Close 4 day trip from London?

[EvilYoda]

So I'll be visiting London in a few weeks and my friend has planned 4 days to go somewhere other than London. Any suggestions on what to do for the 4 day trip, keeping it close?

Dublin, Belfast? Could you swing Scotland in the same trip? I prefer to take more time in a city when I travel, but if we can hit the major sights, I'm okay with that this trip.

Otherwise, Amsterdam and Belgium?

Thanks. I'll probably stay an extra week or so in Europe after he leaves.

 

[Craig234]

Cotswalds are an option - or the bullet train to Paris is like a 2 hour ride.

 

[TallBill]

You can always look on Ryan Air. They fly all over Europe for cheap. Just hit up London, Dublin, and Dingle a few months ago.

 

[DeathReborn]

Dublin, Edinburgh & Carmarthen (Wales) are all great places to spend a day or two. You might also consider Stratford-upon-Avon and visit the home of Shakespeare. Portsmouth & Southampton are the 2 places to get the true Naval heritage of the UK, from the Tudor times through to the Titanic and modern times. The Lake District is beautiful and peaceful, great to get away from the bustle of London.

On mainland Europe, Amsterdam, Cologne, Bavaria & Vienna are well worth considering. Getting cheap flights is quite easy in the UK and can take you all across Europe and the UK & Ireland inside a few hours.

 

[Ns1]

Lucky bastard. Exchange rate seems pretty good right now!

 

[EvilYoda]

Yeah, my dollar will go a lot farther than even last December, heh. No Paris this time, I was just there last time. So probably Ireland with my friend and then Belgium by myself.

 

[DigDog]

you need to fly to amsterdam; going by train + ferry + train is insane.

in the UK, as i have said twice already, there is not a lot of that great sightseeing you get elsewhere.

you didn't give us a budget, so we can't really give out recommendations; also how you want to sleep (budget or luxury), if you have any friends to visit, etc.

europe has several nice places to visit, depending on what you want. me, i dont particularly fancy amsterdam, even considering the free weed. it's really down to you, pick one thing you like best (sightseeing, cheap stays, superb food, beer, women, etc..) and we'll point you in the right direction.

 

[Ares202]

in the UK, as i have said twice already, there is not a lot of that great sightseeing you get elsewhere.
.

I don't agree with that. Coming from an englishman. Edinburgh, York, Bath etc are all good places to visit for an American and very different to what they would be used to seeing at home. Use the train but book them in advance, turning up to the station with no ticket will cost you more.

If you don't like cities then maybe take a look at Wales, Lake district or the south west corner (devon, cornwall) but they are much better when it's not rainy which it most likely will be.

If you want to go to Paris then the eurostar train is best. anywhere else in europe it's probably better to fly as you only have 4 days.

You will have a lot of $$$ if the pound keeps falling off a cliff. Everything is cheaper the further away you get from London.

 

[DigDog]

i was going to say edinburgh .. but then ..

first, it's fifty quid each way, if previously booked, on a rather unpleasant Virgin train. even more expensive on a regular train.

it's five hours each way and Virgin are often late, and can be overcrowded (sometimes).

once in edinburgh, you run a real risk of getting a miserable day - it's scotland after all, we get more rain than you would believe.

yes edinbugh is quite nice to visit, somewhat expensive but not terrible, and it's a friendly place. however you'll be in scotland, which makes everything else far from you.

(never been to bath or york. i visited leeds and liked it, but it's not really "touristy")

compare this to say, a day out in Paris.

sure, you need to spend more for the overnight stay, but come on. The sights, the weather, the girls, the food ..

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Lucky bastard. Exchange rate seems pretty good right now!

Yep - I'm going to Ireland and Northern Ireland in less than 2 weeks, so it might turn out cheaper than I imagined.

 

[Ares202]

i was going to say edinburgh .. but then ..

compare this to say, a day out in Paris.

sure, you need to spend more for the overnight stay, but come on. The sights, the weather, the girls, the food ..

I can understand what your saying but you're scottish right? Visiting Edinburgh and seeing the castle, history and people in kilts with bagpipes is not going to be half as impressive as it is to a tourist not from the UK.

Some of why you like Paris is probably because its quite unfamiliar.

 

[Ns1]

Yep - I'm going to Ireland and Northern Ireland in less than 2 weeks, so it might turn out cheaper than I imagined.

Getting cheaper by the day!

 

[ElFenix]

st pancras to amsterdam is a ~4 hour train ride (change trains in brussels). which seems like a lot when it's only a 30 minute flight, but there's the time to get out to the airport, security, blah blah, you may be saving an hour. maybe.

 

[SSSnail]

By the time you get there, you should be able to buy a castle for 5 dollars due to favorable exchange rates. I'll front you 10 bucks, buy one for yourself. I just want one that overlooks a rolling hill.

 

[EvilYoda]

By the time you get there, you should be able to buy a castle for 5 dollars due to favorable exchange rates. I'll front you 10 bucks, buy one for yourself. I just want one that overlooks a rolling hill.

In one of my emails with my friend that lives in London, I had the same thought. I wrote "I'm going to buy a castle!", heh.

Anyway, I think it's going to look like this:

London 7/14-7/20
Ireland 7/21-23 (possibly head to Ireland evening of the 20th)
Belgium Brussels/Antwerp/Bruges (I'm a big beer drinker so I'm going to try to do as much beer stuff as I can in addition to the regular sightseeing) 7/24-8/1
Train back to London, flight home on 8/2

In terms of budget...my work is all travel based so when I'm traveling for leisure and on my own, I stay in pretty simple places on airbnb. I see the inside of a hotel room 100-200 days a year as it is so having a kitchen and being able to stay in non-touristy areas appeals to me a lot.

Recommendations for Ireland and Belgium are very welcome! Especially if they have to do with drinking! I've visited numerous breweries and distilleries, so if you know of any tours that are particularly special I'd love to hear it.

 

[DigDog]

I can understand what your saying but you're scottish right? Visiting Edinburgh and seeing the castle, history and people in kilts with bagpipes is not going to be half as impressive as it is to a tourist not from the UK.

Some of why you like Paris is probably because its quite unfamiliar.

i'm italian. i agree with what you are saying, and yes edinburgh is nice, but it's .. unpractical.

 

[Exterous]

Recommendations for Ireland and Belgium are very welcome! Especially if they have to do with drinking! I've visited numerous breweries and distilleries, so if you know of any tours that are particularly special I'd love to hear it.

We did the Sandeman Walking Beer tasting in Brussels and really enjoyed it. Met a lot of great people during the tour and hung out at some bars afterwards. If you like Fish and Chips Bia Mara ranks as my #1 favorite F&C place out of all the places I've tried. A slight twist on the classics but soooo good.

For Ireland are you heading to Dublin or Shannon? If Shannon then I would recommend going to the Dingle peninsula and the Slea Head drive (esp over the Ring of Kerry). You can also get some pretty amazing views (weather depending) from Conor Pass, just north of Dingle. Its been 6 years since we were on that side of Ireland so not sure if any bar or restaurant recommendations would hold up. Still occasionally talk to Jimmy though and his B&B is still around. A bit out in the country but I'd stay there again in a heartbeat. Coill an Róis Dingle.

For Dublin we always stop by a Leo Burdocks if we have a chance and, later, try a new bar. Its hard to find a bad bar. It might be a bit touristy but I liked the Guinness tour. With the samples and the free pint its about 2 pints of Guinness during the tour and some really nice views of Dublin from the top of their tower at the end. You'll have a really easy time finding a souvenir shop as long as you are looking for a Carroll's

I think you'll miss Celtic whiskey and Wine on the Green's larger tasting events but they always have samples for you to try. Very knowledgeable and quite the selection of options.

Have a great time!

 

[EvilYoda]

Thanks!

We might rent a car, we'll be there for about 3.5-4 days. So I'm looking into what cities around Ireland other than Dublin we should check out. Don't know if we'll go all the way West, but it's hard to say at this point.

Just decided that it'll be 8 days in Belgium for me, so that's really exciting. I'm trying to balance out the touristy stuff with the more hardcore beer stuff. Should be a great solo leg to end the trip.

 

[rumpleforeskin]

If you go out west Ireland to Donegal its real nice for sights, West of Donegal town the coastline is quite pretty. Slieve League is worth a look if you are in them parts. You could also head up north to the giants causeway and a tour of the Bushmills distillery which are close to eachother.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slieve_League

If you have a car in Belgium Stop by the Atomium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium

Waterloo if also worth a couple of hours, there is a great panorama in there of the battle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panorama_of_the_Battle_of_Waterloo

Bruges can be quite crowded in summer with tourists (well they do call it the venice of the north) but is worth a visit. A couple of good beer bars there are 't Brugs Beertje and the Beerwall.

 

[EvilYoda]

Awesome - Brugs Beertje has come up a few times in my research so that's on the list for sure. Gotta figure out Ireland first before Belgium even though I'm personally more excited about the latter.

 

[Fingolfin269]

This is a really easy trip that you should be able to squeeze into 4 days no problem.

Hop on the train to York and spend a day there checking out the minster, walking the city walls, and then if you have time hit the National Rail Museum.

Then hop on the train north towards Edinburgh and spend the rest of your time there. Plenty to do just in the Royal Mile area.

Also, either on the way north or back to London you should take a quick stop at Durham to see the cathedral and castle.

Be sure to ride on the coast side of the train so you can see some of the castles along the way as well.

Edit... I just noticed your hesitancy on Edinburgh. You could always just stop short at Newcastle and have a nice drinking night before returning to London.

 

[EvilYoda]

Pretty sure we'll just get a car now. Not that long of a drive - I can drive a manual and he can't so I didn't want to be solely responsible for 5+ hour drives (especially after potential nights at the pub in Dublin...). Looks like we'll pop into Cork for an evening, check out what we can of the west side of Ireland before heading back to Dublin.