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Independent Travel - Planning Tips - Day Trips - Trains - Bus Tours - Hotels - Victoria.St

The Serendipity Approach to Vacation Planning

We know a couple whose idea of vacation planning is...  pick a country, buy the airline tickets, fly over and rent a car.  Note that they do not pre-book hotel rooms or even make a list of sights to see.  When they get there, they ask what there is to see as they drive around.  Their vacation in Germany somehow succeeded in missing every one of 'Mad' King Ludwig's castles.  If they went to France, they would probably miss Versailles!  The point is...  plan ahead.

'Half the Fun'

• The old saying is 'getting there is half the fun.'  For a vacation in Britain, we believe that 'planning is half the fun.'  For us, it is as relaxing as being on vacation.

'Homework'

• Whether it is a day or a fortnight ['two weeks'] or more in Britain, you will find that the time available for any one venue is not enough to appreciate its significance.
• Suggest reading about the places you intend to visit.
• Learn their history.  (The internet can make short work of that.)
• The insights you gain can add an immeasurable depth to and help you get the most from your experience.

The Itinerary

• Have a plan and stick to it.  That's Part A.
• Part B is... Have an alternate plan.  Sometimes plans just do not work out due to... tourist sites closing unexpectedly, traffic conditions, heavy weather ['storms'], etcetera.
• The ideal itinerary will include both the opening days and hours for the venues you want to visit as well as nearby alternates.  That way, the precious time that you have in Britain will not be wasted if changes need to be made while on holiday ['vacation].
• Some places you will want to visit virtually require having a 'check-list' so as not to accidentally miss something while there.  For examples, see our Day Trips from London page on Hampton Court Palace, Warwick Castle and Windsor Castle.

'Open Jaws'

• ...That is a term used by the travel industry for flying into one city and returning home from another.  We were doing it before we even heard the term.
• For visitors from North America, there are four, major 'gateway' cities in Great Britain...  London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
• Typically, if an airline flies between North America and more than one city in Britain, you can fly into one city and out from another with no added cost.  Check this out with your favourite airline.
• For example, flying into London Heathrow and returning home from Glasgow in Scotland allows touring the length of Britain while saving the time and expense of travelling over 400 miles back to London for the return flight to home.
• Check with your airline (or their web site) as non-stop service to some cities from North America is seasonal.

Opening Days & Hours

• The tourist's 'prime time' hours begin between 9 & 10 in the morning when most tourist venues open and end at 5 to 6 in the afternoon when they they close.  Try to avoid unnecessary travel during that time to maximise your time at the places you want to see.  
• Make the most of each day by arriving at the first venue spot on ['exactly'] their opening time.
• Plan on visiting public parks and gardens in the early evening when the other sites have closed.  Some attractions such the London Eye (Millennium Ferris Wheel) are open in the evening.
• The opening times shown in that brand new tour book that you bought are based on information that may be a year old by the time the book was published.
• While internet web sites for the various venues theoretically have up-to-date information, that depends on how diligently the web site is updated.  Some web pages are - unfortunately - created and forgotten.
• Depending upon how important it is for you to see a particular venue, or how inconvenient it would be if it were not open when you thought it was... suggest telephoning to confirm the current opening days and hours.
• Be understanding.  Be flexible.  Opening times can and do change without notice... even right after you telephoned for the latest!

'Multum in Parvo'

• Literally translated, that means 'much in little.'  ...Another way of saying 'how much can you squeeze into one day?'
• The answer to that is estimating how much time to allow for each venue.
• Some places such as Chatsworth or Hampton Court Palace offer so much to the visitor that - although it is possible to make an 'express' visit of two or three hours - allowing a full day for each would not be unreasonable.
• Guidebooks, pamphlets and web sites sometimes state the the length of time their guided tour takes.
• Some venues list on their websites not only their opening hours, but also the time when the last entry is allowed.  As a 'rule of thumb', we double their 'minimum' time for an estimate of how long our visit may take.

Getting the Dates Right

• Sometimes, the exact timing of your vacation will depend on what you want to see.  For example...
• Most of the properties managed by the National Trust have days each week when the house and estate are closed.  Planning around the scheduled closings can be challenging.
• If visiting the Royal Horticultural Society Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, attending the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and, or touring the inside of Buckingham Palace is high on your priority list, be sure to get their current schedules.
• The RHS Flower Show is open for less than a week in July.  The Tattoo runs for three weeks in August.  And, Buckingham Palace tours take place in August and September.  Figuring out how to see all three on one holiday is difficult, but it can be done.

Copyright © 1999 - 2005  J. C. Nash. All worldwide rights reserved.
Last modified: Thursday, 27 October 2005.