Seasoned travelers, share your insight!

[snapoutofit]

we have travelled a lot as a family  but H is the planner in the family and he's not going on this trip.  In August, my sister, niece, son (will be 15 by then) and myself are traveling to London for the Taylor Swift concert on the 17th (sister and niece are going, son and I are not).  My sister bought the tickets but hates planning trips so yesterday after more waffling I asked her outright if she just wanted me to plan this and she jumped right on it.   So I have some questions!

1.) would it be best to fly overnight and arrive in london in the morning?   
2.) We"re planning around 10 ish days.   Both my sister and niece have expressed a desire to see Ireland as well.  So here is my idea but I have no clue if this is realistic.
      Fly out of Boston Tues August 13th night arriving in London the morning of the 14th 
      Concert on 17th
      18th mellow/recovery day
      19th travel to Ireland (not sure train or Ferry.  Have to look into that, recommendations welcome).
       Travel back to Boston from Ireland on...The 24th or 25th. 
 I can also shift that travel to ireland  day to one day earlier, fly back to Boston on the 23rd giving us the weekend to recover.   

Does this sound reasonable?   Also, any recommendations for restaurants and lodging (particularly lodging near Wembly) are welcome.   Obviously I don't mind some touristy stuff but for dining in particular I wouldn't mind more local/less touristy recommendations.

[lust2hart]

This is definitely doable! I’m sorry I don’t have any recommendations but this general timeline is good. In my experience most flights to Europe are overnight. You’ll be tired on the 14th but I think it’s good to try to acclimate to local time asap so I’d go ahead and plan to do things that day and then go to bed at like 7.

ETA that one recommendation I can make is to read through Rick Steves’s books on England/London and Ireland. They are well researched and well written and packed with good tips.

[gardengal]

On the Travel board, iirc, a gbcner that lives in London has a whole post on tips, things to do, etc. Definitely check that out!

I prefer overnight flights to Europe. One of my favorite things to do in London are walking tours. Touristy I guess but also a fun way to learn about the city’s history.

[joy]

I think nearly all East Coast to Europe flights are overnight by design. Yes, do that.

I think it may be helpful to look up what you want to do in each place. Plan 1-2 things a day. Do you have enough days in each location to do what you want?

Be realistic with your energy levels. When we did London last year, one day was London Eye (timed tickets) then the aquarium followed by dinner. Another was Tower of London (timed ticket) in the morning and Tower Bridge (timed ticket) in the afternoon.

I loved London. We’re going back this summer. I want to do mudlarking. Google it!

[VillainV]

Ditto the overnight flight.

You might see if you can get early check-in at your hotel so you can freshen up, but you can at least go and stash your bags.

We quite like the hop-on-hop-off double/decker bus tours of London. You see a lot without having to plan how to get from one place to another, and you can spend more time on the places that interest you. And sometimes it’s fun to go all-in on the touristy stuff.

Other neat things to do from London would be to take a day to do Bath and Stonehenge, and maybe a day to go to Windsor.


I haven’t been to Ireland, so I can’t comment on ferry, but you could also look at cheap flights (realizing that checking luggage will add to the cost). How long to spend there really depends on what you want to do or see there, but your timeline looks like it should allow you to do what you want to do!

[joy]

Coming home from Europe to the US is also easier than going. We just got back from Finland and the jet lag is in the early morning direction. I was up at 5am all week so getting to work/school for us this week was fine. We crashed early in the evening!

[just]

Flying to Ireland would be so much faster and not even likely more expensive if you book early.

[spinnaker5]

A couple of quick thoughts:

-Ditto to PPs that flights from the East Coast will virtually all be overnights. From Boston it is not a long flight - about the same as LAX-BOS: of course the time zone change is bigger.

-London to Ireland: unlike going to Paris there is no undersea tunnel so there is no train option, it’s plane or ferry. As others mentioned, discount airlines like Ryanair will have super cheap flights but typically come with restrictions like baggage size etc (or extra charges for checked bags). But of course it’d get you there fastest too. OTOH you may decide the ferry ride would itself be a fun opportunity to see the coast etc.

- You mentioned accommodations near Wembley Stadium: is that where the concert is? It’s about a 45 min train ride from London. So you may not want to stay out there the entire time or it’ll be a hassle, and time taken away from sightseeing in the city itself. You may want to split things up so you are just out there for 1-2 nights around the show. Windsor is a little further west from Wembley so if Windsor Castle is on your list it’d be easier to fit it in then, and avoid a longer trip out from London.

- Restaurant recommendations: London is a world class food city and you will find great stuff at every price point and pretty much any type of cuisine you can think of. Check out Eater London (https://london.eater.com/maps/best-new-restaurants-london-heatmap): they group recs by neighborhood. If you are looking for ideas here, I would suggest sharing more details about your price range, likes and dislikes.

-You may want to check out the National Rail 2 for 1 discounts. It takes some advance planning but the savings really can add up: www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1.html

Also, if your H is the type of planner who enjoys doing trip research, is there any reason he couldn’t help even though he is not going on the actual vacation with you? Some people (raises hand) find it fun to click around online and look at options).

[Vespasia]

If you haven't already seen it, mrsukyankee made a very long, comprehensive thread of London recommendations on the travel board.

[sonrisa]

Does everyone in your party sleep on overnight flights? If not, I’d see if any other option is available. I never sleep more than 1-2 hours on flights - even to Asia and Africa so I’m always a wreck after red eye flights.

[snapoutofit]

Dec 17, 2023 10:49:00 GMT -5 spinnaker5 said:

Also, if your H is the type of planner who enjoys doing trip research, is there any reason he couldn’t help even though he is not going on the actual vacation with you? Some people (raises hand) find it fun to click around online and look at options).

He'll definitely help.   We also have a lot of friends who are familiar with both areas having either lived there or are from there so right now, I'm talking to everyone and I'll compile all the info and plan from there.  I like to come to the boards because I have found very like minded people here and so I think I'll get some interesting points of view on things to see.    I've already decided staying near Wembly for the whole time we're there is not going to be an option!

[snapoutofit]

Dec 17, 2023 10:59:24 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Does everyone in your party sleep on overnight flights? If not, I’d see if any other option is available. I never sleep more than 1-2 hours on flights - even to Asia and Africa so I’m always a wreck after red eye flights.

IDK lol.  We'll find out!

[scout8]

Dec 17, 2023 11:16:32 GMT -5 snapoutofit said:

Dec 17, 2023 10:59:24 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Does everyone in your party sleep on overnight flights? If not, I’d see if any other option is available. I never sleep more than 1-2 hours on flights - even to Asia and Africa so I’m always a wreck after red eye flights.

IDK lol.  We'll find out!

I always try to book the latest flight possible. There's more chance I will sleep that way. If the flight leaves late afternoon or early evening, not a chance that I'm going to sleep. Also, we usually pay for premium economy these days. The seats are more comfortable and I'm more likely to get a little sleep. 

[mrsukyankee]

I always fly back to London overnight and plan on a nap (1-2 hrs) when I arrive. Then I get up and do something. Going to the States, I always make sure to fly a day earlier than when I have anything planned so I can have some recovery.

For London to Ireland - it depends on where you want to end up. For Dublin - I'd fly. The train to where you have to ferry is not a short trip and then the ferry can be either great or not so great (we've had times when we've felt quite ill due to winds). If you want to go to Southern Ireland, then I'd take a train to the lower part of Wales and ferry over that way - but you may want a car to get around lower Ireland.

[georgeglass]

We took a daytime flight to London from the East Coast this summer and it was amazing. I'd never do overnight again if I could help it. In fact, I was just looking to see if I could book it again this summer. It was the least jet lag I have ever had.

They're not super common, though, so can be hard to find. Ours was United from IAD.

[konapoppy]

My only advice is to not start your trip earlier (not that you suggested it). The primary events at the Olympics end on Aug 11, and I think there will be a residual few days of many traveling tourists in Paris and London.