Windsor and Hampton court palace
 

Since they are not too far from each other can we do both in the same day? If so, Is there any reason not to do them on a Saturday?

I would not try to do them on the same day.

I vote for Hampton Court - fantastic palace as well as beautiful gardens.

Should we take the boat from Westminster? Or is it long?

We drove by Windsor Castle but did not visit. Town was very crowded at the time and difficult to find parking. We did, however, visit Hampton Court and spent nearly a full day there. It was lovely, the tour was very interesting and there was much to see. I don't think it would be possible to see both sites in one day.

Should we take the boat from Westminster to Hampton court paace?

It takes quite a long while on the boat to Hampton Court, and it is better if you get there earlier in the day. If you wanted to take a boat, I would take the train to Richmond and then the boat to Hampton Court. Or take the boat back to London.

You can also take a boat from Kingston to hampton court - or if you wish after doing the palace if you want a short sweet stroll along the Thames back towards London walk the few miles along the Thames to Kingston-on-Thames, a sweet regional shopping town with a nice pedestrian center and hop the train back to there to Waterloo (often changing to The Tube at Wimbledon or Richmond is best for many venues in London rather than going straight on to Waterloo Station.

The boat to Hampton Court takes about 3 hours. I took the boat down and the train back.

http://www.wpsa.co.uk/timetable_new.html

http://goo.gl/eL38K

One reason in favour of Windsor IMO would be that Eton, smack across the river from windsor Castle is a gret component of any Windsor visit - walk thru the famous college quads, stop by an ancient pub - see the playing fields where wars were won, etc.

alane - I suggested this on your previous thread, and my advice has not changed:

get the train to Hampton court, then if you have time, get the boat back. if, OTOH, you spend most of the day there, get the train back. you might like to have a meal down by the river before you head back, or to stop off in Kingston.

i can't see how you could see H/court and Windsor in one day, unless you short-change both of them.

No you cannot really do both in the same day. It will take up too much time getting to each place and then back to London. Both are large palaces with much to see inside and out. Windsor town is small, and if you have the energy after touring the castle and grounds you can walk over to Eton. The train to London(with a change at Slough on the same platform) is pretty quick in either direction. You can get a round trip ticket, the prices go down if its off peak.

Take the train from London
The boat from London to Hampton Court takes at 3 hours-3.5 hours, and only runs a few times a day. This will really cut into your visit.

It really makes no sense at all to take a boat <i>TO</i> HCP. It takes hours (exactly how many hours is uncertain since the river is tidal). You wouldn't get to HCP by boat until after 1PM. So you take the train to the Palace and then IF the weather is nice can take the boat back into town.

"<i>Since they are not too far from each other can we do both in the same day?</i>"

They really aren't very near each other. By road it is over 15 miles and more than an hour by bus.

16 miles would take just over half an hour - 40mins by taxi from HCP to Windsor. The timetable for the boats to/from London to HCP estimate the journey time based on the tides at the time of year.

<i>It really makes no sense at all to take a boat TO HCP</i>

I agree that most people would prefer it the other way around, but I took a boat there and the train back and was fine with it. Different strokes for different folks.