Ideas/Advice for First time England tourists?

Michael what are your interests and your budget? Are you there now? Are you renting a car or relying on public transport?

Michael,

It all depends on your interests and what time of year you're going to be there. Although I've never been to Brighton, I've been to the Jersey shore and I get the impression that Brighton isn't a whole lot different than Asbury Park. Do you really want to stay there three nights - even in the summer?

London has enough to keep the average tourist busy for weeks on end. There are multiple royal residences. There are multiple (free) museums large enough to occupy one for days on end. There are multiple historic churches. There are...on and on.

I would recommend staying more days in London and making Brighton either a day trip (1 hour each way via the train) or a one night stop in route to the Cotswolds.

Totally agree with Work2Travel... Add ur Brighton time to London and do a day trip there... Brighton is worth a visit, but 3 days? ... No.

Sorry I wasn't very specific. We plan for September and I would be driving. I mentioned Bristol only as a base to drive around the south coastal area. I am open to ideas about other areas. I'm not sure when we would be getting back there since we also take our trips to France and Italy.
Thanks

I'm afraid I don't understand the logic that because there's so much to see in London, one should never go anywhere else. There's also enough to see in England outside of London to keep a tourist busy for weeks on end, so by the same reasoning, you should focus your whole trip on not-London and never go to London.

I think a balanced approach is better than either extreme. One big benefit of adding more not-London time is that the hotels are a lot cheaper.

I spent 3 nights (2 full days - arriving in the evening and leaving in the morning) in Brighton on my first trip to the UK. (It was a holiday weekend, and all the hotels had 3-night minimum stays.) By the end of the first full day, I was bored. But there are other interesting destinations not too far away.

I loved London and hope to return in the next couple of years, but I agree with the last person. The day trip we took to Eastbourne was a highlight of our trip. There is plenty to see and do outside of London if you are interested in nature or local culture.

I really like Brighton which by itself is good for a day, probably not three. If you could extend that to include Beachy Head and/or Dover or possibly go in the other direction to Portsmouth, then I'd say go for it. I can certainly understand wanting to be beside the seaside. But Brighton. You see the Pier and The Lanes and the Pavillion .. you're done.

For a first time trip to England/the UK, I'd suggest staying in London the whole time and doing some day trips. There is PLENTY to do and see! We've been to London A LOT! I'd still like to go back and spend at least a week there. For nine days, I'd say plan on at least 3 day trips- maybe as many as 4 or 5. While Brighton is nice, it is not a place I'd recommend for a first trip. Windsor, Bath, Cardiff Wales, Canterbury, Dover, York, Winchester, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and several other places would trump Brighton in my book. If you really want to see the Cotswolds, you can get 1/2 day tours with tour companies from Stratford-upon-Avon or Bath. All are easy to do on your own by train (we don't drive 'over there' because neither of us can shift so no straight drive cars for us, roads are small in many places and they drive on 'the other' side, parking is scarce and expensive and so is petrol (gas)- and parking is often only available near the outskirts). We really enjoy the train (and occasional coach/bus) rides.

The best bang for your buck (in terms of time spent and ease doing it) would be Salisbury, Bath, Cotswolds, Oxford.

Arrive London (4N)
Train to Salisbury (1N)
•pick up car in Salisbury•
Drive via Stonehenge to Bath (1N)
Drive to Cotswolds (2N)
Drive to Oxford (1N)
•drop off car at Heathrow•
Depart London

Bristol is one of Britain’s most congested cities for traffic jams. I suggest you click the map that follows and zoom down / click and drag and get more familiar with the road system. Also drag on the yellow man to look at the roads in some of the places you are interested in visiting. (I have enable the map to show live traffic flows - bear in mind the time difference - you are about 5 hours behind I think). You can also click satellite view if you wish.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.27512,-1.77188,9z/data=!5m1!1e1

Getting from The Cotswolds down to Brighton does involve some pretty congested routes. I would suggest that you head off for the Cotswolds - maybe with a base in the Cirencester area - from where you could make day trips to Oxford & Bath and maybe Stratford-upon-Avon as well as various villages such as Lower Slaughter and Broadway. You can also do these places in this central region:>
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote
www.blenheim.com (just NW of Oxford)
www.abbeyhousegardens.co.uk

If you wish to go to Brighton, consider doing it as a day trip by train from London.

Trains go to most major places. See www.nationalrail.co.uk
Car is best in The Cotswolds. Check distances here:>http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

I've been traveling to the UK for years.

London most often because on each visit I discover something new and different. London is constantly changing yet forever the same.

Not knowing your interests but sensing you want to see other areas of the UK as well as London I offer these different options.

The Jurassic Coast (Lyme Regis)
The Lake District
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire

Oh and as far as advice. Get the 2 for 1 deals. Buy the Oyster Card when you get there not online. Stand to the Right on stairs and escalators. Don't jaywalk. Forget the Changing of the Guard. Respect the quiet in the tube cars. Mind the Gap.

Most importantly slow down your pace. You are on vacation.

Enjoy your first visit. You'll go back.

Brighton is nice but it is a day trip from London not a 3-day thing.

Generally the south coast of England is at its best to the west of the Isle of Wight (the left half of the coast on a map). Much of the area to the 'right', near London, is over developed and not particularly picturesque. There are exceptions and Brighton is one, the area around Hastings and Beachy Head is another. Portsmouth dockyards are fascinating too for a day trip and the Isle of Wight itself is nice in a quiet backwater kind of way. The Dorset (Jurassic) Coast is beautiful and west down through Devon and Cornwall have some of the most beautiful stretches of coastline and beaches in the country. (Spared from mass tourism by the freezing sea temperatures I guess!).

I agree that for a first trip adding days in London and a day trip to Brighton is enough. We went early on a Sunday and walked The Lanes, went to the Brighton Pavillion and adjacent art gallery, went to the Pier, walked the boardwalk, had winkles, rented bikes and rode to Hove, went to the circus, got fish and chips and caught train back to London.

If you don't live near the ocean and would relish the experience of a British seaside resort, you may enjoy 3 days there.

If you are in the area, Hastings, Canterbury and Leeds Castle would be worth seeing.

Brighton as has already been said can be seen in a day.

However, if you are driving there, you could continue in the area by visiting Lewes (Castle, Priory ruins, Anne of Cleaves House, Glyndebourne for the music, Charleston and Monk's House in Rodmell for the Bloomsbury Set properties).

Then go onto Rye the next day, one of the old cinque ports and visit the Mermaid Inn (dates from c 1150) and explore the old tower and the nearby Rye Harbour Nature Reserve - a good walk. It's a pretty town centre, formerly a haunt of smugglers.

There are several pretty inland villages nearby that could be driven through, such as Alfriston and Jevington en route. with traffic congestion, I wouldn't try to cover too much ground for these three days otherwise you may spend more time in transit than actually seeing places.

In you like ships, then the Portsmouth historic dockyard, with Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory, might interest you.

We have been to England six times. We have spent anywhere from a week to a month there. If it were our first time visiting there, we wouldn't even leave London. We never get tired of London. You will enjoy walking around in the South Kensington area, just to look at the architecture. You will enjoy just walking around anywhere in London. There is so much to see, you won't be able to see everything.