Planning Your Dream London Vacation: 4 Key Things To Know
With that being said, planning your dream London vacation takes a fair bit of time. As well as having so many things to put on your itinerary, you should be aware of some key things to help you get around and enjoy this city. Here are four major considerations to keep in mind when planning your dream getaway:
Public Transport Is The Best Way To Get Around
It’s the most boring part of planning any holiday, but you must think about how you’ll get around wherever you’re going. For London, public transport is the best solution. Don’t even think about hiring a car in this city as you’ll have a terrible time! Taxis and Ubers aren’t worth it as they’re crazily overpriced, but London has one of the best public transport systems in the world.
You can pretty much traverse the entire city using the Underground alone, but you should also consider the following:
- Buses
- DLR
- Overground
This might seem confusing, but download the Transport For London app to make your life easier. You can type in where you want to go and it will show you the ideal route, explaining which public transport you need to get, etc. The best thing about public transport in London is that it’s affordable and you just tap in using contactless payments at every station. Make sure you tap your card/phone on the way out as well, or the system thinks you haven’t ended your journey.
Look For Luggage Storage On Your Final Day
One thing nobody tells you about London is how awful it is to hoist around luggage. On your first day, make sure you plan your arrival so you can immediately check into your accommodation and dump your luggage.
Unfortunately, you don’t get this luxury on the final day. Most hotels and AirBnBs have an 11am checkout time. While you can pay to extend this, it typically won’t take you past 12 or 1pm. This means you’re left with your luggage for the entire final day - which is a huge pain to lug around this busy city, especially if you’re taking the tube a lot.
As a result, the best tip is to plan your final day around some common tourist attractions. Why? Because most of them have places for you to store your bags nearby. A top suggestion is to look for British Museum luggage storage on your final day, as this is one of the most central locations. Deposit your luggage, then visit loads of different tourist attractions nearby, with quick access to a host of underground networks. You can enjoy your last day without worrying about banging your suitcase into everyone.
Always Bring Wet Weather Attire (Just In Case)
Even if you’re planning a London trip during the height of summer, it pays to pack some wet weather attire. Bring an umbrella and a raincoat, just in case it rains. You never know when a random rain shower will strike the city - it could be sunny and warm in the morning, then pouring rain in the afternoon.
It’s not worth the risk, and you don’t want to embarrass yourself by overpaying for one of those ridiculous ponchos you see tourists floating about in!
Most Attractions Are In Central or West London
Are you wondering where to stay in London? Picking the right area makes life a lot easier as you won’t need to travel too far to see everything. Generally speaking, most of London’s top attractions and tourist sites are in Central or West London.
Central London presents you with all of the following:
- The National Gallery
- London Eye
- Trafalgar Square
- Buckingham Palace
- The British Museum
- Tower of London
- Westminster Abbey
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Tower Bridge
- Big Ben
This list can go on for much longer, but you get the idea. All of the typical tourist attractions are in this part of London, while West London introduces you to more of the high-end establishments and places to visit. This includes botanical gardens, Hyde Park and plenty of luxury department stores - including the famed Harrods. Taking all of this into consideration, it makes a lot of sense to book accommodation around Central/West London.
One final piece of advice to tie up this piece: plan your London trip during school term dates. In the UK, kids tend to get 6/7 weeks of summer holidays from the middle of July to the start of September. They then get 2 weeks off over Christmas and a further 2 weeks around Easter. They will also have a week off in October near Halloween, a week sometime in February and then usually a final week in May. Aim to visit London when the kids are in school, as it will be far too busy during the school holidays!
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