Vacationing in England

Oh, I'm so jealous!!! You're going to have such a great time! I've traveled to England several times and did my last semester of college in London. Get a good guide book (I like Rick Steves). There are a million things to do, so it's just personal choice. The train is great!!

I am from England and the good thing is that it is rather small so travelling is alot easier than here. I would advise to obviously see some of London as you will be flying into that area anyway, then I highly reccomend renting a car and not relying on trains , buses/taxi's....unless you have unlimited funds and time! , trains are so expensive as are taxi's , and buses.....well none come along for an hour and then you get 2 at the same time. If you head South West of London towards the West Country (this is where you will be close to Stonehenge) , you can also visit Bath and Bristol (I am from Bristol). Somerset has some good scenery. Devon & Cornwall is also very beautiful and St Ives in Cornwall has a gorgeous beach and if you are lucky with the weather it can easily compare to some beaches in Greece , you can then try a traditional cornish pasty (pronounced pastee) , and have tea and scones with jam and cream. Be prepared in what you are packing , although it is "summer" , you are not going to experience the temperatures you will be coming from , take a rain coat as I am 95% certain it will be used , pack light jackets for cooler weather (bank on an average of 55-60 degrees farenheit) , and have a few t-shirts/shorts incase you have the odd day where it might be low to mid 70's.

Eating out will seem more expensive and the portions really small compared to what you are used to , but remember that you don't need to leave a tip , so the total on the bill is what you pay , tax is already added to the price of anything you are buying in shops , so again what you see is what you pay. If you are travelling with young adults , they have to be 18 to have an alcoholic beverage and not 21....so would be a novelty for them!....oh and McDonalds does not taste anywhere near as good as it does here , and if you are by the sea don't forget to have fish & chips (with salt & vinegar on).

Hope you have a good time!

I just wanted to add incase my advice was a little confusing , if you are planning on staying in and around London then yes use tube/buses/taxi's and don't rent a car and drive in London.....even I won't drive in London! , what I meant was if you are going to other cities to stay then rent a car , going South West of London you will not have a tube to use and buses are not that great either and taxi will be a pretty expensive way to get around , just remember you can't turn right on a red , and the drivers are more pedestrian friendly that here (meaning Northern VA where I am) , if you are waiting at a pedestrian crossing they have to stop and let you cross , unlike here where they keep driving!

There is so much to do and see in the UK I do not even know where to start!! I lived there for 4 years and it was wonderful. I would start by doing research on line about the things that interest you. For places you want to visit in London, look on line to see what tickets are available, you can save money and very long line waits by booking tickets in advance for places like the London dungeon, and the London tower. Stone hedge is interesting, but it is a long way from everything and will take a full day. One of my favorite places was Glastonbury. It has a ton of history and is full of legend.

While in London, use the tube to get around, it is so fast a easy. Some of the stops have map dispensers were you can get a pocket map that has the tube routes over laid on a London map so you can easily see which stops to use.

It has been years, about 12 since I have been there BUT have great memories of the trip.

The Bus and Tube/Underground are by far the best way to get around, I think we only used the taxi twice (to get from airport to hotel and then at the end of the trip to get from the hotel to the airport).

The places I enjoyed:
Buckingham Palace
House of Parliament/House of the Lords
Tower of London
Westminster Abbey, Cathedral & Hall
British Museum
National Gallery
Big Ben/House of Commons
London Eye
Cleopatra's Needle
Covent Garden
London Zoo
Shakespeare's Globe
Tower Bridge
Dickens House
Salisbury Cathedral
Kensington Palace
Southwark Cathedral
Hampton Court Palace
Museum of London
Hyde Park
Kensington Gardens
Regent's Park
St. James's Park
Bond St. (Old & New)
Leicester Square
Oxford St.
Piccadilly Circus
Regent Street
Traflgar Square
Royal Pavilion
Stonehenge

We actaully got a time share to stay at Hampton Court, amazing! If you are going to go sight see I would stay somewhere in London close to the buses and underground. If you are going to just enjoy the scenery a port city maybe Brighton or South Hampton.

There really is nothing super close to Stonehenge, closest is Sailsbury about a 20-30 min bus ride (if I remember correctly). You can take a day visit out there from London, my faimly group of about 20 made the trip there and back to London in a day. Found some cute little shops and places to eat along the way.

We were there for 2 weeks, and everyday we had a plan to see 2-3 things in a set area. We did have a few days where we just went to a park and explored the small shops in that area or sat and enjoyed the day while reading, eating and relaxing.

I was a student for a semester in 1988 and I LOVED it. Obviously London. I honestly wouldn't bother with Stonehenge. You can only see it from 50 yards away - it's roped off. We visited a town called Avebury and there are standing stones throughout the WHOLE TOWN. It's very cool. Use Google images for "Avebury, England" and you can see it. Stay in Bed and Breakfasts when you can - a more real taste of England. Enjoy!

Bournemouth is a beach town on the southern coast... it is beautiful. It's been 10 years since I've been, but if it's still there, there is a resturant on a hill overlooking the water and the pier. Best fish and chips I had in all of England. My other fave spots were Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Have fun!

You are so lucky! It's been my dream to study abroad. Alas, mommyhood calls. Hope you have fun!!!!

Hi S.,

London is a great city. You will have lots of fun. Are you familiar with the tube system?
If stonehenge is your priority, there are coach tours from London for a day or so and cover a few other places along as well. Last time I was there, there were a few from the Victoria coach station. Its easy to find the information once you land, but its better to make a plan ahead. For local commute, we use something called Oyster Card, which is quiet convenient.

Within London, it would be prudent to group the places you visit and allocate a day for the group. For example, a visit to Knightsbridge will help you cover places like Harrods, Museum of Natural History, Science museum, V&A museum, all in the same go. These places are so huge, it would take a few visits to appreciate them, however, on a vacation, this is the best we could plan.

Another example would be something like Greenwich ( where the meridian line is). Cutty Sark is somewhere nearby along the way.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned about the London Eye- this gives the fantastic view of the city.

Kew gardens is another great place to visit.

I think it would be a great idea to think/discuss what your interests are ( like science, architecture, arts, gardens, zoos, history, or just plain fun) and identify places. London alone has everything to offer.

Oxford Street is a busy shopping street and closeby is Hamlyns, supposed to be the largest toy shop.

If you have plans to explore a bit more, one of the places worth visiting is the north east ( thats where we stayed before moving to scotland). North east has fantastic places like Bamburgh Castle, Alnwick Castle ( where the Harry Potter scenes were filmed), Durham Cathedral, Lindesfarne castle etc.

Scotland is a land of beauty. The Loch Ness in Inverness is a place of great beauty.

Katie,

Thats a great list.

Other Mamas,

Great advice.

Thanks

Awesome for you and your family. I would definitely stay in London or at least on the outskirts of London. There is much to see but be really careful when you first get there about crossing the street. Wnen I went I can't even tell you how many times I almost got hit because I was accustomed to looking the opposite way you need to to cross over there. See all the sights Katie B. listed and have a grand time. One more thing, their weather is a little cooler than here so make certain you have a few jackets or sweaters for the evenings. Have a great time.

My husband is British so we go to England 1 or 2 times a year.

London is awesome.

The things my kids enjoyed the most (and so did we) is The DUCK tour. It is brilliant and gives load of info but is fun too. The guides are always great! So worth the money and the best tour we've been on.

Also, if you're in where close to Woburn Safari Park, it's awesome too. Great day out!

Loads more ideas but we always stay south of London and not sure if you'll be able to get there.

I traveled a lot for work and when we were in London we took a train to Warwick. It was a cute little town with an old castle that was owned by Henry the VIII, which you can tour. Everyone else suggestions are great too!

Why won't you have a car? It is pretty reasonable to hire one over there, and you would be a lot more comfortable than waiting around constantly, and it would cost about the same - taxi's are expensive.
If you stay in London it won't be an issue, as the underground and buses are great, but going anywhere else without a car wont be easy.
I lived in the UK for 32 years, so I am a voice of experience!
South of London you have the coastal towns of Brighton and Eastbourne, they have great piers and amusements, and are the quintessential British beach resorts, Dover is not too far away and you can hop a 90 minute ferry and go to France for the day for hardly any cost, you can take your car, and drive on the "right" (wrong?) side of the road for a day or two.
Go East and there is not a whole lot - Sorry East Brits!
Go WEST however and you have an enormous amount of Scope, You have Bath, which is a truly amazing city, of course all this depends on how long you are staying! Go a little further to Wales where I am from, and you will have a whole plethora of castles and beaches at your disposal - and the people are much friendlier lol

Oh, how fun! We used to live about 5 minutes from Stonehenge. It is the most beautiful part of England, in my opinion. :) Salisbury is the city near Stonehenge. It has a cathedral that has the highest spire in all of England. They have a copy of the Magna Carta there (only 4 copies have survived, and this is the best one). It is so pretty there! And, I really think you need to go to Bath. It is about 40 minutes from Salisbury. It is my very favorite city to visit. You can tour the Roman Baths, do a Jane Austen walking tour, go to Sally Lunn's. I love Sally Lunn's. You can have tea and the famous Sally Lunn buns! It is the oldest house in Bath. LOVE it! http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/ I also recommend Winchester, which is where the legend of King Arthur is found. They have a round table and everything. The city centre is all walking, no cars. Very beautiful. In Hampshire, you can also see the town where AA MIlne lived with all the Winnie the Pooh spots. It is not commercialized, so you will need to research it before you go. You have to know where you are going in order to find it. But, it is stunning! You can play Pooh sticks on Pooh sticks bridge. You can walk all over the 100 acre woods to see all the spots in the books. Christopher Robin was a real boy, and this is where he grew up. The little gift shop used to be the candy store where his nanny would bring him to buy candy. And, the drive to get there is gorgeous! In London, you have to go to the Tower of London and take the tour. It's fantastic. We took all of our guests there. The crown jewels are kept there also, which is neat to see. Of course, Westminster Abbey is neat. Many people are buried there (CS Lewis for example). We are going back for a visit next month. How long will you be there? Feel free to send me a message if you have more questions. I'm trying not to write a travel book here. LOL
After reading the other responses, I wanted to add that you should look for "self catering" accomodations. They are much cheaper than the other options (hotel/B&B sometimes), and you have the whole place to yourselves. Of course, this would depend on how many people are traveling with you. We found it much cheaper to do self-catering in Europe with our large family. Self catering just means that you provide your own food. But, they typically have a full kitchen, etc. We stayed in one in the Lake District that was a huge house, fully furnished, lovely! We couldn't believe they left everything in the house like they did. Very inexpensive for what we got. Google it to see what you can find.