Maybe I am getting too neurotic about planning, but is there a best day of the week to arrive in London? My husband and I are planning a trip in May and are very flexible about when. We are thinking sometime between May 6 and 24 because we enjoy travel during shoulder seasons and the last week of May is a school holiday in London. We will likely plan a flight to get us into the city early- to mid-afternoon and will stay 6 or 7 nights. People say Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to travel, but I am only seeing a difference of about $20 on other days of the week. I know the Tower of London and British Museum are most busy on Sundays, so we will likely stay away, but is there an ideal day to arrive if staying for a week? We will probably spend the afternoon of our arrival taking a walk or bus tour, have some dinner and go to bed early then hit the ground running on our first full day in the city. Thanks in advance for any comments, including telling me I am crazy for worrying about this.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
I would avoid arriving or departing on a Saturday or Sunday, to avoid any chance of engineering work on tubes or trains making your journey more complicated.
Posted by
Land of La
8701 posts
Does sound like you are over planning a bit. Will say May is a good month for London. Was there last year in May. Except for one day of hard rain, sun was shining. Even saw people sunbathing, something I'd never witnessed in prior trips. Not sure which people say Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to travel but I'd book a flight based on cost not day of the week. Heathrow is Heathrow. Flown from LAX to HRH countless times. Some days seemed busier than others, some days quieter. Good to get out and explore on the first day of arrival. Time to get the senses adjusted. My favorite stroll begins outside the Westminster Tube Station. Really lets you know you're "not in Kansas anymore!" GREAT city. Ever changing and yet oddly the same. Get your 2 for 1 National Rail Cards from Paddington when you arrive, pack light, take comfortable shoes and always Mind The Gap!
Posted by
Chicagoland
279 posts
FYI, a lot of the free museums are open late on Fridays (the British Library is the only one I know of that's open late on a different day, Tuesdays), so if you're having a hard time fitting in everything into the usual 10-5 visiting hours, you might want to take that into account.
Posted by
Lawrenceville, Georgia
693 posts
If you like gardening - the Chelsea Flower Show in London is May 22-26 next year.
Posted by
OP
Kansas City
132 posts
Thank you all for the advice. I had not considered travel on the weekend and tube closures. I will factor that in. And we are planning on the British museum on a Friday and might try to get to the flower show.
Posted by
Lawrenceville, Georgia
693 posts
Stacey, check the flower show website a little closer to the term, after the new year perhaps. It gets very crowded. They also have info about hidden gardens in London...
Posted by
NC, United States
970 posts
Hard to say, I suspect the backup at Heathrow's Passport Control is pretty tied to times of day, not to specific days. (Meaning: Flights from a specific region tend to arrive close to the same time. I.e., night flights from the U.S. east coast.) You also need to factor in how many people are on duty to check passports, and that is anyone's guess, it seems. That said, I avoid the weekends, Friday, and Monday, because I do know they are the busiest times for U.S. airports. Tower of London always seems crowded. Wrap a walk along the Thames, the Tower Bridge, a visit to Borough Market around it and call it a day. The British Museum is huge. It can easily consume a long, full day, if you're into it. Weekend crowds have never really been an issue for me, other than getting in the way of my photography. For that, weekdays are much better. If you arrive via a night flight, I will wager you will succumb to jet lag at some unknown time during the day. Go to your hotel, leave your bags, go out, and plan to come back when you start to collapse. Eat something, then sleep until you wake. No Alarm!
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2372 posts
Agree with JC. I would avoid weekend arrival. We usually try to leave US on Monday or Tuesday and return middle of a week as well. Not sure if it makes much difference. Hard to tell but it works for us.
Posted by
OP
Kansas City
132 posts
More good advice, as usual. Somehow I hadn't really thought about the busy airports in the U.S. We are looking at leaving mid-week and returning Thursday or Friday to maximize our time in London and still have the weekend to recover before going back to work. I suppose there really isn't anything we can do about lines at the passport check, so I might as well resign myself to a wait.