Canadian in London

[SandraC]

Hello! My family is looking forward to planning a trip to London from Toronto. I have a few questions.

(1) Driving: We would love to travel all over the UK. Do you recommend renting a car?

(2) Would you recommend Youth Hostel?

(3) I have seen websites with rooms in castle to rent. Would you recommend that?

Thank you so much for your time! S

 

[rhysd2]

1. depends how confident a driver you are. our roads can be scary lol.

2. depends on your budget

3. depends on the castle and the price be more specific

sorry to be a pain and not offer much real advice but if you give us some more info we can help you out a bit better

 

[SandraC]

Hi ~ I imagine my family driving all over the countryside of England. It looks so beautiful!

I have been to websites about hostels and castles and they both look great. I would like to stay in a hostel for the experience. Are most hostels safe and clean. It's hit and miss here in Toronto. The castles are incredible. We don't have anything close to them in Canada. Thanks, S

 

[vernon]

If your plans are to travel ALL over the UK, then a car is going to be the easiest method. But there are exceptions to that rule and therefore it may be better to plan exactly when you will have a car, and when you will not. London is a MAJOR tourist attraction and I'm certain you'd want to spend a decent amount of time in and around London, it's also an absolute PIG of a place to drive around. Indeed it is FAR easier and cheaper to use the tube/subway (underground train system) in London to get around. depending on how long you're coming for I would look to spend at least 5 days in London itself, maybe more if you wanted to do day trips to surrounding attractions ( Hampton Court Palace for example). I would do this either at the beginning or the end of your vacation as you're most likely to fly in/out of one of the London terminals. If you were planning to visit the Republic of Ireland, I believe their are restrictions on taking hire cars into the Republic, you'd have to check with the rental companies, but you may be better to fly into Dublin and rent a car fromt here.

All the Youth hostels I've stayed in ( not very many) were pretty basic. Certainly clean enough and I've always felt safe in them, but definately basic. This was a few years ago ( more than I'd care to count) so they may be better now, but IMHO the best value accomodation is often found in the B+B (Bed and Breakfast) houses around the country. This is particularly the case outside of the cities in areas of natural beauty like the Lake District. There are a lot of former stately homes and castles that have been turned into hotels, usually they are a little pricey. The best value are if you can get a good distance away from London. I think Yorkshire and Scotland probably offer the best value.
If you want some beutiful scenery this looks a stunning place to stay http://www.gilpinlodge.com/the-hotel.htm . Here's a link to some more general information on the Lake District. http://www.cumbria-the-lake-district.co.uk/ Another pretty area is the Peak District here's a link to info on there http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/

Here's a link to a similar topic, it includes a number of links to castles and stately home hotels http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=638996&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

 

[Hilary]

Hi there

1. I can't add anything to the driving answer, other than to totally agree that it's best avoided in the centre of our major cities if you're unfamiliar with the territory (and even if you are familiar ).

If you do have a car, most of our large towns (but not the big cities because they are too big) have Park + Ride schemes (some better than others) which consist of a large, out of town car park with a bus service into the city. Your parking charge includes use of the bus.

2. Youth Hostels have a very safe reputation but, as Vernon says, are very basic - that's how they keep the cost down. However, they can be fantastic value and can be found in some stunning locations. You'd really need to do your research to check individual hostel facilities as they are all different.

If you're planning a summer trip, another inexpensive option is to rent rooms in our university student accommodations when the students have all disappeared for the summer break (usually sometime in June to late September). These can also put you in great city locations, but you'd need to check out exact facilities and locations on offer.

3.

IMHO the best value accomodation is often found in the B+B (Bed and Breakfast) houses

Just wanted to point out that UK B&Bs aren't necessarily the same as US / Canadian B&Bs. Some are very luxurious, but some can be less appealing. From what I've seen of the US / Canadian ones, they'd be like the better ones in the UK.

Good luck with your planning!