Going to London Sep 20 - Oct 1, 2026

On arrival day take a direct train to York and spend two nights in York before going to London. While in London take a day trip to Bath. London alone deserves six nights.

You don’t need to worry about renting a car. As a first time visitor, there are so many great sites to see outside London that can be reached by train or bus. We did a ten day trip, my first one as well, to London and did three day trips out in 2023. One was to Windsor, one to York, and our favorite, down to East Sussex (Eastbourne) where we took a bus from there along the coastline to the Seven Sisters Visitor Center. From there we walked along the cliffs back to Birling Gap and had a delightful lunch at the National Trust cafe. Took a bus back to Eastbourne and trained it back to London in the late afternoon.

I wouldn’t shortchange London, though, and agree with MaryPat to give yourself at the minimum of five days to be able to slow down and truly take it all in. It’s one of the best cities in the world, I think! Have a wonderful trip!

I agree about going to York for a couple of days. I would also go to Bath for at least one night and take a Mad Max day tour that would let you see some of the Cotswolds.

York for a few days yes, but don't go straight there on arrival because the cheaper train tickets are based on fixed intineries and you can't plan on flights arriving on time.

There's no wrong answer to that one. In the past 8 years I've spent 3 weeks in London and 3 in Southern England plus the Cotswolds. Haven't made it further than that yet and still haven't seen everything I want to in the places I have been. I guess it depends on your interests and priorities.

I'm wondering if it was my Trip Report you read? https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-the-south-of-england

That trip was one of the best European adventures my wife and I have ever been on. She prefers England outside of London because she doesn't enjoy the crowds in London. I can go either way. If you want to stick to one base, you can easily visit places like Windsor, Canterbury, Salisbury and Portsmouth as daytrips by train from London. They may feel rushed but it may also give you incentive to come back and spend more time in each.

I feel like this is a conversation you should be having with your wife. My suggestion is that you each make a list of places you want to visit and things you want to see and do there, noting anything that is a "must." Then compare your lists and see where things stand. I would do this ASAP, as time is getting a bit short for booking accommodation. Perhaps you can split your time between London and the southern drive.

I have been to London many times, most recently in May and it is a city that deserves at least four nights and ideally 5-6 as there is so much to do. You can easily take day trips from London based on your interest. If you want to combine some of Southern England, you might want to spend some time in Bath. I personally like to start by trip there for 2-3 nights and then take a train and end my trip in London. There are multiple ways to get to Bath from bus to train (search the RS forum for those options) and you can take day trips either by train or tours like Mad Max. Bath is lovely in the fall and has a lot to offer from get food to nature and culture.

To help in your decision, it might be helpful to look at the Britain/Ireland planning map from RS and the Great Britain guidebook and select the sights you really want to see and determine whether you can see those adequately with a day trip from London. For a 10 day trip, if you decide to doing a driving trip, I would recommend that you pick no more than 3 home bases. A rule of thumb that I learned the hard way is that you lose 1/2 day every time you change hotels. Ideally, you would pick 2.