We wish to visit England only not sure whether to do 10 days or 15. Is the last week of aug and first week of sept a good time to come? Is it easy to rent an apt in London? Is it better to do daytrips from London or fly in go to Bath, travel around and end in London?
Any thoughts? We like to cook some of our own meals. And like to stay in places at least 2 nights.
Any advice, much appreciated.
Jan in Madison,WI
Personally, for a first trip I'd plan on a bit of both (Though we do trains/buses only, no driving. But that's just our preference).
Why not fly into London and rent an apartment (check out Citadines http://www.citadines.com/en/propertylisting.html?City=London or London School of Economics www.lsevacations.co.uk/ and www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/) Both have multiple central locations.
If you can do 15 days (does that include arrival and departure days? If so, it is really only 13 days- thus 10 would really only be 8...), I'd plan on at least 5-7 in London itself with 2-4 day trips. Then my personal preference would be to head to York by train and spend 2-3 nights. We love Scotland, so I'd say then head to Edinburgh for 2-3 nights and fly home from there. If you are more interested in Wales, head to Bath by train from London and spend 1 or 2 nights, then train to Cardiff for 2-3 nights, then maybe up to the Snowdonia area. Not sure where you'd want to fly home from, though. Some others will have some suggestions.
Staying the whole time in London would also not be bad, AT ALL. You could do 4-6 day trips, or more- maybe one every 2 or 3 days if you like. There are plenty of places that are easy to reach by train. I've included a link to an article I wrote for Trip Advisor about my favorite places in London and some good day trips by train
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html
There's so much to see and do in London itself- no matter what your interests. And it is an easy city to get around- very walkable, and the tube is easy to use, so are the buses I've heard. I don't think you'd be bored at all. We've been more than 40 times, and there's still things we haven't done and many things I love to do every time we go.
jfulwiler,
welcome.
the time you spend will depend on what you want to do or see.
I was able to more or less see what i wanted to in 4 full days. No day trips outside of London either - thats for another day or trips. I didnt stay in any apartment,yet, but maybe this year.
I was there in March 2012 and Sept 2013. The March time had better weather. The sept was more cloudy.
trains are really nice to use in the UK but that will depend on where you want to go. If youre not complete w/o being behind the wheel, they can accommodate you.
others will chime in as to other items.
Happy travels.
Most of us would say to take as many days as you can. Airfare is a big chunk of the travel budget. After that, identify what your interests are: royals, military history, art and literature, scenery and vistas, etc.. That will help sort out your itinerary.
If you choose to stay in London for several days or base out of London for day trips, apartments can be handy. We've used VBRO and Citadines has good reviews, although we opted for Premier Inn County Hall this next trip because the rate was good and we'd never stayed in that area.
I'll also endorse making London your base and making just enough day trips to allow you to see at least a few of the daytime London sites like the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, and perhaps the Churchill War Rooms. If there is then a day or two for day trips, there are many choices and, since the natives mostly speak some variety of English, most day trips can be happily done without a guide. In this fashion we've traveled to Canterbury, Cambridge, Greenwich and Brighton and got a great trip out and return in a day each time,,with longer stays in Bath and York (but Bath works forva nice day trip as well).
Most recommended, as have others, if you have a few days to be based in London renting a flat is indeed much better than a hotel. We've happily used Utah-based London Connections three times, once in Knightsbridge and twice in Mayfair, most recently in September. In addition to having three or four evening meals in our flat (sometimes something as simple as a salad, sandwich from a Pret a Manger and a beer or two) after a full day's walking can hit just the right shoes-off spot. A particular delight for us has been the economical and most pleasurable self-made breakfasts with our own French Press coffee, an egg or two, and toast with genuine English orange marmalade and the morning London Times to share at our quiet breakfast table.
I would say go for as long as you can! You can do lots or trips by train from London, but it is an expensive place to be. As for timing, I would only mention that later in September the schools will have gone back and it will be a bit less crowded even in London I think. The weather could well be as good or better than August!
We are about to make our 20th visit to the UK. The first time we were there (for 2 weeks) we stayed in London the entire time except for one guided day trip to Stonehenge, Bath and Salisbury. Since that time, we've always spent about 3 or 4 days of a trip in London and the rest in the countryside. We always rent a car for the countryside so we can at our leisure see what we want when we want to see it. All of this is to say that there is much to see in London and the UK overall - we will return this June for 16 days and for the first time will not be in London at all - just the countryside. We have been there many different times of the year - never in August, but a number of times in September and have had good weather. (If it was me, I would fly into Heathrow, rent a car and head to Bath. Spend 2 nights there and then drive to the Cotswolds and spend about 3 nights; drive the various villages seeing sites - Blenheim, Oxford etc - what's of interest to you. Make a loop back to Heathrow - check in the car and head into London and spend the rest of your time there - that's one option.)
I was in London the first week of Sept 2013. They were having a hot spell and the first few days were pretty warm with not much cool down at night. I had not booked a room with AC and while it was not intolerable, it would have been more comfortable with AC for those first 2 days. It then cooled down significantly and was very nice to chilly for the rest of my stay. Of course no one can predict what might happen next Aug/Sept!
I enjoyed staying in London a couple of days to adjust to jet lag, then spend 3 nights in Bath including a Mad Max tour of Stonehenge for one of the full days. Then I returned to London for a longer stay. I enjoyed that distribution and would not have enjoyed trying to travel to Bath jet lagged. So you might want to do a hotel for a couple of days, go to Bath and other places for a bit, then return to finish up in London.
At the end of August, the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace are open to visitors. I really enjoyed touring the Palace and having tea in the garden afterward. You need to book ahead for this.
I agree with everyone else that said go for as many days as you can manage!
