london and touring

1. London is a place.

2. Any place can be seen without a tour.

3. You can plan what you want to do for the day during breakfast.

4. You can see it without a tour which may take you to places you don't care about in order to see a couple you do.

Overwhelmed is now over.

Thanks Ed!!!!

I have not heard of your tour company nor how much help they will give you nor what they will have in mind for you.

I don't know which hotel you will be in, nor the knowledge of their concierges.

Can I assume that you will have a decent tour book, like the London Tourbook of our esteemed host here, Rick Steves? It would be well worth tucking in so you can be somewhat self sufficient if the tour company lets you down.

Which of these Monogram Globus Tours will you be doing?

http://www.globusjourneys.com/Vacation-Packages/Independent/

Everyone has something they want to do when they travel, no matter how trivial or goofy it may seem to others (or even to themselves!). If you can list here maybe three things that are your hearts desire, our wonderful posters from England can offer you additional information or tid-bits of sound advice. For example, temporary exhibits of interest, closures, special times, etc.

We are doing the week in london tour thru Globus monograms. I would say that we are looking to do a couple of tours out of london city. One to possibly Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle and then another tour that includes the Cotswolds and Greenwich area with a cruise from Greenwich back into London. THink our hotel is pretty centrally located in Westminster area so should be able to visit many london sites via tubes and walking. Considering a play in the evening, dining in some fun pubs, and maybe even the Harry Potter tour. Touring with my 22 year old son. Our tour already includes a 1/2 day around london which we do the day after we get there to get our bearings.

yes, planning to buy an oyster card and the travel card with 2 for 1 deals when we get into Heathrow and do our currency exchange there as well. I am assuming that each person needs there own oyster card. I have read about the
2 for 1 deals and the two traveling together travel card so still weighing out all the options.

I can't imagine a tour doing both the Cotswolds and Greenwich in one day. It boggles the mind. At least to do it even superficially. And then end up on a boat? But it is dark by 7 now. I wouldn't want to do that in the dark.

You cannot get a Travelcard from National Rail at Heathrow. There is no National Rail at Heathrow. You cannot use any payment device, Oyster or Travelcard issued by Transport for London (the Tube) for the Days Out promotion of National Rail - the 2 for 1 promotion. You have to get it at a real railway station in London.

Sorry.

Harry Potter tour at the studios near Watford tends to be sold out months in advance. Do you have tickets or a way to get tickets?

Sorry.

Sorry, have a headache and didn't mean to say that I was buying rail passes at Heathrow but doing currency exchange there. Will look instead at using the ATMs as advised. Will have to look and re-evaluate tours in that most are in these groupings. The station that seems to be the closest to our hotel is the waterloo.

LOL Emma!!!! I'm pretending the same when it comes to pubs! Always love them and my son does too! We enjoy the atmosphere and always hit it right with great food and drink at a friendly pub. So all suggestions taken for dining in the area. I will look at your suggestion for just doing the trip with the two places so that we can get the most out of it that day and then maybe take a train and explore Windsor castle on its own. I truly appreciate the help with planning.

If you really want to leave your decisions for "tours" when you get there you might take a look in advance (or at your hotel) at the London Walks website. We have found their tours very good for introduction to London sights, for a reasonable price and without having to commit in advance. Also, I am not sure about the fall and winter but they also have out of London tours to some of the places mentioned. You show up 10 to 15 minutes before hand at the identified location, pay the guide and off you go! A travel card would be the best option to get to the start points of the tours because you have prepaid and you don't waste time buying a fare; with a travel card you just look at the subway map at your sub-way station, figure out how to get to wherever you are going and off you go! No line ups; transit prepaid. We found the hop on hop off buses very helpful for seeing sites in London if you don't want to use the subway to get around. Have a great time.

WOW! Emma thanks so much....great recommendations and Liz I appreciate your suggestion and will take a good look at the
london walks website. Some one else had mentioned they enjoyed their tours as well. You guys have made me feel much
better with leaving. We planned all of this last minute and just decided to go a couple of weeks ago. Son's graduation and a special birthday for me. You have made me feel much more secure with many options to look at. I will think of you when touring
around Liz and toast you with a fine pint when in the pubs Emma.

I will add another vote for London Walks (walks.com). We did the day trip to Bath. We thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot from our guide. We really wanted to see Stonehenge too but someone on this site suggested to pick the place you wanted to see the most & see it well. I'm glad we did. London Walks has many walks on their website, and I highly recommend them.

As far as pubs, we ate pretty much every meal except breakfast at a different pub the 6 days we were in London in May. My husband & I split an order of whatever it was and had plenty for the both of us. Some we really liked were Princess Louise & The Ship, both are near Holborn Tube if you happen to be in the area. Have a great time on your trip!

Lisac-
I did a daytrip by boat (both ways) to Greenwich in July and it was very pleasant...I didn't even pay any entrance fees. Most sites are free, including the view at the top of the hill. Plus there's the Greenwich Market to explore, and nice restaurants (try the Greenwich Tavern). Give that one day to itself.

As for out of London trips, I've done 3 with the Evan Evans bus company -- Windsor/Bath/Stonehenge is great....the other two were fine (Leeds Castle/Canterbury/Dover....and Wawrick Castle/Stratford-on-Avon/Cotswolds/Oxford. It's a very well-run outfit.

I've managed to see a lot of the area while being at Wimbledon for work. My must-sees: Westminster Abbey, St.Pauls, Tower of London, Changing of the Guards. Plus, just simply walk around the key areas: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens (including Prince Albert Memorial near Prince Albert Hall), Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Big Ben.

Depending on your interests, these are worthy: British Museum, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, Churchill War Rooms, Imperial War Museum (free!) and the Royal Mews. Also, consider a daytrip to Hampton Court.

Most museums are free. Museum of London gives you great insight into London's history. Pubs are plentiful. Try to enjoy a pint and a meal at the Blackfriars near St. Pauls. Gorgeous art deco building. Visit the glass covered Ledenhall Market after seeing the Tower of London. Visit the Hampstead Heath, Camden Lock Market and walk along the Regent's canal. Theatre in the evening a must. Tickets at the half price booth in Leicester Square. Take a gander in Liberty department store. See if you can tour Highgate Cemetary. Absolutely partake in any one of the wonderful London Walks. Always fun. Buy Timeout magazine when you arrive. Great resource of what's on where and how to get there. Very walkable city. Meander.

SO much great advice. Thanks. Dgnagle4......When you went on the tour to Windsor Castle/Bath/Stonehenge, did youfeel that you didn't have enough time at the castle and Bath? Some have suggested it's just too much trying to see all in one day which I can understand.

Lisac-
That was a great day...I came away from Windsor Castle and Bath (and Stonehenge) thinking I'd seen them just fine. Of course, many people do them those two as day trips by themselves (or multiple days in Bath) and don't feel they've wasted time. I see reviews of Windsor Castle and people mention enjoying the town, which we did not explore. Maybe I'll go myself sometime and devote a day.

And I'm sure doing both (actually 3) sites in one day is easier when someone else is doing the driving/parking/organizing than if it's simply you in a rental car, so that's part of why people say it would be tough to do both in a day. But given all there is to see in Greater London, and time constraints, I think Evan Evans is a great way to go. Enjoy!