american trying to plan a trip to London and ?

[bellebud]

Hi all... hope it's ok I popped over here. I need some advice from UK Dissers.

Dh and I are planning on taking dd12 and ds10 to Europe for 2 weeks every year (we're from NY). I'd like to start w/ something 'easy'... we're experienced travelers in the US, but not abroad. My first thought was a week in London and a week in Paris.

OR... the 2 weeks in the UK... maybe 5 days in London, then Wales and Scotland and the English countryside. Does that seem like too much for 2 weeks?

I'm thinking Ireland will be it's own 2 week trip.

Each year, we'll pick somewhere else to go. The main list consists of the UK, Ireland, France (w/ a day or 2 in Disneyland Paris), Germany, Italy... I'd also be open to adding other countries like Switzerland, Austria, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated. Which countries to do together, or alone... time of year that is best to visit... (we homeschool, so we can go anytime). I was thinking either July or early September for England. Really spring, summer or fall for any of countries.

I'm open to any and all ideas, advice, etc. Please help me...

 

[Samaya]

Hi,

If not already searched why not also look at the following web sites where others have asked similar questions such as Fodors.com, Lonelyplanet.com, Frommers.com and Tripadvisor.co.uk

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/2-week-trip-to-uk.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/uk-2-week-itinerary-commentsadvice.cfm
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/GoListDetail-i15990-UK_in_Two_Weeks.html
www.lonelyplanet.com
www.frommers.com

As it's your first trip and as you say you want something 'easy' then short guided tours mixed with doing it yourself might be a better option and less stressful.

And because you're looking to come back year after year then what you might want to think about is the time travelling between cities and countries, try and keep it to a minimum especially on this first trip.

So your first thought of a week in London and a week in Paris is a great choice, within a few hours by Eurostar you will be in another city and country and flying into Paris and out of London or visa versa will mean no wasted time in doubling back.

www.eurostar.com/
www.thetrainline.com
www.eurolines.co.uk/

Enjoy your planning.

 

[Chilly]

A week in London & a week in Paris sounds like a good start.

School holidays here are about the last week of July to the first week of September, so early July might be a good time for you to come.

DLRP is on the outskirts of Paris but can be reached easily by train/eurostar. You can either stay in Paris and travel to Disney or vice versa. DLRP is a lot more expensive than Orlando.

 

[Dimplenose]

Here's another vote for London and Paris.

Remember that the French schools break for the summer earlier than the English ones, often the first week in July. So it might be better to do Paris first then London.

You might also want to avoid the Olympic Games (although I don't think they start until 27th July) as transport may be busier.

 

[Samaya]

Hi again and how's the planning going?

You might well have already thought of doing the following or are already members of frequent flyer programs and their partners but if not here's something else to think about when planning.

As you will be flying to Europe over a number of years you might want to plan on a long term relationship with one airline especially one that fly's non-stop to the major European cites that you want to visit, also check if they code share with other airlines such as AA and BA.

Although usually similar, compare flight prices between the different airlines, check back on a regular basis to see if there are special offers, or sign up for e-mail notifications.

And if you're flying in economy check out the leg room, an extra inch might not at first seem a lot but on a 10 hour flight it will help.

Make comparison on their frequent flyer programs, such as rewards, alliance's with other airlines, partner hotel and car hire companies and then join everyone into the airline programs that tick's the most boxes.

Hopefully the miles you all build up will eventually turn into some useful rewards.

Kind Regards

 

[bellebud]

Hi again and how's the planning going?

You might well have already thought of doing the following or are already members of frequent flyer programs and their partners but if not here's something else to think about when planning.

As you will be flying to Europe over a number of years you might want to plan on a long term relationship with one airline especially one that fly's non-stop to the major European cites that you want to visit, also check if they code share with other airlines such as AA and BA.

Although usually similar, compare flight prices between the different airlines, check back on a regular basis to see if there are special offers, or sign up for e-mail notifications.

And if you're flying in economy check out the leg room, an extra inch might not at first seem a lot but on a 10 hour flight it will help.

Make comparison on their frequent flyer programs, such as rewards, alliance's with other airlines, partner hotel and car hire companies and then join everyone into the airline programs that tick's the most boxes.

Hopefully the miles you all build up will eventually turn into some useful rewards.

Kind Regards

I hadn't thought of joining an airlines rewards program. I do have to research airlines... my dh is nervous enough flying across the 'pond'... a "cheap" airline isn't going to make him feel any better. I'd rather pay a bit more and feel like we're not on a propeller plane, knim? Anyone have any recommendations on airlines?

I'm still on the fence whether to do London/the rest of the UK (minus N Ireland) in the 2 weeks, or London/Paris. I could still do London/Paris, then on another trip take the 2 weeks to do the English countryside, Wales and Scotland. That might be better - in researching, I'm starting to feel like trying to do all that in the remaining week after London is trying to do too much. I'm also feeling overwhelmed trying to plan out a route and research 3 countries (England, Wales and Scotland), and feel like I'll be missing a lot from each place if I try to do it in that time frame.

Thank you all for telling me when the school breaks are. That will definitely help in my planning. I had read somewhere that tours inside Buckingham Palace are only in August and Sept. Is it worth the tour to consider those months just because of this?

So if French school break the first week in July, we could do Paris the last week of June, then London the first week of July. OR we could do both the first 2 weeks of September. Any thoughts on those 2 time frames?

Thanks again for everyone's help - I really need it and appreciate it.

 

[Tinks1984]

Just chipping in about the Buckingham Palace tours....

Myself and my Mum did this a couple of years ago and we loved it! It was wonderful to walk about inside and look at the decor and displays that they'd put up in there. They show all different dresses and uniforms worn by the royals and the state rooms are open for viewing in certain areas too. I'd most certainly recommend doing this tour. You're able to hire head-sets too, so you can walk though and have different things explained as you enter different areas.

Once you exit, you come into the palace gardens which you can take your time in and sit if it's nice weather. They didn't rush us out of there too quickly.

We'd definitely pay to do this again.

Another thing to maybe look into when touring London is trying out one of the bus tours. These are passes you pay for and then they'll tour the main tourist areas around London. You can exit at whichever stop you like, and then re-enter onto the bus later in the day if you wish to move to a different area

 

[Dimplenose]

Buckingham Palace is only open to visitors from the end of July to the end of September.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=30

The display room changes from year to year. This year they displayed Faberge items and Kate's wedding dress.

 

[Advokaat]

We took our kids to the UK last summer for two weeks. Our itinerary was Cambridge, York, Durham, Edinburgh, Keswick, Stow-On-The-Wold, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Bath and the last four days in London.

Two weeks was not enough time for us in the UK. My wife and I had been there before but the kids (14 & 19) hadn't. They fell in love with it immediately and want to go back.

I would respectfully suggest you plan both weeks in the UK to really get the flavor. Avoid chain restaurants like the plague and eat in pubs. Stay in B&B's - get out and talk to the locals in the pubs and at your B&B. The Brits and Scots we ran into were almost univerally wonderful and nice - very helpful and eager to show us their country. Be humble and polite and you will have doors opened to you like you wouldn't believe.

Take guided tours - check in with the Tourists' office in each city for the best tours. We found many free or low-priced ones and had wonderful times.

Walk London and get a feel for the City. Go on Guided Walks (Google "London Guided Walks") for a real sense of history.

We bought BritRail passes and had all of our train travel for two weeks for all four of us for $1,300. We also rode buses and used taxis when needed.

We walked ALOT. Get some really good walking shoes and make sure your luggage has sturdy wheels. We got large, wheeled duffle bags for each of us and they worked really well.

I wish we could go back soon, but it will be a while...

To all the Brits, Scots and Irish who may read this - we were absolutely enchanted with your countries and your history as well as with you as a people. I can only hope that your experiences in our country come anywhere close to the experiences we had in yours.