Traveling abroad - paying for stuff and planning

[Melinda in VT]

I know I probably sound like a downer, but I think your first day is way too aggressive. I would bet money you will both fight to stay awake on the boat.

 

Do either the War Rooms/Westminster OR the Greenwich Observatory.

 

Actually, I'd probably cut day 2 in half also--breakfast, British Museum, lunch, Tower of London, Tower Bridge.

[brynndolyn]

I know I probably sound like a downer, but I think your first day is way too aggressive. I would bet money you will both fight to stay awake on the boat.

 

Do either the War Rooms/Westminster OR the Greenwich Observatory.

 

Actually, I'd probably cut day 2 in half also--breakfast, British Museum, lunch, Tower of London, Tower Bridge.

 

Butbutbut we've already cut so much already!  

 

I may cut out the Buckingham Palace....

...and add a Jack the Ripper tour for the first night.  :coolgleamA:  My husband thought it sounded fun, and I kind of do also!

 

We're young and in shape, I'm sure we will be exhausted but I'm not sure what choice we have other than going to the hotel when we can check in and taking a nap and missing stuff (since it appears most everything closes at 5 p.m.).  

 

Is it OK/worth it to just go to the Queen's Gallery (since it's free) and check out Buckingham Palace from the outside?  We are only staying 1 mile away so seems a shame to miss it completely.  That would take a bit of time but could save us an hour or so total, giving us some more time other places.

[Laura Corin]

Tell me what you are hoping for from these visits.  For example, one goes to the British Museum because it is an amazing repository of art and culture.  It's an interesting building, but that's not really the point.  You are going to have a lot less than two hours in it, allowing for time to get to the Tower of London.  Then you will only have an hour in the Tower (once you've queued for a ticket).

 

People like to experience things in different ways, so it's fine if a whistle-stop tour suits you.  But many minutes with The Elgin Marbles, or standing imagining scenes at the Scaffold Site are valuable to me.  The Tower says you can visit some key bits in an hour, so that's up to you.  Personally, I'd stretch the time in those two locations, then just view Tower Bridge from the outside as a pre/after dinner activity.  The Tower stays open until 5.30 in summer and it will be light until late (northern latitude).

[mumto2]

I agree with Laura that many enjoyable days could be spent in the British museum but understand your desire to see as much as possible. My dh isn't a great companion for full days at museums so we usually go places with a set goal. On one trip to London we got off our train at Kings Cross, took a short walk to tha British Library to see the Guttenberg Bible then by foot to the British Museum for the Rosetta Stone. Those were that days main goals and were accomplished rather quickly, roughly a half hour. After that we were free to wander. You might want to look or listen to some version of thishttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/. The curator of the British Museum highlights 100 objects through history found at the museum. Knowing what objects you really want to see will save time.

 

You do not want to take a nap upon arrival. It is far easier in the long run to force yourself to stay awake. I would regroup a bit. We don't nap but we are normally in bed by nine on our first night after flying home from the US. The War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster are easily grouped together with interesting bits in between. To come back the next day is a time waster. Imo. If using the tube go to Green Park. Walk accross the park to Buckingham Palace. I have never done the Buckingham Palace tour but hope to someday. I would start there, visit the Queens Gallery. Walk down the mall to the Horse Guard Palace and walk through it. I think turning right will take you by the entrance to Number 10. At that point there should be signs for Churchill War Rooms. At this point I would check the the time and decide if you want to go. They are great but if you plan to definitely do the tunnel tour at Dover probably could be missed. On to Westminster and Big Ben. River Cruise... ?

 

At the Tower of London there will be a long line for the Jewels House. I think we waited 50 minutes when we went. You need to plan for that, I would probably reverse the Tower and Museum. Maybe the lines would be shorter first thing. Once again since your time will be limited I would plan exactly what you want to see. Fyi, you will go by the Tower on the river cruise. You could combine the two on the second day. Ticket lines at the Tower are generally long also.

[oneangelwaiting]

We are doing the London Pass which says it has a fast track for the London Tower and the London Bridge. I added up the cost of everything and i think will save some money that way. So hopefully not too much waiting in lines there.

 

Our hotel is close to Westminster/Buckingham Palace so it's not much travel time to get to those places from there. I'll look at my map again to double check. If rearranging will save us time then that will work out wonderfully.

 

Edited to add, my DH is not the best for spending hours upon hours at a museum either. I think 2 hours is a good amount of time, I know we won't get through it all. I will check out that podcast, that will be very helpful thank you!

Edited April 5, 2016 by oneangelwaiting

[MotherGoose]

London is fabulous. I've been twice and was never scared. I've been in many other big cities though that are kind of scary :) I also love that you can get around most places on the tube in London. I know you said your sister can drive you but you might look into train transportation around England. I'm sure it won't get you everywhere you want to go, but it can probably get you some places faster than driving. I also will always remember leaving Gatwick airport, first time in a foreign country, in rush hour traffic, and speeding along on the "wrong" side of the road. Thank God a native was driving. And then there are all the roundabouts on the windy country roads....

[Maus]

Just on the money issue: plan to get local currency out of cash machines, not at currency exchanges at the airport. You will get a better return. Get a lot of cash and try to use that instead of your cards or you will rack up foreign transaction fees like crazy. If you think you will be traveling out of the country more often, consider getting a credit card with no foreign transaction fees; we just got a Chase Sapphire, but I know CapitalOne has a popular one too.

 

Make sure you notify the cards you plan ti use that you will be out of the country. Sometimes they will freeze your card anyway, but at least try.

The transaction fee in an ATM is usually a flat one and not a percentage.  I think ours charges $1.25 for using an out-of-network ATM and $1.50 for taking it in a foreign currency, no matter how much we withdraw.  We take a debit card from each of our bank accounts and a back up credit card.  The first day there, we each take the maximum amount allowed from each debit card, and put one day's worth of cash in our wallet and the rest in a money belt.  Our debit cards also go in the money belt.  (And we alert all the banks whose card we plan to take which countries we will be visiting.)

 

We put the rental car on the credit card, because our card offers an insurance policy so that we can waive the CDW.  We usually use bed & breakfasts, rather than hotels, and pay cash, so unless there is an emergency, the car is almost always the only thing that goes on the credit card.

 

We visit another ATM when we only have two or three day's cash left, or if we are leaving an urban area for a rural area.

[TCB]

Just wanted to say that it is better to buy your ticket for the Tower somewhere else, so you don't have to wait. Of course, that might be included in the London Pass you are going to get, but, if not, we bought ours from the hop on/off bus tour people and got a discount.

[brehon]

I had a reply typed out earlier while I was getting ready for work and the ether ate it. So, you get the Cliff Notes version. :tongue_smilie:

 

First of all, I hope you have exactly the trip you're dreaming of!!

 

I do agree with Laura - a whistle-stop tour where one doesn't truly get to see and experience the area is perfect for some people and even some places. If you haven't already, I suppose you and your dh should talk about what type of experience(s) you want on your trip. Bustling around to "see the sights" without stopping to breathe in the atmosphere is just what some people like to do and there's nothing wrong with that. A long ago friend and I drove around portions of Europe with her mother and grandparents many, many years ago. My friend and I had a blast because we didn't plan our days to the nth degree and just let the whim and winds take us wherever. Her grandparents, however, really didn't enjoy themselves until we stopped in a couple of cities in Italy. We made sure they had time to take the bus tours with (good) English speaking guides and booked them into more "American" hotels for those nights. They liked to travel, but only as tourists. Meaning that they liked seeing the sights, but not staying for any period of time at any one place/site. They wanted the, I don't know, stereotypical (?) American tourist experience. They would have had a better trip if their experiences for the rest of the trip mirrored the experiences they had in those couple of Italian cities.

 

I just caution you to make sure that a whirlwind sight-seeing trip is what you both want to do, instead of doing it by default because your itinerary is so packed. An old family friend gave me a travel journal when I turned sixteen or so. On the frontplate was the following inscription which has stayed with me through the passing decades - "Tourists don't know where they've been; travelers don't know where they're going."

 

I think Paul Theroux wrote it. Even though I no longer travel internationally I heed that advice even when my dh and I take the kids to see the more local (to us) sights. Good luck to you and your dh!!

[importswim]

 

What would the dress be like at these restaurants?  Looking online it looks like they are both pretty dress-up. I am working on our London days now so trying to get an idea of where all we would be.  We are staying somewhat close to these restaurants, 15 minutes by bus it looks like. But I'm not sure we'll have nice enough clothes with us since we will be packing very minimally.  So, just thought I'd check and see what you thought!  We will also have been walking around all day so maybe not the most presentable anyway.

 

Our London plan:

 

Arrive at Gatwick airport at 9:25, bus to station near hotel (30 minute bus ride), drop bags off at hotel 

• 11:00 (hopefully earlier)- Visit Churchill War Rooms (Open 9:30 to 6:00 but last entrance at 5:00)
• Walk to Westminster Abbey (Open 9:30 - 3:30)
• Cruise from Westminster down River Thames to Greenwich Observatory, boats leave every half hour (possibly get on 1:00 or 1:30 boat), trip takes approx. 1 hour, lots of sightseeing from the river
• 3:00 - Visit Greenwich Observatory (open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) 
• ? Eat Somewhere, see other stuff that is still open? Walk around? IDK

Day 2

 

• Breakfast at the hotel
• 10:00 Queen's Gallery
• 11:05 Buckingham Palace
• Lunch somewhere
• 12:25 British Museum
• 2:45 Tower of London
• 4:15 Tower Bridge
• Dinner somewhere
• Head to Lakenheath 

 

Dress for Rules at Dinner (when we went) from what I can remember is moderately dressy. I wore a dress and flats with a scarf. My Mum (the other member of my party) wore a dress with heels. Cicchetti's we went into after walking around all day. I was actually in a dress (I find them comfy to travel in), scarf, and cardigan and my Mum was in a t-shirt/scarf and trousers. There were people wearing jeans while we were there. They're open for breakfast through dinner. 

 

We took a lunch cruise down the Thames with Bateaux Cruises: http://www.bateauxlondon.com/

It was nice to eat lunch and see all of the sights from the river. The lunch cruise takes you past the Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, Cleopatra's needle, The Globe Theater, The Tower of London, under the Tower Bridge (a really good view of it). Where you get on the cruise is a short walk from the Houses of Parliament so you could definitely do Westminster Abbey and have a quick peek at Big Ben and Downing Street on the same day. We also walked a big circle through Trafalgar Square and down the Mall.

 

Like I said, I did 2 1/2 whirlwind days in London with my Mum when I last visited. Here is what we did:

Day 1:

Took the train from my parent's city to London St. Pancras. Took a black cab to our hotel.

Our hotel was right next to Buckingham Palace and we walked almost everywhere. We started out at the hotel (The Rubens at the Palace) and walked down birdcage walk through to Westminster Abbey/Houses of Parliament. From there we walked down to our lunch cruise, did the cruise, walked back past Parliament and took a right down the street that has the Cenataph on it (which also has No. 10 Downing Street off it). That took us directly into Trafalgar Square from which we took another Left and headed down the mall (hitting the outside of St. James' Palace) back to B'ham palace and back to our hotel. It was quite a fun day and I felt like I saw a lot. We then took a black cab from our hotel to Rules for dinner.

 

Day 2: Buckingham Palace inside the state rooms tour. We then walked up to Oxford Street to see Selfridges, did lots of shopping (not in Selfridges! LOL!), down New Bond Street and through to Piccadilly Circus, ate at Cicchetti's, walked back to the hotel.

 

1/2 day: Walked to Liberty (very old shop), went to Cicchetti's for an early lunch, hit Fortnum and Mason, took a cab back to the hotel to pick up our stored bags and onto St. Pancras for the train back up North.

 

I feel like I saw a LOT of London by walking, and that I started to feel like I knew my way around. I wasn't so harried that I didn't enjoy myself and I can't wait to go back with DH and the kiddos. I will DEFINITELY do the walk from B'ham Palace to Parliament to Trafalgar again and will probably take them on the lunch cruise.

 

One thing to check before you go is to see if Buckingham Palace is open to tours. From what I understood last time we were there they only open it for a short time in the fall and the rest of the year it's closed.

 

Also, you need jet fighter awake and jet fighter asleep : 

http://www.amazon.com/JetFighter-Awake-Supplement-Sleepiness-Circadian/dp/B00JS80JO2/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1459884283&sr=8-1&keywords=jet+fighter+awake

http://www.amazon.com/JetFighter-Sleep-Supplement-Sleeplessness-Circadian/dp/B00JRMNVRG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1459884304&sr=8-1&keywords=jet+fighter+asleep

 

I don't usually like to take ANY medication at any time but these were recommended to me. I've done the US to England flight very, very often and this is the first time that I didn't feel ANY jet lag. I was very skeptical but very surprised at how well it worked. 

[FaithManor]

Things run as debit are not as well protected as credit card so I would not want to use debit. Also, there are a lot of places in Europe in which cash is the only thing that works and especially if your credit card does not have the chip. So prepare to take some decent amount of cash and have it exchanged. Hotels and higher end restaurants, car rental agencies, those will be prepared to take your non-chipped American credit card. But public transport, smaller businesses, may only accept cash or would take your card but their machine can't process it.

 

If you qualify for the Cap 1 Venture card, it is one specifically for travelers and has a nice reward system. We used our Cap 1 all over Iceland, France, and even at times in Egypt without issue and were not charged any exchange fees on the transactions. We did use our debit card in Egypt to get cash as that is a cash only system in most places except really touristy places like Luxor. We made an arrangement with our bank ahead of time for that, and it worked out okay.

[PeppermintPattie]

I highly recommend using Rick Steves' guidebooks and website. He covers everything from how to pay, to how to pack, to where to go. And his fans post on the forum portion of the website with invaluable advice and recommendations.