Eeyoredagreat

https://tfl.gov.uk/

 

I would suggest this site to explore the transportation options around London--tube, train, bus. They have helpful maps so you can see how your party member (assuming he is able to handle his luggage) might get to Gatwick from the Victoria area. Once you have identified a couple of possible routes for him, perhaps then would be a good time to come back to this thread and ask whether there are any drawbacks to each of those options/which is the best. And as an advantage to you, you'd also become more familiar and more comfortable with the options for traveling around the London area.

 

This site is also helpful, and if you read other threads on this board you'll see it recommended often: https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

Gives you lots of info on getting between airports, cruise ports, and London.

Thank you so much.

I have done price comparisons based on all the information I have received. Now all I have to do ispresent it to my group and let them decide which works best for them. then Majority wins1

This map basically shows you the walking route from the Heathrow Express platforms at Paddington to your hotel. It's something like 400 yards. Unless you need special assistance, there is pretty much no point in trying to get there by any other means. The only alternative is to get a taxi, but it seems faintly ridiculous to walk to the station rank and queue up for one, just for it to take you the remaining 300 yards.

 

Gatwick to Victoria on the Gatwick Express is likely to be £18 per person if you book in advance x 7 people = £126. You'll need two cabs to get from Victoria to your hotel, so that will probably be another £40 or so.

 

If you can get a £12 fare from Heathrow to Paddington on the Heathrow Express by booking in advance, that's £84 plus that short walk to the hotel.

 

Then you need to balance that against whatever saving you might make flying to Gatwick instead of Heathrow, plus the value of your time as it will take you much longer to get from the aircraft at Gatwick to your hotel than the corresponding journey from Heathrow.

Thank you for the constructive direction. I will definitely take the Heathrow airport now!

Now from my hotel to Dover cruise terminal. Which train is the best one to take?

Also one of my party is not joining us on the cruise. He is taking his international flight from Gatwick. I know he has to take the Victoria train to Gatwick. I believe that is the best way. Does he just take a taxi to Victoria station?

That's not a sound basis for ruling out other airports at this stage, before you have started to look at the rest of the journey between central Amsterdam and your London hotel. You ought to look at all of the components of this together, including the total cost of travel and the time and hassle factors in each potential route, before making a decision about which airport to use.

 

To take an extreme example, if it costs £50 to fly to Gatwick and £100 to fly to Heathrow, but it costs £10 to get from Heathrow to your London hotel but £100 to get from Gatwick to your London hotel, then choosing Gatwick on the basis that an Amsterdam-Gatwick flight is cheaper than an Amsterdam-Heathrow flight has a large element of being penny wise and pound foolish.

 

That is highlighted in your case by the fact that the most sensible option for getting from Paddington to your hotel is likely to be to walk. However, if you get to Victoria station after flying to Gatwick, you will probably need to pay for a taxi.

Thank you for your input.

This is the reason I am asking for help. How much is it exactly for the train fare from Gatwick to Victoria station. I have checked the Heathrow Express and it will cost me Approx 22 GBP from Heathrow to Paddington. BTW does the Heathrow Express stops at Paddington?

I am asking all of these questions because we are factoring all these expenses so we can see which airport comes out the most practical. If someone can tell me exactly what the train fare costs or direct me to a website where I can check the fares it would greatly help us. We are a party of seven, it is hard to drag those luggage around the train station.

All help are welcome. Thank you all!!!

It's feasible, but direct trains will only run in the other direction for the time being, so it will still be relatively slow and inconvenient to take the train because of having to change in Brussels.

 

If you do take the train, then taxi from St Pancras to your hotel is what I would do.

 

If you fly, why are you limited to flying to Gatwick? You could reach your hotel quite quickly from Heathrow if you're prepared to take the Heathrow Express - which need not be that expensive if you plan ahead - because you will be close to your hotel when you arrive at Paddington.

The reason why we are limiting our flight to Gatwick is because it is cheaper to fly to Gatwick rather than Heathrow. The price of Heathrow Express is the same price as Gatwick to Victoria Station correct? What is the difference, is it just Gatwick to Victori is a longer journey rather than the heathrow express? We just need a one way flight from Amsterdam to London, so we can catch our cruise in Dover a few days after.

How about London to Dover, Train is still the best to get to Dover rather than the National Express bus?

I too need help on what is the best way to reach London.

Coming from Amsterdam and debating if I should fly in or take the train.

If I fly in, I will be coming from Gatwick. For Party of 7, I need to get to my hotel

Royal Eagle Hoteltaxi to hotel?26-30 Craven Road, Westminster Borough, London, W2 3QB, United Kingdom.

Best way to reach our hotel? Take Train to Victoria station then taxi to our Hotel? If so how much is the train to Victoria Station. How much is the taxi from Victoria station to our hotel. I an guessing we might need 2 taxis at least considering our luggage

Or should we take the National express bus to Victoria Station then taxi to hotel.

Is taking the train from Amsterdam to London feasible. Have not checked the prices. We arrive at St. Pancras Station. We are thinking of taking the taxi to our hotel from St. Pancras.

THEN, we need to catch our cruise at Dover 3 days after. Is it better to take the National express bus to Dover? Or train. We are not familiar with the train fares.

As you can see we need a lot of help!

Not sure if this might help. We did this tour in December but we also visited Windsor. That tour was 12 hours. I only wished we had more time

at Windsor but the other times were ok. Stonehenge 75 minutes, Bath 90 minutes and Lacock 60 minutes (lunch). The tour guide called ahead with the lunch order so we were served almost imeduately after sitting down. Then Windsor was 90 minutes(actually the first stop). The bus was comfortable and the tour guide great. The longest part was the ride back to London from Bath.

Enjoy.

Forgot to ask which tour group did you use?

Not sure if this might help. We did this tour in December but we also visited Windsor. That tour was 12 hours. I only wished we had more time

at Windsor but the other times were ok. Stonehenge 75 minutes, Bath 90 minutes and Lacock 60 minutes (lunch). The tour guide called ahead with the lunch order so we were served almost imeduately after sitting down. Then Windsor was 90 minutes(actually the first stop). The bus was comfortable and the tour guide great. The longest part was the ride back to London from Bath.

Enjoy.

Thank you for the insight. Yes agree Windsor visit maybe short but you did see a lot of places. I may do this tour.

With regard the Harry Potter Studio tour, you could visit the nearby city of St Albans, there is a rail line the Abbey line between Watford and St Albans or a local bus the Arriva 321. The distance between the two places is only 9 miles.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans

St Albans is an place of ancient origins it was the Roman city of Verulanium that was sacked by Queen Bodicae and rebuilt and later the site of the death of the first British martyr.

There are Roman remains, the Abbey Cathedral with its medieval wall paintings, and many intresting shops to visit on Wednesday and Saturdays there is a market.

For golfing fans there a bit of history Samuel Ryder of the Ryder Cup lived there and his old store is now a restaurant you can eat in.

Hi Hatters cruiser,

Thank you so much for this information I will definitely enjoy researching this place.!

 

Here's a tip when looking at locations on Airbnb: when looking at the map within a specific listing, it will only give a general area, but it does pinpoint the locations of properties on the search results map pretty accurately.

 

Near the Tower wouldn't be my first choice of areas; not bad, but just not as central to the main tourist areas. I'd be looking further west, anywhere from Mayfair/Westminster to Kensington would be convenient.

 

Thank youl! I will take that into consideration. Right now, I am enjoying viewing the different units at AirBNB and VRBO. I will let you know when I seriously am taking into consideration the places. My priorities are number of Bathrooms!:D

What area? I have stayed in many areas in London, as have other regular posters here, so we could tell you if it's good or not :).

 

 

It won't tell me the exact address until I give a deposit. It just says near Tower of London and London Bridge. The view from the place is the Shards building.

What area? I have stayed in many areas in London, as have other regular posters here, so we could tell you if it's good or not :).

 

It won't tell me the exact address until I give a deposit. It just says near Tower of London and London Bridge. The view from the place is the Shards building.

 

Viator is a tour reseller. Sounds like the tour might be the one offered by Premium Tours: https://www.premiumtours.co.uk/ . Never used them myself but they have good online reviews.

Okay I will look at premium tours website maybe its a better deal;p

"Stonehenge, Bath, Lacock " Which company is this with? I've seen a couple of these but they haven't seemed quite right.

The website is www.visitacity.com/london/tours

It is managed by Viator a Trip Advisor company. We know that Trip advisor is a reliable company. Go to their full day tours.

Taking International Friends from London to Dover with a stop at the castle is a great way for transportation. I used them from Dover to London hotel and will be using them from Southampton to London in July.

 

Others here have taken the train from London to Windsor. I took Even Evans tour, since we wanted to see Windsor, Bath and Stonehendge without us driving and a guide. The guide would talk on the way to the site and once there, get us into the site, and tell us what time to be back to the coach. Yes it is a long day, we enjoyed it.

 

Are you planning one place for all of you or each couple their own?

 

I have already reserved my London hotel Premier Inn Waterloo for July. I am also a planner.

 

Are you on the Pacific Princess doing the 8 day British Isle?

 

I was on the Ocean Princess sister ship to the Pacific 2x from Dover. I did the 8 day on the Ocean. I really enjoyed the Ocean, everything like the big ship but on a smaller version.

The reason I want to do Windsor separately is because there is another tour I am interested. Stonehenge, Bath, Lacock (village where they filmed Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice etc), Avebury (Neolithic Stone Circle). This will be a long day tour

I am booking for all of us a party of ten and I think Airbnb is the way to go. I saw a 4 bedroom 2 bath place in Central London just need to know if it's a good area.

Yes taking I believe the pacific Princess 8 day British Isle cruise in August.

Going to Windsor to visit the castle is definitely an easy train ride. Lots of companies include it in a day tour with Stonehenge and Bath, but that would make for a long day.

Thank you so much. I saw this wonderful website where you can plan your own walks and most of them are free. Does anyone know about this? And is it any good?

https://www.londonforfree.net/

If the attraction has a fast track line, yes you will save time. I saved time at the Tower of London. I found we did not see enough places to get our money's worth from the London Pass vs paying at each place we wanted to see. With the London Pass you are paying for places you do not visit.

 

If there are so many of you, you might want to see if a car service might be worth it, make sure you mention number of people and pieces of luggage. Others might give you names for a car service company for Dover.

 

 

Why not spend the night before the cruise in Dover, see the castle in the morning, then board the ship. We spend most of a day at the castle the day before our cruise. The castle is ruins (castle does not have furniture) and war tunnels.

 

 

It would all depend on what time you arrive at the dock, if you have time to see the castle. A taxi is needed as there is nothing at the dock. You usually have to be onboard a couple of hours before departure time to do muster drill.

I have looked at the London Toolkit and their transfer offers a visit to Dover, so we might do that.

I was thinking about staying overnight at Dover but there are so many sights to see in London.Just visiting British Museum and Westminster Abbey might take a day already. We may want to spend more time seeing London. Just need to be smart on how to get from one place to another interesting site. I am a planner and need everything organized.

In your opinion, is Windsor Palace an easy train ride and a do it your own trip as opposed to including that with Stonehenge and Bath tour?

Our first priority is to book a place in London. I know it is still far away but we are a big party.

2. I found I did not get my money's worth, using the London Pass as you can only see so many places in one day. Then the next few times we visited London, we just paid for the places we wanted to visit. I purchased an Oyster card to use on the bus. The bus/tube are cashless.

 

3. Check out www.evenevanstours.com for tours outside of London. Their coaches are out of London Victoria Coach Station. I took them for Stonehenge, Bath, Windsor, an all day tour.

 

4. Princess has transfers on embarkment/disembarkment days from LHR and London Victoria Coach Station. They load your luggage under the coach and take you direct to the ship.

 

I took www.nationalexpress.com from London Victoria Coach station to Dover Ferry Terminal then a short taxi ride to the Princess dock. The National Express does not go directly to the dock. Sometimes on embarkment days, the coach driver if asked nicely (tip after) he might drop you off at the dock.

 

I stayed at Premier Inn Ferry Terminal, across from the water front, were able to see the ship in the morning. A short taxi ride from the ferry terminal to the hotel the next day taxi from hotel to the dock.

 

I took a taxi up to the Dover Castle and took the many, many stairs down. I suggest taxi both ways. You need a few hours to see everything. The war tunnels are timed entrance. Depending the time you arrive in Dover, you could drop off your luggage and take a taxi to/from the Castle.

 

Princess has a transfer direct to LHR/Victoria Coach Station or excursion transfer with a stop along to LHR.

 

I used International Friends (cheaper through www.londontoolkit.com) from Dover dock to our London hotel. They only go on embarkment/disembarkment days. A great way to see other places on the way to London as they stop along the way. They go to certain London hotel, LHR hotels and LHR if you have a late flight.

 

I try to purchase my sightseeing tickets online in advance sometimes can save £.

 

- Buckingham Palace State Room www.royalcollection.org.uk will be open in August while the Queen is away. The Royal Day Out, a great way to see the State Rooms, The Mew (Royal carriages), Queen's Gallery, all within walking distance of each one.

 

-Kensington Palace www.hrp.org.uk

-Westminster Abbey www.westminster-abbey.org

- London Eye - www.londoneye.com

- London Theatre - www.londontheatre.co.uk

- www.londontoolkit.com

Thank you so much for this information. Just out of curiosity, won't the London Pass give you the fast track so you do not need to fall in line?

I will need to contact Princess regarding this transfer.

I need clarification, We can drop off/check in our luggage in the cruise dock then take a taxi to to see Dover Castle before taking the cruise?

Hello,

We have our cruise booked this Aug. 2018. We need to get to Dover to catch the Princess cruise lines. I have so many questions so hopefuly somebody can answer my questions since this is the first time we are visiting London:

1. We are a party of 10 and we plan to get AirBNB. Best are to stay in London that is affordable? Somebody suggested central London, but which part of Central London.

2. We plan to stay for 6 nights before taking our Cruise. Is London Pass the best way to see the city? Is Oyster card on top of what you pay for your London Pass?

We want to maximize our stay. Aside from the usual suspects famous site, we want to see Stonehenge and Bath and Harry Potter Studios.

3. 3 days in London, 1 day for Stonehenge and Bath and another day to for Harry Potter? Is that doable? I am thinking 1/2 day at Harry Potter, what other places can you see between Harry Potter and London?

4. How do we get to Dover? I am reading here that there is a Princess bus? Or just take regular train to Dover. Would love to see the Dover Castle on the way to the cruise. How can I do that?

Hopefully somebody can help me on this.

Btw I have no problems answering questions but as someone has pointed out it would be helpful if they looked at page 1 first because many answers are there.

I am getting excited. My cruise is coming soon - leaving for Copenhagen tomorrow.

And yes I went back to your first page and printed all the pictures on how to get to the port - big big help!

We got the same e-mail for SPB (visiting on the 18th aboard the Musica). Today we got an e-mail saying that Catherine's Palace has been completely dropped from our tour. The Amber Room was the one thing we truly wanted to see in St. Petersburg, and now they've taken it away completely. Does anyone have a recommendation for another company which can "guarantee" that we'll visit the Catherine's Palace? I have time to cancel the SPB tour, but don't want to do so without a viable alternative. I would have preferred if SPB adjusted other parts of the schedule -- such as shortening lunch or taking out the built-in shopping time -- so as to accommodate for any delays.

I did get the same email and they assured us it is still on. Maybe because our evening option is just visiting Faberge museum so time is not the essence at the end of the tour. Are you watching a show as an evening option? I think maybe that is the reason.

Town Hall address: Rådhuspladsen 1, 1599 København, Denmark

 

Assuming your Cabinn Scandinavia is in Fredricksberg, I used google maps.

Walking it would take 17 minutes, I saw public transportation takes 12-14 minutes.[/url]

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cabinn+Scandinavia,+Vodroffsvej,+Frederiksberg,+Denmark/Copenhagen+City+Hall,+R%C3%A5dhuspladsen+1,+1599+K%C3%B8benhavn,+Denmark/@55.6783828,12.5587823,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x46525259bf96e567:0xbbc98435b67fa50d!2m2!1d12.5559139!2d55.6812623!1m5!1m1!1s0x4652530df9af1805:0x44b329679d55715c!2m2!1d12.5701632!2d55.6752833!3e2

See if the link works

Thank you just printed the google map.

We ate at Riz Raz, a popular vegetarian buffet restaurant. I'm not even vegetarian, but I found the food to be really good. There was pasta, salads, fresh bread, etc. and you can order meat for an additional cost if you want. There are two locations (we ate outside at the Store Kannikestraede location) and last year the lunch buffet cost 79 DKK and the evening buffet was 99 DKK.

 

Store Kannikestraede 19 (with a reportedly larger menu)

Compagnistraede 20

 

I also read about Spaghetteria La Perla which offers pasta and pizza for 100 DKK (not a buffet), but it was closed for their summer holiday when we were there so we didn't get to try it. Location: Landemaerket 27

 

And finally, a couple of other places that I read about which offer lower-cost meals:

 

The Dubliner (Amagertorv 5) Nice Irish pub. Fish & chips for 109 DKK

 

Holberg No. 19 – Sandwiches and salads; tapas and quesadillas. Order at the bar. A block off the Nyhavn canal and offers lower prices than Nyhavn restaurants. (Quesadillas @ 75 DKK) Friendly, low-key vibe

Hi Gradut

Wow! grateful for all your suggestions. Saving them all right now!

Hi Danish Viking,

My cruise is coming up soon. I am not sure if you have given me directions on how to get to town hall, if so please forgive me, I thought I saved it somewhere.

I have booked my free Copenhagen Walking tour. we need to be there for our 11:00 Am tour. We are leaving Cabin Scandinavia to go to the Dragon Fountain at the Town Hall.

I tried getting the schedules from Rejesplanen but I did not know the address of the Town Hall.

Can you help me?

If you need something to drink then you can get a Coca Cola/Pepsi/bottled water for 15-20 kroner.

 

A cop of coffee is probably the same and probably double up if you visit a café.

 

A hot dog will probably be around 25-30 kroner.

 

A sandwich or bagel is 40-50 kroner.

 

If you go to a restaurant then expect to pay from 200-300 kroner for a decent meal.

 

There are some cheap buffets on and near Strøget where you can get all you can eat for around 100 kroner but the quality is so so.

Hi Danish Viking

What are the names of the cheap buffets and what do they serve? I like cheap prices:)

The information desk is open until 23:00.

Thank you!

Hi Danish Viking

I want to purchase the Copenhagen Card on line. Arriving at around 17:00. Will the sales location still be open past 18:00 at the airport, when I pick up my card? I want to use my Copenhagen card for my metro to my hotel.

I am just printing my voucher and and will show this voucher when I claim my card at the airport.