UK Trip in June

[vsimeone]

I had this posted on the budget board and someone pointed me in this direction.

We are headed to the UK in June for the International Rotary Convention. DH is the president elect of our local club and the organization is paying for he and I to go. Since it is a once in a lifetime (although I really hope it's NOT!) opportunity to go to Europe, we are paying to take the kids (will be 17 and 21 on the trip) and to stay a couple extra days to get to London.

The convention is in Birmingham and we will be staying at the 71 Rooms and Silk Suites in Coventry. My DD plays college soccer so she should love that the hotel is inside of the Coventry FC arena! Any opinions on this hotel?

What is the best/cheapest/safest way to get from Birmingham to London? Any recommendations for reasonable but nice/safe hotels there? We're leaning toward the London Marriott Park Lane as we have some Marriott points that will help offset the cost. My DH wants to rent a car. He can't drive half the time here in the US I REALLY don't want to rent a car. We're thinking train or coach?

Besides Buckingham Palace, Parliment, Big Ben and the Eye, what are must sees if we only have about 1 1/2 days?

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

[madmumof2]

Birmingham to London I would say train. I would not recommend trying to drive in London! lol There's the London Zoo too. I don't really know London though. Lots of shopping!

 

[Jets fan]

Here's some good links for you to look at:

Good website to visit
http://www.visitlondon.com/

Bus Tour as these are fun - you can hop on and off as well
http://www.theoriginaltour.com/
http://www.bigbus.co.uk/

Shop and look around:
Covent Garden - Lovely place shopping and history all in one. Home of the Royal Opera House
http://www.coventgardenlife.com/
http://www.covent-garden.co.uk/

Knightsbridge
Home of the most famous department store in the world - Harrods. From Knightsbridge you can walk to the Natural History Museum

For theatre:
http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/

For dinner shows
http://www.lastminute.com/site/enter...tre_dinnershow

Hope you have a brilliant hols
Tina

 

[goofy4tink]

Mind if I tag along on this thread??? I'm heading to London next month. A first for my 15 y/o dd and myself. We are traveling with another mom and her 15 y/o, who have been before but not without her dh.
We are staying at the London County Hall Premier Inn, or something like that..over across from the Eye. Anyway.....here's my question.
Can you guys give me some idea of what it may cost to eat in London? We aren't planning on any big, formal type meals. More like grabbing stuff on the run, so to speak. We are planning on doing some theater..same day tickets, that sort of thing.
Also going to try and hit the bigger 'must see's', but don't want to spend a fortune. We are taking the tube from Heathrow, don't have a ton of luggage (just one piece of checked luggage per couple).

My dd doesn't eat much that isn't peanut butter, bagels, burgers, grilled cheese....one reason we aren't doing nicer restaurants. So, hopeing to keep the budget down. The exchange rate is not in our favor!!

Any budeting hints from you Brits?? Thanks a ton for any help at all.

 

[tennisfan]

Prices for meals vary in London but there are McDonald's, Pizza Huts & a few individual bars/restaurants which are pretty reasonable. We also have Subways etc too.

If you want cheap theater tickets then go to the half price ticket place in Leicester Square, or try the theatre for the show you want to see & see if they have any returns.

All the museums are free entry.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, it looks like dd won't starve. Thanks for the info. Good to know about the theater tickets. Thanks again. Can't wait to get there!!!

 

[vsimeone]

Thank you for all your ideas and tips! I will have to spend the next several days/weeks exploring these websites! I'm excited but nervous all at the same time!

If you think of anything else to share - please do! Thanks again!

 

[emily1982]

I live not to far from Birmingham, so if your looking for some local places to visit there are quite a few. Within an hours drive there is Stratford upon Avon, Cadburys world etc

I really wouldn't recommend driving, even i don't drive into Birmingham. There are loads of train stations which can take you around the country and directly to London too.

 

[vsimeone]

I live not to far from Birmingham, so if your looking for some local places to visit there are quite a few. Within an hours drive there is Stratford upon Avon, Cadburys world etc

I really wouldn't recommend driving, even i don't drive into Birmingham. There are loads of train stations which can take you around the country and directly to London too.

Thanks Emily!

We'll be traveling with our two kids who will be 17 and 21 on this trip. It looks like there will be a couple times duing the convention when they will have "free" time. Can they get to Cadbury's World on their own? Any other recommendations for something they'd like to do by themselves? Thanks for all the help!

 

[tazz23]

Great advice so far. I would just add to book your train tickets in advance if you know what date you going from Birmingham to London. Have a look at www.virgintrains.co.uk. Train prices can be 75% cheaper if booked in advance!

Also here is a link to a website that has discount vouchers (2 for 1, 50% off etc) for the major restaurant chains in the UK to save a bit of money. The thread is updated weekly and you can type the restaurant name into google to see the type of food they serve!

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-restaurant-deals

Have a great time!

 

[tazz23]

oh and Cadburys world should be easy to get to from Birmingham by train, I think its a ten minutes walk from 'Bournville' station, all signposted. Also if you go by train the tickets are cheaper

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/news-archive/great-day-out-visit-cadbury-world/

Birmingham has a great shopping mall 'The Bull ring' which may be worth a visit, it means you can spend more time site seeing in london!

 

[UKDEB]

Driving into London is a major PITA. Conversely, rail links between Coventry and London (via Birmingham) are superb, so I really wouldn't be inclined to hire a car. On top of that, you'd have to pay the controversial congestion charge once you hit the city limits. London is a big city, so you'd have to find somewhere to park the car (at huge expense) and get the tube to make your way around, so you may as well arrive by train.

 

[oceanscape]

The exchange rate is not in our favor!!

It's pretty damn good at the moment!

 

[Boss Hogg]

Besides Buckingham Palace, Parliment, Big Ben and the Eye, what are must sees if we only have about 1 1/2 days?

There are a lot of things to see in London, but, it depends what floats your boat. There are some fantastic museums and art galleries for starters and all the historic places - Buckingham Palace, Tower of London & St Paul's should get you started. Suffice to say you won't run out of things to look at

Come back after the trip and let us know how you found it won't you?

 

[MaddieB]

If your 17 or 21 year olds are students it's definitely worth taking any student ID cards with you to get discounts in shops, restaurants and attractions. Im a student myself and go to university on the outskirts of Coventry. Although there's not much touristy stuff in the city itself there is the usual shopping area, cinema, ice skating rink etc. Its so easy to get the train to Birmingham if you want to go to the Bull Ring shopping centre too which has more shops. And Warwick Castle is nearby as well but im not sure how easy it is to get to by train.

In London, the west end shows usually have theatre tickets for around £20-30 if you buy your tickets directly from the actual theatre box office on the day of the show and they keep the front few rows available for this. With a student ID card you can also get even cheaper tickets for most shows if you buy your tickets an hour before the performance. (I saw Grease in December for £19.50!)