My family of 6 (children ages 16, 13, 9, 5) will be traveling to England and France, June 6-19. We will have 12 full days and nights, as we arrive early morning in London on June 7 and depart mid-afternoon from Paris on June 19. Still working on itinerary, but our current thinking is to stay 7 nights in London and 3 nights in Paris, with a side trip (2 nights) to the Normandy area to see some WWII things and Mont St Michel. For our time in England, we plan to day trip only, using London as home base. On the short list are Stonehenge, Canterbury, and Stratford-Upon-Avon, and possibly Hadrian's Wall. I already know that train travel is a cost-efficient and hassle-free way to travel in Europe, but I wonder with the price of tickets if a car rental would be cheaper for our large family. Of course, then we have to worry about picking up/returning the vehicle, parking, driving time. Am I answering my own question? Are there any special ticketing options that I should be checking into? Or should I just purchase tickets at the ticketing window on our travel days?
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3095 posts
No way you want a car in London!
There are discounts for children (up to age 15) and for families. The "Friends and Family" Railcard looks like the best bet---1/3 off the adult fares and 60% off for the children.
http://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/
I think your 16 year old counts as an adult for this.
Then for London to Paris, buy your tickets on the Eurostar as early as possible to get the best fares. Check to see when that is--it may be 3 or 4 months ahead of the travel date.
Not sure about Normandy---we haven't been and I have seen people say a car is recommended there.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
922 posts
I agree about not having a car in London and also don't think one is a good idea in Paris. There, you can purchase a carnet of 10 Metro tickets that you can share within the family. For Normandy, I think it really depends on what you want to do and where you stay. There are plenty of tours available that would obviate the need for a vehicle. They will pick you up at your hotel and drop you off afterwards. If you want to be able to do everything on your own, then a car is a must.
One option for you is to take the Eurostar train from London to Paris and then take a train to Bayeux ( recommend Hotel Churchill here). Once there, get a rental van for your family to tour the WWII sites in the area. When you are done, drop the rental car and take the train into Paris for the remainder of the trip.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7326 posts
A minivan ("People Mover" to some Europeans) could be cost-effective and/or more convenient for at least some of your trip. Remember that in England you'll be driving on the left side of the road, and driving from the right side of the vehicle. We visited Scotland last summer, and many of the roads were comparatively narrow, which added to the challenge, but it allowed us to go when and where we wanted, not tied to a train schedule or limited to where the train (or bus) went.
A car (left-hand drive, right side of the road) was extremely helpful for visiting Normandy in 2008, but some folks sign up for WW II battlefield tours that do the driving for you, taking you around in their own vehicles.
If you're taking the Eurostar train from England to Paris, get your tickets early for the best price. If you're flying, that's obviously not an issue.
Posted by
Land of La
8645 posts
You did answer your own question a bit. NO need to have a car for the UK. Maybe for the trip to Normandy but I'll let others chime in on that because I've never had the privilege of seeing the beaches, etc..
To help with your planning take a look at the Original London walks website. http://www.walks.com Check out their excursions to Stonehenge, Canterbury and Stratford on the Avon. See if you could add one or two to your dates. Might be the best way for you to go. Have taken many of their London walks over the years. Fun, informative, well priced. Hopefully Nigel will chime in with his vast train travel knowledge and advise how to get the best prices for England trains.
Lastly, I'd like to throw in a couple of spots that all of you might enjoy as a family. Mud chute Farm, http://www.mudchute.org and visiting Camden Lock Market then walking along the canal to either picnic on Primrose Hill or crossing over into Regents park to picnic and where you can rent bikes and ride. https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park Biking and picnicking in any of the parks would be a lovely way to spend time in June.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
Hagerstown, MD, USA
39 posts
Oh heavens, no, I was not planning to drive the car in London...but thought perhaps having it parked and accessible for our day trips would be cheaper than paying for bus tours or train tickets for 6 people. The more I think about it, though, the hassle of picking it up/returning it/parking it would probably outweigh the cost benefit. We would lose time driving, too (although often, taking in the scenery along the route is in itself an experience). My husband and I have driven in England before, so that doesn't worry me...in fact, I think the kids would get a kick out of it if we did choose to rent. I think I may be panicking slightly in reaction to my research on the cost of train tickets for 6...there are so many passes to consider, too. It's a bit overwhelming. Would I need to buy the rail pass and also the individual trip tickets (albeit at a discounted rate)?
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3095 posts
Tickets on the London to Paris Eurostar train are available for your dates now. Discount prices are good for travel on June 13 and June 15 ($290 for all six of you). Sunday June 14 is a lot more, $488 for all six.
http://www.eurostar.com/us-en/book/train/outbound-train/20150615
If you spend 7 nights in London that puts you on the train June 14, for an extra $200 if you buy the tickets today. Those prices could change ( go up) at any time, so you might want to decide very soon!
I think there was only one train on June 14 at $488; the others were considerably more.
You need to get this figured out anyway as it is time to book your lodging in London. Looking at apartments?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
If you choose a BritRail England Pass (to get as far as Hadrian's wall, for instance), then 3 of the kids will travel free with you and the 16-year old qualifies for a youth discount. You may need to enter separate groups into the shopping cart: 1 adult & 2 kids, 1 adult & 1 kid, and then the youth separately, before completing check out. For 3 days of travel within a month, each adult pays $227 in 2nd class, or get 4 days for $280.
Posted by
OP
Hagerstown, MD, USA
39 posts
Yes, researching lodging like a fiend. :-) Trying to find something reasonable that can accommodate 6 in Bayswater, Notting Hill, other zone 2 west areas, and considering Canary Wharf, too. I studied abroad for a semester and lived in Earl's Court area...would love to stay around there but the lodging is really pricey there. Thank you, Sasha, for pointing out the huge price jump in London-Paris Eurostar! We were looking to leave London on June 13, so I will go ahead and book that train travel ASAP.
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3095 posts
According to this website, a BritRailpass for four flexible travel days for 2 adults, 3 children, and one youth will be $840 in 2d class for June travel.
I checked prices for early purchase f tickets with a Friends and Family card for 3 adults and 3children and found the following prices for day return tickets:
London to Canterbury and back, £65 ( off-peak fare)
London To Salisbury ( for Stonehenge) and back, £97. ( off-peak fare)
London to Stratford-upon-Avon and back, £30 (advance fare, good only a specific train and date)
London to Newcastle ( for Hadrian's Wall) and back, £99 ( advance fare, committed to a specific train)
That comes to £291, plus £30 for the Friends and Family Card, or £321 which is a lot less than the BritRail Pass. And I may not have found the actual best fares in my quick search. Yes you do lose flexibility with the Advance fares so you would be committed to a specific day for the Hadrian Wall trip. And you would also have to add £13.55 for a "Day Ranger" pass for the 6 of you to actually get to places along the wall from Newcastle. (Carlisle was more expensive as a starting point somInonly listed Newcastle).
Also, you might not want to visit Stonehenge by taking the train to Salisbury. There are guided bus tours from London and maybe these are a better deal. I don't know but you should look into that before you commit to a 4-day pass or purchase train tickets for that day. ( confirm with the British train experts, but I believe that £97 off-peak fare I saw is a walk-up fare, so you don't have to buy in advance).
If you arrive in London and depart on the 13th you only have 6 days there, one of them with jet lag. Are you sure you want to spend 4 of those 6 days traveling out of London?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16174 posts
Megan, where are you looking for apartments? Did you know you can search on booking.com using filters to limit to apartments and in certain neighborhoods? There are lots of reviews and booking is easy. Using your dates and a family of six, I found this one for $1500 in Canary Wharf:
And some nice ones in Camden (near Kings Cross station) for a bit more, like these:
And more in Bayswater, near Hyde Park, and other areas. They don't list Notting Hill specifically but maybe it is included in the Hyde Park region.
You can also search for vacation rentals on Tripadvisor.
Posted by
OP
Hagerstown, MD, USA
39 posts
I've mainly been using holidaylettings.co.uk, Trip Advisor, VRBO/HomeAway. I haven't tried booking.com...I'll explore that tonight. Some of the apartment rental prices are astronomical! Good point about 4 days of outside London travel. The 13 year old is interested in Hadrian's Wall, but we may nix that in favor of the other day trips and spending more time in London. We plan to stumble around London our first day til dinner, then retire early. This strategy worked well for us when we took the kids to Italy 3.5 years ago. They were so excited to finally BE THERE, there were no complaints or meltdowns, just awe and excitement. And a fantastic night's sleep!