teen and mid-twenties daughters and we had no problems whatever traveling between airport and hotel on the tube. We just made sure to take no more luggage than we could easily carry for several blocks.

We had initially planned to venture out into the countryside but found there was so much to see and do in London (including a daytrip to Windsor Castle) that we decided to save the countryside for our next visit--and there WILL be a next visit! :-)