Best places from which to daytrip into London?

Is your thought that it would be cheaper to stay outside London? If so, you will want to check your daily transportation costs to see if it is still worthwhile to do so.

For me, personally, this would not be a good idea. I would rather pay a bit more and stay more central.

You'd have to find an area that has a number of hotels to choose from. And the town should be on a commuter train line.

Last time we were in London, we stayed south of Heathrow Airport about 15 miles. The homes in that area were very large and there were no hotels of any kind in those towns.

An hour outside London by train can be a wide scope - Bedford, St Albans, Potters Bar, Brentwood, Horsham, Milton Keynes, even Northampton, Brighton, Croydon, Three Bridges, Reading, Oxford ... I could go on.

Your train ticket will eat your lunch though. If you will be traveling in peak time - and you will have to in order to see anything of London - you will be exposed to some of the highest per mile train prices in Europe. Crowded, too. I mean really crowded. Sitting on the floor or standing in the vestibule crowded.

But it certainly can be done.

Virtually anywhere within 50 miles of London has a commuter rail service to London. But, it costs £££ to commute in and out of London (cheaper after ~09;30) and the cost will probably exceed any saving on hotel costs, plus the extra time involved.
There are no commuter buses into London. By road it takes 2-3 times longer to get into central London than by train.
Click here for a map of the Commuter Rail network around London

So why are you thinking of doing this? Where are you coming from (which will decide if you want to be North, South, East or West of London), and where are you going afterwards?
If there is somewhere outside of London you actually want to visit, but only want to spend 1-2 days in London, you could combine the two. For example: Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury, St Albans, Windsor, Winchester and many more.

When I considered doing this a couple of years ago, Greenwich seemed like a possibility.

Regarding specifically Windsor, there are two stations in Windsor.

Windsor & Eton Riverside is the slower route and goes to Waterloo on SouthWest Trains, taking about an hour. Fares are £10 Anytime Standard class Single (double that for a return), £13.90 Off Peak Return.

Windsor & Eton Central is the faster and easier route which uses First Great Western Trains into Paddington. Fares are £9 Anytime Singles, £10.40 Off Peak Return - leaving Windsor & Eton Central after 9:30 am, and leaving London outside the evening Peak. Trips as fast as 26 minutes but most involve an easy change at Slough and add a few minutes.

Parking in Windsor, should you be doing this exercise to try to park a car is Really diabolical. There are several car parks but they tend to be full and expensive. I once wanted to show my brother and his wife Windsor and after nearly an hour searching for a parking space we gave up.

I am sometimes successful in a remote lot in Eton but not always. If your landlord offers parking at a reasonable price jump on it.

I'd consider dumping the car and staying closer in.

Greenwich is a reasonable choice but I wouldn't consider it outside London. It is on the border of zones 2 and 3, with train, tube, bus, and DLR connections - but choose carefully, very carefully.

Don't do it. As Nigel has said, transport will be expensive, especially if you pick somewhere like Windsor that is outside the Travelcard/Oyster area, and very crowded if you are travelling at times that will give you enough time in central London. If you're thinking about saving money on hotel accomodation, hotels in Windsor or at most places with good transport links will be just as expensive as in the centre.

thank you - this is so helpful! My main thought in considering this is that we have found our preferred method of travel is renting a place for a week or more and day tripping from there. But it sounds like including London in those day trips isn't a good idea. So, that leads to my next question - is it possible/do-able to centrally locate in say, Hampshire or Wiltshire, and try to day trip to places as far-flung as Bath, Cotswolds, Arundel, and Winchester, or would this best be divided into two different places to stay - one more towards London, one more towards Bath ? I am wondering about traffic volume and driving times, especially in summer months.

Accommodations in London can be expensive but you can find good deals by using Airbnb and no I'm not affiliated with the company, OR by staying at a Premiere Inn, or by investigating getting a room at the School of Economics or......takes a bit of time to research. Definitely look for places to stay within TRAVEL zones 1 and 2. Look at the London underground map on the tfl.gov.uk website.

On one visit used Priceline to get a superb deal at a Marriott. However, I've traveled to London often and know the neighborhoods so bidding blindly was not a big deal. Got the Regent Park Marriott for $95 a night. Unheard of!!! Room had two queen beds, flat screen etc. Perfect as I was meeting up with a friend who was coming in from the coast. It's not central London but neither of us needed central London. Closest tube was Swiss Cottage.

Totally agree with other posters what you hoped you save staying outside London would be eaten up by transport costs.

If you got an apartment or flat with a kitchen you could save money by cooking your own meals, get the Oyster card when you get there, not the one they are trying to sell you before you go, take advantage of the 2 for 1 deals offered by the National Rail system ( tickets to the Tower for example), picnic if you are traveling when weather is good, appreciate that the majority of the countless museums are FREE, use the 1/2 ticket booth for theatre, and walk. London is a very walkable city and a great way to see it.

Personally I'd stay in London then train to Bath, get your car rental there and explore.
Enjoy your visit.

Hello, Ditto to previous responders, I'd try to stay in London. I always stay in or near the Bloomsbury district, in a smaller "B&B" type hotel, and never pay over $100/night. We've had very good luck with the Crescent Hotel and the Euro Hotel, both in Cartwright Gardens, very close to Russell Square tube and Kings Cross station. I usually stay in a room with a shared bath (cheaper) and have never had any issues with that. Both offer full breakfasts.

Hi Kristina! You wrote: "My main thought in considering this is that we have found our preferred method of travel is renting a place for a week or more and day tripping from there. But it sounds like including London in those day trips isn't a good idea."

Others have already given you good advice about staying IN London if you want to go to London. The problem with doing London as a day trip (one day, I assume?) is there is so much to do in London, and you will need several days. However, if you have a "short list", say, three things you want to do and that's all, it can be done.

You also wrote: "So, that leads to my next question - is it possible/do-able to centrally locate in say, Hampshire or Wiltshire, and try to day trip to places as far-flung as Bath, Cotswolds, Arundel, and Winchester, or would this best be divided into two different places to stay - one more towards London, one more towards Bath ? I am wondering about traffic volume and driving times, especially in summer months."

Bath, Cotswolds, Arundel, and Winchester are not all that far-flung. As a matter of fact, Bath and the Cotswolds are sometimes done together as a day trip by some travelers from London. For your rental, I would choose somewhere in the Cotswolds. If you have a car, you can easily get around the Cotswold villages and do a day trip to Bath. It's difficult to find a prettier location for a week than the Cotswolds.

Arundel and Winchester can both be done in a day's drive (same day) from the Cotswolds. You can do it as a day trip, then go on back to your rental in the Cotswolds.

You can also do a day trip to London from the Cotswolds. Leave your rental car in the Cotswolds. Take the train to London, spend the day, then go back on the train. Longer journey than you had specified, but it can be done. Most people do it the other way around, but you can do it if you want.

If you want a day trip to London at the end of your trip, after you've checked out of your rental, drive to the airport (I assume Heathrow) for your departure. Check into a hotel near the airport. Turn in the rental car. Take the train into London the next day. Enjoy your day. Easy train or tube back out to Heathrow that evening. Fly out the next day.

Another location for your rental could be Oxford. It is a good central location to all the places you named for day trips. (Straight down the A34 south to Winchester.) I have never driven a car there, but others on this forum have indicated that Oxford can have quite a lot of traffic. You could also take a day trip to London by train from Oxford.

Advantages to staying in Oxford: Lots of hotels, B&B's, restaurants and pubs. Roads converging from many different directions (hub), so you can take off in any direction you want.

Do NOT, whatever you do, try to drive a car into central Oxford. If you intend to have a driving holiday, stay somewhere in the outskirts of Oxford and make ABSOLUTELY sure that the place where you stay has its own private off-street parking.

"is it possible/do-able to centrally locate in say, Hampshire or Wiltshire, and try to day trip to places as far-flung as Bath, Cotswolds, Arundel, and Winchester, or would this best be divided into two different places to stay - one more towards London, one more towards Bath ? I am wondering about traffic volume and driving times, especially in summer months."

Every place you mention visiting is accessible by train from London. You indicate that you are concerned about traffic volume and drive times...so, don't drive. One possibility is to ditch the car, stay in London, and use the excellent train network out of London to go to all your destinations. I'd rent in London myself. No car.

Thanks everyone, so much, for these great tips! We will definitely stay, in London, for a couple of days thanks to your recommendations. I will look up the hotels and b'n'bs mentioned, too.
One more question...I think. I have a 14-year old girl who really wants to shop for souvenir tchotskes (I know, eye roll). Can anyone recommend an area where they'd be more reasonable than the usual tourist haunts (she has Piccadilly in mind for some reason)?

Chinatown?

Well kristinasparkle (what a great name!), since a "tchotchke" is defined as "a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional; a trinket", I imagine that technically a t-shirt or refrigerator magnet is probably too useful, at least the t-shirt is. I think of "dust collectors" like little statues of Big Ben, Camilla bobbleheads, etc. But still, the recommendations given are no doubt on the right track.

She'll have to get something commemorating the birth of Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana! There will be stuff everywhere.

My favorite place for souvenirs are the museum gift shops. Everything from coffee/tea cups, books, tea towels, fridge magnets to replica Tudor jewelery.

Definitely look through the shops and stalls at Covent Garden.

Try the stalls at Camden Market.

Don't miss the Beatles Store, 231-233 Baker Street.
http://www.beatlesstorelondon.co.uk/
I got a cute set of bobble-head John, Paul, George and Ringo there. Posters and T-shirts galore.