London/Liverpool/Manchester 14 Day Trip

If you want to fully experience Liverpool Beatles heritage, stay at the Hard Day's Night Hotel. Even if you don't stay there, at least go in to enjoy a meal, or a snack from the "Any Time At All" menu. It's totally fab.

I can highly recommend the Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock and the Magical Mystery Tour bus ride (the ticket also gets you into the reconstructed Cavern Club). You may want to book National Trust tours that go inside the homes (I forget which, I believe McCartney and Lennon's Aunt Mimi). https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatles-childhood-homes

Non-Beatles Liverpool sights include the Museum of Liverpool, Tate Gallery, Victoria Gallery & Museum, Cathedrals (Catholic and Anglican), World Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, and more. See, for example, http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/liverpool-eng-mrs-liv.htm This site suggests hotels too (scroll down).

Unless you are travelling the 10 miles or so out of London to the suburb of Wimbledon, you wouldn't know the tennis was on, other than seeing tv coverage.

Four or five days in London is quite a long time. You could have a day trip to nearby Chester.

I would stay in Manchester city centre, unless you have a very early flight out. The Imperial War Museum North is worth a visit and is close to Old Trafford football stadium if a tour would be of interest. Also closeby is the Lowry Gallery. In the city centre, there is plenty to do, depending on your interests - the John Rylands Library, Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum of Transport or the Cathedral.

The Premier Inn chain is fine - nothing flash, but reliable in quality. In Liverpool, I would opt for the hotel in Albert Dock for Tate Liverpool, the Maritime Museum and shopping. In Manchester, I would opt for Deansgate Locks near the canal or Salford Quays or Manchester Central.

I was in Manchester, Chester, and Liverpool (and Glasgow, where you're not going) in September 2016. Here's my detailed trip report, including hotels I used and things to see and do: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016

I had four nights in Liverpool and enjoyed them, but I also had two nights in Manchester and enjoyed those. Take a look at what there is to do in each, so you can decide how many days to allot to each.

No need to stay by the airport in Manchester; the city center has hotels of all price ranges, as well as lots to do. The airport is easy to get to from the center.

Do heed the advice above of booking the National Trust tour of the Beatles Childhood Homes early. They are very limited in capacity.

Note that while Rick covers London and Liverpool in his books, he does not cover Manchester.

I'll try to follow this thread, in case you have questions after reading my report

Thanks. For the quick replies and the ideas. Obviously I'm going to have some studying to do with what you guys have passed along. Cheers. And keep the ideas coming.

While you're waiting to get the guidebooks, congratulate yourself on planning your trip to leave from Manchester airport!

Few in North American seem to know that not only are there other airports in the UK outside of London, but that several of them (Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham) get nonstop flights from various US cities. Manchester is the third busiest airport in the UK (after Heathrow and Gatwick), and for those visiting northern England destinations, it's much easier to use it compared to going to or from the London airports. In addition to being closer, its train station connects directly with the main train lines (trains from Heathrow are on a spur line that only goes to London Paddington).

An interesting point about UK airports outside London. I recommend Birmingham Airport. This is smaller, involves a quicker route through immigration and customs, and has a mainline railway station with trains every 20 minutes to London. Since these trains only take 1 hour and 20 minutes to a London station (Euston) that is more central than Paddington, it may be quicker to get to your hotel in London by landing at Birmingham than Heathrow! Of course, from Birmingham, you can also get quickly to the North of England, Wales etc, and are closer to Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds.

Wonderful ideas guys. What about staying outside of central London and tubing it in to the city center? I see so many outlying neighborhoods, I wouldn't know which to choose from. Something where, at the end of the day, my wife and I can find a nice pub where the locals hang out and enjoy a pint or two with some dinner. We've always tried to stay away from corporate eateries where possible. Of course, that's not the only reason for a neighborhood. Some interesting things to see also. I had a recommendation of Windsor so we're close to the castle for a tour but even that area looks kind of pricey. But I get it, it's London at high time for tourism and it's going to be costly all around. I just thought there might be some off the beaten track area that's neat to see/stay and yet still be close to the tube to get into the city center. Any suggestions?

"I just thought there might be some off the beaten track area that's neat to see/stay and yet still be close to the tube to get into the city center."

Oooh - you were doing so well!

I'll let the Londoners chime in, but the consensus when this question has been asked in the past is, in short, no. Any place in the London area that's far enough away to be cheaper, is going to eat up a lot of time and money getting to the parts of London you came to see. Some of them are nice suburbs, but you didn't come all the way to Europe to see a suburb; you want to see London. And time is just as precious a commodity as money on a vacation; do you really want to spend an hour each way, each day, getting to and from your activities? Then there's the issue that with a central hotel, you can go back in the middle of the day to rest, change clothes, etc; if you're staying further away, you can't.

There are several threads about less expensive London hotels, but you're right - London is not a cheap city. The good news is that Liverpool and Manchester are much less expensive.

In your first post, you asked about the Premier Inn chain. I stayed in one of their three central Liverpool properties, and it was fine. They also have many properties in London: http://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/home.html

If that's too pricey, look at Eurocheapo's London listings: http://www.eurocheapo.com/london/

And, of course, look at Rick's listings as well.

Immediately contact the Vancouver Studio Apartments for availability. In the vibrant Bayswater neighborhood. Have stayed there more than once over the years. The Prince Edward pub is still a local watering hole although it changed hands and was modernized. Was there last year. Locals still enjoying it. Had a Tasty lunch and pint while watching soccer.

Premiere Inns are fine. But as you've noted you are traveling at peak tourist season so start booking now.

If you wish to stay out of the city center and commute via the tube look for an AirBnB in Hampstead Village. Lovely neighborhood. Same with Holland Park. Use Google satellite street view images to see what's nearby once you get an address. Look for ATM's, grocers, coffee shops, and the nearest tube station.
If you like walking the Hampstead Heath is outstanding.

Lastly if you have Amazon Prime watch Witness for the Procescution. Filming Locations were in Liverpool and Manchester.

Enjoy your trip.

Wow. Again - thanks for the ideas. I've got a lot to consider. You guys are making it a lot easier to plan this trip with all your suggestions.
Anyone got any thoughts on perhaps a side trip to Brighton? A friend suggested it.
I realize that for a small(ish) country (I'm from Canada) there sure is a ton of places to visit and even more to see. I have a feeling that I'm going to have to start planning for our re-visit soon 'cause this trip won't be enough.

Okay folks, all set up and rooms booked. A couple of days in Brighton, 4 days in London to sight-see and catch the concert, up to Chester for a couple of days, then up to Liverpool to do my Beatles fix for a few , over to Manchester to relax and catch some sights before flying home. The rooms being booked has taken quite a bit of the pressure off. Will get our train tickets, Oyster cards and sightseeing HOHO's booked a little later. Thanks for all your help and tips.

Congratulations on getting all the rooms booked! Where did you end up staying in each place?

Premier Inns for Brighton, London and Chester but at the Arora Hotel in Manchester and the Hard Day's Night Hotel in Liverpool. I had to go with different hotels for the latter two only because I had some travel points to use and the Premier Inns apparently don't go through some of the booking sites. I wish I could have used them for the London hotel to take a bit of the sting out but, alas, not to be.
It'll all be good.
Thanks again for your link to your own experiences and to all those who chimed in. I've saved them to my favorites so I can revisit the comments closer to our travel dates where I can take note of some of the hints and tips that everyone left. But please, if you guys can think of anything else (good places to eat, off the beaten path places to see or experience) by all means, add them here before they decide to close the topic.