Jirzlee

Hello - My wife and I will be in London May 3rd - 6th on vacation and have a bit of an open schedule. We're looking for places to see and things to do that may or may not be in the travel books, but are definitely worth checking out. We plan to rent some basic transportation (unless someone would like to lend us their S2k, of course...although it would be a bit odd shifting with my left hand instead of my right) and we'd love to see the countryside and drive some scenic routes. So if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or even a hint, we'd love to hear it.

Thanks -Joe and Amber

lovegroova

Well, the best advice for getting around central London is to use the Underground and Buses. There's lots of very useful information here www.tfl.gov.uk . A car is a total waste of time as there's nowhere to park and the traffic is terrible. There's also something called the Congestion Charge, which applies to most of central London, which means you have to pay $16 a day for the privilege of driving a car.

There's a massive amount to see and do in London itself for 4 days Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, St Pauls, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Greenwich, Hampton Court, Theatres, Restaurants etc etc so you may find you don't have time to see the countryside.

However, for getting around outside of London, a car is pretty much essential. For a day trip to the countryside, somewhere like Leeds Castle in Kent might be a nice idea - a proper english castle with a moat and so on. www.leeds-castle.com The Kent countryside is very pretty.

nickrg3

Yes Leeds castle is nice, or you could go to Hever Castle (childhood home of Ann Boleyn - Henry VIII's second wife) - it isnt so asthetically pleasing as Leeds Castle.

You can get around by train (it's not as bad as they say - I commute in every day). If you do use the train then you can get discounts if you show your train ticket.

Check out http://www.2for1entry.co.uk & http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

We are going to London zoo soon for example and will use the 2for1 offer

For hotels - if not already organised then take a look at lastminute.com and visit their "Secret hotels" section. They will tell you the rating and location as well as providing feedback from people who stay but you wont find out which hotel it is until you pay for it online. Ccan be a bit of a gamble but if you read the reviews you will get enough info and you will save plenty of money

For example if you want to visit somewhere outside of london: http://www.2for1entry.co.uk/Attracti...px?County=Kent

Though still plenty to do in only 4 days without leaving the city

Jirzlee

Thanks alot guys, great info, we'll definitely be looking into your suggestions. I've read about the Congestion Charge, I believe in Automobile Mag, thats a shame huh - it must clear congestion at least a bit though. Or maybe it just reroutes traffic congestion out to the edges of the zone.

At first look Leeds Castle looks perfect, and its a mere hour out of London. I'm sure we'll find time to visit at minimum one of the castles. We'll probably spend one of our days with a trip to the countryside. Any nice drives or things to see along the coast? We're thinking of extending our trip to Kent further down to Dover for a drive along the coast and to see the White Cliffs, unless another similar site-seeing destination would be suggested instead.

Boab01

The Tower of London is really great imo lots of history, and men in funny outfits.