Advice for traveling to London

[flafan]

Hi Everyone,

I know this is not disney related but my daughter (21) is traveling to London solo in October and I would like to know if anyone could recommend a good hotel in a safe location. She is meeting a friend there who will be studying abroad but will be sightseeing by herself while her friend is in class.
Also any advice on must see's would be great too.
Thank you I can always count on my Disboard community.

Sincerely,
Worried Mom

 

[Scillycruisers]

Premier Inns are very good and usually good value. You only pay for breakfast if you want it.
Must see's could include:
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London Eye
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben
St James Park
A West End show
One of the bus tours could be a good way of seeing the sights - you can hop on and off
Kings Cross if a Harry Potter fan
Harrods
Hamleys
Covent Garden

 

[BadPinkTink]

first of all, dont be worried, London is an amazing city I lived there for 4 years

I am a solo female traveller and I go back to visit friends on a regular basis. I have stayed at various hotels depending on my budget at the time.

I usually stay in mid price or budget chain hotels.

This hotel is the best location but it comes with a price https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/318/London-Central-Covent-Garden-hotel
Covent Garden is one of the main tourist areas, right in the middle of the main London tourist area theatre district. Almost everything is walkable or less than 3 stops on the tube.

This hotel http://www.sanctuaryhousehotel.co.uk/ is again a more pricier hotel. It is about 2 blocks from Westminister / Houses of Parliament/ Big Ben. It is on a side street so maybe about a 7 minute walk to transport options, tubes and buses.

I stayed at this hotel http://www.comfortinnbuckinghampalacerd.co.uk/ on my last visit. Its a smaller building than other in the chain. It is in the Victoria area of London, about 7 minutes walk from Victoria train and tube station. There are buses at the end of the road.

This is a larger building of the same chain http://www.comfortinnvictoria.co.uk/ its located on the street parallel to the hotel above and is a bit nearer to Victoria Train and Tube station

This hotel https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/342/London-Central-Southwark-hotel is about a block from the Jubilee Line Southwark station. Theres nothing much in the area but its central and near to transport options

On the other end of the scale I have stayed at https://www.easyhotel.com/hotels/united-kingdom/london-victoria/ this is a very budget hotel, one level up from a backpackers hostel. The room price just includes a bed and bathroom you then choose which facities you want and just pay for them to be added on. For example rooms with no windows are cheaper than rooms with windows and things like housekeeping, tv , internet are extra.

For travel I recommend she gets an OYSTER card. This is a credit card sized travel card which can be leaded with money and is then valid on all tubes, buses and the DLR.

 

[flafan]

first of all, dont be worried, London is an amazing city I lived there for 4 years

I am a solo female traveller and I go back to visit friends on a regular basis. I have stayed at various hotels depending on my budget at the time.

I usually stay in mid price or budget chain hotels.

This hotel is the best location but it comes with a price https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/318/London-Central-Covent-Garden-hotel
Covent Garden is one of the main tourist areas, right in the middle of the main London tourist area theatre district. Almost everything is walkable or less than 3 stops on the tube.

This hotel http://www.sanctuaryhousehotel.co.uk/ is again a more pricier hotel. It is about 2 blocks from Westminister / Houses of Parliament/ Big Ben. It is on a side street so maybe about a 7 minute walk to transport options, tubes and buses.

I stayed at this hotel http://www.comfortinnbuckinghampalacerd.co.uk/ on my last visit. Its a smaller building than other in the chain. It is in the Victoria area of London, about 7 minutes walk from Victoria train and tube station. There are buses at the end of the road.

This is a larger building of the same chain http://www.comfortinnvictoria.co.uk/ its located on the street parallel to the hotel above and is a bit nearer to Victoria Train and Tube station

This hotel https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/342/London-Central-Southwark-hotel is about a block from the Jubilee Line Southwark station. Theres nothing much in the area but its central and near to transport options

On the other end of the scale I have stayed at https://www.easyhotel.com/hotels/united-kingdom/london-victoria/ this is a very budget hotel, one level up from a backpackers hostel. The room price just includes a bed and bathroom you then choose which facities you want and just pay for them to be added on. For example rooms with no windows are cheaper than rooms with windows and things like housekeeping, tv , internet are extra.

For travel I recommend she gets an OYSTER card. This is a credit card sized travel card which can be leaded with money and is then valid on all tubes, buses and the DLR.

 

[flafan]

THANK YOU SO MUCH I already feel so much better. Have a great day

 

[BadPinkTink]

if she is going to be out and about by herself, then she needs to get very familiar with this website https://tfl.gov.uk/
This is the official main London transport website. When I lived in London I used it so much. Everything and anything you need to know about using the bus and tube network is on this website.

The first thing I suggest she does is make a list of places and things she wants to do and see.

Then map them all on Google Maps.

That way she will be able to see the transport options as the tube stations and bus stops show up on Google maps when you zoom in.

For example, the nearest tube station to Madame Tusards is Baker Street which is on the Bakerloo, Brown line.

She should also Google the tube map of London and get familiar with the names and colours of the tube routes

 

[flafan]

Thank you I can not wait to show her this. Great suggestion thanks so much. Have a great day

 

[flafan]

Premier Inns are very good and usually good value. You only pay for breakfast if you want it.
Must see's could include:
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London Eye
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben
St James Park
A West End show
One of the bus tours could be a good way of seeing the sights - you can hop on and off
Kings Cross if a Harry Potter fan
Harrods
Hamleys
Covent Garden

 

[flafan]

Fantastic - I am printing this out so she can choose and make her plans. Thanks for taking the time to respond much appreciated. Have a great day

 

[BadPinkTink]

@flafan you are welcome, tell her I am always here on Disboards. Get lists of questions from her and I will do my best to answer or point her in the right direction. London is like my second home I know it almost as well as my hometown

 

[flafan]

@BadPinkTink (love the name) I will definitely tell her. That is fantastic Thank you!!!!

 

[Jon84]

My only addition to the other comments is that don't be tempted to stay in a hotel on outskirts of the City, example is the Stratford Travelodge - it's in a pretty rough area.

I work in the Square Mile so shout if you need anything scoping out

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

My only addition to the other comments is that don't be tempted to stay in a hotel on outskirts of the City, example is the Stratford Travelodge - it's in a pretty rough area.

I work in the Square Mile so shout if you need anything scoping out

I was about to say just the opposite to this! I love staying in Stratford at the Westfield shopping centre - its right on the central tube-line and gives you loads of restaurant and shop areas within the mall for when you want to chill a bit without going back into central London... I have stayed at both the Holiday Inn and Premier Inn there several times and am booked there again next May when our American friends come over to stay.

 

[Jon84]

I was about to say just the opposite to this! I love staying in Stratford at the Westfield shopping centre - its right on the central tube-line and gives you loads of restaurant and shop areas within the mall for when you want to chill a bit without going back into central London... I have stayed at both the Holiday Inn and Premier Inn there several times and am booked there again next May when our American friends come over to stay.

If you stay right in the Shopping Centre it's all good. But the Travelodge a mile down the road is so rough!!

 

[P800aul]

Hi

We live around two hours away from London (from up north) and take our children to London for weekends twice a year, we always stay in a Premier Inn and always feel safe. As a City do what you normally would do in your own city (and Disney), walk with confidence and be around people, making sure your valuables are safe. Use the Tube, go to the great museums - art galleries, see the sights and have a great time.

regards

Paul

 

[cazzius]

Hi!

Some top tips from me...

Oyster Card
Have her get an Oyster Card. It's a travel card that you can top up, or load with a weekly pass. You can buy it at any Underground station.
You can use it on trains, trams, the subway (underground) and buses across London.
On 'Pay As You Go' Ypu top up the card with money and you pay less than paying for each fare individually, it will stop charging you if you reach a maximum limit each day (woo hoo, free travel!).
Depending o where she is staying and how much she will travel, it could be worth her getting a week or month travel card. You select if for the zones you will be travelling in and can travel as much as you like within those zones for no extra charge.

Do the Red Bus Tour
There are a few different ones, but all are much of a muchness.
Big Bus Tour
Hop On Hop Off
It is an excellent way to get your bearings in the city, and she can hop on and hop off at various tourist destinations. I do one of these whenever I travel somewhere as it's good to know what is where, and to get around the tourist sights.

Travel on the river
On a nice day she could get a boat down the Thames from Westminster Pier. From there she can wander round Greenwich (where some of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was filmed), visit the observatory, see the Meridian Line and maybe have a picnic in the park where the Olympic equestrian events took place in 2012.

Check out the museums
The Science Museum, Tate Galleries (Modern and Britain), British Museum, National Portrait Gallery and more are all free.
There's a full list here - TimeOut Free Museums

Explore
If she wants to see more of the UK, the trains are safe and pretty good. Book in advance using The Trainline website to get cheaper fares than booking on the day. Oxford and Brighton are all a short journey from London and great for wandering around. If she's feeling particularly adventurous then you can even do a day trip or overnight trip to Paris on the Eurostar from Kings Cross.

Harry Potter
If she likes Harry Potter then a short train ride (or organised coach trip) will get you to Watford, where the Warner Bros Studios are and the Harry Potter movies were all filmed. The studio tour is self guided (get the audio tour, it is really worth it), and you can see all the props and see the special effects from the films.
You're a wizard

Groupon
We have Groupon here! It has really good offers for dining, activities and events. Sign up for the London version. I have done Zoo Lates (adults only late nights at the zoo), the Harry Potter tour mentioned above and West End shows (like Broadway) all for great prices via Groupon.

London Pass
I've never used this as i live here, but it could be an opton for her if she will make enough use of it
London Pass Website

I hope she has a fantastic time.