luvtotravel

Will be in London 7 days this spring. I've been there before, but I know things change. I'm staying at the London Marriott Hotel Kensington, closest tube is Earl's Court. My plan is to take the tube from Heathrow. I'm assuming I can purchase a round-trip tube ticket at Heathrow -- is that correct? I travel light, especially for only a week, so I don't need door-to-door transportation. Earl's Court is on the Piccadilly Line.

In London, I guess I want a 7-day Travel Card, zones 1-2? Will that cover buses as well?

I hope to take one or two day trips outside the city by train -- maybe Bath or Brighton. Haven't decided yet, but will be looking carefully at www.walks.com.

Would appreciate any comments about transportation modes to help me along.

latedaytraveler

Hi LUVTOTRAVEL,

Seven days is a nice, healthy chunk of time to spend in London - but most people agree that you can never see/do all that you plan there. Last June I spent ten days staying near Trafalgar Square (my 5th visit). The weather happened to be fabulous.

My trip report - warning long! No shopping or fine dining, but many different destinations. Hope you write a report and share your experiences in intriguing, inexhaustible London town.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-business-.cfm

justineparis

I have been both to Bath and Brighton.. at this time of year I would choose Bath.. Brightons main attraction is the lovely boardwalk along the beach.. with little shellfish stands etc to purchase snacks from... and of course the pier. I went in summer , but sorry , at this time of year it would be cooler ( even on a sunny day) and a good chance of a shower still.

I have been to Bath twice. One time sunny.. one time in cool March rain.. and at least then there was enough to do inside that the rain didn't deter me from enjoying my visit. I of course visited the Baths( the museum there was surprisingly interesting ) and the Clothing and Costume Museum.. as well as the church ... that and a warm up tea shop visit.

flanneruk

To answer your question

The Travelcard you're proposing to buy will cover buses. If "I" means just "I", don't bother trying to find a better option. If "I" refers to two of you, buy the Travelcard from a National Rail ticket office and it'll get you 2 for 1 deals at many attractions - including a substantial proportion of most people's visiting plans. See http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ for details

The only sensible way to get to Brighton (or almost any other daytrip destination apart from Oxford) is by train (nationalrail.co.uk). Bath has a National Express bus service, which is a lot cheaper, but from central London so slow as to make a same-day trip virtually impossible.

Simply go to the National Rail site, look at dummy bookings for a week or so ahead, playing with alternative departure and return times. In most cases, there's little point prebooking (and even when there is, the potential saving for places 50 miles or so away is trivial compared to, the lack of flexibility prebooking imposes. Bath, almost uniquely, is far enough away for prebooking to offer potentially significant savings. For even greater savings for some destinations (including Bath), look at the megabus booking erngine (http://uk.megabus.com/).

But before using it (especially for Bath), understand its restrictions and compare travel times with the routes the National Rail site suggests by default.

janisj

You only mention "I" so can we assume you are traveling solo?

If so what you want to do is buy a zone 1-2 seven day travel card plus extra pay as you go £ to cover your round trip in from the airport - all loaded on an Oyster card. One warning - they are limiting access to the ticket windows and they are trying to force you to use the ticket machines. The machines are easy but after a long flight/jet lag a little fiddly. The window is still there, but staff try to divert you back to the bank of machines. If the machines seem daunting, just tell them you have a dumb American credit card that won't work in them and you need to use the ticket agent.

(Your credit card would work though)

. . . All this is if you are traveling alone. If not, there would be different advice based on paper travel cards, etc. But that would really confuse things - so we won't go into that unless you DO have a traveling companion . . .

janisj

I was posting the same time as flanner . . .

luvtotravel

latedaytraveler, I just spent my evening reading your trip report. Yes, it is long, but completely worth reading. I wish I had your energy as I know I won't be able to do as much as you did.

flanneruk, thank you for the useful information. I will be traveling solo for the week. You've given me more research.

This is my fifth visit to London since 1992 and it just amazes me how much I haven't done yet. I booked this trip spur-of-the-moment because I have an airline credit that will expire soon. I never tire of London. I just wish it wasn't so far from California -- such a long trip in those tiny coach seats.