2013ers–My tip would be plan out your days to make sure to fit everything in. Do Westminster Abbey! (go early)
Take a day trip somewhere different. We went to Cardiff for a day out of Bath, and it was cheap and easy and so much fun.
Make sure to have a list of things you want to do before you ever arrive. Try to get those things done first, leaving yourself time to discover new things you didn’t even know about. And make sure that about two-thirds of the way through the trip, have a day of rest. You can still do stuff that day, but make it something that doesn’t involve doing a lot. Maybe a bus tour where you hardly ever get off or go see a play in the afternoon or even sleep a few extra hours. You’ll need to recharge to end the trip with a bang.
Don’t bring as many shoes as you probably think you need because odds are you won’t wear them all—and they take up luggage space.
Wake up early, especially in London! We went to Westminster, Tower of London and Buckingham Palace very early in the day and usually managed to miss huge crowds.
Don’t go to restaurants that we have in the U.S. With that said, also don’t go to the first restaurant or pub you see. A lot of them have good deals if you look at daily specials, especially compared to some pubs in London which can be somewhat of a ripoff, especially for drinks.
In general:
–Notify your card companies that you will be traveling out of the country so they don’t hold payment or refuse the card. Make sure that your debit/credit card will allow international withdrawal–mine needed an international withdrawal code and stuff, and they failed to mention this when I asked them if I’d be able to withdraw overseas.
–Take clothes you can layer because you never know what the weather will do over there. Also, take some good walking shoes (mentioned many times). Take an umbrella that will fit in your bag/ purse. Pack as lightly as possible! I took two suitcases, which would have been fine, except they were extremely annoying to lug around the hotels and airports on traveling days. One suitcase and one soft bag (inside it) for souvenirs and stuff should be enough room.
–Try to plan your free days so that you can be the most efficient. You can get so much more done when you plan out times and where you need to get to. Take charge of your time! There is so much to see and do in each of the cities; I never regretted going out and seeing the sights even when I was super tired and exhausted. You don’t want to waste a second!
–Try the local food, sit in plenty of pubs, get to know the culture. Don’t stay in the “American Bubble.” Read menus carefully at restaurants to figure out if tips are included or not. This was consistently one of the most confusing aspects of being in a different culture; all restaurants are different and it never hurts to ask the staff what’s expected, who to pay, etc. You place your order at the cash register in most pubs. Don’t expect a waitress to come over to take the order for you. Also know your table number when you do order. It’s usually inlaid in the table.
–Computers are a must for email–just don’t forget the adapter (I found a good one at Best Buy) You can also use it to research day trips or make reservations and things like that. (British power is all 220 volts and must be converted to our 110 volts) Don’t even bother packing your American hair straightener. Even if you have a converter, YOUR STRAIGHTENER WILL EXPLODE!!! Your purse might get ruined in the process somehow, and your hotel room will smell really bad. And you won’t have a straightener anymore. Use the hairdryer that the hotels provide. Mine blew out the first time and I was using the correct converter. The ones at the hotels are very nice and will get you through the two weeks you are over there.
–Use the hotel concierge as much as possible–they will either know lots of helpful information or will help you find it. Especially in London when everything was sort of overwhelming, this was an extremely helpful person.
–Bring a huge memory card for your camera… you will want to take a ton of pictures.
–Talk to locals, it is very interesting to get to know their views on life.
—Check out your cell phone provider’s packages for global phones. Verizon has several great options for global cell phones. They can still be somewhat expensive depending on what package you get, but one of my friends had a package with free incoming calls which is a very good deal! Also it was nice to have cell phones during the trip to communicate with other people in the group and it made my mom feel better to know I had a cell phone in case I got lost in London and needed to call for directions.
—Tide has travel laundry detergent packages so that you can wash your clothes out in the sink at the hotel instead of using a Laundromat–much cheaper and will save you room in your suitcase for lots of souvenirs! Although you may think you aren’t going to want to do laundry in London, it will make packing a whole lot easier if you do! Just bring enough for the first week or so, especially because it will be easier to fit everything in your suitcase at the end of the trip with all of your souvenirs. If you don’t want to sit in a Laundromat and do it yourself, bring your clothes to one of the laundry places that lets you drop it off and pick it up the next day- washed, dried, and folded! Downy wrinkle releaser is much easier to use than a travel iron.
–For a good traveling guide, I would really recommend “Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides” (by city or country). It has the top 10 for everything – museums, food, clubs, etc., as well as food/sites broken down by the area of town. The London guide has 2 maps – one of all of London and another of the main part of the city, as well as the Underground lines – bonus is it shows on the map where all of the Underground stations specifically are. It is small and lightweight, so it fits in a small handbag for ease of carrying!
Oxford:
In Oxford, The Eagle and the Child (a pub) is an interesting place to eat because C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to go there to talk about their writing. There are pictures and information about them on the walls, which is pretty neat.
Stratford:
–In Stratford, venture to the Dirty Duck (a pub) one night after a play. The actors hang out there and are very friendly.
–One of my favorite memories is picnicking at parks in Stratford and Bath! It is cheaper than eating out and gives you a chance to sit outside and relax for a while.
—Take advantage of the shopping in Stratford because they have a lot of the same stores that London has, but they are all clumped together and you have more time in Stratford to shop. The stores are more spread out in London because London is obviously a bigger city and also you might have less time to shop in London because there are lots more sight-seeing opportunities.
Bath:
–There are free walking tours of Bath that meet in front of the Pump Room–go on one! It was two hours very well spent. Bath has lots of interesting things to offer. Don’t miss out.
London:
–Buy your tickets to the London Eye the day before. Also, if you ask to get a ticket for 10am, you will be among the first to ride that day, so there is no line.
–Use the tube when in London and spend the money to get an Oyster pass. Totally worth it.
–The Absolut Icebar in London is a good place to go–make reservations ahead of time because it’s cheaper.
–Climb to the top of St. Paul’s. It’s amazing.
—Go early to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. We got there pretty early in the morning and the place was empty! We walked right up to see them whereas others in the group had to wait in line for nearly two hours to see them because they arrived later in the day.