8 days in London, Bath and Cotswold, how may nights each?

We spent 7 days in London this past October and saw most of the best sights. We stayed at the Aster House which I would highly recommend. With four days you could hit many of the major sites but not nearly all of them. We used Google maps to plan out what sites we wanted to see. This works well because you can see exactly what buses and tube trains you need to take and how far apart the sites are that you want to see. Saves time, money and see more. we had every day planned out and new what tube or bus we needed to ride. London's transportation system beats anything in the USA. We printed out all of the information we needed for travel in the city and new where every station and bus stop was. Google maps were excellent. Look for the London Pass with transportation ticket. It can save you lots of USA dollars. Check the London Pass website for info. I believe it is London Pass.com. several differ deal combinations. It saved us almost $200 US on a 7 day pass. Aster House gives you deals for booking using Rick Steves name, a discount if you pay in cash and I believe we received a discount since we stayed 4 or more nights. It added up to saving about $90 a night on a room that was very clean, comfortable and quiet. They are very helpful and the morning meal is excellent and in a very pleasant setting. what Rick says in his evaluation of the Aster House is right on the mar. And it is only a 3 minute walk to the tube and 2 minutes the bus stop. can't say enough about the place. They even give you a cell phone to use while touring. We are going back in October 2014 as long as they have rooms available. Make reservations early.

After thinking about it I think we are going to save the Cotswold's for another trip and do 3 nights (2 full days) in Bath and 5 nights (4 full days) in London, with a day trip to Windsor.

I can only say from my perspective that one full day in Bath was enough for me.

I agree with above, thought one day in Bath was just fine. We went to the baths, to the abbey and took a walking tour that leaves from the baths, I think it was an hour and maybe free but can't remember. We really enjoyed it. If you have a car, highly suggest the nearby town of Wells, we loved it and the cathedral. I think it was only maybe half hour away. It has a lovely street to the left of the cathedral that I think is one of the oldest Inhabited residential streets in England. Called Vicars Close. It was worth it. As we left that evening we saw many people going into the cathedral, we thought it was a night service, found out it was choir practice as we asked people going in,they invited us in as their guests and we sat right up at the altar. Magical.

One day and night in Bath is enough. London has so much to see and do.

I agree with the other posts. We have been to London five times. We have stayed anywhere from 7 days to two weeks each. We can't wait to go back. There is so much to do and see in London. You need not leave. We have been to Bath, twice. It isn't anything fantabulous anyway. As Winston Churchill was quoted as saying "If you are tired of London, you are tired of life."

It was not Winston Churchill who said that when a man is tired of London he is tired of life, it was Dr Samuel Johnson and he said it in the eighteenth century. Some may think it still true.

You can do Bath as a day trip from London. If you haven't been to London before would really advise that you stay the 8 nights in London.

Look at the London Walks website - walks.com - they do some terrific day trips. I've not done their Bath day trip so can't comment on that one in particular. They also do many 2 hour walks every day within London.

Well, I will disagree with others on Bath. I stayed for 3 nights in September and really wished I had had one more night. I did use one full day for a Mad Max tour to Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock and Castle Combe. Then I had another full day plus the afternoon I arrived and I did not see everything I wanted to see. I thought Bath was wonderful! I love the Georgian architecture juxtaposed with the Roman Baths. I am a fan of the Georgian/Regency time period and others may not be as keen on that. It was busy when I was there, but not as crowded as London so seemed like a bit of a break. If you do stay over in Bath, I found that lodging prices jump on Friday and Saturday and sometimes have a 2 night minimum, so I would plan to go on days other than those.