For the most part, the summer will be spent with my older teen daughter in Abingdon/Oxfordshire. She would love to see a few countries though while there, and was asking me where we could go for weekends. We will spend a lot of time seeing different parts of England first, but where would you suggest for a two night stay besides Paris and Belgium? I was wondering if it is worth trying for Strasbourg? What about flying to Ireland for a weekend? We could also do Amsterdam. Where else would you suggest? We could possibly swing a three night stay off and on, but she won't have that much time off for most of the stay. If you have used Easy Jet and Ryan Air, which would you suggest using? Which is more reliable? Is there a rail pass we could use to get around in the UK? We will also go to Edinburgh as well, but not sure how easy it is to get to Wales from Oxford.
Posted by
Marseille
150 posts
I have not flown in a long time, but about 10 years ago I used Easyjet regularly and had no trouble. I can't say from first-hand experience nowadays, but bear in mind that as they are low-cost companies sometimes you get what you pay for. Some passengers end up disgruntled. Then again they are a great way of covering longer distances in a short time, and for a good price if you buy long enough in advance. As you will not be too far from London there will be a lot of cities served from there as it is a major hub for those two companies. Many cities will be less than 2 or 3 hours away (although typically these airlines operate from smaller and cheaper airports that are quite far away from the cities they serve, so you have to factor in that extra travel). As for Strasbourg, since recently there is the high-speed rail option: London-Paris in 2:15, then Paris-Strasbourg in 2:15 (plus about an hour to allow changing between Paris stations).
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
If I had a choice I would pick EasyJet over Ryanair. I haven't had a bad experience with either one, but the staff on EasyJet were great, and it felt a bit less "low rent". You won't always have a direct choice, though, since they don't always fly to the same locations. In my experiences, both are reliable (though there are lots of stories to the contrary), and both were certainly a great option for the price. The most common complaint, carryon/luggage restrictions, won't be a problem for you since you will just be taking weekend trips and won't need much.
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
There was a recent article in Los Angeles Times travel about all the places you can get to from London via Eurostar and other high sped trains in Europe. So start with seeing where high speed trains can get you in connection with Eurostar. After that- with low cost airlines you could get to virtually anywhere in Europe. Just figure out where you want to go.
Ireland, Belgium, Paris, Amsterdam are clear choices by Eurostar. Ferries (including high speed hovercraft) can get you up and down the French Coast, and possibly to Scandinavia. Also you can do the Channel islands and many other British/Scots islands.
Posted by
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
Hi Eli. Reykjavik is only a 3-hour flight from London, if either of you are interested in Iceland. Since you're based in England, you could visit some places in the UK that might be off the beaten path for most people, like the Shetland Islands or the Isle of Skye. Many of the islands off the coast of the UK have gorgeous scenery and ancient archaeological sites.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
Amsterdam would be a great trip. You might also want to look into Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. Also, you mention trips in England, if you've not been to Wales, Scotland and Ireland they should definitely be on your list. Pam
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
I agree that Amsterdam is well worth a trip. Try to do it on a 2 or 3 night trip, though. I'd also add Inverness, Scotland and maybe Glasgow as possibilities. Wales (Cardiff at least) is easliy reached. It is on the same train route as Bath. If I recall correctly, it takes about 2 hours or just a little more. Cardiff is a great city for a day trip. I am certain you could also do other parts of Wales- Tintagel, etc. And I agree that you should look visiting places in England that many tourists never get to explore. The Breaton Beacons, the Lake District, the Cotswolds, Kent, 1066 country, Yorkshire Dales, etc. York and Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon and Dover and Canterburry are among my favorite day trips. Oh- and Winchester, too. Don't forget market towns like St. Albans- short, easy train trip from London - less than 1/2 hour. And WINDSOR!!!!! Well worth several visits.
Posted by
OP
XXX
1170 posts
Lots of nice suggestions. Thanks. I am going to be reading a lot in the next few months. We have already been to SUA, but she has not been to York, Canterbury or Dover. We also went to Windsor twice, so I'll skip it on this trip. Trying to see places we hadn't seen before. We do want to take in a show in London together. A lot of travel will be around England as well. Lots to see and do. I think we will try to get in a week before hubby starts his short-course and that way we can visit a few places as a family. I am thinking we are going to have about 3 weekends that could technically be a three nighter so that gives us some options (daughter and me).