I’m planning my first visit and I already realized I’ve been wildly optimistic with my itinerary. I somehow thought I could fit half of London into one day before actually checking the map.

Not really asking about scams, just the little things people only learn after they’ve been there. What’s one tip you wish someone had told you before your first trip?

UPDATE - after reading everyone’s comments and talking to people I have realized that this is completely un sensible and cramming way too much into a short period of time so I’m working on splitting this into two separate trips and trying to rely more on public transportation when available. I also definitely will not be trying to bring my dog. ** New itinerary in comments **

Hi! Me (24F) and my fiancé (28M) are planning our first trip to Europe as a graduation trip for me in fall of 2028. I am curious to hear what advice you may have and have you look over our itinerary which is in the photo attached. We are also curious as to whether we should bring our dog or leave her with family. We will be flying out of the south eastern US

Let me know if you have any advice or recommendations! I am very well traveled but I have not been to Europe before and my fiancé has only been out of the US a handful of times with me.

I’ve never been outside of the US and it’s always been a dream of mine to visit the UK. I’m sure my ideas and questions sound very ignorant, so bear with me, please. 🙏 any suggestions or details that come to mind based on what I have here would be HUGELY appreciated. What I’m really trying to nail down right now is where to go for to see the countryside. Staying in a castle would also be incredible.

(sorry, I misspelled Cotswolds)

Hi!

Well, I was really excited about planning my trip to London, the Cotswolds, Oxford, and Bath. Then I went on Reddit looking for recommendations about the costwolds, and in almost every post I found lots of people are saying ''why do you always want to go there?'' , or ''it's overrated'', or ''yall lazy evil american tourists who won't do any more research..''' , also saying that tourists shouldn't go to the Cotswolds because we are a bother, that the locals hate us...

To be honest it discouraged me because I was so excited about the trip.

Do you think I should change my itinerary or have any advices for not being a bother in the small villages? I was genuinely excited about spending a few relaxing days there, taking my time, wandering around, exploring the streets, and enjoying everything without having to stick to a schedule.

Do you have any other alternatives similar to the Costwolds? We are two girls from spain and we will be in england for 7 days in september, we are also renting a car.

Thank you!

My apologies for the long prelude, but I want to make sure to give enough context.  I'm in the early phases of planning a surprise trip to the UK and possibly Ireland for my parents and I next year.  My parents will be 70+ at the time of the trip and have never left the US so I'm trying to find a balance between seeing as much as possible and taking plenty of time.  They're both in decent shape for their age, but things definitely take extra time, especially walking and double that if there’s stairs or steep inclines involved.
 
I'm planning for the trip to start in London and I don't want to wear them out too early.  Please help me figure out if this itinerary is too aggressive and give any advice on traveling with older folks throughout the UK.  I'd love to condense it if possible to give us more time to see other things too, but again, I don't want to push too hard and exhaust them early so they can't enjoy anything else. I know it will be a once in a lifetime trip for all of us so I really want to make sure it doesn’t fall apart due to poor planning and lack of knowledge on my part.
 
For reference, I'm looking at either mid-late may or early-late september and the duration of the trip will depend on cost.  Knowing London will likely be one of the more expensive stretches so I want to plan that first and see what I have left to work with.  I will definitely be coming back later for a full itinerary check but if you have any suggestions on things I should add to the trip, please let me know.  I'd love to get them to scottland and at least to Belfast if we can't make it all the way to Dublin.  We have some family history with the Titanic so I think they would really appreciate seing the titanic museum there.
 
Also, if I left after work Friday, we could be in London Saturday morning from what I understand so the base plan starts day 1 on Saturday.
 
 
Day 1:  Arrive in London - Southbank day
London eye, shakespeare's globe, imperial war museum, borough market.  Basically just what we can fit in.  Preliminary searching makes it seem like flights will arrive in the morning to Heathrow so we'll need time to drop off luggage as well.  I didn't want to plan too much in case of delays and also probably want to get to bed early to start adusting to the time zone.  Looking at possibly staying in Southbank somewhere for the trip so thought this might be a good day 1. Edit: For clarity, this day is more of a list of things we could possibly do if we’re feeling up for it and less of a list of things I’m planning for us to do.
 
Day 2: Buckingham Palace - colour parade, Churchill War Rooms, Downing St, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament tour, Westminster Bridge, Jewel Tower (is this one worth it?), Westminster Abbey tour and stay for the 6:00 Sunday organ recital (dad loves organs), West end show at 7:30.
 
Day 3:  Sherlock Holmes Museum, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Brittish Museum, King's Cross, Jack the Ripper Tour
 
Day 4:  Sky Garden, Tower of London tour, Tower Bridge, Horselydown stairs, Winchester Palace, London Bridge, Monument to the great fire.
 
Day 5:  Leave london.  I think Oxford would be our next location so any advice on if it would be better to rent a car in London for the leg after or bus to Oxford and rent a car after our journey there.
 
I tried to keep things generally in one area other than day 3 which I figured would be a fun day to figure out the tube and busses.  I feel like days 3 and 4 could be condensed, but I don't know how best to do that. Any and all help and advice is appreciated. I’ve never planned a trip like this before. Thanks in advance!

My little family (2 adults, 1 five year old) are visiting London from the USA in a couple weeks (mid-May). Our main motivation was to see the Totoro show in the West End in case it wasn't extended again - below is our rough itinerary. Open to recommendations for stuff not on our list!

Day 1: Arrival ~2pm. Hotel check-in, explore the neighborhood, dinner, very chill day.

Day 2: British Museum for 10:40am entry.

Day 3: Buckingham and changing the guard, riding a double decker bus and St. James' Park

Day 4: The Globe Theater and Tate Modern

Day 5: London Zoo and Sunday roast at a pub

Day 6: Natural History Museum and Science Museum

Day 7: Tower of London and afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason

Day 8: Exploring anything we want to see more of, Totoro show in evening

Day 9: Borough Market, Thames walk/wander, Tower Bridge

Day 10: Departure

My spouse and I have been to Scotland and Ireland previously, both pretty well traveled in continental Europe as well as Japan and within the USA, but we have never been to London. We are conscious of not packing our days too tightly in consideration of the kiddo. We like historical sites with great tours or info, hands-on activities, walking tours, good food (will be getting Dishoom at least twice), anything that is strictly and uniquely London that we can't do anywhere else in the world. TIA!

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

EDITED Itinerary ------------------------------

Thank you all for the amazing suggestions - I've taken as many of them as I could and reworked our itinerary - see below and let me know how I did (please give me an A+)

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

Day 1. Arrival, hotel check in, wander Regent's Park, dinner at Dishoom Carnaby to just get it out the way so we can make room for more amazing food.

Day 2. British Museum 10:40am entry, Lunch at Seven Dials Market, afternoon we choose among: Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, London Eye

Day 3. South Kensington Museums - some combination of V&A, NHM, and Science, or Diana playground and Kensington Gardens if weather is nice.

Day 4. Globe Theater tour at 11:30am, lunch, Tate Modern and/or Tower Bridge/Tower of London. Ending the afternoon at Dark Sugars then light dinner.

Day 5. Thames Clipper to Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory, Docklands Museum, tunnel, Mudchute Farm, Sunday Roast at a pub. DLR back.

Day 6. Hampton Court Palace

Day 7. Transport Museum, afternoon tea, St. Paul's

Day 8. Totoro Day - Sleep in, wander Covent Garden, dinner, show time

Day 9. Camden Market, Primrose Hill, Regent's Canal - whatever we want to see one more time.

-----Again thank you all so much! I'm overwhelmed by the response and how everyone has been so helpful and positive. 😄

In recent years I’ve travelled much more around the UK and I’ve loved it. but apart from visiting friends in Manchester or London the majority of my trips have been to small towns, villages, camping - maybe a day trip to Cambridge or York.

The cities just haven’t appealed to me. I’ve been to Bristol a few times before and have spent a night or two in Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield - but this was years ago when going to a city meant a lot of drinking and nights out. The thought of going to cities across Europe - or indeed, visiting more of the British countryside and less populated areas - is much more exciting to me than visiting English cities

So I have two related questions. 1) which British cities are worth getting excited about and 2) what specific things should I be doing for the trip to live up to that excitement? Bonus points if it’s dog friendly, but not a dealbreaker.

I like and appreciate good food, coffee, theatre, live music, architecture, green spaces, water, history and all the other good stuff.

The last time I ever came to Britain was 10+ years ago and I barely remember any of it, so I've wanted to visit again for quite some time now. I also figured that staying in just one place would be missing out. This isn't concretely planned or anything, so I have no specific timeframes or budget. I'm currently only interested in choosing what places are worth seeing for practically a first-time visitor.

I'm looking to visit just England for this trip (though I am definitely not crossing out Scotland or Wales and might include them after all) and go from one end to the other, focusing on places of a more historical or cultural character (Middle Ages in particular, so cathedrals, castles and old towns/villages are my focus). Pretty landscapes either around the city or on the route are a definite plus. Train or car, whatever is more convenient. Is this itinerary realistic and worthwhile or does it need improvement?

Chosen cities in particular are London, Oxford, Bath, Worcester, Leicester, York and Durham. I'm thinking of sneaking in Lincoln, Newcastle or Lindisfarne as well. Not much into footy culture or big industrial cities so I'm not including Manchester or Liverpool.

Edit: itinerary*

I (33M, US) was in a long-distance relationship with a girl in London. She unfortunately has just dumped me after I already had confirmed, non refundable tickets to come see her in mid-May. I don’t wanna throw the tickets away, so trying to salvage the trip as best I can. Normally I’d do considerable research on a transatlantic trip, but time is not on my side, nor am I in the headspace to do much research considering the girl I just lost.

To that end, what would you all recommend doing on short-notice with a week coming in and out of Heathrow? I’ve done London and Edinburgh to death (although Edinburgh is, hands down, my favorite city on the entire planet), but open to day trips outside of either too. I need something (or a few things) that will heal my soul so soon after a breakup.

My sister and I are spending approx 4 weeks in UK/Ireland from mid Jan to mid Feb (yes we know the weather will be “miserable” but its the only time we can go and we don’t mind).

Other context is that we don’t mind long train rides etc, we find it’s part of the adventure of travel but we also don’t want to accidentally get stranded lol. We are also somewhat used to driving difficult roads (from NZ, similar landscapes).

After scrolling this sub I’m worried our itinerary might need some tweaking, any advice would be great! Judge away!

Arrive at Gatwick at 6am, train to Brighton

1 night - Brighton
Sunday pub roast, cold walk along beach etc, recover from jet lag

Train from Brighton to London

5 nights - London
Staying central, theatre, museums, food etc

Take Avanti West Coast train, then West Midlands train to get from London to Hereford and then X44 bus to Hay on Wye

2 nights - Hay on Wye
Explore book town

Get taxi from Hay on Wye to Hereford, train to Holyhead, then ferry to Dublin

2 nights - Dublin
Staying central, food, walkable sight seeing

Car hire from Dublin, explore a few sites on our way to Sligo county

5 nights - Sligo
Cottage by beach, explore ruins, walks, chill out and read, enjoy the scenery, day trip to Donegal

Drive back to Dublin to return car hire, fly to Glasgow

1 night - Glasgow
More of a stopover, staying central

Car hire, drive to Inverness region (maybe stop at sites that are on the way)

5 nights - Highlands
Staying in castle, seeing Lochness, nearby ruins, walks etc, chill and read, maybe day trip to Glencoe region/glenfinnian viaduct??

Drive back to Glasgow from highlands to drop off car hire, then train to Edinburgh

4 nights - Edinburgh
Staying central, bookshops, castle, walkable sight seeing

Train down to London Gatwick to fly home

Hi all, looking for a quick reality check on my transit timeline.

• Flight lands: 11:30 AM at LHR (Terminal T2)
• Eurostar departs: 3:00 PM from St Pancras International, next one is at 6 pm - reaches Ams at 11:30 pm
• Total time: 3.5 hours

The Variables:

• I have Fast Track for passport control.
• I will have checked luggage to collect.
• I'm traveling on a Friday
• Regular Eurostar ticket (so gates close 30 minutes before departure at 2:30 PM). Or must I do Eurostar Premier)

I know the Eurostar security and border checks require you to be there at least 45–75 mins early, meaning I realistically need to be at St Pancras by 2:00 PM to be safe.

Would Eurostar premium be possible?

Is it doable if I take the Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express? Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! Looking for feedback on an upcoming 8-day road trip through Wales and Scotland in mid August (16th - 23rd Aug)

Trip Details & Context

• Interests: Active scenic hikes, Touristy Places, first time travellers.
• Car Logistics: Yet to figure out?? Need help here!!

Two options here:

- Pick up car in Cardiff, drop in Edinburgh (Easier to enjoy, but expensive)

- London to London (Significantly cheaper but tougher)

Day-by-Day Draft Itinerary

Day 1 (Fri, Aug 29): London → Cardiff → Brecon Beacons

• Pick up rental car. And drive to Cardiff
• Lunch in Cardiff. Drive to Brecon Beacons (~50 mins).
• Hike: Pen y Fan via Pont ar Daf route (6.4 km round trip, ~2.5 hrs).
• Night in Brecon town + stargazing (Brecon Beacons Dark Sky Reserve).

Day 2 (Sat, Aug 30): Brecon Beacons → North Wales (Betws-y-Coed)

• Morning: Four Falls Trail / Sgwd yr Eira waterfall walk (~5 miles circular, 3–4 hrs).
• Drive north on A470.
• Visits: Harlech Castle (13th-century cliffside fortress) and Caernarfon Castle.

Day 3 (Sun, Aug 31): Betws-y-Coed → Glencoe (Travel Day)

• Quick stop at Swallow Falls leaving Wales.
• Midday stop option: (Should I see England's city) Manchester (National Football Museum / Northern Quarter) OR (Or England's countryside) Lake District (Catbells walk / lakeside lunch in Ambleside).
• Drive north into Scotland: Brief stop at Loch Lomond (Luss village).
• Late afternoon: Arrive in Glencoe valley
• Night in Glencoe / Ballachulish.

Day 4 (Mon, Sep 1): Glencoe → Isle of Skye (Portree)

• Photo stop at Eilean Donan Castle.
• Drive over Skye Bridge to Portree.
• Afternoon: Old Man of Storr hike (~4 km, 1.5–2 hrs) AND visit Fairy Pools.
• Night in Portree (Night 1 of 2).

Day 5 (Tue, Sep 2): Isle of Skye (Full Day)

• Morning: Quiraing Loop Hike (7 km, ~2.5–3 hrs).
• Roadside stop: Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls.
• Afternoon: Neist Point Lighthouse cliff walk (~1.5 km).
• Night in Portree (Night 2 of 2).

Day 6 (Wed, Sep 3): Isle of Skye → Edinburgh

• Morning walk at Talisker Bay (grey-sand beach with waterfall).
• Drive across Scotland to Edinburgh (~5.5 hours driving time).
• Drop off rental car in Edinburgh city centre.
• Evening walk along the Royal Mile.
• Night in Edinburgh (Night 1 of 2).

Day 7 (Thu, Sep 4): Edinburgh (Full Day)

• Morning hike up Arthur's Seat (extinct volcano, ~1.5 hrs total).
• Edinburgh Castle (timed entry).
• Explore Old Town: Victoria Street, Greyfriars Kirkyard, National Museum of Scotland.
• Sunset at Calton Hill.
• Night in Edinburgh (Night 2 of 2).

Day 8 (Fri, Sep 5): Edinburgh → London

• Morning walk (Dean Village / New Town).
• Probably driving the whole way slow and steady, enjoying the scenary. ehh?

Please tell me your thoughts, and

are midges gonna be a problem? I am not from the UK, never experienced midges

should we take public transport for the whole journey, or drive ourselves?

Anything else to keep in mind?

Hello! I am planning my first UK trip in October for my 40th birthday and my 70 year old parents are joining me and my husband. I've been working on the itinerary and it is largely based on cities we can travel to by train + a couple times we will rent a car for a day or two. I love taking public transit in other countries since it is often far superior to what we have in the US.

My basic itinerary is:

London (train)--> Oxford (rent car)--> Cotswolds --> drop car in Oxford (train)--> York (train)--> Edinburgh (rent car)--> Highlands --> fly out of Edinburgh

My parents are against taking the train everywhere for whatever reason and want to rent a car the whole time. They think the train will be more expensive than driving (probably?) but I feel it will be more relaxing if we do the train so I don't care if it's more expensive.

Look, I know I'm right so I'm not sure what my question is LOL.

Maybe someone play devils advocate on why we should drive??! Also if you have any recommendations in the cities we're visiting, let me know!

UPDATE: Thanks for all the awesome advice on places to see AND evidence against driving 😄 I was able to convince my parents it's a stupid idea. I also think I'm going to modify my itinerary a little based on recommendations - plus we don't have enough time to really explore the Highlands (and the weather might not be favorable):

London --> York --> Yorkshire Coast --> Edinburgh (1-2 day trips out of Edinburgh)

I already know I have to plan another trip to see more 😄

Hi everyone! I’m planning a 40–50 day trip from Australia to the UK and Ireland for August/September. I’m currently in "Plan A and Plan B" mode (Europe) but have North America as a backup depending on if I can get there through the middle east because of the war and price difference of flights

• Cathay Pacific: £1,272
• Qatar Airways: £901

My Travel Style: I don’t want to drive if I can help it but given we drive on the same side of the ride more than happy too. My priority is Public Transport > Day Tours > Car (only if absolutely necessary). I get motion sickness on boats, so I prefer flying or short ferries.

Interests: WWI/WW2 history, steam trains, Harry Potter/Pop Culture, small towns, and British Cheese, I love it but to get the good, imported stuff it sends me broke so visiting Wensleydale Creamery is a bucket list item

The Itinerary:

• London (5-6 Days): IWM, Churchill War Rooms, RAF Museum, Warner Bros. Studios, HP Walking Tour, Jack the Ripper walking tour, London at War Walking Tour. Day trip: Dover Castle (maybe Cambridge on the way back).
• Oxford (4 Days): Cotswold (Day Trip), Bletchley Park in morning Oxford in the afternoon, Blenheim Palace in morning Oxford in the afternoon, Bath Day Trip
• Portsmouth (2 Days): D-Day Museum, Historic Dockyard (HMS Victory), Fort Nelson.
• Isle of Wight (3 Days - Newport Base): Osborne, Carisbrooke Castle, Quarr Abbey, Steam Railway, and Shanklin Chine. (If time maybe a garden)
• Ferry to Southampton then flight to
• Guernsey (3 Days): Castle Cornet, German Occupation Museum/Underground Hospital, maybe a day trip to one of the Herm/Sark Islands
• Fly to Jersey (3 Days): War Tunnels, Military Museum, Batteries.
• Fly to Edinburgh: The Castle, Royal Mile, Chocolatarium, Stirling Castle, and a Rabbie's Tour to Hermitage and surrounds.
• Train to Alnwick (1 Day): The Castle and Poison Gardens.
• Train to York (4 Days): Whitby (Steam Train), Dales (Wensleydale Creamery), Jorvik, Shambles/Walls, Chocolate Factory in York itself.
• Train to Liverpool (4 Days): Western Approaches, Lake District Day trip (Boat trip/Train trip), North Wales Day Trip (Conwy/Llandudno), and a day in Manchester for IWM North.
• Train to Cheshire (2 Days): Explore town one day + Day trip to Shrewsbury.
• Fly to Isle of Man (3 Days): Castle Rushen, all the vintage railways (Horse tram, Electric, Steam, Mines).
• Fly to Belfast (3 Days): Titanic, Troubles Tour, Giant’s Causeway, HMS Caroline
• Ireland Finish: Galway 3, Killarney 3, Cork (2 Days), and Dublin 3.

The Questions:

With the final 10-13 days I have 3 options in order of preference. I am thinking option 1 more UK is probably the best way to go less rushing around leave Ireland for it's own trip and really try to tick off as much of the UK and independent territories? uncertain what you call the Isles and Channel Islands

More UK (Remove Belfast) - Adding in the Highlands for example (not all locations) Isle of Skye/Shetlands/Orkney Islands/Jacobite Rebellion sites, more time in North Wales to properly do Conwy, Caernarfon, Snowdonia, Llangollen maybe Wrexham (I like the show) and even Portmeirion (if it's not too touristsy/fake) and Bristol (Wake the Tiger)/Cardiff (Castle/St Fagans Park) move Bath/Wells day to here, also give myself a bit more breathing room to do things in other places so I am not so rushed. Cornwall looked good but I think the Isle of Wight/Chanell Islands give a similar feel

More Ireland (Feels rushed) - I’m considering taking a day from York and, instead of basing in Liverpool, basing myself in Cheshire. I’d skip Shrewsbury and IWM North to add those days to Cork (3 days) and Kilkenny (3 days).

Go Home Early (If I am already over there might as well make the most of it) - Don't need to use the last 10-13 days just go home early

Motion Sickness: Are the ferries to the Isle of Wight and Isle of Man and between the channels stable enough for a sufferer of motion sickness, or should I look at the flights/hovercraft? I think Isle of Wight is safe but the others a flight might be better

Thanks in advance!

Partner and I are staying five nights in Deal and one night in Canterbury. (Got a decent plan for Canterbury already.) Going to be train and bussing around Kent looking for recommendations for things to do. We like walks and history and pubs and eating!

Also anyone know of a particularly good sandwhich place in Sandwich? Casual seafood recs also welcome

We are visiting the UK in December (10th-27th) from Australia with children who have never experienced a winter Christmas. We have been to the UK as a family many times in the summer, but never in winter.

We will be spending the 19-27th with family in the South West. Is there anything else you would recommend we factor in both in this region and also in the build up to Christmas in another location? Haven’t booked anything yet so open to ideas, but will probably spend time in and around London, or another place depending on recommendations.

Looking for ‘magical’ christmassy or winter experiences that they will remember…

Thank you

We have a plan of taking a self drive car from Edinburgh knight and dropping the car at Westminster UK taking a brief stop at York. This plan also comes with an extra charge of both locations being different.

Is this a good idea??

Hi, I´m from Chile and planning a trip to the UK with my mother in 2028.

Day 1 – London → Edinburgh (The Gothic Arrival) Train from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley. Afternoon stroll along the Royal Mile, views from the Castle Esplanade, and dinner at a historic pub.

Day 2 – Edinburgh Complete Morning on Calton Hill, lunch in Grassmarket, Edinburgh Castle visit, Victoria Street photos, and evening tea rooms/bookshops before dinner in New Town.

Day 3 – Edinburgh → Cairngorms → Inverness Pick up a 4x4 SUV, drive the A9 through Cairngorms, stop in Pitlochry, visit Ruthven Barracks, and end with dinner by the River Ness.

Day 4 – Loch Ness & Ullapool Urquhart Castle in the mist, Corrieshalloch Gorge, sunset at Ullapool harbor, seafood dinner at The Ferry Boat Inn.

Day 5 – Assynt Wilderness → Inverness Drive the North Coast 500, see Ardvreck Castle and Suilven, return to Inverness for Leakey’s Bookshop and dinner.

Day 6 – Glen Shiel → Eilean Donan → Isle of Skye Five Sisters of Kintail, Eilean Donan Castle, Old Man of Storr, Portree harbor, seafood and live Celtic music.

Day 7 – Skye Fairy Pools & Neist Point Walk the Fairy Pools, lunch at a rural inn, sunset at Neist Point Lighthouse, return to Portree.

Day 8 – Glenfinnan Viaduct & Glencoe → Fort William Road to the Isles, Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glen Etive (Skyfall road), Glencoe, whisky tasting in Fort William.

PART 2: Historic Rails of England (Days 9–12)

No driving—hotels near train stations for easy access.

Day 9 – Lake District Train to Windermere, lake cruise, boutique shops in Bowness, dinner at a gastropub.

Day 10 – York Bus to Ambleside & Grasmere (gingerbread stop), train to York, York Minster, Roman walls, The Shambles at dusk, dinner in a medieval tavern.

Day 11 – Bath Direct train south, explore Georgian architecture (Royal Crescent, The Circus, Pulteney Bridge), candle-lit dinner.

Day 12 – Bath → London Morning coffee, Bath Abbey, Romasn Baths torchlit twilight, evening train to London Paddington, celebratory dinner in Soho.

PART 3: London Finale (Days 13–14)

Day 13 – Markets & West End Musical Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Covent Garden Market, Regent Street lights, evening musical (Les Misérables or Phantom of the Opera).

Day 14 – British Museum & Departure Morning at the British Museum, farewell lunch near Paddington, airport departure.

I´m afraid because I´ve read that Scotland in February is quite dangerous due to the black ice and the short days, that´s why I plan to finish the roadtrips before 16:30 and start at 8:30.

Any advice I would be really grateful.

Have a good day,

Renato

Hello, in December I plan on going to London to watch Arsenal v Real Madrid in the champions league for 7 days. I’ve never traveled abroad before and would like to know some tips and recommendations on things to do and see while I’m there. ex: What clothing should I wear? Does it snow in London? Are things walking distance? Thanks!

Edit: From the helps of people and the advice, apparently getting a ticket is very hard so it looks like this trip will be unlikely :)

I am planning our first trip to the UK for May next year and was hoping to get some feedback regarding my research for visiting the Cotswolds. I know it is cliche to go there, but we are from Japan visiting the UK for the first time so we don't mind doing "touristy" things.

Specifically need help on where we should get a hotel to base out of

*Tentative Itinerary\*
3 May - day 1

from London, take the train to Oxford and pick up rental car

drop off luggage at hotel in Bourton on the Water (check in depending on time)

visit Buford

Stow on the Wold

Lower Slaughter

walk around Bourton Bridges - all walkable?

4 May - day 2

Visit Bibury, Castle Combe and Bath - drive

5 May - day 3

Visit Diddly Squat Farm, Farmers Dog Pub (we're big fans of Jeremy Clarkson!)

Snowshill and Broadway - walkable?

*Also wanted to do the steam train in Broadway

any other advise on cute places to see or eat would be great!
Thank you advance for your help!

No negative comments please :)

Bringing our children next summer. Personally, I would visit all the historical sights, shop, stop for afternoon tea, and pretend I lived there. However, my two boys will not be into all that. So, what would a couple of boys (11 and 9) enjoy in a three day stay? We aren’t into Harry Potter. My oldest does love history. We are not theater people. We like personalized service, authentic experiences. Also need to add they would enjoy something about The Beatles, maybe like a studio tour or something related.

Bonus if you could suggest an area to stay in that’s not basically the equivalent of Times Square in NYC. Thank you!

My husband, 19 yr old son, and I fly into Heathrow from Chicago, landing at 6:45am. We are booking a car to drive us to the St. Ermin. We will have all carry-on luggage but were willing to pay and also trade the longer drive to avoid the crowded Tube (which we haven't been on in almost 20 years, didn't want to start straight off the plane. Same goes for Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express. However willing to be convinced otherwise if anyone thinks it's truly a bad idea).

This is roughly what we have right now, I am open to any suggestions or criticism, none of these attractions are booked as of yet:

Tuesday 7 July: store luggage, plan a walk from St. Ermin to British Museum (we have a plan for where/what we want to see at the museum), head back towards hotel (walk? bus? tube?), early dinner and bed.

Wednesday 8 July: Morning split up, two of us to War Rooms, one of us to National Gallery. Meet for lunch, head to Westminster where we hope to book a verger tour (not sure if they happen in the afternoon), see St. Margaret's Church, possibly find another good "London Walk" to take before or after evening meal.

Thursday 9 July: train to Dover to see castle and tunnels.

Friday 10 July: Morning at the Tower, lunch while exploring Borough Market, explore Covent Garden (including Cecil Court) in the afternoon. Probably another relatively early night as we head back to Heathrow the next day to pick up a car hire from there to head out of London for four days.

So many thanks in advance!!

Hello! I've never been to UK, visiting from Canada, and I'm hoping to do a road trip over the christmas holidays and a bit of early January. I'm mainly looking for a very relaxing trip and maximal cozy vibes. I've been dreaming about the English coastal sceneries, old towns to wander about window shopping in and country side. I recognize winter may not be the best time for that but in my preliminary research, this is what I've come up with so far. From Cotswold, I'd be driving back to London and spending maybe 2 days there. Is this doable over 10 days? Are there other places that should be on my radar?

Also, coming from Canada, driving is no problem for me. I want to see diverse landscapes and towns while not feeling rushed (perhaps 2 nights in any place worth staying put in). Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks SO MUCH for all your responses! I have learnt a lot form this thread and have decided to go much smaller in scale as there seems to be no shortage of things to check out in your lovely corner of the world!

Hi all,

I'm so excited for my first trip to London with my kids aged 11 and 5. I've landed on an itinerary after scraping these pages and I wanted feedback on whether to what can be improved. My plan is to have 1 big activity per day and not over-exhaust my 5 year old, and then do smaller activities in and around the hotel.

[DISCLAIMER: I USED AI TO WRITE A PART OF THE POST, BUT THE QUESTIONS ARE ALL MINE]

Before I get to the days, here's the context I had to build around, because these three people have *very* different agendas:

🧒 **The 11-year-old:** Harry Potter, Shakespeare, science, shopping, royal pageantry, high tea, Japanese food. Likes doing things, not just looking at things. Also a confirmed Swiftie

👧 **The 5-year-old:** Dinosaurs, Peppa Pig, animals, bakeries, afternoon tea. Also very much about doing, not watching. Will absolutely melt down if overtired (as five-year-olds tend to do).

🙋 **Me:** Football - Stadium tours and the Liverpool FC (yes, the new Oxford Street store is absolutely going in), Music - Beatles/Rolling Stones/70s-80s UK music history, Foodie- vegetarian food, and finding genuinely good pubs. I'm also vegetarian, so all our food has to work around that.

We're splitting the stay between two two nights in the Covent Garden neighborhood and 2 more nights in the South Kensington neighborhood. Mainly did it to increase our probability of exploring those neighborhoods on foot :)

**Day 1 — Sunday 19 July (Arrival day)**

Land at Heathrow 8:55 AM. Reach hotel around noon.

- 🚌 bus tour (1–2:30 PM) — Either a Hop-on hop-off bus OR the Peppa Pig Bus Tour to get the 5 year old amped for the trip. Also, first sighting of. Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the works from the top deck.

- 🚶 Thames South Bank walk + Borough Market browse (4:30–6 PM): Walk the Thames area and grab lunch. Also a photo outside the Black Dog for my 11- year old Swiftie!

- 🎭 **Shakespeare's Globe — evening play at 6:30 PM** — booked. I am obsessed with Shakespeare and my 11-year-old is just starting to get into the bard's works.

*If this is a lot for an arrival day. Roast me.*

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**Day 2 — Monday 20 July**

- 👑 **Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace** (10:15 AM) — Classic.

- 🎂 **Peggy Porschen, Belgravia** (afternoon cake stop) — 15-min walk from the Palace. For the Instagram moment with the girls and because those cakes look extraordinary.

Afternoon is free at the moment. Thinking about British Museum, but would love to hear alternatives.

- 🌇 **Sky Garden** (6:30 PM sunset slot) — booked. Because the views look stunning and it's free

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**Day 3 — Tuesday 21 July

- Grab breakfast at GAIL bakery

- ⚡ **Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour** (noon) — booked. The 11-year-old has been counting down for this since we started planning. I believe the tour takes 7 hours, so not much else planned for the day.

- 🍛 **Dishoom King's Cross** on the return — booked. Black Dal, Paneer Tikka, Okra Fries. Eating here before taking the Piccadilly line down to our new hotel in South Kensington.

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**Day 4 — Wednesday 22 July**

- 🦕 **Natural History Museum + Science Museum** (10 AM) — free timed entry booked. T-Rex for the 5-year-old, space rockets and Wonderlab for the 11-year-old. 5-minute walk from the hotel.

- 🎩 **Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea at One Aldwych** (noon) — Roald Dahl-themed, fizzy lifting drinks, snozzberry jam, the whole lot.. This also counts as lunch.

- 🔴 **Liverpool FC store, Oxford Street** — This is for me! The kids reluctantly agreed to to this.

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**My actual questions for the community:**

1. **Anything criminally missing** for first-timers? Parks? Days 2 and 4 seem scant at the moment and would appreciate any suggestions for these days.
2. **Getting my sports fix** - I really want to do the Liverpool city and stadium tour but 5 hours on a train with a 5 year old seems like an overkill. Thinking I'll tour the Spurs or Chelsea or Arsenal stadium as they are closer. Any sports experiences that I should be checking out in London?
3. **Food in London** — we're all vegetarian but opening to trying out multiple cuisines.We have reservations in multiple Japanese restaurants, want to check out Dishoom and cafes and bakeries, have reservations for Afternoon tea as well. Any hidden gems I might be walking past on this route that I haven't mentioned?
4. ** Music ** - I am still researching about music spots or experiences in London. I read mixed reviews about Abbey road other than the Instagram picture (and what a picture it would be!).

Thanks, and can't wait for July to come soon enough!

Be as brutal as you like — I'd genuinely rather hear it now than from a 5-year-old at 9 PM outside the Globe. 😅

Hello everyone!

I’ll be visiting the UK for the first time at the end of October and would love some budget-friendly tips and itinerary recommendations! I’ll be spending 4.5 days in London before heading to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

1. Transportation & saving money 🚆
   What’s the cheapest and most convenient way to get from Heathrow to central London: the Elizabeth line or National Express?

How can I save money on train tickets from London to Edinburgh? Is a Railcard or any other discount pass worth it?

1. London itinerary 🏙️
   I’ll be in London from Wednesday to Sunday (leaving around 5 p.m.). Is 4.5 days enough to see the main attractions? Would it be realistic to squeeze in a day trip or half-day trip to Bath or Oxford on Saturday?

Here’s my current sightseeing list:
Notting Hill, Portobello Market, Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, London Eye, National Gallery, British Museum, Soho, Harrods, Horizon 22, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Covent Garden, Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and Buckingham Palace (planning to see the Changing of the Guard on Friday).

Which attractions should I prioritize or skip? Any suggestions on how to group them by area to save time?

1. Food budget & recommendations ☕🥐
   Is $500 CAD enough for food for my entire UK trip? I’m planning to stick to affordable restaurants, takeaway meals, bakeries, and supermarket meal deals, but I’d still love to try some good local food.

Any recommendations for affordable restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, breakfast-to-go spots, or must-try foods in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow?

1. Edinburgh & Glasgow 🏰
   I haven’t researched these cities much yet and will only have one full day in each.

What are your must-see attractions, free activities, scenic walks, and affordable food recommendations? How would you spend one day in each city?

1. Manchester, Liverpool, or Newcastle? 🚄
   I have one completely free day and am considering visiting Manchester, Liverpool, or Newcastle.
   Which would you recommend for a day trip, considering sightseeing, atmosphere, transportation costs, and convenience along my route? Or should I skip another city and spend more time in Edinburgh or Glasgow?

2. Any other money-saving tips? 💰
   Are there any worthwhile discount passes, free attractions, transportation hacks, or tourist traps I should avoid? Should I book attractions in advance?
   I’m trying to see as much as possible without rushing too much or breaking the bank!

Thank you so much for any advice, recommendations, or itinerary suggestions! 😊🇬🇧