Travel Answers

Greater London

hi all..i'm mukhriz. quite a newbie here. I'll be travelling to london and paris this nov from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the mean time, i managed to come up with an itinerary for this trip. so this is how it will be, Need help on opinion whether this is workable or not.

arrival day on the nov 20th

arriving in the evening at lhr. catch the tube to the hotel in hammersmith. will do some groceries shopping at the nearby tesco or convenient store.

first day 21/11

will start the day by visiting the nat history museum, grab foods along the way and have our lunch at the hyde park if weather permits, continue to the "harrods" and ending the first day by taking the river cruise at night. heard that the view is spectacular.

day 2 22/11

depart to Paris via eurostar early in the morning

will be in paris for 3d 2n. coming back to london on the 24/11 in the evening.will be checking in at the malaysian hall in bayswater for 2 nights.

day 5 25/11

start the day by visiting the buckingham palace. will take some pictures and continue to the st james park for lunch if weather permits and later on head on to the piccadilly circus. we'll end our fifth day at the british museum.

day 6 26/11

visiting the camden lock market in the morning, come back to the malaysian hall to check out and head on the next hotel in hammersmith to check in. we'll continue our trip to the shakespeare's globe.

day 7 27/11

a day trip to windsor castle

day 8 28/11
a day trip to bath
actually im still torn whether to fit in bath, oxford or windsor in the two days trip out of london. All these 3 places are beautiful based on my reading. any suggestion?

day 9 29/11

visiting the big ben in the morning, and continue with the tower bridge, london eye(taking pics only) later have a stroll to the south bank.

day 10 30/11

head on to the oxford street and for shopping and later to the soho in the west end. hopefully the hotel allow us to leave our bags and collect them later in the evening before we make our way to heathrow for our return flight.

i have a question here, is there any chance for us to fit in a visit to the st paul's cathedral?

we'll be utilising the 7 days travel card plus the oyster card in london.

feel free to give ur comment on this itinerary.thanks..;)

I am arriving into Terminal 3 at Heathrow on an international flight. I would like to clear customs, pick up my bag, then go to the United Club Lounge prior to leaving the airport. Is this possible, or is the lounge only accessible within the terminals?

I have a 7 hour lay over in Heathrow's airport .Anyone know of a private tour guide driver or a taxi driver who will pick me up at airport and just show me around central London for 3 hours ?

How expensive is beer in London compared to other places? Which is a good London beer to buy?

Hello everyone,I will be taking my niece to Brighton and leave her there for a month for her language course. I will stay with a friend in Brighton for 2 days but don't feel comfortable staying for longer so I will go to London for the last 2 days of my stay on the 1st and 2nd of July. I am so stressed though, as I have no clue where to stay, what to do or where to go on my own. I've been to London before and loved it but I was with a local then, plus it was years ago. I will feel so stressed now, London is huge and it scares me to be there on my own. Or am I crazy? I just don't like being in a huge city on my own. Thanks so much for any advice on how to find someone to hang out with for 2 days.

Can anyone reccomend reasonably priced accommodation in central London? Preferably around Picadilly square or
Russel square, thanks

If one wants to travel during August, which month should he or she start looking for 'budget' flight tickets?
Is there a general 'rule' ? How does the ticket price for a given journey,with a given airlines, say London to Paris flight with British airways, change with time?

I want to know how to determine the best way to pay for public transportation as a London tourist. I don't know which zones I'll need. I don't understand the list of charges for the oyster cards. What do they mean? How can I figure this out? What about the travelcard? Why is this so complicated? In the past it has been simple; I ordered a London Travel Pass for a cetain number of days which entitled me to use all of the public transportation no matter the zone or time. What's with the complications? Do you want people to visitand spend their dollars?

We are arriving in Terminal 3 from the US at 10:45 p.m. I notice the last tube out is at 11:48 p.m. Will we be able to make this train, or will we have to spend the big bucks on a taxi?

I'll be going to London for a week in mid-September and so far I don't have much of a plan. I don't really know what's worth seeing or what I would like and I'd appreciate some help deciding on what to do.

I know a few must sights like

• London Tower    
• Tower Bridge    
• Big Ben    
• Windsor Palace    
• Buckingham Palace    
• London Eye    
• Piccadilly Circus    
• Madame Tussauds    
• Westminster Abbey 
• St. Paul's Cathedral

but that's about it. Any tips for other must-see sights or great activities?

And maybe even some more recommendations for me in particular? I mostly like

• architecture    
• historical sites    
• parks, etc.    
• (non- contemporary) art    
• museum (there are so many, I don't know which are good or not, I mostly prefer those which visually appealing exhibitions)

But I'm also open for other things that are interesting or fun
PS: Is there a site where you can schedule sightseeing or something like it? I want to avoid trying to visit sites on opposite ends of town

Thanks in advance!

I am a card designer and would love to see a craft shop in London,
on the lines of Michael's in the USA - is there such a shop? Could
be near to London, but easy to get to.

London Things to Do Map: (Link)dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1...

Why is the London Zoo baloon shown where the Houses of Parliament are?

I am not too sure if these is the right place to find a traveling companion. I have a good friend, partially blind who has free accommodation for 8 days (starting 22 June 2013) inside the Santuario in Lourdes, France. She is looking for a femaile companion to qualify for this free accommodation.
As I said, its a femail , around 58 years old. She is very dependent and lovely Asian . Before she started losing her sight she worked as a journalists. Thank you for giving me the opportunity putting this on VT. God Bless you all!

Staying in Bloomsbury for 9 days - where is best place to buy SIM card
for my iPad? Need it for Internet, Skype and email. Is it best to buy a
prepaid card and have it delivered or is this more expensive?

My husband and I are planning our first trip to London (and Paris) I don't know where to start booking my trip as the internet is full of information overload. I am not familiar with all the different areas of London. What is the best area to stay in for seeing all the sites, safe and hopefully not over the top expensive. Can anyone suggest some nice hotels? Would it be better to rent a vacation flat instead? (any suggestions for Paris would be good too, but I can ask those in the Paris forum)

Thank you,
Mickey

Hello all,

I have an 8 hour layover between two long haul flights (11am-7pm). I am arriving in/leaving from T5. I would really like to take a quick shower during this stop over. l know that there are hotels landside and airside (T3) as well as lounge options.

My questions is: what is the easiest option? Will I even be allowed to go from T5 to T3 airside (and what would that entail-- ie trips through security, time, etc). Alternatively, how much of a hassle would it be to go landside? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I will be in London just for a day (Saturday 15th June). What is the cheapest deal I can get on a bus day travel or a tube one within the city?

I am an American flying from Amsterdam Schiphol to Heathrow on a British Airways flight, then going from Heathrow to Boston on a KLM flight, therefore I do have to change terminals. I do not plan to check any baggage. Will I still have to go through immigration? The website did not specify. Thanks!

Hello all

On behalf of the visiting In-Laws I would like to ask the number of the best bus(es) to take from the Travel Lodge on Drury Lane to the Tower of London and back...

We would like to know busses only as FIL has a free bus pass ...thanks in advance...K

We will be going to London later this year - 2013. We have stayed in St. James/Westminister area in the past and we loved it, but will need to get the train at St. Pancras at the end of our visit. How is the St. Pancras area?
Thank you.

I have more than one Credit Card (Amex, Visa, MasterCard) but all have magnetic strips (I'm American) rather than a chip. I have heard mix opinions as to if these will work in / are accepted in the UK. Please advise.

I may have asked a similar question previously - If so, I apologize. Will be in London in early July on a group tour. We will have seen "the best" of London proper and realize we will likely just scratch the surface. Have a few days with the family post formal tour and we would like to get out of the city a bit a see more "country side" --- Thinking of staying in the city but heading out via train (don't think driving on the "other side" of the road would be good for anyone involved) to places that would have some open space, nice locals, maybe a local sight or two but more importantly a quaint small town with a few shops, a pub or two where we can see some local flavor, sit in a park and read for a few hours and easily get there and back. I know it is a bit of an ambiguous request but hopefully someone that knows the area has a favorite spot that could be recommended as an relaxing (but not middle of nowhere) place. Also, as a side note ----- Is there any reason to not stay at a Heathrow airport the night prior to departure vs. London proper. Flights back to the US leave between 8 and 10AM...Which I assume means one needs to be there between 6 and 8AM which would not make for a relaxing night/morning either way. Thanks

Hi dear on-line friends!

First, my best greetings from sunny Bulgaria!

Would you please, tell me which is the more convinient transport in London?

Which is the best transport card for tourist as me-Oyester ot Travel card? Which is the most practical?

Thanks,
Tania

I will be staying in Ramada Encore London West soon and want to find a good Indian restaurant that is easy to reach from there. I am dining with a very special friend so I really want great food and lots of atmosphere. Any advice?

Trip to London is almost here and I've got a couple of questions

I've booked at a hotel without free wifi, we'll be staying near Westminster/Waterloo. Any place nearby with free wifi? Or are there some chains that have it? I think I've read McDonald's does as well as Caffe Nero and Starbucks.

My niece wants to be able to call people she knows in London and her US phone I suspect charges a lot, I've read about getting a throwaway phone, where would be the best place to do this?

That's it, I won't ask about the weather, what shoes to bring or for you to review my itinerary (mostly because you'd tell me I was trying to do too much!)

Other VT's have advised to purchase Eurostar tickets in advance for trips for example London Brussels changing to Amsterdam. How much time in advance is recommenced to get a good price? We are now looking at 3 months from now/May 26st. Also there are 4 seniors traveling together, if that makes any difference. In Brussels changing trains to Amsterdam, there is 15 minutes between trains, does that seem like enough?
Thanks to all in advance, Chuck

Hi all,

My first flight from CPH- LDN on SAS is scheduled to arrive at LHR Terminal 3 at 350pm and my second flight on Singapore airlines LDN- SIN is scheduled to depart at 835pm at Terminal 3.

Will there be sufficient time for me to clear immigration and baggage from my first flight and re-check in at 635pm for my second flight? As I've heard stories that immigration at LHR takes rather long.

Your help is greater appreciated!

Thank you.

I apologize for re-posting this question but I am a newbie and I don't know how to remove my first question.

I don't think that I was very clear in that query. Please let me try again. I am landing on a BA flight at LHR Terminal 5 on Sunday mid morning. A friend, who is also flying BA, is expected to arrive at LHR Terminal 5 a couple of hours later.

Is there a comfortable place (with luggage in tow) that I can watch the screens to see the status of her flight and wait for her to clear customs we can then meet up so we can then proceed to the Heathrow Express?

Thanks everyone for your patience!

Hello! My family and I are traveling to London 5/25. We have not bought Oyster cards in advance. What is our best and most cost effective way to get to our hotel (Gloucester Road). I have not found that I can buy Oyster cards @ Heathrow (Terminal 3). Is this true? If we cannot buy them, can we buy paper tickets with cash to get us from Heathrow-Gloucester? Where would we do this?

Your help is much appreciated! Thank you!

well i am going there alone so just wondering if there is anyone else going during this time or if there is anyone who lives there that would like to meet up and explore the city together