Recommendations for UK Trip

[GLASSJAW]

why so many days in Ireland?

[:D]

why so many days in Ireland?

I work for a large, international Hotel & Resort chain and they are putting me up in their sister properties. I could only get 3 nights split between two hotels in London but there were more available for me in the Dublin property.

When the nights are free, I pushed this trip as long as possible.

[FaninMex]

If you like museums there is none better then the British museum in London.

I love history and I spent 3 different days there it is incredible

If you like architecture you have to see Saint Paul's church, just wow but they charge like 50 pounds. I stood at the door and looked in still incredible

[aGENT]

I work for a large, international Hotel & Resort chain and they are putting me up in their sister properties. I could only get 3 nights split between two hotels in London but there were more available for me in the Dublin property.

When the nights are free, I pushed this trip as long as possible.

I found Dublin to be a ton of fun with great, friendly people FWIW. It and the surrounding towns/counties etc also have tons of touristy/historical stuff to do as well. It may not be as "polished" as London but it has plenty to offer and is IMO friendlier and more low key.

[:D]

Can I use my credit cards over there?

Should I change my money here or there?

[otherwise]

you can use credit cards. make sure you phone the credit card company to tell them you are going there so they don't freeze your account.

I would change at least some money before you leave for smaller purchases like tube tickets or food.

[moz]

As an English person, here is my 2 cents.

Check out Manchester. Yes it's not London (oh no) but it's a brilliant city (and I'm not just saying that because I'm from there). Great people, great night life, start of the Industrial Revolution (old mills everywhere), museums, shopping, sports. Has it all and a lot cheaper than London.

London is fun too, the War Museum (both in London and Manchester) are fantastic and offer different exhibitions. Natural History Museum is a good way to spend a few hours too. In the UK museums on the whole are free so definitely check them out if you're in to that. V&A Museum is good as well.

If you like soccer then definitely catch a game, even at the lower levels it's fast and more exciting than anything the Whitecaps come up with.

I prefer the North to the South (maybe because I'm from there). I used to date a guy from Stratford-upon-Avon and I found the place just like him ... pompous. It's nice to walk around but after an hour there's nothing left. Warwick Castle isn't that far away.

Birmingham is another city that is nice to visit. Friendly people and good for shopping.

York is another city I'd recommend, lots of history there, the city wall is still standing and the hop on / hop off tour is worth the money.

Wales is a great country to visit, South Wales in beautiful. If you're into hiking / walking then I'd say visit the Brecon Beacons or go to Snowdonia in North Wales. Yeah it's not Canadian mountains but it's lush green hills and it's beautiful.

Brighton on the South Coast is doable as a day trip from London, that's a nice seaside town (though they don't sell gravy in the chip shop so they lose major points from me). I've only been there once but it was nice.

Liverpool has a few interesting museums, good nightlife and shops. The Maritime museum is really interesting.

I've only been to Belfast once and it was ok, I really wanna check out their Titanic Exhibition, heard it's good.

As far as transport goes take the train, tickets are released 3 months in advance so you can book now. Don't get the coach unless you want to waste a day. It's cheap (I went to Brighton from Manchester for 2 pounds once, 4 pounds return) but it took 7 hours to get to London because of traffic and then another 4 from there. Ugh.

You can also fly cheaply in the UK too. Not like here where it costs as much to fly from Vancouver to Toronto as it does to London.

You can rent a car but I think they'll only allow you to drive an automatic and that doubles the cost.

A lot of cities you can walk around in, local transit fares can be pricey depending on where you are.

Visa / Mastercard is widely accepted. If you have a Visa Debit (from TD or CIBC) that'll work as well. Non of this interac crap there. A travel money card would work too.

Wow long post. If you wanna know anything else then lemme know.

Edit - Looks like you'll mostly be in Ireland, never been there so I guess my post won't be much help. Enjoy your trip anyway

[moz]

Oh yeah, if you like drinking then you'll love the pubs. Pubs everywhere, pretty much every street (not even joking). Cheap too.

I guess we have nowt else better to do.

[Ghostsof1915]

I'd love to spend a month in the UK, and another 2 months in Europe.

Loch Ness. (Damn..no Nessie...I was bummed!)

Stonehenge

Edinburgh Castle

Tower of London

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where I caught a performance of Hamlet.

[Junkyard Dog]

Wear protection.

[:D]

Wear protection.

Are UK girls dirtier than the average slank around here?

I was planning on leaving a bun in the oven as I peaced right on out of the hemisphere.

[Mainly Mattias]

hey hey hey! you're traveling on the company's dime, dee! good for you!!

pre-order an oyster card or just get the london city pass - looks like there's a 10% discount on the 3 day london pass that ended yesterday but it's still there..

st. paul's cathedral's whispering gallery - online ticket is 15 pounds

megatrain.com or megabus.com if you're going to go around the uk or heading down to portsmouth to catch the ferry to st malo or le havre.

easyjet.com or ryanair for cheap airfare but note that your carry on is severely restricted. take care that it fits the dimensions/weight and that you only have one carry on. even a purse/camera bag/laptop is considered a 2nd carry on. they check just before you board and if they catch you, they charge you an arm and a leg for the extra weight/baggage.

[Mainly Mattias]

Are UK girls dirtier than the average slank around here?

I was planning on leaving a bun in the oven as I peaced right on out of the hemisphere.

...

how about be prepared that they'll outdrink the heaviest drinkers here in north america. getting anyone drunk is going to cost a fortune.

plenty of places to change money over in london. count the money though.

watch your wallet. pickpocketers practice in buckingham palace. they press up behind you on the pretense of trying to get a better vantage point of the guard change but they're really getting into your pocket/purse. the couple i saw were a husband/wife team in their 60s.

national history museum, british museum are worth checking out as they're free.

[aGENT]

I've only been to Belfast once and it was ok, I really wanna check out their Titanic Exhibition, heard it's good.

Belfast was a strange, bipolar place to me. On the one hand the people are SUPER friendly, on the other hand (at least when I was there) there's barbed wire fencing around the city and creepy arse IRA murals all over the place.

If you go, take a black cab tour.

[moz]

Belfast was a strange, bipolar place to me. On the one hand the people are SUPER friendly, on the other hand (at least when I was there) there's barbed wire fencing around the city and creepy arse IRA murals all over the place.

If you go, take a black cab tour.

Yeah it's weird, I didn't feel that safe when I was there to be honest. The people we met were lovely though and the bus driver from the airport was super helpful. Like I said, I've only been there once (went to watch Boston Bruins play the Belfast Giants in an exhibition game which was awesome) and I'm not sure I'd go there again.

[aGENT]

Yeah it's weird, I didn't feel that safe when I was there to be honest. The people we met were lovely though and the bus driver from the airport was super helpful. Like I said, I've only been there once (went to watch Boston Bruins play the Belfast Giants in an exhibition game which was awesome) and I'm not sure I'd go there again.

My friend and I were just walking down the street in the early evening and happened upon a crowd with some live music etc and we wandered up to ask what was going on. The person we asked mentioned it was their brothers grand opening of his restaurant. A private party.

We politely attempted to move along from what was now clearly a private function but were insisted upon to stay and enjoy some food and drink, which we gladly did and had a great time. That sort of thing happened over and over again.

But then there's always the underlying, systemic undercurrent of violence, religious warfare etc bubbling just under the surface. I've never been but I'd imagine it's similar to the feeling one would get in the middle east with it's three major religions and inbred hatred and violence. Nice people, but...

[:D]

Looks like Les Miserables is playing in London, aww yuss. Also, the RAF Museum north of the city looks pretty nifty. Will check it out.

[silverpig]

I live in London now, and spent the past 6 months in Kent.

You have potentially 5 days in London (3 + 2 open). I suggest 4 in London, and on one day go out and back on the Eurostar to Paris if you can get the tickets to work right. If not, maybe do 3 and 2, or just stay in London the entire time.

For your London days, it depends on what you want to do. The British Museum is great. There are also other cool museums that are free (donation) - the V&A, natural history, and science museums are all great. I'd pick one or two and do those as part of your day, just because you don't want to get museumed out.

I've not been on the Jack the Ripper tour, but know where it is. I've been to the Ten Bells pub several times and see the tour going around there as that was where his last victim was last seen alive. It's a neat area of town.

There's a lot of history in the Tower of London too. Touristy, but historical.

Check out the Borough Market if you like food. Camden market is also highly recommended and has a mix of food and cool shops.

If you want to get out of the city, just do a day trip. You don't want to spend your whole time on the train. A good day trip is to take the train from Charing Cross down to Eastbourne on the south coast. It'll take about 90 minutes. Get out at Eastbourne, and do the walk up to Beachy Head. It's gorgeous there... white chalk cliffs that are better than Dover. Then walk over to East Dean and have a pint or two at the Tiger Inn, then catch a cab back to Eastbourne and take the train back to London.

Oh, while in London DEFINITELY check out a play or two. Just go to Leicester square in the afternoon and pick up tickets at a last minute ticket booth. The Woman in Black is my current favourite. The Mousetrap is very good as well.

Also go for some cream tea. It's awesome.

[Amish Rake Fighter]

I haven't been there in a while but Camden is one of my favourite places on Earth. There used to be a tribe of Swedish au pair girls that worked in nearby Hampstead and they all used to hang out there at night and on their days off. I stayed in Kensington for months at a time when I was I London but I was always in Camden. I think the old pub I used to frequent got torched in a fire a few years ago.

[:D]

Firmed up my itinerary.

October 16th - 1545hrs Flight: YVR - London via Amsterdam (Air France)
October 17th - London
October 18th - London
October 19th - London

October 20th - Edinburgh
October 21st - Edinburgh

October 22nd - Dublin
October 23rd - Dublin

October 24th - Glasgow
October 25th - Glasgow
October 26th - Glasgow

October 27th - Dublin
October 28th - Dublin
October 29th - Dublin
October 30th - Dublin
October 31st - Dublin
November 1st - 0935hrs Flight: Dublin - Vancouver via Amsterdam (KLM)