Royal Wedding Date?

I don't think the royal wedding will attract enough extra tourists to affect the demand for London hotels and attractions much. Hotels in Windsor will be extremely busy though.

I just heard May 26th on the noon news. I personally wouldn't change any of your plans - unless it was to go to Windsor on the 26th:)

Book HP studio as soon as.

Transport from Heathrow...where are you going? Tube will be fine in most cases.

As for the throngs of people coming for the wedding I reckon for every one of them there will be five of us leaving the country to escape it so it will probably be a net gain.

I can’t imagine the wedding will impact on other tourist attractions - but you should book Harry Potter as soon as possible because the last week of May is usually school holidays and it’ll sell out.

Do you think hordes of Americans and other foreign tourists will head to London & surrounds for the wedding? I really don’t know. Maybe extra Japanese? Because I don’t think you’ll see extra British tourists because of it. We’re all used to this kind of thing, and it won’t be anywhere near as big as Will & Kate’s Wedding.

Windsor on the day itself will obviously be super-busy and I’d imagine the castle will be closed for a few days around the date for security.

But late May is ALWAYS a busy time in London...

You've got to be kidding.

BOOK IT NOW!!!

At the last wedding I personally knew 25 ladies from Austin, Texas that went just to be in London that weekend. Trust me, these were not crazy Royals fans.... just thought it would be fun! So I'm sure if you multiply that by hundreds of thousands you're talking the crowds that will be heading to London.

I was in a pub (here in Ireland) this week and a bunch of old guys were talking about the wedding and the craic. So expect extra tourists just for that!!

Susan
Expat in Ireland

I actually just booked my (refundable) hotel rooms at the Windsor Travelodge yesterday (we had stayed there the last time we went) for the Royal wedding, just in case things work out that we'd be able to go. Figured while the rooms were still regular price, the date had JUST been announced, I was better off booking before everyone else figured it out :) My daughter loved Windsor the last time we went, maybe it can be her 30th birthday present. Will see.

As someone else advised, defintely book the Harry Potter tour and the bus from Victoria station. I've never experienced a really long wait at the London Eye, don't know if that would need to be booked or not. The wedding won't affect London attractions too much, probably just that it's their long holiday weekend, like our Memorial Day, so a lot of people will be out.

Looks like the Stonehenge tour just runs from the Salisbury train station, so you're probably OK with that being a bit flexible. As with all travel, so much depends on what your personal high priorities are. If you want to definitely not miss something, you can book it ahead. Some people are more flexible about their preferences. And there's some free time on the tour, you may head over to London Eye or something during that time as well.

Maybe you'll also just be taking the 26th off to watch the wedding on TV, after a lot of touring, you might want to rest a bit before you start on your own stuff :) Fun but tiring. The bus system was my favorite thing, easy rest time when needed.

I hope you like the tour and have a great time.
-Aly

The UK bank holiday the last weekend of May will have 100 times more impact on what you want to see around London than a royal wedding in Windsor. Schools are on holiday this week.

As far as I am aware, there is much speculation over the wedding date, but it hasn't been announced as yet. Windsor hotels will doubtless become more expensive, but the guests attending the wedding aren't going to be staying in Premier Inns! Security will be a nightmare, so the Windsor area is best avoided.

Thanks all for your insights. I am going to book the HP trip and I already had booked hotels for pre and post tour and RS tours has the rest buttoned up. I am sad to miss Windsor Castle because of things if the date of May 26 turns out to be true, our tour there with the RS tour is schedule for the week leading up to the big day. On the bright side this got us going on our to do list. Best wishes for the holidays!

There are always things happening in London. I have been in London during the Paralympics and during London Fashion Week. The latter event did not get very much media coverage, but did effect hotel availability. I did not attend either event. I was prepared in the case of the Paralympics, and made sure I had a hotel booking in advance. I did not book any attractions, or transport in advance, and found that this was a non-issue. The atmosphere in London at that time was great because of the buzz of the Paralympics, and the then still recent Olympics.

I was caught unawares in the case of London Fashion Week. I arrived in London without a hotel booking. I found a room via an accommodation booking office at St Pancras station, and found things were very expensive. I still got a hotel room, though, it just was not good value. But once again, I found that there was no need to pre-book either transport or attractions.

I am sure that the wedding will attract tourists, but I am sure it will just like the Paralympics, Wimbledon, FA Cup Final, London Fashion Week, and any number of other events that are constantly happening in London.