Two Weeks In the UK/France in July- How to split time?

[Duffy Lover]

Hi! My family will be going to the UK and France in July of 2024 - I have two teens who will be 14 and 17 at the time of travel. I need help trying to figure out how to split our time and how the Olympics factor into these plans. Here are the non-negotiables of our trip, which were set by my husband's time off and the cost of flights which are already purchased.

1. We've booked flights in and out of Heathrow arriving in London on Monday, July 8th, and departing Sunday, July 21.
2. We will split our time between the UK (London, surrounding countryside) and France (Paris, surrounding countryside).
3. We will be taking the Eurostar between the two countries (the cost per option doesn't change much)
4. We will rent cars if/when we head out to the countryside in each country.
5. We have travel/rental car insurance.

Here's where I need help as of right now, keeping in mind the Olympics start in Paris on July 26th. I'm trying to figure out how to chunk our time. Here are my options...

Option 1. Do we hussle over to France the day after we arrive in the UK?
Option 2. Do we start in the UK and end in France, returning the day before our flight back to the States?
Option 3. Do we put France in the middle of the trip, with the plan to start with London and do the UK countryside when we return?

I know this is a very busy tourist season already and I'm wondering how the Olympics might impact the crowds in France. It is what it is in terms of our dates and I'm not looking for input about what to do when we're in each country. Here is a visual representation of my three options:

SU

M

T

W

TH

F

SA

SU

M

T

W

TH

F

SA

SU

7-Jul

8-Jul

9-Jul

10-Jul

11-Jul

12-Jul

13-Jul

14-Jul

15-Jul

16-Jul

17-Jul

18-Jul

19-Jul

20-Jul

21-Jul

Option #

Travel

Arrive

Depart

1

XX

UK

UK/F

F

F

F

F

F

F/UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

XX

2

XX

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK/F

F

F

F

F

F

F/UK

XX

3

XX

UK

UK

UK

UK/F

F

F

F

F

F

F/UK

UK

UK

UK

XX

So what do you think?

 

[zavandor]

What are your priorities?
The UK and France can easily take a few months each to visit fully. Paris or London alone can easily take a couple of weeks each.
I'm like saying: I'll visit America in 2 weeks, one week for Canada and one week for the USA.
You should list what are your priorities for such a short visit and then we can suggest how to organise your trip.

 

[Skippyboo]

Bastille Day is July 14 so I would avoid Paris then.

Second on making a list of must do item. I did a week in London in 2012 with my friend who wanted to go to Scotland so we did a day trip getting the train in early morning from Kings Cross to Waverly Station in Edinburgh. Did a sightseeing bus tour and then got the train back to London.

 

[Woodview]

Fly to London ... spend a few days sightseeing London

Without car ( Note NEW car tax for driving the Inner City area )

Then take Eurostar to France ( Foot Passengers ) Then Rent your car there & return it to the same Pick up place .

Back to London ...... Heathrow And Hire a car there for seeing the

Countryside & Return car to Heathrow in time for flight home

.......................................
As far as I know You are NOT ALLOWED to TAKE

a Rental Car out of the Country ( U.K.)

Or a European car to U.K.

The Car Reg will " show up " as a Rental car

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Also in U.K. you drive on The Left ( Steering wheel on Right )
In France You drive on Right like USA

Most cars in both countries will be " stick Shift " rather than
Automatic drive

Your U.S.A. Car Insurance WILL Not cover your
rental in either country

Hope this is useful to you for your planning.

I live in Ireland ( South ) & we Fly to France & rent a car there

& we also fly to Florida & into Canada












Also

 

[ratherbeshiny]

Potentially unhelpful, but if you are including a day at Disneyland Paris - the Bastille Day celebration is their biggest firework/drone display of the year! Big crowds I'm sure, but a unique experience for a Disney fan.

I would get France out of the way first, the closer to the Olympics the more hectic it will become! Paris first, then countryside.

 

[ILovePixieDust]

I wouldn’t head straight to France after landing straight in the UK. We have done it, it’s exhausting (we fly from Canada). We landed, went to Leeds Castle, stayed one night and drove to Disneyland Paris the next day. I would prefer to stay a few days in the UK, head to France for a few days and then back to the UK. So your option #3! Feels more relaxing to me.

 

[Kate_45]

I would get Paris done as early as possible before the start of the Olympics. Think that means heading straight there I'm afraid.

 

[cattywampus]

We just did this trip in December. We flew in and out of Heathrow. We flew overnight from LAX and spent five nights in London. We then transferred to Versailles for two nights (which turned into one night after cancelled trains due to a Chunnel workers strike!) and finished with five nights in Paris. We chose to train back to London and spend the last night near Heathrow before catching a flight home.

We were gone exactly two weeks. I thought the distribution was good — I would do it again minus the Chunnel strike which resulted in 16 hours in an undersized Uber mini van.

 

[jazzsmith]

Given your travel dates and the start of the Olympics, option 2 might offer a better experience. This way, you'll enjoy the UK before heading to France, likely avoiding the initial wave of Olympic visitors. For more travel tips and perhaps insights on how big events could affect your trip, looking into MyHolidays reviews could be useful. They often have traveler feedback on similar experiences which could help refine your plan.