Adding tour to existing tour

AFAIK, Ricks tours are 7 days or longer. But honestly, London has to be the easiest city in Europe to do on your own.

RS has a 7 day Best of London tour, but for only 2-3 days it looks like a DIY project.

Buy a transit card for buses and the Tube, called an Oyster Card. You can book timed entry tickets online for the major sites like Tower of London and the Churchill War Rooms. It is very easy to tour London on your own. Most museums are free. I would add at least one more day, two more would be best to see London.

It would be easy to do on your own especially after the 14 days because you would have a good handle on how to do it from the tour. I would plan on at least three, maybe four addition days in London. AND critical -- book your return flight home from London. Catch the Eurostar to London (much cheaper with advance reservation). On arrival in London hit a TI and see what tours they have. Alternate would be the hop on/off buses. But there are several with different routes. The TI can help sort that out for you. Since everything is in English and most will speak a form of English that you can generally understand, it is easy to get around. Personally I would hotel around Victoria station for general convenience. Many of the sites are within walking distance from VS. And nice pubs and restaurants in the area.

Dave K, read one of the the RSE guidebooks that includes London, and you'll see its pretty easy to do on your own. You can always hire local day tours or guides there that can take you around if you'd like, and/or take day trips to places like Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath, etc. Very easy. Ask lots of questions here and you'll get lots of help.

RS does not offer a short 2-3 tour of London but you can easily do this on your own.
1.) at least 90 days out book your EuroStar train ticket from Paris to London. Will save you a lot of $’s. Lovely, comfortable train ride.
2.) use Google Maps street view to see how close many of the “ must see” sites in London are to one another. Type in Big Ben and you’ll see that the iconic tower and Parliament are close to Westminster Abbey, St James Park, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.
3.) Before you leave the States make a reservation at the Premiere Inn London St Pancras
4.) Arrive at St Pancras Station and locate the Oyster Card machines. Use your debit card to purchase one and put 15 pounds on it. It’s a refundable deposit but I’ve always kept mine knowing I’ll use it on my next London visit.
5.) Walk outside. Cross the road at the light and check into your hotel.
6.) Unpack. Walk back outside via the front entrance and turn right. Let your psyche adjust to sights and sounds. Hopefully the HSBC Bank ATM is still at the Argyle House which is a few blocks away. Take out pounds for your stay. The amount will depend on your itinerary. Many museums are free, you can purchase same day Half Price tickets for theatre, lots of street markets with food booths, but places like the Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms, all need to be pre booked.
7.) If hungry so many options….Dishoom at Granary Square, Mickey D’s, pub grub…. all close by…
8.) depending on your mood and what time it is you could head back to St Pancras Kings Cross Underground Station and use your Oyster Card to take a Victoria Line train to Green Park Station, mind the gap and exit. Follow signage to take a Jubilee Line train to Westminster. Exit the train and walk out the exit that says Westminster Pier. You’ll see the River Thames in front of you and Westminster Bridge to your right. Look up. You’ll know your are in London when you do.
Great city to explore.

Dave K, maybe you already searched online before you posted this question, maybe not, but since you brought up the question, I just searched for “Tour Company London 3 Days.” There are several that offer 3-day side trips out of London to other parts of England, but only one that offers what they say is a 3-day tour of London itself, the Contiki company. However, they make it immediately clear that their “tour” is really you doing independent travel. They provide your lodging, a London travel card for discounts at sights, and a whirlwind overview bus ride in the city, then you’re on your own to pick sights and determine when to see them. They have a London “basement office,” with staff to offer advice, but one of the sights their Website mentions as a possibility to see is the ridiculous London Dungeon, a contrived, sort-of carnival haunted house with no actual historic connection to London. Rick Steves warns against going there, so anyone who does is directing you to a rip-off waste of your time, when actual, unique and genuine London sights and museums are all over town. If you just wanted Contiki’s hotel room, at $90 a night in a pretty expensive city, that is a potentially good deal, but they still leave it for you to determine your own tour itinerary, meals, and transportation. So Contiki’s 3-day “tour” isn’t necessarily a complete fraud, but you’re still mostly on your own.

Dave,

Would you be open to London before the RS tour? I find London perfect for getting over jet lag. No language barriers. Interesting food. The sites, architecture, accents etc are different enough for me to feel like I’m in Europe. Easy train ride to Paris. Cheap flights to many places in Europe if I’m headed that way.

Check out London Walks. They offer all types of walking tours all over London.

http://www.walks.com

Thank you all for the replies and great ideas. Much appreciated.