Windsor castle and Hampton Court in the same day?
 

Hi,

I know this sounds crazy and impossible. Can I do Winsor castle and Hampton in the same day? If impossible, which one is better for London first timer?

Looks like Hampton can offer more to see. BTW, my traveling date is either 07/19 or 20.

Thanks!

This has been thoroughly discussed. Enter locals in search box.

I would advise against doing both in one day. We spent the whole day at Hampton Court - arrived when it opened and left as they locked the gate. It's a wonderful place, as is Windsor, but I enjoyed Hampton Court more - just MHO. When we visited Windsor it was about a half day's activity.

One approach is to combine Hampton Court with an early morning arrival into Heathrow. Not that you can save distance, but you can use the same 6 zone travelcard to go Heathrow->London (after 9:30) to round trip back to Hampton Court. Be sure to get the audioguide and stay as long as they will let you. The gardens are terrific, and the inside tours very extensive.

I think that you could spend a few days in Hampton Court!

Definitely both these sites warrant a full day each - if you don't have time to devote a full day to each, then pick one and save the other for next time. You will enjoy your visit so much more than if you are breaking your neck trying to get from one to the other on the same day and barely getting a glimpse of either.

As for which to pick, well they both have their unique charms so that will be a tough decision - I suggest you research these two places on the internet & in guidebooks and see which one appeals the most. Or, if all else fails, flip a coin. You can find officaail info on them via the Royal Famliy's website links at - http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page557.asp and http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/hampton_home.asp .

Enjoy!

I spent a whole day at Hampton Court and still didn't see everything I wanted to see. The tours led by costumed guides were terrific. And don't forget to do the selfguided tours with the provided CD player. Then there are the gardens. Take the boat there and the train back and you've created a really fun day.

on the contrary, we saw both Windsor Castle and Hampton Court plus Runnymeade and Eton...with a stop for lunch with a private tour guide a few years ago. This was our first trip to London with our children and it was not terribly rushed. We were picked up at our hotel at 9am and returned by 6pm. I guess it all depends on how long you want to linger at each location.

There are quite a few tours that have the Hampton Court/Windsor Castle combination including lunch. We took this tour and they had the lunch on this boat that you take to reach Windsor. Boat was small and lunch was not memorable-just a barbecue.

It's neither crazy nor impossible.

And it's downright stupid to say you "must" allocate either place an hour, a day or a week.

The tricky bit is getting between them. There are gazillions of organised tours that do this. But there's no direct public transport if you - sensibly - want to organise all this yourself.

Your easiest way is the train back towards London, changing at Clapham Junction, but that takes about 100 minutes. It's quicker to get the 216 bus between H Court and Staines, and the train between Staines and Eton+Windsor. Or you can get a bus to Heathrow central bus station and change.

It's actually an exceptionally pleasant walk, but walking's not really fesasible in your timescale.

If you are set on seeing both places in one day, there is a taxi firm based at Hampton Court station called 'Headway'- they offer a price of £25 from HC to Windsor. This should save you valuable time if you want to see both, rather than negotiating the trains between the two.

Thanks to all!

Looks like taxi is the best way between Windsor and Hampton Court. Since it's just 15 miles, I think I might just take taxi. How much is the taxi fare on meter? How long does it take?

Regards,

Hi jz

I afraid I can't help you with a taxi from Windsor, I am not sure if any firms there offer set prices. Taking a metered taxi will be very expensive... It may be only 15 miles but traffic is bad and it could take an hour.