Need help UK diser's

[Tinkerbelle32]

Hello Uk diser's! My family and I will be coming to London for the first time March 16th-23rd. I was hoping to get some good advice on areas to stay, things to do, etc. It will be hubby, myself and two daughters aged 7 and 9. We will be flying into Heathrow and will not be renting a car this time in Europe. What area would be central to the major tourist sites. Not wanting to spend a fortune on hotel rooms. What about some affordable food. Anything we should do or should not do? Where do we buy our transportation cards, ie subway, etc.? We were able to find some super cheap tickets($223) so finally getting to see London is becoming a reality. Any help and or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jen

 

[TotallyAngelic]

HI
We like to stay in the Covent Garden area when we visit London. It is fairly central, walking distance from the River Thames and the West End.
One of the best ways to see the tourist sites is to take an open top bus tour, you generally get a 24 hour ticket (family tickets available) and this includes a river tour on the Thames. The river trip is great and gives a different view of the city. You can get on and off the bus at any point along the route and they also have different routes and you can do them all. There is also a commentary on the bus, and on the river boat.
Places to visit: museums - the National History Museum is probably the best one for kids - but there is also the Science Museum, The Victoria and Albert museum and the British Museum. The museums are free admission. If you like gory history there is the London Dungeon.
The Tower of London and the London Eye are worth a visit.
Try and take in a West End show - there are lots of musicals which are suitable for kids (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Lion King, Mary Poppins, Oliver, etc etc). If you go to Leicester Square there are lots of ticket offices which often sell discounted tickets on the day of the show.
You can get travel passes on the tube (subway) for however many days you are there - you purchase these in the tube stations.
Hope this helps ......and hope you have a great time in London.

Have a look at this website: www.visitlondon.com

 

[~Piglet~]

Just to agree with TotallyAngelic; we always stay around Covent Garden / Bloomsbury area. Very central for walking - Trafalgar Square etc 5 minute walk away, and excellent for West End shows.

London Zoo is another place to consider visiting with children, and Madame Tussauds

On our last visit (March) we went to the London Aquarium and unless it has been refurbished recently? I wouldn't recommend it. It was very outdated, with a lot of the tanks glass scratched so you couldn't see the fish very well. We were expecting something much better being in the Capital, but it was disappointing.

 

[Dimplenose]

Whilst the museums and zoo are very good, it would be nice to do things that are uniqie to London.

Here are some web sites
www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
www.westminster-abbey.org
www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
www.tower-of-london.com
www.thedungeons.com
www.stpauls.co.uk
www.visit-london-eye.com
www.ltmuseum.co.uk
www.fortnumandmason.com

A lot of the museums have audio tours or quiz sheets designed for families - ask at the info desks at each place. (There may be a charge for these).

My 14 year old daughter said that the London Dungeon was quite scary and some of her class mates were in tears during a school visit.

I agree the London Aquarium isn't that good (but then I don't enjoy aquariums in general).

Madame Tussauds is very good but seriously over priced. You could spend longer in the queue than in the attraction.

The Tower of London is wonderful. Your entry ticket includes a guided tour with a Beefeater. The food options are very expensive and not to my kids taste. You'd be better off eating before or after your visit.

Buckingham palace - you can't go inside except in the summer (when the Queen is on her hols) but you can see the changing of the guard every other morning at about 11am. Get there early for a good view.

There are lots of amazing churches, most charge an entrance fee for the upkeep of the buildings. St Paul's Cathedral is impressive as is Westminster Abbey, but there are many other smaller churches. (The Methodist Central Hall at Westminster has a good tea room - according to my mum).

If you want shopping Harrods and Fortnum&Masons are world famous, Oxford Street is good for department stores and just round the corner in Regent Street is Hamleys - a huge toy shop (great to look inside but about 25% dearer than elsewhere). Covent Garden is an experience with shops, market stalls, cafes and street entertainment.

Be prepared to wrap up warm it's usually quite chilly in March although we have been known to have a heatwave at that time of year too.

Have a fun trip.

 

[Edie]

Another vote for the Covent Garden area. We tend to stay at the Strand Palace which is on the Strand (surprise, surprise ) and within 5 minutes walk of Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. Leicester Square is about 15 minutes walk away and so is Picadilly Circus. The hotel is reasonably inexpensive for London and is of a good standard. I know lots of American folks stay there. They have a website here http://www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/

As everyone has said you'll have plenty to do. One of my favourites is the Natural History Museum which is great for kids (and big kids) particularly if you like dinosaurs of the large and snarling variety.

I also love the British Musuem which has some really great stuff like the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. The only problem with the museum is that it is enormous.

The Tate Modern gallery is in a building that used to be power station and it's worth a trip just to see the Turbine Hall which is a huge space. The gallery is full of strange, odd, freaky but great stuff (think Salvadore Dali, Rothko and Bacon ).

You might also like the Cabinet War rooms and Churchill Museum which is very interesting for adults but you might have to bribe the kiddie winks with a promise of a trip to Hamleys Toy Store.

If you want to see a show you can't beat the Lion King and the theatre is right next door to the Strand Palace (I think of everything!!). If you do want to see the Lion King try to get aisle seats in the stalls and sit your two daughters next to the aisle. When the show starts and Rafiki starts singing you need to look behind you - it makes me cry every time

One tip is to avoid Oxford Street - it is very busy and since it is a big shopping street it does attract pickpockets. People can also be quite impatient which is not fun for little ones . If you want to shop, Regent Street, Covent Garden and Kensington High Street are all much nicer although a little more expensive. Covent Garden is mostly pedestrian so no cars and there is usually lots of street entertainment (singers, magicians and the like).

Food ranges from the inexpensive (McDonalds) to the hugely expensive (anything run by Gordon Ramsey) but there is plenty in between. You will tend to find food more expensive than home however. What we tend to do is eat a large breakfast then have lunch out and a lighter dinner (food is generally more expensive in the evenings when the restaurants want to catch the theatre goers). There are sandwich shops and coffee bars everywhere you can always get something light and relatively inexpensive. There is also a Rainforest Cafe near Picadilly Circus which always reminds me of WDW.

You'll have a great time I'm sure.

 

[Aardvarks]

You can also WALK under the Thames and go to where time starts

The Royal Observatory at Greenwich and London Planetarium. In a Nice Park, with the Royal Maritime Museum next door. Some nice cafes around in Greenwich to take a coffee and cake or.....a kebab!!

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Thans for all of your quick replies guys! You've given me several good tips to help me get the planning started. Jenn

 

[TracyK]

You've had some great info already. A website I really recommend is www.londontown.com
I would also recommend trying to get tickets for the ceremony of the keys at the Tower of London http://www.4london.info/londontowerceremonyofthekeys.htm we really enjoyed this event.
Have fun, London is a wonderful city.

Tracy

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Thanks Tracy! I'll look into it. Jenn

 

[Vana]

As a Londoner myself I would suggest strongly that you all apply for an Oyster Card when you get to London, there is a small administration cost but this gives you good discounted prices on buses and tubes.

You load these cards with cash and you pay the discounted fares by having one, should you use the buses more than 3 times a day then you get further reductions it costs with an Oyster card 90p on a single journey or £2 cash fare. should you use the tube a lot you get further discounts also.

As the others have said Covent Gardens is lovely but can be pricey, I highly recommend London Zoo for the kids and the museums, however you may wish to look into spending a day or two in Windsor. This is not far from London and you can explore the castle, the towns and there is a Legoland nearby though I cannot judge that never been.

 

[Aardvarks]

I can highly recommend Legoland.

When my Boys were small we took them there a lot. Possibly the only place that you will find in the UK with the same quality and level of service as Disney.

I would say that the upper age of enjoyment is probably 12/13 yo for a child and no limit for a parent. Al the usual things like lockers, changing rooms, guest services are avialable. The restrooms were also very clean. We havent been for about 6 years.

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Thanks guys! We are now considering spending a few days in Rome. Is Ryanair a good airline to use? How long is the flight. Your help is really appreciated? Jenn

 

[Clare D]

Ryanair is your typical budget airline to be honest - no frills that is for sure. If you have the option BMI baby and Easyjet are better.
If you are flying from Heathrow you are only looking at a flight time of about 1and a half - 2 hours. I have never been so hopefully somebody who has will be able to give you some info though.

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

O.K. so I can get the tickets now and the fare is 0 pounds but we only pay the tax. Round trip from London would be 168 pounds for all 4 of us. Should I book now? Since the fare is only 0 pounds, won't the taxes always be the same? EasyJet was almost double the cost. I haven't checked BMI yet. Jenn

P.S. I meant Venice not Rome. Sorry!

 

[Clare D]

I have never seen a flight that has cost nothing to be honest. Including the taxes the price you have mentioned does seem really competitive I must say.
I would just check the small print but if they are cosing you nothing bar the taxes and you have checked Easyjet you will probably find BMI baby won't be cheaper so go for it.
Not sure how the $ compares to the Euro at the minute but the £ is really weak against the Euro so we Brits don't get much for our money. Keep your eye on the rate and buy when the rate is good. You may find Venice quite expensive but beautiful.

 

[hildasmuriel]

Just wanted to chime in - Legoland often doesn't open until late March.

 

[Dimplenose]

If you are flying with a budget airline check which airport you are leaving from. Some of the airports which are called "London" are quite a long way from what I'd consider to be London.

 

[Aardvarks]

With budget airlines, please check the luggage policy.

Ryanair was considering charging for hold luggage.

You have little in the way of customer service, turn up just 2 mins late for a flight and you have to buy a ticket on the next flight with some carriers.

As another poster added, the descriptions of the cities that they fly to and from stretches the city boundaries just a little. You could be landing 60 miles from where you want to be.

For me the best budget airlines are Jet2 and BMI baby.

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Just checked and the flight is out of London Stansted(Hope I spelled that correctly). What is the easiest and most affordable way of getting from Heathrow to Stansted? How long would this take? Sorry for so many questions, but I'm not having much luck finding information online. I check BMI and it was almost twice as much as Ryanair. If I understand correctly Easyjet charges for luggage, can you still take a carryon free of charge? I'm having trouble trying to find this information online. Thanks, Jenn

 

[Dimplenose]

Stansted is a long way from London. I had a look on the internet and this is all I could find. Looks like you need to allow 2 hours.

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow_stansted_bus_transfer.htm