London and up north to Liverpool in 7 days! Need Itinerary help :)

There's not much to see in Liverpool and I would strongly recommend cutting down the time you spend there from 3 days to 1 day before the Liverpool match. Would also suggest you spend the additional days in London (especially as its your first time in the UK) where there is much more to see - you could always do a day trip outside London if you want to get out of the city. Is there some reason you need to have a car? It is very easy to get a train from Euston (in London) to Liverpool, you could book in advance and it would be way cheaper. Public transport (including trains) is much more available in the UK and Europe than the US.

Sarah,
Driving to Liverpool doesn't seem like a great use of your time or money. (Your rental car agency may even charge you a young driver's fee since you are both under 25.) I have not been to Liverpool, so I can't suggest a timeline there, but three days in London (2.5 if you are including your arrival day) barely allows you time to see the basics. If you can afford to do so -check previous London threads on this site for good values on hotels -I would suggest a 4th or even a 5th night in London. You could always do a day trip from the city to see "the country." Cambridge, Oxford, or Stratford upon Avon are possibilities. Alternatively, some will no doubt suggest you head west to the Cotswolds for the country town experience, but given it is your first trip and your short visit, I think sticking close to London before taking the train to Liverpool would be advisable. Have fun.

Sarah: I agree with the comments made above. There is absolutely no need to rent a car whatsoever. It is expensive, driving on the left is no picnic, the car will almost certainly be straight drive which you may not know how to use, English main roads in urban areas are crowded beyond belief, and Liverpool is an easy and fast train ride from Euston station in London. Now you seem too young to be a Beatles fan, but they are the biggest reason to visit Liverpool. But Liverpool itself is a surprisingly pleasant city with a vibrant downtown, with a branch of the Tate Gallery and several museums. Still, an overnight stay is plenty to see the essential sights and to catch the game you mentioned. London is a fabulous city, and well worth more than 3 days (the first day will be arrival day, and you will be massively jet-lagged). If you are flying back to the US out of London, don't forget to add in the time to return to London and get to the airport (Heathrow?) before your flight. Indeed, you may want to schedule your last night before coming home in London, to make the departure day less hectic.
What to see in London? The usual suspects: Tower of London, British Museum, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square & National Gallery, Covent Garden (shopping, eating, people watching), St. Paul's, Tate Modern, Churchill War Rooms, strolls in the rain through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Short excursions to Greenwich, Windsor, Hampton Court. Walks on Hampstead Heath and visiting John Keats' house, seeing the tree he sat under while composing Ode to a Nightingale. Museum of London (if open, it may be renovating), Imperial War Museum. Day trips to Bath, Brighton, Cambridge. Kew Botanical Gardens. The Victoria and Albert museum of decorative arts, including a museum of clothing/fashion. Well....lot's more where those came from. British Library.....

I think Liverpool is worth at least 2 days, but then I would say that! :-) Not sure what your budget is but if you do come I would recommend staying in the Albert Dock / Liverpool One area particularly if its your first time. You're not far from the main sites then. Base2Stay (no restaurant), Days Inn, Staybridge Suits, Premier Inn at Albert Dock seem to get good reviews on Trip Advisor. Depends of course on your budget. I've not stayed at any of them so can't comment personally. Be aware at weekends in particular Liverpool is a lively, vibrant and very popular place particularly with parties but that shouldn't put you off at all. Liverpool has so much to offer. If you are into art, museums, clubs and / or architecture you really can't go wrong. Chester, Southport and North Wales are in easy reach from Liverpool. Agree about taking the train from London: Less than 2 hrs from Euston London to Lime Street Liverpool. Book in advance and save ££££s. I've actually bought a 1st class ticket 3 months in advance for £15 one way (1st class isn't essential of course but it means you get more room and a sandwich and a drink thrown in) The same ticket would have cost an extortionate £150 on the day of travel!!!! (Who the heck buys these tickets at that price??) I always advise people to be wary about Sunday train travel in the UK - Engineering works tend to take place and travel can take much longer. Travel in UK with a car tends to take much longer than most people who have never driven here plan for - but of course it does give you that extra bit of freedom. You may struggle to get a ticket to watch Liverpool FC - - most home games are sold out during the season - unless you go through an agency and be prepared to pay more. Have a great time whatever you plan to do.

We did a similar version of this just a couple of weeks ago. It took us about 4 hours to drive from the London area to Liverpool. I don't think there is much to see along the way, but I could be wrong about that. We basically drove straight through. My husband is a huge Beatles fan so 2 nights there was perfect for us and we really could have spent a little more time. Check out the Mersey Ferry. You know the song? It was only one hour, but cool experience to say we did it. Lots of Beatles sights to keep you busy there. We stayed at the Hard Day's Night Beatles themed hotel. It's a really nice place, but there was alot of street noise (it was the weekend). BTW: renting a car and driving in the UK was one of the things that scared us the most, but we had the most fun doing it. I highly recommend it.

We were in Liverpool and London and other places during our trip over the past couple of weeks. My 16 year old said Liverpool was his favorite place. We booked the National Trust tour of John and Paul's boyhood homes. Great experience. We also saw a show at the Cavern Club and went to the Tate Museum. We flew into Manchester from the US, took the train to Liverpool (about an hour) and then spent the night in Liverpool and took the train to London (2 hours.) All very easy to do. Liverpool is smaller and easy to get around by foot. I'm not a shopper, but there was tons of shopping right downtown. We're too old to party, but Liverpool seemed to be party central. Lots of "stag and hen" parties (bachelor and bachelorette) and tons of 20somethings drinking and clubbing. We went home about midnight and I don't think I would have wanted to be out later b/c it was getting crazy. But in my 20s, I would have probably enjoyed the scene.