London Info Request

Alex wrote:

Around £15? Exorbitant??!!

did you misread?

no you didnt, first one I looked at is £20

Martin wrote:

we took NZ friends to Greenwich, showed them that, then took a boat
into centre and walked about, misses all that traffic.

I've done that and taken visitors to Hampton Court by boat too.

that's good too. The river bus isn't cheap, but I see the hop on bus
is quite pricey. Anything on the roads crawls, the boats on the other
hand proceed with unhurried calm (or for the river buses - speed) It
should be possible to walk to most places from the river, but
getting about by riverbus would end up expensive, although there is a
rover type ticket on at least Sundays.

"Surreyman" wrote in message
...

have often introduced London to overseas
friends, and these tours remain by far the best 'instant' introduction
for a newcomer, whatever preferences are then followed up in more
detail.

As a Londoner, I absolutely agree. They are reasonably priced and show you
much, much more than you would ever be able to cover yourselves. As
'Surreyman' says, use it as a way of identifying the places you want to
revisit later in your stay.

Ian

"Surreyman" wrote in message
...
On 16 Dec, 18:27, "tim....." wrote:
"Surreyman" wrote in message

...
On 15 Dec, 23:28, "MLD" wrote:

Plan on visiting London this Spring and am trying to figure out just how
much time would be needed to cover all the typical sights. Also, what
part
of the city would be the best/most convenient to stay in?
MLD

You can 'do' the major sights in a couple of hours on an organised
tourist trip on the top of a double-decker.
If you're new to London this is recommended whatever you get up to
afterwards.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*---

I don't agree, IMHO these tours are always overpriced and London is no
exception.

They might be worth doing if this is someone is doing in London, but if
they
are spending 4/5 days (or more) travelling around on the buses you will
get
to see everything at a fraction of the price.

to the OP. This is the minimum that you want to spend, and that's without
spending time in museums. You could easily find things to do for 15 days
of
more

tim

Around £15? Exorbitant??!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

I found 22 quid. For a two hour bus ride that you can do for a three pound
"day ticket.

So that 19 pounds for the commentary

Yes that's extortionate!

YMMV

tim

"MLD" wrote in message
...

"tim....." wrote in message
...

"Surreyman" wrote in message
...
On 15 Dec, 23:28, "MLD" wrote:
Plan on visiting London this Spring and am trying to figure out just how
much time would be needed to cover all the typical sights. Also, what
part
of the city would be the best/most convenient to stay in?
MLD

You can 'do' the major sights in a couple of hours on an organised
tourist trip on the top of a double-decker.
If you're new to London this is recommended whatever you get up to
afterwards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't agree, IMHO these tours are always overpriced and London is no
exception.

They might be worth doing if this is someone is doing in London, but if
they are spending 4/5 days (or more) travelling around on the buses you
will get to see everything at a fraction of the price.

to the OP. This is the minimum that you want to spend, and that's
without spending time in museums. You could easily find things to do for
15 days of more

tim


Thanks for the feedback, this is just the type of information that I was
looking for. We're not for the booked tours--too fast, not flexible in
the time at various locations and invariably you get dumped in a gift shop
and the time there is almost equivalent to the what you're allowed at the
sight you're visiting. I'm trying to estimate the timing in order to book
both ends of my flights.
Other info that I'd like to get--at the end of London we are planning on
heading to "Orrell, Wigan"??? to visit some people. I understand that
there is a train that we can take that will get us there, or as an
alternative, can fly into Manchester. Any idea of just how taking the
train would make out (carrying our luggage and all)? The Cost? We have to
come back to London

Provided that you avoid travelling on early morning trains, this costs 64
pounds return for a "normal" walk up ticket to use on almost any train.

Or you can pre-book a specific train from 8 pounds each way, but the cheaper
fares are hard to get, the ticket is completely non-refundable and worthless
if you don't make your selected train. There are also reports that the
booking system refuses to sell such tickets to non-UK credit cards (but I
can't confirm that)

Flying sees to cost from 72 pounds return, plus the costs of getting to/from
the airport at each end

and fly home from there so I'm trying to figure out the logistics
involved. Even thinking of taking the train to Orrell and then flying back
from Manchester to Heathrow. Any comments would be appreciated.
MLD

Why not try and see if you can get a through ticket to MAN with a stopover
in London?

tim

tim..... wrote:

Or you can pre-book a specific train from 8 pounds each way, but the cheaper
fares are hard to get, the ticket is completely non-refundable and worthless
if you don't make your selected train. There are also reports that the
booking system refuses to sell such tickets to non-UK credit cards (but I
can't confirm that)


Last May I tried to book a ticket for pickup at the station, on behalf
of a US-based relative, using his US credit card. I have done this many
times in the past, but it appears that it is no longer possible to do
this on line. I _was_ able to book his ticket by phone, though.

Snip


You can 'do' the major sights in a couple of hours on an organised
tourist trip on the top of a double-decker.
If you're new to London this is recommended whatever you get up to
afterwards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't agree, IMHO these tours are always overpriced and London is no
exception.

They might be worth doing if this is someone is doing in London, but if
they are spending 4/5 days (or more) travelling around on the buses you
will get to see everything at a fraction of the price.

to the OP. This is the minimum that you want to spend, and that's
without spending time in museums. You could easily find things to do
for 15 days of more

tim


Thanks for the feedback, this is just the type of information that I was
looking for. We're not for the booked tours--too fast, not flexible in
the time at various locations and invariably you get dumped in a gift
shop and the time there is almost equivalent to the what you're allowed
at the sight you're visiting. I'm trying to estimate the timing in order
to book both ends of my flights.
Other info that I'd like to get--at the end of London we are planning on
heading to "Orrell, Wigan"??? to visit some people. I understand that
there is a train that we can take that will get us there, or as an
alternative, can fly into Manchester. Any idea of just how taking the
train would make out (carrying our luggage and all)? The Cost? We have to
come back to London

Provided that you avoid travelling on early morning trains, this costs 64
pounds return for a "normal" walk up ticket to use on almost any train.

Or you can pre-book a specific train from 8 pounds each way, but the
cheaper fares are hard to get, the ticket is completely non-refundable and
worthless if you don't make your selected train. There are also reports
that the booking system refuses to sell such tickets to non-UK credit
cards (but I can't confirm that)

Flying sees to cost from 72 pounds return, plus the costs of getting
to/from the airport at each end

and fly home from there so I'm trying to figure out the logistics
involved. Even thinking of taking the train to Orrell and then flying
back from Manchester to Heathrow. Any comments would be appreciated.
MLD



Why not try and see if you can get a through ticket to MAN with a stopover
in London?

tim


At the moment I expect to use my "Frequent Flyer" miles which can only be
used on Round Trips with no stops--big price difference g. Comments have
been interesting and so far not a clear winner with respect to the tours vs
do it on our own. On past visits to many cities in the States, we live in
Boston, we would take a bus tour and then, as previously noted, make return
trips to places where more time was of interest. The Hop-On-Hop-Off buses
usually worked out well too. Still have lots of work to do on the logistics
between Manchester and London. Don't know enough about locations relative
to each other; where or how to get to the train station and the relative
costs vs what's the easiest thing to do. The other big question is --Where
in the city is the best "Without breaking the bank" location to stay? Would
getting a place outside the city and travel into it by the tube be a viable
option?
MLD

"MLD" wrote in message
...
Snip


You can 'do' the major sights in a couple of hours on an organised
tourist trip on the top of a double-decker.
If you're new to London this is recommended whatever you get up to
afterwards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't agree, IMHO these tours are always overpriced and London is no
exception.

They might be worth doing if this is someone is doing in London, but if
they are spending 4/5 days (or more) travelling around on the buses you
will get to see everything at a fraction of the price.

to the OP. This is the minimum that you want to spend, and that's
without spending time in museums. You could easily find things to do
for 15 days of more

tim


Thanks for the feedback, this is just the type of information that I was
looking for. We're not for the booked tours--too fast, not flexible in
the time at various locations and invariably you get dumped in a gift
shop and the time there is almost equivalent to the what you're allowed
at the sight you're visiting. I'm trying to estimate the timing in
order to book both ends of my flights.
Other info that I'd like to get--at the end of London we are planning on
heading to "Orrell, Wigan"??? to visit some people. I understand that
there is a train that we can take that will get us there, or as an
alternative, can fly into Manchester. Any idea of just how taking the
train would make out (carrying our luggage and all)? The Cost? We have
to come back to London

Provided that you avoid travelling on early morning trains, this costs 64
pounds return for a "normal" walk up ticket to use on almost any train.

Or you can pre-book a specific train from 8 pounds each way, but the
cheaper fares are hard to get, the ticket is completely non-refundable
and worthless if you don't make your selected train. There are also
reports that the booking system refuses to sell such tickets to non-UK
credit cards (but I can't confirm that)

Flying sees to cost from 72 pounds return, plus the costs of getting
to/from the airport at each end

and fly home from there so I'm trying to figure out the logistics
involved. Even thinking of taking the train to Orrell and then flying
back from Manchester to Heathrow. Any comments would be appreciated.
MLD



Why not try and see if you can get a through ticket to MAN with a
stopover in London?

tim


At the moment I expect to use my "Frequent Flyer" miles which can only be
used on Round Trips with no stops--big price difference g. Comments
have been interesting and so far not a clear winner with respect to the
tours vs do it on our own. On past visits to many cities in the States,
we live in Boston, we would take a bus tour and then, as previously noted,
make return trips to places where more time was of interest. The
Hop-On-Hop-Off buses usually worked out well too. Still have lots of work
to do on the logistics between Manchester and London. Don't know enough
about locations relative to each other;

220 miles apart connected by the most important railway line in the counry.

where or how to get to the train station

Getting to anywhere in London is easy[1]. You just use the underground.

At the other end the station that you want is Wigan. 1 hour 55, direct
train, once an hour.

You can then get a local train one stop to Orrel, but this goes from a
different station in Wigan (it's only a few yards down the street but it's
still a drag), so you're probably better getting a taxi.

Or you can catch a Manchester train and catch a train to Orrell from there,
but that requires a further change.

and the relative costs vs what's the easiest thing to do. The other big
question is --Where in the city is the best "Without breaking the bank"
location to stay? Would getting a place outside the city and travel into
it by the tube be a viable option?

My favourite compromise between location and price is this

http://www.premierinn.com/pti/hotelI...CMP=KNC-Google

though it seems to have gone up a bit since I last looked.

You can find "hotels" around Victoria station for half this price, but they
can be very grotty.

Staying outside of the centre usually won't save you very much as decent
hotels in these areas usually serve their own local market, though you
should be able to find decent B&Bs outside such as this:

http://www.st-alfeges.co.uk/therooms.html (as seen on TV!)

but it isn't much cheaper

tim

On Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:01:22 -0000, tim..... wrote:

"MLD" wrote in message
...
Snip


You can 'do' the major sights in a couple of hours on an organised
tourist trip on the top of a double-decker.
If you're new to London this is recommended whatever you get up to
afterwards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't agree, IMHO these tours are always overpriced and London is no
exception.

They might be worth doing if this is someone is doing in London, but if
they are spending 4/5 days (or more) travelling around on the buses you
will get to see everything at a fraction of the price.

to the OP. This is the minimum that you want to spend, and that's
without spending time in museums. You could easily find things to do
for 15 days of more

tim


Thanks for the feedback, this is just the type of information that I was
looking for. We're not for the booked tours--too fast, not flexible in
the time at various locations and invariably you get dumped in a gift
shop and the time there is almost equivalent to the what you're allowed
at the sight you're visiting. I'm trying to estimate the timing in
order to book both ends of my flights.
Other info that I'd like to get--at the end of London we are planning on
heading to "Orrell, Wigan"??? to visit some people. I understand that
there is a train that we can take that will get us there, or as an
alternative, can fly into Manchester. Any idea of just how taking the
train would make out (carrying our luggage and all)? The Cost? We have
to come back to London

Provided that you avoid travelling on early morning trains, this costs 64
pounds return for a "normal" walk up ticket to use on almost any train.

Or you can pre-book a specific train from 8 pounds each way, but the
cheaper fares are hard to get, the ticket is completely non-refundable
and worthless if you don't make your selected train. There are also
reports that the booking system refuses to sell such tickets to non-UK
credit cards (but I can't confirm that)

Flying sees to cost from 72 pounds return, plus the costs of getting
to/from the airport at each end

and fly home from there so I'm trying to figure out the logistics
involved. Even thinking of taking the train to Orrell and then flying
back from Manchester to Heathrow. Any comments would be appreciated.
MLD



Why not try and see if you can get a through ticket to MAN with a
stopover in London?

tim


At the moment I expect to use my "Frequent Flyer" miles which can only be
used on Round Trips with no stops--big price difference g. Comments
have been interesting and so far not a clear winner with respect to the
tours vs do it on our own. On past visits to many cities in the States,
we live in Boston, we would take a bus tour and then, as previously noted,
make return trips to places where more time was of interest. The
Hop-On-Hop-Off buses usually worked out well too. Still have lots of work
to do on the logistics between Manchester and London. Don't know enough
about locations relative to each other;

220 miles apart connected by the most important railway line in the counry.

where or how to get to the train station

Getting to anywhere in London is easy[1]. You just use the underground.

At the other end the station that you want is Wigan. 1 hour 55, direct
train, once an hour.

You can then get a local train one stop to Orrel, but this goes from a
different station in Wigan (it's only a few yards down the street but it's
still a drag), so you're probably better getting a taxi.

Or you can catch a Manchester train and catch a train to Orrell from there,
but that requires a further change.

and the relative costs vs what's the easiest thing to do. The other big
question is --Where in the city is the best "Without breaking the bank"
location to stay? Would getting a place outside the city and travel into
it by the tube be a viable option?

My favourite compromise between location and price is this

http://www.premierinn.com/pti/hotelI...CMP=KNC-Google

Good place, we have stayed there twice when the Eurostar went from
Waterloo, but as the OP is going to the Manchester area the PremierInn at
Euston/St.Pancras maybe a better bet, he can catch his train and the hotel
is easy walking distance to Russell Square, and is served by many busses.

On 17 Dec, 18:34, "tim....." wrote:
"Surreyman" wrote in message

...
On 16 Dec, 18:27, "tim....." wrote:





"Surreyman" wrote in message

....
On 15 Dec, 23:28, "MLD" wrote:

Plan on visiting London this Spring and am trying to figure out just how
much time would be needed to cover all the typical sights. Also, what
part
of the city would be the best/most convenient to stay in?
MLD

You can 'do' the major sights in a couple of hours on an organised
tourist trip on the top of a double-decker.
If you're new to London this is recommended whatever you get up to
afterwards.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------**---

I don't agree, IMHO these tours are always overpriced and London is no
exception.

They might be worth doing if this is someone is doing in London, but if
they
are spending 4/5 days (or more) travelling around on the buses you will
get
to see everything at a fraction of the price.

to the OP. This is the minimum that you want to spend, and that's without
spending time in museums. You could easily find things to do for 15 days
of
more

tim

Around £15? Exorbitant??!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

I found 22 quid. *For a two hour bus ride that you can do for a three pound
"day ticket.

So that 19 pounds for the commentary

Yes that's extortionate!

YMMV

tim- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You conveniently forgot:
"On the normal buses you don't get the major sights all conveniently
'packaged'. It would take hours to cover using normal routes (and
queuing each time!), and you'd be inside the (probably very crowded)
bus and hardly see a thing. "

Surreyman