UK Trip Planning: London, Scotland and One European Stop in 14 Nights?

[saifee]

Hi everyone,

For an Australian traveller visiting the UK and Europe for the first time, would it be realistic to include London, Edinburgh and one European city within a 14-night trip?

A possible itinerary would be:

• 5 nights in London
• 3 nights in Edinburgh
• 4 nights in Paris, Amsterdam or Rome
• Remaining time for flights and transfers

My concern is that changing hotels, travelling between airports and taking short-haul flights could make the trip feel rushed.

Would experienced travellers recommend keeping the holiday to London and Scotland, or is adding one European destination still comfortable?

I would also be interested to hear which European city offers the easiest connection from the UK for a first-time visitor.

Thanks for any practical advice.

 

[Mwenenzi]

For an Australian traveller visiting the UK and Europe for the first time, would it be realistic to include London, Edinburgh and one European city within a 14-night trip?

A possible itinerary would be:

• 5 nights in London
• 3 nights in Edinburgh
• 4 nights in Paris, Amsterdam or Rome
• Remaining time for flights and transfers

My concern is that changing hotels, travelling between airports and taking short-haul flights could make the trip feel rushed.

Would experienced travellers recommend keeping the holiday to London and Scotland, or is adding one European destination still comfortable?

I would also be interested to hear which European city offers the easiest connection from the UK for a first-time visitor.

Thanks for any practical advice.

A lot to see if you have not been to UK EU before. Pick 2 destinations. And some day trips from those 2,
Even though the distance between London - Paris etc is not far (by AU standards) with hotel check out, local transport. checkin , air/train, bag pick up. local transport,- hotel checkin can take the best part of a day, if traveling at sociable times. If travel early morning or night a different situation.

"I would also be interested to hear which European city offers the easiest connection from the UK for a first-time visitor."
From London take the Eurostar train to Paris or Amsterdam. Point to point (hotel) can be time & price competitive to air. And a more civilised way to travel. Train stations are in city centre:- not a tube-merto rail trip to an airport.

Eurostar.com: Book Europe Train Tickets and Holidays

Eurostar Official Website. Book your train tickets to London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne and many more European destinations with Eurostar.

www.eurostar.com

Routemap | Eurostar

Discover our larger network that includes high-speed direct and indirect routes between the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

www.eurostar.com

Eurostar - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RooFlyer]

I think its OK to do what you are suggesting - 3 centres. If you had to cut one, Edinburgh of course but there must be a reason why you put that one in.

Agree with @Mwenenzi - take the Eurostar to Paris; both the journey and destination beats the others.

How are you getting from London to Edinburgh? Hiring a car? Can be VERY expensive during their summer. Even though I usually hire cars, last month it was ridiculous for just 3 days out of LHR (but of course airports are expensive to hire cars out of anyway, but that's the only one that would have worked), plus the cost of fuel, and the driving time, so I took the train. Trains aren't cheap either, but that's how I went to Manchester.

For train advice see this great site:

The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide

How to travel by train in Europe & worldwide: Schedules, fares & how to buy tickets.

www.seat61.com

But also look at this for booking train tickets

Trainline : Search, Compare & Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Trainline, your quick & easy way to book train tickets across Europe. ✓ Save 61% on UK Rail ✓ Live Train Times ✓ Save with a Railcard ✓ Get the app

www.thetrainline.com

Often you can only book about 3 months out - but double check for Eurostar.

For Edinburgh, check that you aren't going during Tattoo or Edinburgh Fringe Festival times - costs skyrocket (as I discovered!).

Down load public transport apps such as Tube Map Pro in London, Transport for London Go (TfL Go), SCNF Connect for Paris. You buy tickets for the tube/metro in those latter two.

More possible when you decide actual itinerary.