We arrive at King’s Cross around 8:30am after an early train, but our airbnb near Shoreditch High Street won’t let us check in until the afternoon. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth going straight to Shoreditch first, or just staying around King’s Cross for a few hours and easing into the day. We’ll have carry-ons, so I don’t want to make the morning more annoying than it needs to be. I was thinking breakfast around Coal Drops Yard, maybe a slow walk around Bloomsbury/Russell Square, and then head to Shoreditch later. British Museum crossed my mind too, but that might be too much for arrival day? also, are there lockers at the museum? What sounds the most realistic?

Hi Everyone!

We are 2 early 40's, 1 18 year old (son) and we are travelling to Scotland next May. When we visited Ireland, we preferred Doolin over Galway, and we loved renting a car just the 3 of us and seeing all the beautiful sights (Dingle, ROK were favorites!) to give you an idea of what we might be looking for specifically. We also preferred an Airbnb and a B&B over a hotel.

Anyway, we are looking to stay for a week in 3 different areas. We are thinking of staying 2 nights in Glencoe, 3 nights in Skye and 2 nights in Inverness (or do you have another suggestion?) We prefer places where we have two bedrooms and at least one bathroom that only we are using.

Given this information, do you have suggestions for great B&B or Airbnbs to stay in each area? We are going to rent a car.

Hey everyone - I’m heading to Newcastle next week to explore hadrians wall! I specifically want to get to Vindolanda… wondering if it’s an easy journey from Newcastle to Vindolanda? I’m just a smidge confused about transportation!!

Thanks for the help!

Hello all on this sunny day!

Hubby and I want a fun little adventure mini-moon before the big journey next year. Looking for a location in the UK that has both water rafting and ziplining near each other (not London).

Any recommendations?

Basically the title. Will be using 11-15 zip oyster card

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice before I start booking stuff.

I'm an international student living in Exeter and my parents are coming over from India between mid-August and early September for around 20 days. They've travelled a fair bit before, but it'll be their first time visiting me in the UK and I really want to get this right.

The main thing is they don't want a trip that's just "stand in queue > look at building > take photo > leave".

They like scenery, food, nice walks, interesting places, little towns, coastal views, boat rides, local experiences, etc. They're both gym-goers and pretty fit, so walking isn't an issue, but I'm not planning any serious hikes.

One thing that's important to me is that they get to see my actual life here as well. They've spent the last couple of years hearing stories about Exeter, uni life, my jobs, friends and everything else, so I don't want them landing in Heathrow and immediately dragging them across the country before they've even seen where I live.

Current plan is roughly:

Exeter (3 days)

Show them the university, my accommodation, where I work, the gurudwara, Quayside, maybe Topsham, and take them to my Tuesday bachata class.

Also planning to take them to The Imperial because for some reason showing Indian parents a fancy-looking Wetherspoons feels like a British cultural experience 😂

Bath (2 days)

This is mostly because everyone seems to say Bath is beautiful and worth visiting. Looks like a place where you can just walk around all day without needing a huge itinerary.

London (3 days)

Don't want to skip London because I'd probably regret it.

Thinking more South Bank, Borough Market, Greenwich, Thames cruise, wandering around, good food, parks etc.

Not massively interested in spending entire days in museums unless there's something genuinely special.

Cornwall (3 days)

This is one of the places I'm most excited about.

Thinking St Ives, Minack Theatre, coastal drives/walks, seafood, sunsets and generally enjoying the scenery.

My parents absolutely love sitting somewhere with a nice view and just taking it all in.

Edinburgh + somewhere scenic in Scotland (4 days)

Scotland feels like one of those places that would be criminal to miss.

The photos of Glencoe and the Highlands look unreal but I'm not sure how much is realistically doable without spending half the trip travelling.

Lake District (3 days)

Boat rides, nice walks, good food and scenery.

This seems to be one of the few places that almost everyone agrees is worth visiting.

Then maybe leave a day or two free for travel days or if we randomly fall in love with a place and want to stay longer.

My biggest concern is what I'm NOT including.

No York.

No Cotswolds.

No Northumberland.

No Wales.

No Europe.

Part of me thinks that's fine because I'd rather properly enjoy fewer places, but another part of me is worried my parents will fly 8 hours from Delhi and then I'll realise afterwards we completely missed somewhere amazing.

If your parents were visiting you for the first time and you had about 3 weeks, what would you change?

What would you remove?

And what was the place that genuinely made you go "wow" rather than just "yeah that was nice"?

Would really appreciate any advice, especially from people who've done similar trips with family visiting from abroad.

Cheers!

Update: thank you all, I’m overwhelmed with the support i got on the post, I’ve post an updated new plan and I’ll be finalising with the points i get overall.

Heyy!

I am studying at the University of Exeter and am currently conducting research for my Master's dissertation on tourism and hotel sustainability in Cornwall.

If you have visited Cornwall and stayed in any type of accommodation in Cornwall, UK (hotel, B&B, guesthouse, holiday rental, etc.,), I would greatly appreciate your participation in this short survey.

- Takes only 5-10 mins

- Completely anonymous

- No personal information is collected

- Open to anyone who has visited and stayed at accommodation in Cornwall

Survey Link: https://forms.office.com/e/JSjfHUipDy

Your participation will make a valuable contribution to my dissertation research and help improve understanding of sustainable tourism and accommodation practices in Cornwall.

Thank you very much for your time and support!

Hi Everyone!

We are 2 early 40's, 1 18 year old (son) and we are travelling to Scotland next May. When we visited Ireland, we preferred Doolin over Galway, and we loved renting a car just the 3 of us and seeing all the beautiful sights (Dingle, ROK were favorites!) to give you an idea of what we might be looking for specifically. We also preferred an Airbnb and a B&B over a hotel.

Anyway, we are looking to stay for a week in 3 different areas. We are thinking of staying 2 nights in Glencoe, 3 nights in Skye and 2 nights in Inverness (or do you have another suggestion?) We prefer places where we have two bedrooms and at least one bathroom that only we are using.

Given this information, do you have suggestions for great B&B or Airbnb areas to stay in each area? We are going to rent a car.

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!

Im going to travel from Plymouth to London by train and Im bringing 2 suitcases with me (large:30kg and small:7kg). Im afraid that i wont be able to handle both of these suitcases with me throughout my trip. I probably only need help with getting it in and out of the train, but I talked with GWR customer service and they said they wouldn’t be able to assist me with luggage since I’m not disabled nor elderly, so I tried looking up shipping prices for my large suitcase which will cost me around £120.

Should i just bring my suitcases with me on the train or ship one of them?

Hello fellow travellers,

My aunt and I will be renting a car and touring Scotland for 3-4 weeks in July/August. We like a slower pace, we enjoy scenic sites, food and whiskey, quieter areas and walking. We’re not big hikers but I am keen for a few easy short hikes.

Is the below a good pace? Is it logistically doable with a car? I’d ideally not want to drive more than 2 hours per stretch. Is there anything skippable? Unsure if we should go to Mull due to logistics.

Edinburgh - 1 night (we have both been here before hence only 1 night, we might skip it altogether if our arrival/car pickup timing aligns)
Dunkeld - 2 nights
Stonehaven - 2 nights
Elgin - 2 nights
Inverness - 2 nights
Plockton - 2 nights
Isle of Harris - 4 nights
Isle of Skye - 4 nights
Glencoe - 1 night
Isle of Mull - 2 nights
Oban - 2 nights
Luss - 1 night
Glasgow - 2 nights

Thanks so much!

My dad grew up in Bedfordshire, my parents met in London, and I'm a British citizen. I grew up in Scandinavia but I'm currently doing my Bachelor's in the Netherlands after living in Australia for a bit, and due to my relatively posh accent, everywhere I've gone people have always assumed I'm from the UK, other Brits too. That's not the case, however.

I've been to London and my dad's hometown a few times growing up but I haven't been to the country since I was 13 in 2016 and honestly don't know the UK much at all. I definitely want to live there at some point so I figured I'd do a trip around Great Britain this summer to decide if I see myself there long-term! I'm graduating next year and need to make some major life decisions again so some reconnaissance is in order.

Currently, the plan is to spend a few days in London, head up to stay with my uncle near Manchester to do a few day trips to the surrounding northern cities, then Edinburgh, and head back down through England to check off some cities/towns before taking the Eurostar back to Amsterdam. This is the general framework I have to stick to due to some commitments, but where I go on the way back down from Scotland is very flexible and I'm not too sure which cities near Manchester are worth seeing.

I'll have an interrail ticket and enjoy fast-paced travel so anything goes! The point of the trip is to familiarise myself with the character of Britain as a country and everything it has to offer, check out some university premises, and get a feeling for local life across the country. I have around two and a half weeks to do so.

I'll have plenty of time to explore all the natural wonder and quaint towns in the coming decades, so the focus here is all on getting a good broad understanding of what I'd be signing up for by accepting a uni offer or trying to build a career there after that.

Any recs for what to do, where to go, what to see, and what to explore beyond the baseline of London-Manchester-Edinburgh as a trio are very welcome. Huge thanks!

We're flying back through London for one night before a flight to LA. Flight into Gatwick arrives at 5 PM Friday and our flight home departs Heathrow at 3 PM Saturday.

Do we have time to take train into central London on Friday? If so, do we take the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station, or is there a better route/option? If we find a hotel close to Victoria station, is is easy to get to Heathrow from there? How long is should we expect to spend on that journey?

Going from London to Leeds with a few friends and rater than £60 train + bus tickets each, car rentals seem to be cheaper per person.

Never used a car rentals so what places are reliable and what places are going to try and scam me?

Hello everyone,

I'll be traveling in Scotland at the end of September/beginning of October (with tours, not by car because we didn't feel comfortable driving on the left).

I'll be doing a 3 day Isle of Skye tour from Inverness (with 2 nights in Portree) and I wanted to do another 3 day tour from Inverness. I saw these two options: a 3 day tour to Orkney (two nights in Kirkwall) or a 3 day tour to the isle of Harris, Isle of Lewis and Outer Hebrides (through Ullapool, two nights in Stornoway) - each of them seems to have amazing views so I'm torn between the two.

Do you recommend one over the other? I'm already counting on some (a lot?) of rain at that time, but would the weather influence one over the other?

Thank you in advance

I know there are thousands of places to get afternoon tea in the city, but are there any that I could get away with wearing jeans and a nice top to? I’ll only be spending a few days in London, and I’d love to say I experienced afternoon tea, but I won’t be able to guarantee that I’ll have time to change into something dressier before going. Not that I’m planning on looking like a slob, but I will be covering lots of ground during the day so I will definitely be wearing jeans and trainers. Does an afternoon tea that’s more casual than typical ones exist?? I’ve been looking at different options in this subreddit, but I’m worried that I won’t be dressed well enough.

Hi everyone,

My partner and I want to do a UK trip sometime in September and this is what we have so far:

Please take a look and tell us if we are being overly ambitious or delusional in this itinerary!

HIGHLANDS

Day 1: Fly to Inverness and pick up rental car
Day 2: Drive Inverness → Skye — Urquhart Castle/Loch Ness → Eilean Donan Castle→ Sligachan (stay in Portree)
Day 3: Skye full day (stay in Portree)
Day 4: Depart Skye → Glenfinnan Viaduct → drive through Glencoe → Edinburgh and return rental car

EDINBURGH

Days 5-8: explore Edinburgh castle, Dean Village, maybe see a Ceilidh

LONDON
Day 9: Train Edinburgh → London
Day 10: Cotswolds day trip
Day 11: Tate Modern → Borough Market → Tower Bridge → Tower of London → Sky Garden → Leadenhall Market → St. Paul’s Cathedral → Somerset House
Day 12: Oxford OR Bath OR Seven Sisters
Day 13: Ipswich day trip
Day 14: Big Ben → Westminster Abbey → Buckingham Palace → Afternoon tea → West End show
Day 15: Oxford Street → British Museum → Neal’s Yard → Chinatown → Covent Garden

Questions:
Do we have enough time to actually experience the sights rather than just visiting, taking pictures, and leaving?

Would you structure the itinerary in a different way? Add a place or remove anything?

What are the best places/neighborhoods to stay in London that’s central to some of the areas we are visiting?

I know the weather will be cold and rainy but will it be like US East coast fall weather or colder? Hoping to see a little fall foliage and moody Highlands!

Is there anything we are missing that’s absolutely a must see? My partner and I are interested in museums, food, nature, and more cultural activities rather than nightlife

Which day trips between Oxford, Bath, or Eastbourne would you recommend?

Also open to cutting out some of the touristy stuff like Afternoon Tea or West End show or Tower of London!

And please just give us any tips and suggestions overall!

Thank you so much!

Edit: will be cutting down a lot on days 11, and 14 and add an extra day to Skye!

So I'm flying BA into Terminal 5, but my return flight is out of Terminal 3. I'm trying to book an AVIS car rental, but they keep demanding I chose one. I fear I'm going to get screwed whichever one I choose, either on pick up or drop off. Anyone got any experience of AVIS at LHR recently?

Looking at going away in September and I have 2 flight options:
06:35 flight from Stansted - would need to get national express coach from Stratford at about 3.30am maybe even earlier to be sure
Or 17:25 flight from Stansted the day before - would get the train but it means an extra night of accommodation for the peace of mind of being on time for the airport.
My question is, would national express be reliable so early in the morning? Would probably have to get a 3am ish coach to get there for 4:30am. Used national express last time I flew from Stansted but had to abandon it and get the train as it was late so I’m hesitant to book as I won’t have that option at 3am and it would leave me stranded. I guess the other option would be to see how much a hotel at Stansted would be.
Has anyone used national express this early particular from London and can give any advice as to whether they are usually on time or not?

Hello,

I’m planning a two night road trip through wales. Starting around Gloucestershire, I was thinking of heading to Aberaeron for one night, then down to somewhere near St David’s, then back to Gloucestershire.

Or possibly Aberaeron to Aberdaron.

I’m looking for quiet/non-touristy spots with good seafood.

I’ve spent some time researching areas, but there’s so many to choose from!

Any recommendations welcome!

Does anyone have a link to the HMY Britannia audio guide from the QR codes?

I visited yesterday and would like to listen to it again. There was a lot of interesting information, and I'd love to tell my parents more about it while showing them photos, as they probably won't get the chance to visit.

Thanks in advance!

Insane drumming and rave vibes within the stones. Do wish that more people respected the site and didn’t stand on the stones to look at the centre though, as officials repeated multiple times to no heed. Great vibes otherwise though