More summer travel questions-England

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My Ds will be studying in Cambridge together this summer , and then I’m flying out to spend an extra week or so with them. We’re looking for a way for them to get ahold of each other while there. I think Virgin Mobile’s Pay as you go service(has to be purchased there) will work, but does anyone have experience with them? Also we want to go to Liverpool, any suggestions on things to see and places to stay? And any London tips, especially places to stay? I read though some of the previous threads and got some great tips. Thanks!</p>

2

<p><a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g186338-d505149-Reviews-or10-Britannia_Court_Hotel-London_England.html[/url]”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g186338-d505149-Reviews-or10-Britannia_Court_Hotel-London_England.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Britannia Court Hotel. The rooms are quite small, but impecably clean. The breakfast is good. Great value for London if you want to stay under 100 pounds a night. This is not luxury, but it is clean, safe, centrally located and reasonable. It’s a 5 minute walk from Buckingham Palace and 15 minutes from the Victoria and Albert and the Museum or Natural History. If you have the money, the Holiday Inn Mayfair is nice, 150-350 pounds a night. I stay there when the company is paying. </p>

<p>Book online at <a href=“http://www.britcourthotel.co.uk/[/url]”>http://www.britcourthotel.co.uk/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can buy a GSM phone in the UK pretty cheaply and pick up a UK GSM card that you can add minutes to anytime. Try The Link stores. You can also rent cell phones for about a pound a day from The Link. The Link is in most larger towns and both Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The Post Office (UK) sells the cheapest international calling cards I have found. </p>

<p>I found on the last trip a few weeks ago that the best exchange rate was using my bank’s cash card at local ATMs. It was about 20% better than the exchange rate for traveler’s checks.</p>

3

<p>For a look at UK B&B’s–virtual brochures, try Smoothhound. It’s a great search site. We’ve used it for years to look and book. (I don’t know Liverpool, so I have no specific rec’s. For London, I know a great B&B south of town, but it’s not so good if you want to be in the middle of things.) Have fun!</p>

4

<p>Thanks… I’ll check those out. I tend to be cheap, so any money saving advice would be appreciated!</p>

5

<p>I love the Smoothhound website. There are so many places! Now I’m confused on what neighborhood to stay in. We will probably spend most our time shopping and sightseeing at the typical places. Any suggestions?</p>

6

<p>The great shopping areas of London are Knightsbridge, Kennsington, and Piccadilly. Regent St., Oxford St., Brompton Rd (Harrods), are all popular shopping streets. The main museums and palaces are in the same areas. My favorite area to stay is Mayfair, along Green and Hyde parks. Bayswater Rd is alongside Hyde Park and has a number of hotels. Do check the reviews at tripadvisor.com for anywhere you plan to stay, even the better known ones.</p>

7

<p>Try the International Hostel association hostel by St. Pauls cathedral. Cheap and good.</p>

8

<p>My favourite places are covent garden, trafalgar square, embankment (london eye) and piccadilly circus.</p>

<p>You may want to check if there will be any world cup games on and especially if england are playing because they usually put giant screens up around the city and thousands and thousands of people will stand around and watch so this could affect what your doing that day.</p>

9

<p>Covent Garden is cool on a sunny Friday or Saturday afternoon. Great street performers and good people watching.</p>

10

<p>Thanks! I’m putting them on the list. My older D spent a semester in London several years ago and she also enjoyed Covent Garden. We were in Germany during a big soccer match a few years ago. It was fun with everyone one in the streets watching the game, but definately crowded. Germany won and people drove through the streets waving flags. I think we’ll miss the World Cup by a couple of weeks.</p>

11

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060200500.html?sub=new[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060200500.html?sub=new&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good information from a recent Washington Post.</p>