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mrsdukes
LIF Adult
Member since 1/09 943 total posts
Name:
Liz
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Great Britain tours and London Hotels
DH and I are planning a trip this summer to London. We will visit London on our own, but we would like to combine it with a guided tour through the UK. Has anyone ever taken one of these tours? Have been looking at Trafalgar Tours and Globus.
Also, does anyone have a recommendation for London hotels? Doesn't have to be super fancy, just comfortable and clean. Open to location as we don't have anything planned yet.
Thanks for any help.
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Posted 2/28/18 12:30 PM  |
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Eunyboo
<3
Member since 7/12 4376 total posts
Name:
E
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
No recommendations on the tour but I remember being overwhelmed with where to stay. LOL. I picked Park Plaza Victoria London and it was perfect, good price, great location - right near a station if I remember correctly. I also booked through expedia and the entire process was super easy. Lmk if you need any other recs! It was a while since I went (2015) but I still have my itinerary. If you're there for long enough, I would recommend an overnight to Paris. Super easy with the train. We did it in one day (took earliest train there, latest train back).
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| Posted 2/28/18 4:05 PM |
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
I went many years ago but we stayed in Bayswater- we were actually in two different hotels because we couldn't get a full stay in one. I forget the names but I'd recommend the neighborhood- there was a tube station right there, lots of restaurants, and we walked to Kensington Palace.
I did London on my own and did a larger European tour with Contiki which is for under 35. DH and I also did a tour through Ireland with Go Ahead Vacations which we liked a lot.
Another option, depending on how much you want to see, is to take day trips from London. There's a company called the Original London Walks which does several day trips. We did Salisbury & Stonehenge in a day, and Bath (loved!) in a day.
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| Posted 3/1/18 7:47 AM |
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JennP
LIF Adult
Member since 10/06 3986 total posts
Name:
Jenn
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
The Copthorne Tara was great - centrally located, a nice breakfast, etc. but I just realized I stayed there 21 years ago! Yikes!
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| Posted 3/1/18 12:56 PM |
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jeanyus27
Life is beautiful
Member since 8/08 2543 total posts
Name:
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
I stayed at the Royal Horseguards hotel...amazing location, really modern & beautiful. I booked everything myself. I ended up booking a tour to Stonehenge, which was amazing (I recommend the sunrise tour). Then we went to Lacock & Bath on the same tour after Stonehenge. I booked the tour on Viator.com
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| Posted 3/1/18 10:22 PM |
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LBBCHGRL
LIF Infant
Member since 1/08 199 total posts
Name:
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
We actually went to England/London this past summer. We drove all over so I can't help with tour companies. If your not set on a tour, driving is a great option. We had a group of 10 ages 6-50.
For London, we stayed at a JW Marriot right by the park. My SIL had points so that is how we could afford it. I remember initially picking a Holiday Inn in the Mayfair section which looked great as well.
Another piece of advice is that if you are looking to visit Buckingham Palace you can tour the inside only starting the month of August. I bought my tickets for it in March. It is a very interesting tour and the rooms and grounds were beautiful. Good luck with your planning. We loved England but with the short time we were there we did not get to see everything we wanted to. We will being going back to see more.
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| Posted 3/2/18 9:56 AM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
Posted by LBBCHGRL
We actually went to England/London this past summer. We drove all over so I can't help with tour companies. If your not set on a tour, driving is a great option. We had a group of 10 ages 6-50.
For London, we stayed at a JW Marriot right by the park. My SIL had points so that is how we could afford it. I remember initially picking a Holiday Inn in the Mayfair section which looked great as well.
Another piece of advice is that if you are looking to visit Buckingham Palace you can tour the inside only starting the month of August. I bought my tickets for it in March. It is a very interesting tour and the rooms and grounds were beautiful. Good luck with your planning. We loved England but with the short time we were there we did not get to see everything we wanted to. We will being going back to see more.
How is the weather there in August? Is it insanely hot?
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| Posted 3/2/18 10:51 AM |
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
Posted by BargainMama
How is the weather there in August? Is it insanely hot?
Both my visits were in August. I think in 2001 one day broke a record for the hottest bank holiday Monday since they started keeping records. But otherwise I remember it not being too warm- I recall wearing a denim jacket in the evenings and wore mostly capris during the day. It was nicer than NY that time of year.
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| Posted 3/2/18 9:03 PM |
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mrsdukes
LIF Adult
Member since 1/09 943 total posts
Name:
Liz
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
Thanks for all the suggestions. Appreciate the help! We are planning on booking the trip this week!
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| Posted 3/6/18 10:00 AM |
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LBBCHGRL
LIF Infant
Member since 1/08 199 total posts
Name:
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
It was not hot at all in August last year. I would say it was almost Fall like.
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| Posted 3/6/18 2:10 PM |
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dianadrw
LIF Adult
Member since 5/06 2092 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
We've never done a tour, only rented a car and traveled around on our own. We've been to London a few times and usually stay at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum. Love the location and it's close to the tube.
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| Posted 3/7/18 9:09 AM |
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mrsdukes
LIF Adult
Member since 1/09 943 total posts
Name:
Liz
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
We decided not to do a tour. We are now doing London, Paris, and Amsterdam. We'll do day trips from London. Been looking at some options on Viator. We got a great airfare on Virgin Atlantic. Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I've been looking at the hotels. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions, appreciate the help!
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| Posted 3/9/18 9:44 PM |
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klingklang77
kraftwerk!
Member since 7/06 11487 total posts
Name:
Völlig losgelöst
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
Posted by mrsdukes
We decided not to do a tour. We are now doing London, Paris, and Amsterdam. We'll do day trips from London. Been looking at some options on Viator. We got a great airfare on Virgin Atlantic. Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I've been looking at the hotels. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions, appreciate the help!
If you have any questions about food and restaurants, then let me know. I’ve been to London so many times— I think maybe over 20?
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| Posted 3/10/18 6:19 AM |
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jeanyus27
Life is beautiful
Member since 8/08 2543 total posts
Name:
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
Posted by mrsdukes
We decided not to do a tour. We are now doing London, Paris, and Amsterdam. We'll do day trips from London. Been looking at some options on Viator. We got a great airfare on Virgin Atlantic. Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I've been looking at the hotels. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions, appreciate the help!
That's awesome!! If you need a hotel in Amsterdam, I loved the Swissotel...great location! In Paris I stayed at a Mercure close to the Eiffel Tower, also great. I recommend booking a tour of the tower, you get to skip the line, which can be very long.
In Amsterdam I did a canal dinner cruise which was so nice...and if you want to do the Anne Frank house, buy tickets in advance to avoid lines.
I did the hop on hop off buses in both London & Paris...great way to get to all the sites.
You're gonna have an amazing trip!
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| Posted 3/11/18 10:48 PM |
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mama2charlotte
LIF Adult
Member since 7/12 1014 total posts
Name:
Kimberly
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Re: Great Britain tours and London Hotels
Posted by jeanyus27
I stayed at the Royal Horseguards hotel...amazing location, really modern & beautiful. I booked everything myself. I ended up booking a tour to Stonehenge, which was amazing (I recommend the sunrise tour). Then we went to Lacock & Bath on the same tour after Stonehenge. I booked the tour on Viator.com
I stayed here and loved it! It gets great reviews online also.
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| Posted 3/13/18 8:27 AM |
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