Exodus Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 The wife and I are hoping to fly out to London late June and stay through early July. Any tips and tricks on cheap airline tickets and places to stay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Honestly, get outta London. There's some cool things to do there but mostly it's an insanely overpriced tourist trap. If you want to go there and spend shittons of money on haute couture, that's cool. I'd suggest heading up to Scotland or to Ireland if you want to soak up some real culture. Bring comfy shoes, you'll be walking a lot. Have a dummy wallet with some BS membership/expired cards to fool pickpockets. Carry only the essentials in your real wallet; have a phone card with some money on it, a CC (Capital One has no international transaction fees IIRC), ID, and a little cash. Always have a little cash just in case. Don't wear shorts unless you want to stick out like a sore thumb. Know that typical English food = curry. Do at least one Michelin rated restaurant experience. My sis said Restaurant Gordon Ramsay was amazing but she was working for him at the time so she's biased, and Alain Ducasse's namesake restaurant is also a 3-star experience and he's one of the best chefs in the world. Of all the touristy things you might do, definitely go to The British Museum. Lot of human history and culturally relevant things there, I thought it was actually really cool. Travel is best accomplished by train, it's quite comfortable. I'll update as I think of things. OH if you're not going to be traveling and would rather just stay in London, look into AirBnb or some other service to rent an apartment for a week. Way better way to immerse yourself in the city. That way if there's a day or two you'd like to skip tourist things and just get some fresh bread/cheese/meats and stay in, it's in a nicer environment than a hotel room. Source: my own travels, my sister lived there for a year, best friend's gf just returned from a 2-year work assignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 When looking for flights the price you see doesn't include the taxes to fly in and out of the country. Last time I was in England I think I paid $100ish each way in taxes so be prepared for like an extra $200 per ticket. London is great but take the train to Bournemouth. It's a great town with a lot to see and do. For about $100 per person you can take the train from London to Paris. Worth it to see Paris. From Paris you guys can get on the euro rail and go to any city you want. I always take the late flight out of philly on us airways direct to Heathrow. You get there at like 7 am and ready to start your day. England has amazing food. Must do fish and chips and there are plenty of Chippeys around. Also late night hit up a Ke Bab stand. Tons of Muslims in London and England. Watch out for them. Curry is the main dish believe it or not. I love England and teach over there every so often. Blackpoll is a northern city and a English version of Vegas but dirtier and shittier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 I've been looking at flights and I can't find anything less than 1200 per person. I'm hoping to find a friend with an airline discount or something. I'm going over for a leadership conference and just some exploring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 How long are you there and do you need to stay in London the whole trip? Must do things in London: -Tower of London and London Bridge (right next to each other) -Walk around Big Ben and Parliment -Walk from Trafalgar Square to the Royal Palace -British Museum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I just had a whole long thing typed out and my computer locked up. Sucks. So now you get the lame version. Food is going to suck and be expensive, be ready. The exception is a chicken parmesan in a little place about 5 hrs from London. Learn the Subway system its the fastest most cost effective way around. Surprised no one has mentioned Westminster Abby, St Paul's cathedral, London Eye (big ferris wheel) or the Natural History museum. In my opinion...must sees. For the love of god avoid the Tate Museum of modern art. Its all garbage. I have a spreadsheet of the stuff we did in 3 days with hours, price, location. We tried to locate the sites near by to save on travel time. We blitzed london. Our feet were so completely destroyed. Having done the tower of london last bring me nightmares of walking on cobblestone with destroyed feet. My work kept me focused in the North East of the country. So I checked out Whitby, Scarborough, Edinburgh, Holy Island, etc. One place I regret not going to was Isle of Skye, but its way up there. Skip the lake district, we have better stuff here. Don't bother with exchange houses. Just bring your ATM card and get cash. You'll know its legit and you don't lose anything to conversion, just the ATM fee. If your wife is a Harry Potter fan and you are in the Northeast, Alnwick castle is a must see. York is a good place for a full day of activity (see: york minster and train museum). Edinburgh was good fun. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_0697_edited-1.jpg http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_0790_edited-1.jpg http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_9695_edited-2.jpg http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_0947_edited-1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Leave your passport at the hotel or whatever and just carry your driver's license and a photocopy of your passport. That way you can still get home if your wallet gets ganked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I just had a whole long thing typed out and my computer locked up. Sucks. So now you get the lame version. Food is going to suck and be expensive, be ready. The exception is a chicken parmesan in a little place about 5 hrs from London. Learn the Subway system its the fastest most cost effective way around. Surprised no one has mentioned Westminster Abby, St Paul's cathedral, London Eye (big ferris wheel) or the Natural History museum. In my opinion...must sees. For the love of god avoid the Tate Museum of modern art. Its all garbage. I have a spreadsheet of the stuff we did in 3 days with hours, price, location. We tried to locate the sites near by to save on travel time. We blitzed london. Our feet were so completely destroyed. Having done the tower of london last bring me nightmares of walking on cobblestone with destroyed feet. My work kept me focused in the North East of the country. So I checked out Whitby, Scarborough, Edinburgh, Holy Island, etc. One place I regret not going to was Isle of Skye, but its way up there. Skip the lake district, we have better stuff here. Don't bother with exchange houses. Just bring your ATM card and get cash. You'll know its legit and you don't lose anything to conversion, just the ATM fee. If your wife is a Harry Potter fan and you are in the Northeast, Alnwick castle is a must see. York is a good place for a full day of activity (see: york minster and train museum). Edinburgh was good fun. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_0697_edited-1.jpg http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_0790_edited-1.jpg http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_9695_edited-2.jpg http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/Fred%20Miranda%20Forum%20Entries/Berto%20Photography/UK%20Goodness/DSC_0947_edited-1.jpg Natural History Museum = British Museum :thumbsup: All good advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Natural History Museum and British Museum are two different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl1647545492 Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I tell all my Sherman tanks to go to the city of Bath,see lots of very old architecture lots of university kids doing skits on the street just a cooler vibe overall than being in London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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