Girl Scouts in London - 1st day (it this too much?)

Seems like a lot. Hope you don't mean arrival day, do you? If so that is way too much with jet lag as by time you even get to London could be almost noon. How old are the girls? Give more info please.

We arrive at 6:55 am at Heathrow Airport. We hope to get to the Charing Cross Tube stop by 10:00 am.

Even though you get to CC by 10am that does seem like too much and I don't suffer from jet lag and usually hit the ground running. Again, how old are the girls? I guess if you figure out how long each walk is, how long is the play it might help. You also have to allow for lunch time. See what others say about plans.

My Girl Scouts are in high school.

Way too much for arrival day, especially throwing a play into the mix! Even if it's an afternoon performance, once jetlagged girls get seated in the dark they are likely to doze off. The walks are a good idea, because you want to keep them outside and moving that first day. They'll likely be ready for bed early, and then you can hit it harder the next day.

I know you don't want to believe us, however, that is way, way, too much for the first day. I think you'll need a whip and a chair if you're dealing with teenage girls who haven't had time to primp for the the day!

I'll be leaving for San Antonio tomorrow morning and I won't have enough energy to do equivalent activities you are proposing when I arrive without any jet lag. I think you are seriously overbooking the poor girls with all their jet lag. You also need to realize different girls will react differently. Some will be ready to go until 8 pm and some will be dragging by 2 or 3. I don't know what your schedule is (one day London or five) but St. Paul's could easily take 3 hours (see the crypt). If you go there first, you might make it to see the changing of the guards. That will keep everyone awake. Go for a snack in St Martin's-in-the-field after that. You can't do St Paul's and an afternoon performance at the Globe (go groundlings if you do) after that; but if you skip the guards changing, you can do both of the others. The City Walk Tour and Museum of London are second tier and can be skipped unless you have lots of time. Using the tube makes "being right there" almost irrelevant. Where is your luggage during this time? Is your 10 am arrival at Charing Cross based on dropping it off already? Charing Cross isn't on the direct line from Heathrow.

I agree with everyone else. That's too much for Day One. Jet lag is very real. And, I bet those girls stay up most of the night on the fight, whether they want to or not. Chances are you'll be standing at the Globe, so I'd put that off. St. Paul's, too. It isn't going anywhere. Plan a very easy and open ended day, so you can all go back to the hotel and crash when that moment arrives. With a little forethought, you can all wake up refreshed on Day Two.

I want to thank all of you for helping me scale back my over-extended DAY 1 with my Girl Scouts. Guess I just want them to see it all - but I certainly don't want them to crash and burn.....and neither do I! We will be 5 nights in London, 4 nights in Paris, and 8 nights at the Girl Scout's Our Chalet in Adelboden, Switzerland. We have been planning this trip and fundraising for 4 years. Finally, it is almost here and we are sooooo excited!!!

On an editorial note, while I was leading Confirmation at the local Catholic Church, I can remember urging the teens still in Girls Scouts to stay with it for the opportunities that would come their way, and a couple did and did get to Switzerland. I can only humbly thank you for your dedication to these girls to get them to this place. You will not believe what they will accomplish in college and afterwards.

Thank you for your kind words! Most of our girls have been together since grade school and now they attend to 5 different high schools! It's been a very rewarding experience watching them grow and keeping them interested in scouting. They are all working on their Gold Award - which is equivalent to the Boy Scout Eagle Award - the highest award in Scouting. I've been very blessed to have had this time with them.

It sounds like you have a number of people on this trip. You'll have to take into account the fact that people react differently to long haul overnight flights. Some people get some sleep on the flight, others get none. The difference in energy levels on arrival in London can be dramatic. I speak from experience from my days of traveling with our family. I think you should allow a rest period before you set out to sight-see assuming you can get into your lodging. Even those who handle the trip well will be feeling tired early in the evening, so I wouldn't plan on anything for the first night other than an early dinner and bed. Walking outside in the fresh air is good the first day.

Much too much for anybody on the first day. (I think in total its close to a marathon). The afternoon Globe Theatre performance is in sunshine (as much as there is in London), so the girls wont snooze of in the dark. But it will be a long and tiring day. A lot easier to keep awake and going if you arent standing or sitting in one place for a couple of hours Museum of London is a very low priority sight (been there) also quite a walk from St Pauls. I enjoy walking through "the City" but do that and British Museum on another day when you can enjoy them. St Pauls is good (Whispering Gallery is fun), Westmisnster Abbey with Poets Corner and dead kings and queens is way better.

If you have "standing" tickets at the Globe you will be expected to stand at all times during the play. Unless you have seating tickets, going to a play at the Globe after a day of walking around will lead to painful feet and joints if not somebody fainting.

My rule of thumb is two major sights per day, then I fill in around those based on any extra time. Because your girls are high school, there is a better than even chance many of them won't sleep on the plane - meaning they'll be walking zombies your first day there. It might help to stress their need to sleep on the plane so they can enjoy being in London the next day (doesn't work with my kids). I would rule out the Globe Theater, even the girls who would otherwise be excited about the experience will sleep through it. Same for museums, wait until you're rested. To stay awake, stay active. Walks, parks, bike rides are all good ideas - but you reading out of a Rick Steve's book isn't going to be very interesting or exciting to your troop of zombies either.

I agree, skip the City walk. I'd suggest that a bus tour would be more interesting and useful on their first day... help them to get orientated, hopefully if the weather is good then they can sit up top and get some fresh air... followed up by a light meal, and then The Globe. If they're groundlings, 3 hours of standing in place will be tough, and you don't want to wear them out beforehand. I'd also recommend guided walks over just using ones from a book. They're much more interesting, and you learn much more. I love London Walks, and they will do private walks as well for groups.

You could also try many of the 'last minute' ticket booths in London. They sell off the tickets that aren't used for various shows. You may not all sit together, but it's worth a try if a portion of your group wants to see a show and others don't. Also, from the airport, the time it takes to get through customs, everyone to get their luggage, take the 900th potty stop, and get into London may be longer than planned or hoped for. Lastly, we were in Adelboden at the Chalet in January. If you're taking a bus or car into town from Frutingen, make sure those that get car sick are up front! It'll be a long day coming from Paris, taking the wind-ing road to Adelboden, then walking with luggage partly up the hill (the walk depends on how far your bus/car can get up to). It's beautiful there and you'll meet lots of interesting people, they're booked solid this summer.

For that exhausted first day, I'd have a list of the 'extras' - the 'B'-list things that you might use as fillers throughout your touring day (walks, parks, etc.) and do a few of them. A walk sounds like a good possibility - you'll get the blood flowing (as usual, hopefully LOL), you'll be bombarded with unusual sights and sounds, you can get something easy for breakfast & lunch, but no going to the room to sleep - if that's a must-do, though (and sometimes it is), I'd do it ASAP and only for 2-3 hours MAX. The problem with that plan is that your rooms probably won't be ready until mid-afternoon...You'll have to play that by ear. No plays, no sitting still for very long, nothing past 5PM - you have to figure out dinner, then get back to the rooms, work out the first-night-in-a-new-hotel-room thing, the girls will be tired but giddy - you want them to go to sleep as early as possible that first day.

Re: Brian's comment -- The Museum of London is a fine place, but it doesn't merit inclusion in the "must see" list. There are world-class museums in the city. It isn't one of them.

Agree, your original plans are way too much on the first jet-lagged day. Assume you have the tickets for the Globe so are working round this. Agree you should keep the rest of the day as open-ended as possible. If you are staying in the Charing Cross area there is a lot you can do within a short walk. It it only a few steps to the river. Also very close to Trafalgar Square, where there is the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery. Also on Trafalgar Square is St Martins in the Fields, which has a cafe in the Crypt and also an area for brass rubbing - which could result in a more interesting souvenir than usual. Very much agree with JumpinBug re London Walks. Walks.com. They have dozens of 2 hour walks that you can take and arrange private walks for groups - they have a lot of experience arranging walks for students. They are very reasonably priced and if you email them they should be able to advise you. Their guides are all Blue Badge qualified and usually excellent.

In a word YES! You are cramming too much into Day 1. I did almost the exact same Girl Scout tour of London, Paris and Switzerland a few years ago. Things to consider based on my tour 1. They will NOT sleep on the plane. (They will probably sleep during the play however, Personally I think this is a bad idea on day 1) 2. EVERYTHING will take longer then you expect. Even getting cash from the ATM. And the shopping.... I did not budget enought "shopping time" They didn't buy much but they spent a LOT of time looking! You probably won't be at Charing Cross by 10. You land at 7....then everyone goes through immigration and customs, everyone goes to the bathroom, everyone claims luggage, then they see Starbucks etc.... Plan for a 'worst case' not "best case". 3. Where are you staying? If it's a the Girl Guide Center, the commute back and forth takes a while. 4. Things that took my girls MUCH longer then I would have EVER expected included the following: a) Globe Museum. (The adults drug them out, we were starving, they were having a great time with interactive) b) Tower of London. They loved this. After I "forced" them to take the Beefeater Tour we were there for HOURS. Pouring rain finally drove us out!
c) Changing of the Guard. (We were able to go inside the gate, it was great, but you have to arrive early and stay until the end!) As a result of a), b) and c) we missed some " must dos" (Westminster Abbey for example) but the girls had a GREAT time and that's what is important. Good Luck!

Yep, too ambitious. London's very big and travelling ( even without jet lag is exhausting) - more so if you / others don't know exactly where you are going

Mary Ellen You might want to play it by ear. Some of the people that posted on here don't realize that these are high school kids with different sleep schedules (I have two of them) than normal humans. I would not definitely exclude what you want to do. See if you can split the group up into those that may have the energy to do what you want and those that may lag and want to take a nap or freshen up at the hotel. I know my kids when traveling sleep very little even with the jet lag (the kids these days love all of those gross energy drinks, like Monster)

Hi, Randy! Thank you for your insights. And also, thanks to all of you who have been posting. I've been reading Rick Steves books on London and Paris - cover to cover. Also, I've downloaded all his walking tours, etc on my iphone and the girls will be using their MP3 players. So, we will all be hooked up to Steve. I feel like I've already been to London and Paris with that! Luckily, we've all traveled to Rome and other parts of Italy about 4 years ago and we've been avid campers, so hopefully we've built up some stamina. But, in any case, I will be mindful of our limits. We are just so excited and are definitely ready for our adventure!