First day in London after a long flight

I don't buy anything through Trip Advisor. They own Viator which is a tour consolidator thus they push booking thru them. I'd rather figure out the actual tour company so that they either don't have to pay Viator for the listing/booking OR so that I get a better deal on the cost. I also would not ever book hotels thru TA. I look for reviews, I use the forums every single day but no booking thru them or their companies.

I'd personally not book a tour for my arrival day nor would I do a Ho-Ho bus which would put me to sleep immediately, lol! I need to walk and get my face into sunshine.

If you land at 9A you'll likely get to London between 11 and 12. I'd drop my bags at my hotel and head out for lunch, then do a walk around my neighborhood. I stay in the Victoria Station area so my "usual" route is down beside the west side of Buckingham Palace along Grosvenor PL to Wellington Arch. Swing by the WWII Bomber Command Memorial in the edge of Green Park, work back thru Green Park to St James' Park and then back toward my hotel.

Others walk along the Thames or in other neighborhoods.

When are you traveling? If it's winter I might do something different.

Also what area are you staying in? That might give people some ideas on what to suggest. I, personally, don't like to be too far from my lodging the first day. I'm better if I'm with others but when I travel solo I have more trouble keeping myself awake so often need to go back to the hotel for a nap of 1-1.5 hours (I set an alarm).

I would never pre-pay for anything on my arrival day, because I've never been mentally equipped to comprehend even the most basic information after a virtually sleepless overnight flight. If I sat on a bus I'd be asleep within 5 or 10 minutes. Staying outdoors is the best way to begin recovering from jetlag.

What you might do is look at the walking tours scheduled for your arrival day by LondonWalks and make note of any that might be interesting. Then you can make a spur-of-the-moment decision based on how you feel and the weather. You do not pre-book LondonWalks tours; you just show up at the designated starting point. The website is here: https://www.walks.com/. You can download the entire winter schedule (through April 30) at the top right or check your specific arrival date using the calendar.

We took a tour with London Walks. It is only 10 pounds and you just show up. Look on their website for a schedule and meeting place. I like a walking tour because someone else does the thinking for me!

Mimi65, on my first and only trip to London a few years ago, my flight arrived even earlier, around 7:00 as I remember. I was spending my first night at a nice hotel on the Southbank. I dropped my bags at the hotel, and just walked the Southbank from one end to the other, and back. As I passed by the Globe Theater, I was able to buy a ticket for their tour right then. I think I went into the Tate Modern that day too. Then went back to the hotel to check in and rest up a bit. That worked for me, a great day.

There is an England Forum here where you can browse for experiences of others in a similar vein, and can post questions where more people may see them who may have specific answers.

Your post here is in General Europe.

My family considers the first day in Europe to be a "zombie day." I never know if I'll be able to sleep much on my flight and of course different people are affected differently by jet lag. I agree with everyone who said not to plan much. Sometimes you can power through the day, other times you've gotta have a nap.

Like others, we plan nothing noteworthy for the arrival day. We generally get to our hotel in S. Kensington and drop off our bags since the room is seldom ready. We walk around, or take the tube to someplace where we can walk around, until the room is ready. We’ll go back, check in, and clean up, before heading out again. We’ve never done the hop on bus, but I guess arrival day would be as good as any to do it, sitting on the upper deck in the open air. I wouldn’t plan on visiting anyplace you really want to see, enjoy, and remember on arrival day. I can’t help with guided tours since we don’t do them.

I rarely book anything pre-paid on my arrival day, at least nothing early, because I don't know if I can get there on time.

I do like having something in mind to do, even if it's a self-guided walk, to give me a purpose that keeps my mind off any sense of being tired. The more active I am that first day, especially out in the fresh air if weather permits, the more it invigorates me to finally "be" at my destination!

A walking tour where you can just "show up" is just the sort of thing that would keep me going on arrival day.

Just agreeing with the other replies. I'd never pre-pay for anything on arrival day, as you could arrive late and miss it, or you could find yourself in a jetlagged haze and not able to enjoy what you prebooked.

I like taking one of Rick's audio tours on arrival day. They're free, and I can start and stop them to accommodate my stamina, as well as abort them if I'm not enjoying them or if I poop out (and then restart them later if I get a second wind, or on another day). You can get them on the Rick Steves Audio App, or from this page: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/london. The Westminster Walk is good for seeing the places you've heard about and seen in movies, while the Historic London Walk is good for seeing quiet places you might miss on your own (I loved the Inns of Court - pindrop quiet, in the middle of the day in the middle of London!).

If you do want a paid tour, I also agree that Trip Advisor is just a reseller, and you'd do better to go direct through London Walks https://www.walks.com/ or another reputable provider.

Have you flown overnight before? If not, don’t plan anything with a fixed time that first day. You don’t know if you’ll be able to sleep on the plane, how long passport control will take, etc.

If your hotel is in the Paddington area you could walk to Little Venice (check the route on Google Maps or similar) and then follow the tow path to London Zoo (if you feel sufficiently awake to enjoy the zoo) or to Camden Lock Market (if you are in a shopping mode), then walk south though Regents Park to Oxford Street, and then back to your hotel and check in. Have lunch somewhere on the way.

I have had long first days in London twice now, arriving at 9 am-ish from the west coast, and while I started to flag by mid-afternoon both times, I did make great use of that day. First time had me at the V&A for a special exhibit by 11, coffee, then by tube to the Tower to relax and spend time with the ravens (I had toured it on a previous trip), more coffee, lots of walking, then back to my neighborhood of Bayswater for an early dinner, in the room by 6.

Second time I had slept a bit on the plane and was very perky, dropped my bags at the hotel and went straight to the Tower--I'm a wee bit obsessed with the ravens, don't mind me:)--did a Yeoman Warder tour and had a great lunch there, then headed over to Regent St as there was some shopping I wanted to do, by 5 pm a wave of exhaustion hit me so I had an early dinner at Liberty and then it was time to head to the hotel. I do well if I stay upright and outdoors as much as possible on a first day, but by 4 pm I usually start to droop and know it's time to wrap it up.

A tour your first day might be perfect--don't have to plan or think much on your own, same with the HoHo bus to get oriented.

We flew into London mid-morning in June of this year. We traveled via subway to our hotel where we checked in and I went right to bed as I have done for the last 15 years of flying from Seattle to Europe. I nap until I wake up and then go out to eat. Meanwhile, my wife is out walking around the neighborhood as always. I discovered 15 years ago that my going to bed was a cure for a bad case of "crashing" after that long flight. I tried to stay up and walk around but it was a disaster for two years in a row. I now recover very well after a nap. We schedule nothing for our first day in Europe.

For us, when we arrive in a city after a long flight, we would not book anything. I would look at potential things to do. So then if you are tired you can just take it easy. Or when you feel ok, you can explore the city.

Having flown into a number cities after a transatlantic flight I find that it good idea to have “something” planned. So you don’t have to make decisions while tired and jet lagged. And so you can stay active until the local bedtime. A tour, a museum, afternoon tea. Whatever, but have a plan.

Mimi,

You have received some great advice already from your post. The 9:00 a.m. arrival time, usually means your at your hotel closer to 11:00, depending upon time in passport control. After a long flight (I don’t sleep on planes), I try to find a place to freshen up, either an arrival lounge or early check in at my hotel (if possible). Then I try to have a nice lunch before I tour.

If you are intending to tour on the first day, I would pick something like London Walks. It is inexpensive and doesn’t require advanced reservations. Having a tour on the first day is nice because you don’t have to navigate your own way through the sites, you can have a guide. Having other people around as well tends to keep me awake. I would avoid the hop-on-hop off bus, especially in London where you are often stuck in traffic.

Good luck and have a great trip,
Sandy

If you buy RSEs London guidebook, you can take his self-guided walking tours instead of hiring a guide. I would take his "City" tour first, so you can begin your sightseeing in London's birthplace.
I also recommend the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, but after you've gotten a good nights sleep. This would be the only tour I would pay for.