Short stay in London (7 Days)
 

Hi Everyone,

We are a family of 5 (3 kids, ages 8 to 15) planning a short visit to London by mid November for the first time. We will be staying in the Frimley area.

We would like your advise on what are the places to visit that are interesting not only for us but also for the kids.

Is the hop on - hop off city tours being offered ok or they're just too quick? Are we better off doing the sightseeing ourselsves? We really don't have plans to go outside the City (London) but if time permits would love too. Any suggestion on that.

Thank you.

You do realise that Frimley isn't in London, right? It's in a suburban area about 50 minutes driving/30 minutes train outside of central London. You might want to double check on the location. It seems odd that you would stay there unless you had a compelling reason (e.g. family).

Yes you are right. We'll be staying with my sister.

Thanks.

The ho/ho bus tour is fine for orientation if the weather permits sitting up top. From the inside, you really won't get to see all that much. On the other hand, you can see quite a bit from the inside of a the Thames River boat and the trip to Greenwich -- with a visit to the museum -- is a great family activity.

With the range in ages, I would also recommend the Tower of London and the changing of the Horse Guards followed by a walk through Green Park to Buckingham Palace.

Cambridge and Brighton are two of my favorite destinations for day trips. In November, Cambridge might be the better choice. Here again, a ho/ho bus can be a good start.

For a museum day, the Victoria and Albert has a lot to offer all ages and a great gift shop as well. Or perhaps split up and let one parent take the younger children to the Natural History museum next door.

Thanks a lot for the information.

We’re also thinking of booking one of those “day tours”. We're just a bit worried that the these tours are just too quick or would spend just a few moments or just passby the attractions, not enough for the kids to enjoy. We love to take pictures of the attractions with the kids. We really would appreciate feedback from those who had experienced this.

Due to time constraints, we would want to visit those well known attractions like The Tower, Big Ben, Buckingham, St. Paul’s, Westminster, River Thames Cruise and perhaps the London Eye, the London Zoo and the London Aquarium.

Any advise on the easy and economical mode of transport around the city? Should we purchase an Oyster Card or other like it?

Thanks.

>>Should we purchase an Oyster Card or other like it?<<

Yes. NEVER pay cash per trip within London, as fares are priced to discourage the use of cash.

If you're commuting in from Frimley, you'd better take a deep breath and ask about the cost of tickets to and from London - but the train company you'd be using will sell you a London travelcard as part of their ticket deal (perhaps your sister can ask for you at the local station, or you could check online at http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/tickettypes.aspx). Check out weekly season tickets, and the group and family rates too.

One advantage of a travelcard issued by the train company, as opposed to the Oystercard version, is that it can be linked to 2for1 offers for various attractions - see http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/

I've been reading about the city - attractions, tours, transportation, etc,..... it seems so confusing to me since there are too many options. :~)

Thank you for the information.

I goofed, you get to Buckingham Palace from Horse Guards by walking through St. James Park, which has a wonderful pond stocked with swans, pelicans, and all manner of ducks and geese.

I haven't been to the London Zoo in years but remember enjoying a day there with our then 13-year-old. (She now has a 13-year-old of her own.) It might be fun to start a day at the zoo in Camdentown, where the older teens will find lots to buy, then take the canal boat to the zoo stop. The London Aquarium is interesting, but very dark and often so filled with youngsters on school trips you can barely move or hear yourself think.

Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Horse Guards and Buckingham Palace make a good long walk. There are lots of benches in St. James Park for resting. If you start at Buckingham Palace, you will be working your way down hill and could easily end your tour with a ride on the Eye.

Are all these with in the so called Zone 1-6?

Thanks.

Notting Hill is fun to see ( portebello market) just to stroll through. Brunch in this area can be fun.

Regent park-where the zoo is, is fun, but Hyde park is so nice as well, just to stroll through and you can walk to knightsbridge, if you want to see Harrods.

i love the national Potrait gallery, ( you can do Leicester square and then walk to here) , then you can go to Covent gardens- catch some of the live acts on the street of the performers, or watch a show , if you fancy..
there is so much to do in London!

The ho/ho buses, let you stay out as long as you want, so there is no real rush to get back on. Taking the tube is the way to go, as prices are so expensive of cabs. if you do end up taking a cab, take a mini cab, vs the black cab.

oh day trips- Oxford, Bath, Stonhedge.

The London zoo is not that great and it is expensive. Especially compared to all the museums that are free. The great thing about the free museums is that you don't feel bad if you just go in and see one part and leave again. For example the kids might like the Egyptian section at the British museum or the dinosaur section at the Natural History museum. Many of the museums have special kids kits or other features to make them family friendly. Here's a good website with list of free London museums and links to their own websites for more information. http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/londo...e-museums.html

Also be sure you take advantage of free child fares on rail, tube and buses. See this brochure from Transport for London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...s_may_2010.pdf

You can try the Travel for Kids site:
http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/England/london.htm

There will be firework displays all over London on Nov 5-6, and one on Nov 13:
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/london-f...-displays.aspx

I guess we'll do the ho/ho buses as a start and then for the rest of the days just stroll around to cover other areas of interest. We're planning to buy all day travelcards for that.

IMO - If you want to see the Tower of London, I would go first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds.

What manner of kids? Boys, girls, mix? Which are which -- a 15 y.o. boy would be bored stiff at the Portobello Market. But boys would likely enjoy both the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms and they should definitely like the weapon and armor displays in the Tower.

The HO/HO buses are a waste of money. They cost a small fortune and you can grab the three foals, stick them on the top of a double-decker #9 or #15 or #139 and get a tour of the city for way less.

Frimley is more than 30 minutes by train -- the schedules on nationalrail.co.uk indicate anywhere from 70-85 minute rides, with transfers from "Frimley" to London. And that's just to Waterloo Station, from which you will likely have to catch trains to your London destinations. Waterloo is also not on the Circle Line on the Tube nor on the Piccadilly Line -- which are the two most convenient for tourists. That means once you get to Waterloo, you'll likely need another change from your initial Tube train. This is an unholy pain.

Can you afford something closer to the city? If your main purpose is to see London just about every day, you're starting from a bad location and will be spending a lot of extra time and money in travel.

Since you are staying w/ your sister (presumably for free) I'd <u>definitely</u> consider forking over ££ to stay IN London 1 or 2 nights. That way you can get to the Tower at opening time w/o having to leave Frimley at 0:Dark:thirty, and have time to see quite a bit w/o having to commute in every day.

Your sister will be able to arrange some of the great sites semi-convenient to Frimley that are outside of London (Windsor, Winchester/Salisbury/Stonehenge, Avebury, RHS Wisley if you are into gardens, etc).

Folks suggesting day trips to Cambridge and the like - probably don't know where Frimley is (40 miles SW of London)

sorry about the :D smiley. Should read >>0 dark thirty<<

We have 15 & 12 year old boys and an 8 year girl. My idea of using the HO/HO buses is to cover as much ground as possible. Guess we to rethink that strategy.

Thanks for the advise. We do have to stay a few days in Frimley but also looking into booking a hotel in London for a couple of nights. Any recommendation?

W/ 5 of you a hotel will be relatively expensive since you'd likely need 2 rooms. There are apartments that rent for as few as 2 or 3 nights and would usually be a better deal. What sort of budget are you thinking of?

>>>> What sort of budget are you thinking of?

Around US$ 150 to 200 a night.

Thanks

Have a look at London Walks. They have a good variety of walks, good guides, and last ~2 hrs. I did a bunch of their tours last visit.

Regarding the hotels/apartments, in the UK, do they really check the number of guest that stays in a room? In my experience in the US (mostly in Days Inn Hotels in New York, Texas and Florida), while booking, you can request for a single room and indicate that 2 adults and 1 child will occupy it (the rooms will usually have 2 queen size beds). However they won't really check that and you can have any number of people sleep on the room, albeit uncomfortably.

Bugger the hotel -- stay in an apartment. For 120 GBP (about $190-200) per you should be able to find a vacation apartment with a couple of bedrooms within Zone 1. At that price point, it won't be in Westminster or Mayfair, but Bloomsbury and near South Kensington are highly possible.

Google "A place like home" and check out VRBO.com. There are other apartment rental services that have been reviewed on this board.

To "cover as much ground as possible" you take the Tube in London. To see as much of the city by bus as you would like (near Parliament, Trafalgar Square, the Tower, Regent Street, etc.), just take some of the routes I mentioned above. The HO/HO is a tourist trap like the London Dungeon, Madame Tussaud's and the Eye.

Transport: all the main London attractions are in zones 1 and 2. Could I suggest you start to get the youngsters doing some planning for you, using the online train, tube and bus maps:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...itor-guide.pdf

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1106.aspx

MEININGER Hotel London Hyde Park, is this hotel near places of interest and accessible to public transport ?

Thanks.

fnbj: You <u><B>cannot</B></u> 'sneak' more people than the room/hotel allows.

Europe/UK is not the land of 2 queen sized beds and "heck - one more doesn't matter."

A double room <u>sleeps two</u>. A triple room sleeps 3, a quad sleeps 4. And there will be no space to squeeze in more beds/rollaways.

There is no way you can get 5 in a room for 2 or 3. It isn't just space -- it is fire regulations. You will need two rooms in most hotels - a double and a triple. Or a 1 or 2 bedroom flat that accepts 5.

The Menninger does do rooms for 5 - @ £26 a night or approx $210 total.

The location is great -- but it is really more like a dormitory.

janisj - Thanks for the info.

Let's try this again:

A P A R T M E N T

No hostels, no dorms, no sneaking the 8-year old into a double room to sleep in your bed whilst the boys sleep on the floor. Get an apartment and get past the hotel fixation. You won't get a hotel in London for $200 for two rooms that is anything more than a place to sleep. Get an apartment and you can prepare meals at "home" and utilize other cost-saving methods. Beats the heck out of a hostel for $210 per.

BigRuss - its OK, I guess we just have to bite the bullet. I've been looking and found several options costing a total of US$ 700 - 800 for two rooms for two nights. We're just evaluating our options.

Plus we really don't want to prepare meals at "home" during the period. We'll be eating out all the time. We're in vacation. :~)

Thanks

"<i>Plus we really don't want to prepare meals at "home" during the period. We'll be eating out all the time. We're in vacation</i>"

Renting a flat does NOT mean you have to cook. The kitchen is merely a bonus. I'd guess 70-75% of the folks who rent apartments never turn on the stove. Microwave - maybe. Electric kettle - for sure. Toaster - yes. But heavy duty cooking - ONLY if that floats your boat.

But tell us -- would you rather spend $800 for two cramped hotel rooms -- or -- $350 for a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath flat w/ a living room, kitchen, washer dryer, 2 TVs, maybe a computer???

It isn't a matter of COOKING - it is about comfort and saving £££££.

"-- $350 for a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath flat w/ a living room, kitchen, washer dryer, 2 TVs, maybe a computer??"

That of course, but I have to find one first. As I said were evaluating our options.

Do you know of any website where I could search, I've been using expedia.com but they are mostly hotels and dorms.

Thanks,

start w/ vrbo.com and homelidays.com They are two sites where private owners list vacation rentals. Then there are agencies that handle short term rentals -- but vrbo and homelidays are good sites to get your feet wet.

Sites like expedia, orbitz, etc. are next to useless for apartments, cottages, or B&Bs.

Thanks a lot.

Now, if we're just stay within London, except for trips to/from Frimley twice, what's more convenient to use, Oyster or Travel Card? I know TravelCard can be link with 2for1 promos.

"<i>what's more convenient to use, Oyster or Travel Card?</i>"

Essentially no difference.

An Oyster is just a plastic card on which you load transport money. A travel card is one type of fare structure/amount of money you can load on the Oyster.

A <u>paper</u> version of the travel card is not loaded on Oysters, but is used interchangeably. It is the paper travel cards that get you 2 for 1's. BUT - you may not need paper travel cards at all, <u>depending on how you work out your Frimley stays</u>. Your R-T train tickets to/from Frimley could qualify for the 2 for 1's. If so, you could use Oysters while in London.

Thanks to everyone.

I've looking for flats, although there are so many choices, most of them requires minimum of 3 of more nights stay. Anyway we're still trying to sort things out with regards to the schedule.

By the way, is the Hammersmith & Fulham location convenient enough? What about the Kensington area? Which area with in/near London is ideal?

Thanks,



Thanks.

South Kens is better than Kensington because there are more museums nearby and it's on the Piccadilly and the Circle/District lines that take you to many tourist places [Piccadilly goes to Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, the Brit Museum; the Circle/District lines go to the Tower, Westminster, the Monument, the Tate Britain, others].

Hammersmith & Fulham is a little further out than South Kensington.