Help with 2.5 day London Itinerary

You're planning too much.

I would like to note that the British Museum is not near Harrods.

You have to remember that after a nearly 10 hour flight, you're going to be a little jet-lagged so you may not get everything done.

Think is sections. Your itinerary has you all over the place every day.

Get a map and see where everything is.

My suggestions:

Day One.... Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Thames River, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey. (Go in that order)

Day Two--Tower of London, Tower Bridge (London Bridge is in Arizona), British Museum, Afternoon Tea. (Although there's a small museum in the bridge, don't waste your time. Just take pictures from outside the Tower of London along the Thames.)

Day 3--Camden Market or Harrods--two different parts of the city.

You didn't say what area you'd be staying so this is a generic idea with the least amount of traveling.

If you're studying abroad, you'll have plenty of time for the London Eye, ice skating, the markets and just about everything else. You don't need to see everything in 2.5 days.

Keep in mind that doing London in sections...not section to section... lessens the time you spend on public transport and more time above ground seeing the city. This is especially true your first day when physical activity and sunshine are the best antidote for jet lag.

Thanks again for all the tips. I'll be couchsurfing with one of my friends near the Hither Green station (zone 3?), so we'll be making trips London every day and staying the entire day.

I think that staying there requires that I buy train tickets to get back and forth, but am not sure.

Sherry

Thanks for all of your suggestions so far! I will be studying in Leeds with about 3 days on either end of my semester in London. Is outdoor ice skating worth it? I realize it won't be available in June, so wanted to take advantage of the cold (ha!) in January. here's a revised itinerary:

Day 1

Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Thames River, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey.

Day 2

Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Afternoon Tea, British Museum, London Eye

Day 3

Camden Market and Ice skating (?)

On my last 3 days in the UK, I'm thinking that the weather will be nice by late June. I was hoping to cover some other sights in London that I might not get to, but also with a day trip/overnight to Bath and Stonehenge. Does this sound feasible?

Sherry

I'm glad you took my advice about doing London in sections. You'll be able to get more accomplished than wasting time running around the city.

To me, ice skating can be done almost anywhere it's cold. Why waste time doing it in London with such a limited schedule when there is so much to see and do.

Leeds is not that far from London and I wouldn't be surprised if some of your new found friends at school will suggest weekend trips "to town."

Dear Sherry: Your revised itinerary looks good, but I have a couple of suggestions. While you did not say where your hotel was--and that makes a difference in planning your itinerary for a given day--I suggest you start day 2 at the London Eye (without going up it), take a boat from Westminster Pier which is right there to the Tower, which will let you do the best part of the Thames in the best way (on the river itself). Then as far as tea--I realize that if you have a coupon you may be set on the radisson, but it would save time (and be very enjoyable) if you had your afternoon tea in the spectacular Great Court of the British Museum. You can check it out on the Museum website. I am not a huge shopper, but I enjoy browsing around Covent Garden, which is in central london...again, check out the Covent Garden website.
My wife and I stayed recently at 3 hotels in London that we enjoyed. The first 2, the Indigo and the Quality Crown, were both adjacent to Paddington Station which is itself only 15 minutes from Heathrow by express train. The 3rd was the premier--county hall, which is directly adjacent to the London eye. You might want to investigate and consider one of these as a base. Have a great trip!

Ask your friend if there is a bus that can take you to the Lewisham DLR station. If yes, you can use an Oyster card on the bus, tube and DLR for a maximum of 8.60 GBP for the entire day. Much cheaper than taking the rail network--even though the rail is more convenient.

The DLR is a driverless train that goes much of the way elevated above the ground. It also connects to the London Underground (tube) at many locations.

The DLR will take you directly to the Tower of London.

The other option is to disregard all our suggestions on getting into London because your friend probably knows better than we do and can advise you.

Thanks. So if I'm coming from Hither Green, it's best (cheapest) if I can use the Oyster Pay-as-you-go? Is this also usable for the train that I want to take into London? If I choose to buy a separate train ticket, can I use the PAYG card within central London with a lower daily limit?

Also, do any of you know about things to do around Hither green?

Sherry---Since the train from Hither Green comes into Waterloo or Charing Cross, the suggested day 2 I proposed above would work fine. Exit at Waterloo, walk a couple of blocks to the London Eye, and then you are set.

On January 2, everything changes. From then on, you will be able to use Oyster on the National Rail train and it will automatically calculate the lowest fare.

However, you will have an additional fare when switching over to the tube, bus or DLR which will have a daily maximum depending on which zones you use it from.

I'm hoping one of our UK regulars will have better information as I've read the press release a few times and I'm a little confused.

To me, it seems, that using Oyster all the time, you'll get the best deal.

Unless, of course, there's a travel card that works out better.

I defer to those who understand it better.

From the Transport for London site here are the prices for one-day, zone 1-3 travelcards starting 2 January 2010.

Anytime: 8.60 GBP. Off-peak (after 09:30 on weekdays): 6.30 GBP. If you buy this travelcard at a National Rail station rather than a Tube station, your only choice is the anytime card.

As others have said, as of 2 January you will be able to use an Oyster card on all National Rail trains within the London transit zones. Since the Oyster computer automatically sets a price cap that is 50 pence less than the cost of a one-day travelcard for the zones in which you travel that day, the most you would pay per day for rides in zones 1-3 is 8.10 GBP, no matter what combination of means of transportation you use (National Rail trains, Tube, bus, or DLR).

You said that you will be taking a train into London. If by that you mean a Tube train from Heathrow, then, yes, you can use an Oyster card for that ride and the Oyster computer will automatically calculate the best single fare for you.

I suggest that you buy an Oyster card at Heathrow, load 30 GBP on it, and use it as a pay-as-you-go card for your 2.5 days in London. Keep the card and use it again when you return to London, tapping into any unused pounds still on it and loading more pounds on it as needed.

Sherry, you could also easily walk to the London Eye from Houses of Parliament/Big Ben: cross over the bridge at Big Ben and you're right at County Hall and steps away from the London Eye. Or you can take this walk in the other direction. If you're starting your day at the London Eye, trains will get you from Hither Green to Waterloo station near the Eye. Trains (Rail) from Hither Green run into London Charing Cross in 25 mins, I believe. Charing Cross is a very central station and it's easy to walk to many places from there, including Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. I agree that there's no need to see the museum at Tower Bridge but you'll probably spend some time (an hour and a half?) at the Tower of London - take one of the Beefeater Tours, it's worth it. Your plan to take afternoon tea at the Radisson after the British Museum is spot on seeing as they're near each other. Bear in mind that while tube distances may seem short on the map, at some underground stations you have to walk quite a long way to catch the train, so allow for this in your planning. Plus you'll likely be battling commuter crowds during rush hour! It might seem daunting to have to take a train into London every day, but locals do it all the time and it's easy to get used to it.

Sherry,

I do agree with the others that it's a good idea to plan conservatively and to see the city in sections. But I think your original itinerary actually did that fairly well.

Trafalgar, Buck Palace, and the Abbey are all in Westminster, and the Eye is just across the Thames. You probably won't have time to shop that day, but otherwise it looks good.

One comment on the order of sites for Day 1. Big Ben is in the Houses of Parliament, so you'll want to see both before venturing out to the Thames, unless you have some time to kill before Evensong.

I don't know if Parliament is in session at that time, but you might want to check to see if tours are operating (tours are not conducted when Parliament is out of session). If so, I highly recommend one.

Suggest you take a hop on/hop off bus tour and get a good orientation of the city. It is good for 24 hours. You may want to use it both days.