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Trip planning to Birmingham area

Posted by on

We're planning a large family trip in late May 2027 to the Dudley-Cradley Heath-Halesowen area just west of Birmingham. One challenge is that there might be 8 of us, including my mom who is 80 years old and healthy.

We'll be spending the first week near Dublin, flying from O'Hare. The second week, we'd fly from Dublin to Birmingham. (I'm posting the inverse of this in the Ireland forum. It's almost like we'll need to plan two separate trips.) Are there travel agencies in England/Ireland who can help with a trip like this?

We're thinking about renting a house, and there seem to be many nice ones available on various rental websites, but I've encountered some suspicious listings. We also are struggling with transportation logistics, etc. Would it make sense to rent both a van and a smaller car, considering all the luggage we'd be bringing, and that a few people in our group might break away and do their own thing for a few days?

Any recommendations, particularly regarding accommodations in the Dudley-Cradley Heath-Halesowen area, would be very welcomed!

Posted by
370 posts

I've answer the property question in your earlier post....

Renting two vehicles makes sense since bigger vehicles tend to have limited availablity (most people in UK/EU need a special licence to drive them) and never have automatic transmission unless they are actually electric. But two large estate cars (station wagons) might also be suitable. Vans are commerical vehicles for carrying goods around, what you may need is mini-bus. Are any of the 8 people kids? I've just looked at Enterprise to see what they describe as what and they have someting interesting. VW Caddy "people carrier" which they list at 7 people and 4 bags. As in 7 people if 3 aren't very big! But the seats for the 3 fold down to give a bigger luggage area, they drive like a VW Golf/Rabbit and are available as automatic. Pair one of those with a Ford Focus and you have 8 seats and enough luggage space. Drving from Birmingham airport will be simple enough, you miss out all of the city by using the M42 to go around the south side

Posted by
1533 posts

I can't help with transport or accommodation, but if you're staying in Dudley you might want to check out the Black Country Living Museum: https://bclm.com/

I haven't been, but it looks really fun and has been on my list to visit for a while now.

Posted by
98 posts

I second Cat’s Black Country Living Museum recommendation! I head to the Stourbridge area several times a year and that museum truly explains the context of the Black Country. I see that you’re visiting ancient archeology sites. I’d love to know more about those.

For driving logistics, I’d prefer two midsize SUVs on those roads as opposed to a van and small car.

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