|
|
Post by epeanymous on Aug 14, 2014 1:11:29 GMT
I am traveling alone with two kids (8 and 12) to London in a few weeks for several days. We are going as tourists in full-on tourist mode (they never have been). We have theater tickets for a few nights, and a list of attractions they/we want to see. A lot of them seem listed on the London Pass. I am researching how best to deal with lines and tickets to sites (Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, etc., etc.) and am trying to figure out the best way to do this. Yes, I have Google like the rest of you, but if you have been as a tourist recently, help a girl out here. I'm more concerned with saving time (we only have four full days) than saving money, although saving money can't hurt. The kids are seasoned travelers, we are taking the subway everywhere, and they don't mind being marched around, so we want to pack a lot in.
|
|
|
|
Post by hop2 on Aug 14, 2014 1:29:34 GMT
We went to London had a great time. The London pass was great it included everything we wanted to do and in several locations the pass entrance had shorter lines.
I liked west minster way more than I tonight I would
Have a great time
|
|
|
|
Post by auntkelly on Aug 14, 2014 1:33:58 GMT
The advice I always give is be at The Tower of London right when it opens and head straight for the building that houses the Crown Jewels. My son & I did this and we toured the exhibit three times with no waiting in line. Within an hour, there was a long line outside the building's entrance.
|
|
|
|
Post by scrapsuzy on Aug 14, 2014 1:35:23 GMT
I did the London Pass my first time in London, but had 10 days then. That time, I also did a few different walking tours with London Walks. The next time, when I was on the ground for only 48 hours, I did 2 more London Walks, and felt it really helped us make the best use of the little time we had, plus made things like St Paul's Cathedral so much more interesting! And don't miss the London Eye, especially if you have a clearish day. But the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace? Lots of standing around waiting, if you get there too early, and hard to get a good spot if you get there late. I'm not sure it is worth it with your limited time. Oh, but do definitely do the Tower of London, with the audio tour! VERY cool.
|
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Aug 14, 2014 1:39:17 GMT
These are all great ideas. Took my boys when they were 9 and 11. We had more time and visited the castles outside of London and Stonehenge. I remember The Eye had huge lines and we didn't wait for that. Loved the Tower of London. We also hit the Globe Theater.
|
|
|
|
Post by epeanymous on Aug 14, 2014 1:49:41 GMT
I should have been clear, I have been to London a few times before and basically know the sites I want to take the kids to see, but I haven't been there since the late 90s and when I traveled there did not have kids, so I am just trying to figure out the best way to get together tickets and reservations in advance so that we aren't doing a lot of waiting around. Thanks for the feedback so far. The kids are pretty dead set on riding the London Eye (which didn't exist when I last went and which doesn't seem to be on the London Pass), so I'm probably going to have to pay whatever extortionistic online fees I have to pay to get that squeezed in.
|
|
|
|
Post by amandad74 on Aug 14, 2014 1:54:45 GMT
The advice I always give is be at The Tower of London right when it opens and head straight for the building that houses the Crown Jewels. My son & I did this and we toured the exhibit three times with no waiting in line. Within an hour, there was a long line outside the building's entrance. This!  |
|
|
|
Post by amandad74 on Aug 14, 2014 1:59:36 GMT
Either use the pass or order tickets online. We did not use the pass but ordered as much as we could online.
From visitlondon website|
Children aged under 11 can travel free on buses and trams at any time. They can also travel free on Tube, DLR and London Overground services at any time as long as they are accompanied by an adult using a valid Visitor Oyster card or ticket. Children aged under 5 travel free on the Emirates Air Line when accompanied by a fare paying adult. Children aged 5 to 15 pay child rate fares on the Emirates Air Line.
A maximum of four children under 11 can travel free with an adult who has a valid Visitor Oyster card or ticket on Tube, DLR and London Overground services.
If you’re using a Visitor Oyster card, you must touch in and touch out as normal but ask a member of staff to let your group through the side gate.
5-10 year olds pay fares on most National Rail services. They can get a 5-10 Oyster photocard to pay as they go at child rate which is cheaper than paying cash.
|
|
ReneeH20
Full Member
Posts: 452
Jun 28, 2014 16:00:48 GMT
|
Post by ReneeH20 on Aug 14, 2014 2:32:17 GMT
I have been to London 3 times in the past 5 years. I found the longest lines to be at Westminster Abbey and the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. The 2 times we went in the eye we didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes and we didn't do the book ahead thing. The British Museum and V & A had none at all.
|
|
modiemay
Full Member
Posts: 134
Jun 30, 2014 4:24:15 GMT
|
Post by modiemay on Aug 14, 2014 2:38:11 GMT
There is currently some decorated book benches dotted around the city, there is a website about it, sorry I don t know what it is and I am on my phone right now. I am heading there tomorrow and am planning to discover these with my 3 children. There are maps on the website.
|
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Aug 14, 2014 3:36:46 GMT
We also rode the double decker buses to get us around town efficiently. We hopped on and off those for several days and saw quite a few things that way.
|
|
suzastampin
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,587 
|
Post by suzastampin on Aug 14, 2014 12:40:20 GMT
These are all great ideas. Took my boys when they were 9 and 11. We had more time and visited the castles outside of London and Stonehenge. I remember The Eye had huge lines and we didn't wait for that. Loved the Tower of London. We also hit the Globe Theater. I just wanted to mention that you can buy your ticket for the Eye online so that you don't have to wait in line for it. We purchased ours for the 7pm time (October) so that we could ascend during the daylight, then descend as the lights of the city came on. It was wonderful. We bought ours months ahead. I can't remember exactly, but we were doing all of our bookings some time in the summer for October. |
|
|
|
Post by MadamG2U on Aug 14, 2014 13:17:11 GMT
We are leaving for London on Sunday. Doing happy dance!! We purchased all of our tickets online. We have the London Pass, tickets for the eye and the Hop on Hop off bus.
MadamG2U
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Aug 14, 2014 19:52:29 GMT
As far as the London Pass, it really depends on when you are going. In September mid week? The lines won't be too bad. At the end of August over a weekend? BUY IT!
We were in London in April, the week before Easter. We did fine with the lines except at Windsor Castle, which we went to on Palm Sunday. The line was down the road and around the block. We waited in line for maybe 10 minutes with the Pass. (There was a separate line.) We also used it for Westminster, but the lines weren't long and they were about equal (went first thing on that Monday.) We did buy the Pass with unlimited Underground use, which was super helpful. You can only get that with the Pass if you order it online ahead of time. Ours included a double decker bus tour and a bout tour as well, but I may have added that on. It takes about 2 weeks to ship to the States. You need to know the exact dates you will use the Pass (but not what you will do on which day) when you order it. The train to Windsor was included with the unlimited Underground pass. It won't help with the Eye--it's not on the Pass.
If you like theatre, consider touring the Globe Theatre. It's an excellent tour, about 2 hours long (hour tour, an hour for the exhibits in the basement), and my kids loved it. They are big Shakespeare fans, believe it or not. When they were little, my BFF sent them a CD of Shakespeare for Kids and even in high school, they say knowing the plot lines has helped so much.
|
|
|
|
Post by totravel on Aug 15, 2014 7:05:12 GMT
Hubby and I are going to London in October for a week before we head down to Southampton to catch our ship for a trans-Atlantic cruise back to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I've been to London 3 times but that was back in the 90's and hubby has never been so I'm really excited to share the adventure with him. I'm taking notes on the suggestions posted above but I also want to know if anyone has info on how to get from London to Southampton with several pieces of luggage? Inexpensive way? We plan to spend two nights in Southampton prior to boarding the ship.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:29:27 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 8:58:44 GMT
|
|
