In early planning for fall of 2025 for 30th anniversary trip (planning is half the fun for me). Flying to England, staying probably 10 days, then taking Queen Mary 2 back to US. Husband really wants to spend a couple of days in Liverpool. So fly to London, train to Liverpool right away, train to London, then train to Southampton. Or fly to London, stay there first then train to Liverpool, train to Southampton. Have looked at flying directly to Liverpool but is it several more hours and more expensive.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2320 posts
I do hope you are planning toi see something of our wonderful countryside in those ten days and not limiting yourselves to London, Lverpool and Southampton....
Posted by
Preston UK
1232 posts
Fly to Manchester rather than London. It's 30 miles from Liverpool and has direct flights from the US. It also has a station in the airport from where you can get a train to Liverpool in about an hour. Flying to London you will need to take transport into London (an hour+) and then a 2+ hours train ride and you need to take that cost and time into account when looking at the overall plan.
Posted by
19 posts
Hi! Happy (early) Anniversary!
I agree with flying into Manchester and then back out of London. We just did the reverse (in to London and out if Manchester). It was simple and saved a lot of time backtracking. Additionally, they decided to do engineering work on the rail system while we were there so the roughly 2.5 hour Avanti West service from London to Liverpool became 4 hours.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33991 posts
If you can get from your home to Manchester I'd agree that that is better than London, such an easy connection.
London Heathrow or Gatwick just add hours of additional time and cost.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7877 posts
In case it’s helpful to you for additional nearby ideas, we went to Chester & York during our recent 45th anniversary trip in June. Have a great time!
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/june-2023-england-wales-trip-report
Posted by
OP
Michigan USA
2 posts
Thank you for the suggestions. I have checked flying to Manchester and it is nearly the same cost and total travel time as flying to Heathrow. We do hope to do a day tour to the Cotswold area. This will be our first international trip. Just waiting for Cunard to release the sail dates for fall 2025 so we can then start planning our dates of travel prior.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8131 posts
When in Liverpool the best value day ticket on public transport is a Saveaway All Zones Ticket.
For off peak travel it currently costs £6, valid from 9.30am (any time at weekends). It covers all buses, trains and the cross river commuter ferries (not the daytime round trip cruises) in Merseyside. It can't be purchased on line- but from any staffed station or some TVM's (ticket vending machines).
It is worth noting that it is one of a few rail tickets which does not have railcard discounts for it.
I've got mine today from a Northern rail TVM 150 miles away.
When travelling down to Southampton from Liverpool do travel down the night before the cruise. It's too risky due to connections to do it the day of embarkation, no matter how early you leave. But see bus option below.
Given the amount of rail travel you are doing it will benefit you to buy a Two Together Railcard (current cost £30 for one year) to give 1/3 off all trains after 9.30am (anytime at weekends).
From Liverpool Cunard have a partner bus company called Intercruises who provide luxury bus travel direct to the ship side. That may be worth looking into.
Posted by
Buxton, UK
13 posts
A suggestion: If you are going to be flying into Manchester and visiting Liverpool, and IF you are feeling adventurous, rent a car and instead of your Cotswalds plan (the world and his wife go there, and it can be crazy overcrowded) consider your day trip to be from Manchester to EITHER the Peak District, the Lake District or North Wales coast for Castles. Admittedly the Lakes can get quite busy in Summer, but the other 2 not so much. The have their different charms, none of which will be multiple tour busses. Whilst you could do a decent visit to any of these in a day, it would be enhanced by an o/n stay in the location.
If this tickles your fancy, please come back here for suggestions for each area.
Posted by
United States
556 posts
What a wonderful anniversary trip you have to look forward to! 30 years! Yay! Planning is so much fun and time just flies - 2025 will be here before we know it! The good news is you’ve got time to hear a lot of great advice from the folks on this forum. The bad (not bad 😊) news is hearing from the wonderful people on this forum about all the wonderful places in England you should see will make you realize that more trips are definitely in your future! At least that is how it was for me! Enjoy the planning!
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2320 posts
Another vote for the Peak District over the Cotswolds. The scenery is much more dramatic and the villages are just as pretty. It doesn't get as busy as the Cotswolds either...