Tips for Travel To England

anything specific you want tips on?

Whenever we go we stay with family and buy train passes for the week.  never found the schedules to be an issue.

Just looking for general tips from those that have traveled there before.

Our thought for renting a car was we could just come and go as we please and if we saw something we could stop and explore without worrying about getting back to a train.

If you're looking for ideas about what to see, here were my favorites:

Bath and Stonehenge (we took a little bus tour from Bath, so I think of them linked, they are close).   Especially if you have a car!  Stonehenge is great.  Bath is a pretty town and the Roman baths are interesting, if you're into that.

I really liked Windsor Castle.  I took the train from London, but surely you can do that or drive.  Train worked great for us, since our hotel was right by Paddington Station.  The town of Winsor was also really cute and the shopping there was GREAT!

I loved the Churchill Museum in London, new, well done, informative.

If you go to the Tower of London, take the Yeoman Warder's tour.  It's included in your admission, but don't miss it. 

The pound is very strong compared to the dollar, so prepare for expensive everything.  You might look for a grocery store for snacks, water, etc, because buying from small shops is expensive.  I paid around $4 for a big bottle of water from the little corner stores in London.

Have fun!  Don't miss Stonehenge!

my most useful tip: The tower of London is NOT a tower.  It is a Castle.  And it is cool.  Touristy, but still cool.

We are taking a couple weeks in Europe this summer as well - 5 days London, 3 days Dublin and 3 days Paris.  The tricky parts for me, aside from the short cruise from Roselare Ireland to Cherbourg France (that's already booked), is the train travel legs. Should I book them there at the time of travel? I can call my AMEX concierge and they will book it for me, but everything tends to cost more through AMEX travel.  

London to Holyhead coordinating with the Holyhead to Dublin ferry - last one leaves at 5:14 - don't want to combine on virgin as you can't get a first class car with Virgin's train and ferry combo, I think....

Dublin to Rosslare - just show up at the train station at the time the train we want is leaving?

Cherbourg to Paris - same thin? Should I book in advance?

Paris back to London - does it sell out?

Anything I'm missing?

If I were you, I would be wondering if the risk of missing the train I booked (money lost) is worse than missing the train I want (time lost).  If you can handle the chance you might miss a transfer along the way, the only reason NOT to book early, I would buy the tickets.

You could buy your own tickets: http://www.raileurope.com

I've only spent a couple of days in London but the tour of the Tower was one of my favourite things. I remember it being expensive but it was also super cool! I completely recommend it.

One thing i was not prepared for was the lack of seating - many take-away sandwich shops have almost nowhere to sit (if any at all) and some place even charge extra for you to sit and stay (Starbucks).  It wasn't a lot but take advantage of taking a rest where you can.  Maybe that only matters too when you go - i went in November and it was wet and cold.  sitting in a park or square wasn't a great option.

Thanks Bikergrrl!

I'm also curious about the river cruise along the seine river at night - I hear some are fantastic and some are terrible. How do you choose?

Have you driven on the left side of the road before?  Roads and driving in the UK put a lot of stress on the driver.   Plan your trip to take the train the first week and only rent a car the second week if you feel you're missing out for lack of transportation.  (Check out your insurance situation as well.  The coverage provided by your credit card probably isn't there renting overseas.)  You could see about hiring a taxi for a day or two as an alternative to renting a car for the week. 

Full English breakfast is potatoes, bacon, sausage, eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, and fried tomatoes. 

as an englishman the best tip i can give you is to not concentrate to much on london. its a great place dont get me wrong but on the grand scheme of things england is a small place. yorkshire is a beautiful area and york is steeped in history.as already mentioned bath is worth a visit.  my favourite place has to be the lake district, great for open water swimming too if you fancy it! but if your staying in london the museums are a must see!!! becareful in the some would say "tacky" touristy areas theres alot of people targeting tourists these days.

hope it helps

When crossing the street, look to your RIGHT before stepping off the curb.  You will instinctively look left.  I was with someone that was clipped by a car because he looked left as he stepped into the crosswalk.  You will even see "Look Right" painted in some of the crosswalks - must be a fairly common occurence for tourists to get nailed by cars coming from the right. 

My favorites from London were the Greenwich Observatory, the Tower and the Notting Hill market and the view from the top of St. Pauls is nice.  If it's a rainy day the British Museum is great and the Churchill Museum was great too (and doesn't take all day either).  And there is amazing Indian food in London - don't miss that if you like it at all.

I took a day trip out to Salisburywhich was nice, although if I had the time and a car I would've loved to get down to Plymouth to see where the British fleet called home when they were the worlds naval power.  If you have a car make sure you check out some castles.  I really liked Wales  for the countryside and unpronouncable words& there are some great castles there but I don't know how much you want to drive.  Have your passenger act as your spotter to tell you when you're about to drive on the wrong side.  It does take some adjustment, especially when turning from one road onto another and parking.

England is a wonderful place! I have been three times, and my family went to school and lived in Cambridge for years. London is quite commercial and touristy, although you need to see it. Museums are a MUST. Walk everywhere, you will see so much on foot. There's a lot of meandering streets and one ways in London, so the best advice with crossing streets, aside from looking at the ground where it tells you which way to look, is to just always look both ways.

Honestly, I could have skipped Stonehenge. It's not the solitary, spiritual experience you would think it is from looking at postcards and photos. You're herded in with a bunch of tourists, you walk on these boardwalk planky things, and there's always someone in your photo. I found it very sad to visit, actually. To each their own, if you don't mind crowds and commercialism...

The Lake District is a favorite of mine, and my parents love the Cotswolds. Cambridge is a beautiful university to walk around, and you can go punting...something my family does every time we visit.

Enjoy your trip!