Jump to content
Swarm

Heading to the UK in December

Recommended Posts

Hi guys .

My wife and I are heading to the UK London on the 11th December from Australia will touch down on the 12th , going to Jeff Wayne’s War Of The World show at the 02 .

Which airport is best to fly into as there are several , was even thinking of getting a connecting flight and flying into London City Airport on a smaller plane , for ease of traveling to London itself , but have read that public transport is quite quick and reliable from the major international airports ,although Heathrow is some 66 miles from London CBD .

What is the transport like from Heathrow and Gatwick as we will be lugging luggage and be tired , looking at getting on UK soil around 12pm .

Any recommendations on accommodation in London as well for about 4-5 days , nice digs but not breaking the bank either , we don’t mind if we have to use the tube or rail network to get to all the major tourist attractions in London , but don’t want to be too far out either .

 

 

Any guidance appreciated .

Thanks .

Stuart.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Gatwick and Heathrow have rail connections to central London. The Gatwick Express takes you from the airport directly to London Victoria Station. The Heathrow Express takes you to London Paddington Station. Both are supposed to have a travel time of approx. 30mins but that'll depend on everything going smoothly. Both have connections to the London Underground which should get you near to your hotel with relative ease. Obviously a taxi should take you directly to where you're staying but that'll cost more. Public transport in the city is generally ok but prior planning will make journeys a lot smoother.

I don't really know anything about accommodation in London but my brother & sister-in-law, who both used to work in the hospitality & catering industry, say to check companies like Ibis, Premier Inn, and Holiday Inn (or Holiday Inn Express) for cheap rates on semi-decent accommodation. Also beware of companies like Booking.com which are offering great deals on 4 or 5 Star hotels in London. My sister-in-law's sister was booking to stay in a prominent hotel in London sometime next month and the hotel doesn't actually do business via any of those types of sites so wouldn't honour any booking she'd made via those sites.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would echo the above from @VagabondStarJXF

As you are going to large event at the 02, have a look at nearby accommodation.  It gets very busy leaving the venue on public transport .

I asked a friend who has visited recently (think he saw The Muppets most recently), he recommended staying in the attached hotel (he couldn't remember the name) for that reason.

As he couldn't get in, he stayed at the Hilton Canary Wharf - 2 stops form the O2 and would recommend it.

I stayed overnight at this hotel, room only, for one night and was quite impressed. 

https://www.grangehotels.com/hotels-london/grange-tower-bridge/

You could then use this method to get the the O2 and back  

https://www.theo2.co.uk/visit-us/getting-here/river-bus

Still got a 20 minute walk (or short taxi ride) to the hotel though!

 

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I went down the that London a while back, meeting up with friends from Oz funnily enough. 

I found the underground unbelievably good for getting about, seemed to be a station at every street! 👍

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dont know about London or the hotels. But i do know that, that the stage show is totally freaking amazing having watched it myself in Manchester in 2014!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, TwistedxSlayer said:

Dont know about London or the hotels. But i do know that, that the stage show is totally freaking amazing having watched it myself in Manchester in 2014!

Apparently it’s even bigger and better this time with the 30ft alien machine crashing through a brick wall .

Should be a great show - it’s why we are going to the UK !

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a Travelodge in the London Docklands which is about 5 mins walk from East India DLR station - this is only a couple of stops from the O2 arena.

Travelodge are a budget chain so don't expect 5-star luxury. 

DLR runs into the City of London and from memory is about 20-25 mins journey, then you have a choice of other underground lines to take you pretty much anywhere else.

Taxi's are everywhere and for 2 people may work out cheaper for short a journey than taking the Underground. Can't say much about the buses as I never used them when I worked up there.

Probably worth spending a few mins looking at the area around the O2 on Google Earth as it shows hotels, train stations, etc...

Hope you have a good time over here !

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If I’m not too late on this one.. we stayed in the old royal naval college in Greenwich, which is a really nice area and close to the o2, you can travel to the o2 by ferry from there on the Thames. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...