I am going to England. I am going in a week, with a large extended-family group. I haven’t known how to bring it up.
I have never traveled out of my country. I have barely traveled within my own country. I am not really a traveler. I have a dear friend who has just returned from a trip to England and is familiar with how my brain works, and she advises mentally preparing ahead of time to go with the flow. I will be so breezy! Lost luggage? An excuse to buy clothes in England! Like the time Carsick Toddler Elizabeth barfed just as we arrived at the mall, and instead of despairing and turning the car around and driving the 40 minutes back home, I went into Target and bought her the cute pink four-piece mix-and-match Carter’s elephant pajamas set I’d wished for an excuse to buy, and then took her into the bathroom and changed her, and put her barfy clothes neatly into the plastic Target bag the clerk had just used for the new pink elephant pajamas! Day saved! I still rejoice in that triumph, and I do not miss the $14.99!
We have acquired some English/British pounds. We have been told that tipping is not a thing in England, but my feeling is that hotel-room cleaners are underpaid the world over, and would not say no to some cash. I was a little worried that it would be considered insulting, but then I thought, what if I were a hotel maid in a touristy area anywhere in the world: wouldn’t I be aware that tipping customs varied widely? I feel as if I would be aware of that. I feel like AT WORST I would think “Those silly Americans, ignorant of our local customs!”/”Yay extra money to buy groceries/electricity!”
We have arranged a cat-sitter, the dear daughter of a dear friend. I have been very skittish about people in our house ever since The Housecleaner Situation, which let’s say no more about, and this was one of my most stressful arrangements to consider. I thought about each possible candidate, and considered how safe and comfortable I would feel having them in my house, and the one at the very top of my list was available and willing, so I am feeling very lucky. And her mother is one of the most competent and capable people I know, and exactly who you’d want on hand in an emergency, so that’s a nice feeling for if anything DOES go wrong. (She was the emergency contact on my passport form, too: she would have my corpse shipped home like billy-o!)
I am trying not to overdo the packing, but I am a not a pack-light person. I keep reassuring myself that as long as we have our passports and credit cards, we can figure everything else out. People LIVE in England, and THEY manage to find conditioner and acetaminophen and hair elastics and lip balm! They might CALL them something else, but they HAVE them!
I don’t have a concept of what clothes to pack for early July in England. Shorts and t-shirts and sunhats? Sweaters and raincoats? I will just bring it all. I am bringing a baggie of laundry detergent so I can wash things in the sink. Or, are there washing machines in/near English hotels? I guess I’ll soon know!
Paul is in charge of Electrical/Computer/Phone. He has purchased various adapters, and arranged various phone plans. We had a slightly baffling conversation about nightlights: he was assuming I would want them in England, and had been doing research. I do not want at all want nightlights in England. AT HOME we have these fabulous nightlights that come on automatically if there’s a power failure and can instead be used as flashlights if needed (that’s the Target link; here’s the Amazon link if preferred) (honestly if your power EVER goes out where you live, GET THEM, you will BLESS YOUR OWN NAME when the power goes out—and in the meantime they make fabulous nightlights), and it’s true I have them sort of “all over the house” (top of the stairs, bottom of the stairs, all the bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, hallway), but that does not mean I need them IN ENGLAND.
Two of my big frets are Elizabeth’s tree nut allergy (we will have benadryl and Epi-pens in several backpacks) and her vegetarianism. Her vegetarianism wouldn’t be a big deal if she weren’t also a picky eater. I am literally bringing a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and a few plastic disposable knives, based on two previous trips where I fervently wished I had done so.
My biggest fret of all is probably Edward, because Edward is immunocompromised and we will be traveling, and the pandemic doesn’t mind one little bit that we said it was over, it’s still going right ahead and damaging/killing people! I found out only two days ago that a month ago the CDC approved a second bivalent Covid-19 booster for immunocompromised people, so we went today to get that done. I was worried the pharmacist would want me to prove Edward’s immunocompromised status (an earlier pharmacist wanted that), but she did not; she just gave the booster. Probably she could see that the earlier shots on the Covid-19 card were clearly on an immunocompromised schedule, or maybe it’s just that now there’s no competition for vaccines so no one thinks we’re trying to get away with something. I am remembering that it takes a couple of weeks for the booster to kick in, but maybe that’s wrong, and anyway at least there’s one week to get it on board, and that’s better than not.
And I am a little fretful about my knees. I have purchased two knee braces to try. I have trekking poles. I have sneakers, though they’re a little worn and I wish they were newer/springier—but at least they’re broken-in and familiar.
Sometime this week I am going to go to a used book store and buy a stack of used books. I like to have inexpensive used copies so I can leave them behind as I finish them, which gives me more room in my luggage for souvenirs.
Souvenirs! What souvenirs should I buy in England? What are some things they have in England that we don’t have in the United States, and which can fit in a suitcase?
Long time reader, hardly ever commenter but UK based. No souvenir suggestions (apart from shortbread – but that’s Scottish, tablet and fudge and other sugar based sweet snacks) and teas.
To allay any fears – Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is available in supermarkets and all kinds of shops everywhere (ditto conditioner, hair ties etc). By the way books are far cheaper in the UK than the US and charity shops are great for second-hand books.
Vegetarian and vegan food is really widespread here (including in Burger King and Macdonalds).
Enjoy the trip!
What about Benadryl? We are generally “don’t overpack and use the credit card” people, but that backfired the year I ran out of Benadryl in Italy. We could not find any at all in Rome, Bulgaria or Paris. My husband speaks two out of three of those languages, one being his native tongue, so the issue wasn’t translation. According to the many pharmacists we asked, they stopped carrying it in favor of 24 hour antihistamine. As a severe (though thankfully not life threatening) allergy family, that was a miserable trip. I now pack the jumbo bottle of Benadryl when leaving the country.
A lot of their souvenirs are related to the monarchy and tea, so… I found some unique cards. I’ve still got one or two (since …1997?). I thought the cab situation was fascinating: the cabs are immaculate and the cabbies are savants RE London streets. If Elizabeth likes potatoes or beans, she’ll be fine! Also biscuits! I hope everything goes smoothly for you all!
You did not ask for advice, but here I am apologetically unsolicited…
If you’re flying on an airline (United, in particular) that provides free entertainment through their app, be sure to have the app on everyone’s devices now, not at the airport. Also, compression socks.
The Cadbury vending machines in England are divine.
Also if you haven’t already, try milk in your hot tea.
You will LOVE IT ALL!
OH I WANT ADVICE
OMG I could not be more excited. Swistle, you have READERS IN ENGLAND who would love nothing more than to advise you, answer questions or help if you run into a perplexing situation. Me! I am one!
No idea if it is reassuring or terrifying to know that you have an army of willing volunteers should you need help at any time. Where in England will you go?
It’s hot here at the moment, and very dry. A sweater or raincoat is not a bad idea but you may not use it/them. Lots of vegetarian options everywhere, though I too have a Picky Eater child and always pack a standby for them.
Souvenir wise, there’s quite a bit of Coronation memorabilia still around if a royal teacup takes your fancy!
Oooh I am excited for you! There are lots of fun things going on here in the summer so I hope you have a WONDERFUL trip. And please definitely ask questions 😁
We are going ALL ‘ROUND! Some London! Some Bath! Some Cotswolds (I had to look up how to spell that)!
Oooh lovely! London is spectacular (biased, it’s where I live), Bath is story-book gorgeous. I don’t know the Cotswolds well but it’s lovely you’re going to see some countryside 😁
Others have thought of really great advice (tapping in and out of the tube, hobnobs, Boots, books, Hotel
Chocolat etc). Another great place to note is Pret. It’s ready-made sandwiches and salads, great for a picnic or lunch on the go. I was really sceptical at first (where I come from a packaged sandwich has probably been sitting there for months) but these are delicious and fresh
I second the Pret-a-Manger. I was just in London and had the coronation chicken sandwich for lunch every day. It’s a curried chicken salad with raisins in it, which may not appeal to some but is right up my alley. I also noted a ton of vegan and vegetarian options, but didn’t think to look at how many of them contain nuts since my mom is vegan and it’s an egg allergy we have to contend with with our son.
Long time reader here and I will also be visiting Bath next week. I shall keep my eyes peeled and listen for an American accent!
‘ALL ‘ROUND’ 😂😂 – yes, we are obviously a much smaller country than the U.S., but you are doing the equivalent of someone coming to the States and staying in the PNW! This is absolutely NOT to diss your itinerary, but just to say that you will only be getting a very limited flavour of the U.K. It simply means that you’ll have to come back a few more times!
Long time follower, so I am fully *delighted* you’re visiting the UK. I live in Scotland which is deffo not England, but same island at least. Where are you visiting? Much advice will be London or non-London specific. For a small country, England is extremely diverse, so that Newcastle (north) is very unlike Brighton (south). And nowhere else is like London.
We are doing a couple days’ stay each in a handful of different places! Bath! London! …Cotswolds, is that right?
Bath and the Cotswolds are picture perfect, particularly in July when everything is still very green and verdant. There’s a great museum of fashion in Bath you won’t want to miss, and if you’re even slightly into animals, go and visit the Rare Breeds centre at Guiting Power, where the farm animals are mostly ancient varieties never seen on farms any more – and it’s in the middle of extraordinary lovely countryside.
Finally from me – unless you want more of course – I think you have Dutch ancestry? – in which case you should absolutely visit ‘de Hems’ cafe bar if you have time while you’re in London. It’s in Macclesfield Street, right on the edge of Chinatown – try Beijing Dumpling in Lisle street if you’re fancying Chinese food – and also very handy for a lot of theatres in and around that area. They have a short menu of dutch foods and snacks, and a vast array of Dutch and Belgian beers, bottled and on tap.
Also, masks… Very few people now in the UK wear them, even on the tube in London. I don’t think that it’s because we don’t care, more that we almost all got vaccinated or had mild variants and feel we’re now immune. But just so that you aren’t shocked. It’s like the whole COVID thing has left our national consciousness (apart from the offical enquiry into why we got it so wrong which has just kicked off). I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing…
Ooh! I can be semi-useful, having been to England for most of July 2007. 🤣 I would suggest that you pack mostly hot-weather clothing, plus one sweatshirt and jeans in case of chilly mornings/evenings. We were mostly very hot but it did get cold at night.
I’ve done a fair amount of traveling, and the UK was easily the place I felt the most relaxed. Yes, they use some different words and some things are different in a fun way, but it was really just fun to explore a country with centuries more history than what is evident in my suburban Michigan home.
Two differences to watch out for: you will know that cars drive on the left side of the road, but it is less intuitive to look right first when crossing a street. Be careful! Second thing is don’t bother with bringing a curling iron or straightener. There’s a very good chance the outlet adapters won’t work well enough for these items and they will just melt or cause a fire. It’s not worth trying.
Have so much fun!!!!
We have two kids who use a hairdryer and we were thinking if England has cheap $20ish hairdryers the way the U.S. does, we might just buy one THERE.
Most hotels and airbnbs type places will have a hairdryer. It won’t be in the bathroom because they don’t believe in outlets in bathrooms in England! It’s against the lawwwwww. We found it in the closet of our bedroom during our trip last year.
We’re currently traveling through Ireland and Scotland, have found the hairdryer in the desk drawer frequently. Totally random place but it seems to be hardwired into the wall in that location at several hotels. My heavy, curly hair wanted to cry the first time I couldn’t find it.
I have twice brought my own hair dryer to England and tried to use it with an adapter. Both times my hair dryer looked like it was about to ignite into flames so I think buying one there is a great idea!
Also wanted to say that in the UK and Ireland I have found that they have a lot more info on their menus re allergies and sensitivities so I think/hope you will be pleasantly surprised that a nut allergy won’t be a big deal.
I am so excited for all of you!! An English speaking country is a great first international trip!! I’m sure you will have a wonderful time and all of your readers are excited to hear all about it.
For a fun a delicious candy to bring home, try one called Quality Street! A weird generic name but it’s a mixed type of chocolates and caramels and it is SO GOOD.
I am a person who uses a hair dryer AND a straightener, and I just do not feel comfortable traveling without them. Yes, many hotels will have a hair dryer (but what if they don’t???), but no hotel ever has a straightener. So it’s a bit of a pain but I am not a person who packs light and I just feel much better bringing my own hair tools.
The issue with hair tools is the voltage. In the US everything runs on 120 but the UK and Europe use 240. So yes, it’s bad if you plug in a 120 appliance in 240! Things like phones and laptops are dual voltage these days but most blow dryers aren’t. Conair does make a travel sized one that is on Amazon (just search “conair dual voltage hair dryer.”) You would just need a plug adapter. Of course you can buy one there! People dry their hair in the UK. But if you don’t want to have to worry about it, I have the Conair and use it traveling internationally and it’s great.
Have a wonderful time!! Come back and tell us all about it!!
Primark is a super cheap clothing/accessories store that has a beauty section, and I think they sell hairdryers? (The one on Oxford Street in London is HUGE and sells all kinds of things.) I’m not saying you’d end up with a particularly high-quality hairdryer, but it would be cheap and it would last you through the trip at least.
Oh, whoops, I meant for this to be a reply to Swistle’s comment about hairdryers! Not sure how it ended up here.
And now I’m looking at this on my computer, and it’s in the right place. For some reason it looked like it was a reply to a different comment when I was reading it on my phone.
I once left money for housekeeping in Europe (it might have been England) on my pillow. They moved the money from the pillow to the nightstand and made the bed. (Maybe they were worried they’d be accused of stealing ). Tipping on check out day might work!
Also! I have you have a wonderful time! My favorite place to shop for souvenirs is the local grocery store… fun food!
I want to come home with CANDY and WEIRD SNACKS!!
Best shops for chocolate is a chain called ’Hotel Chocolat’. They have branches everywhere, I suggest you stop at the airport as soon as you arrive, because believe me once you’ve sampled one of their selector packs you’re going to want to work your way through all 30+ varieties 😂. They do boxes too however, so you could just take one of those as an introduction…
FOOD- Go to HARRODS and go to the huge food hall. SO MANY chocolate and pastries and ALL manner of foods. Chocolate from all over and in ways you can’t imagine! Your mind will be BLOWN. They also have a nice scone tea on a different level.
Harrod’s is absolutely amazing-I still think about the food hall there! We got so many good things, but what stood out for me were these packaged fairy cakes. They were delicious! I happen to love Smarties-not to confused with the kind you get in the US-these are like M&M’s but 100 times more delicious! We were just in Victoria, BC and you bet I loaded up on them!
Ohhhhhhh this is adorable, and good to know. Perhaps I will leave cash on a piece of paper marked “Housekeeping—thank you!!” or something.
I’ve been to England twice, and I tipped like I was in the US. I tipped the cab driver, the wait staff, and housekeeping. This was years ago, and everyone seemed gratefully surprised. Might be more common now? For housekeeping I would write a note every day saying something like “Thank you! Hope you have a great day!”-so they would know it was for them.
Have a jolly good time!
Two pieces of advice: make sure all cell phones have an international access and advise your cc company that you will be traveling, and using said cc overseas.
Oh Swistle! This is so exciting and so fun! I have nothing useful to say, but will offer something potentially soothing: a friend of mine just got back from England and was surprised and pleased by how easy it was to find foods without allergens (gluten, in my friend’s case). I am hopeful that other allergens will be similarly well marked/easy to avoid.
Oooooh! My family and I leave for England on Wednesday! Hubby is from there, it’s where we met and lived for our first few years, but I haven’t been back in 20 years and our kids have never been. A couple of things I can add: it’s actually a great place to be a vegetarian! The menus are very clearly marked with vegetarian options. I am a vegetarian and have never had much problem finding things to eat there (vegan would be harder but still probably easier than Midwest America). You will not receive much, if any, ice in your drinks in most restaurants. I found that challenging to set my mind to. And I’m sure you have travel medical insurance sorted out and rest assured if that if you need to use it you will get perfectly good care there. Have the best time! I’m laughing thinking about if you hadn’t posted and I happened to spot you but would’ve dismissed the possibility it was you and never would have brought it up to you here (“hey Swistle, were you in…England last week?)
ENGLAND TWINS HIGH-FIVE!!!
I have little England experience but much plane experience, so one heads up: you may not actually be able to bring the jar of peanut butter. TSA often classifies it as a liquid and therefore restricts you from bringing more than a very small amount of it. I learned this the hard way with some specialty jam. If this does prove true, though, I’m sure you could pick some up once you arrive.
I plan to put it with my checked luggage!
Honestly, I really wouldn’t bother – we have plenty of peanut butter choice here! The larger supermarkets will even have Skippy if a taste of the US is vital! I encourage you to try a jar of Manilife brand though – just delicious! Ditto with travelling with bread – we have crazy numbers of choices in large supermarkets – you’ll be fine!
As you know my husband was English. I would recommend trying foods to see if you like them and then seeing if you can find a local Brit shop when you get back home (see marmite, clotted cream, Bring all the adapters. International calling plan on everyone’s phones (see if you can do it temporarily). Have fun! Cadbury chocolate from the UK is VASTLY superior. You will hate American chocolate from this point forward. Flake bar crumbled over ice cream trust me.
Do you want advice? I have advice! I am a traveler, and I just went on a semi-spontaneous trip to london for the coronation! You don’t need any cash at all. Credit cards work for everything, including tapping in and out of the tube. Speaking of, the tube is super easy to navigate, much easier than NYC and even DC. When we were there it rained a bunch, which is typical, so a light raincoat is nice to have. Everyone, of course, speaks English, which is super for American travelers. I’d get kindle books so you don’t have to carry anything heavy. If you’re flying British air, it’s literally the worst international flight food I’ve had in my life. I wish I’d known. I would’ve brought more snacks :)
I DO WANT ADVICE!
My friend always brings back clotted cream for scones when she visits!
I’m a Brit! I have been living in the USA for the past 11 years, but before that? 50 years in the UK. Happy to answer any questions. My grown up kids are both vegetarian and visit here frequently. Both say it’s easier in England to be a veggie, than it is here. British chocolate is so much better than USA chocolate, so that’s a good thing to bring back.
Re the nut allergy—it’s not quite the same but my kid has Celiac Disease and is vegetarian and is a picky eater. She is currently in Scotland (after a week in Ireland) and reports that finding safe food has been easier there than it is in the U.S. I hope your experience is similar!
We went last summer. We used zero pounds, paid for everything with a contactless visa. We sent our laundry out to be washed at the hotel, it was EXPENSIVE but worth it not to check a bag! The weather was cool and we were glad to have light cardigan type jackets (we are from Texas)
I was just going to recommend this about laundry. We couldn’t find a laundromat in York (one of my favorite UK cities!) and the hotel had laundry service. I had never used it before, and it was so easy and cheaper than I thought.
My family went to England for vacation last year. We had an amazing time, and we would love to go back again some day. In London, our favorite things were the Imperial War Museum (free entry!), fancy tea at the Ham Yard Hotel (a splurge but totally a highlight of the trip), and getting beer and fries in pubs. Our favorite candies we tried were Drumstick Squashies, Millions, and Wine Gums. I hope you have an amazing trip!!!
I need to add Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles for gummies lovers.
Went to London in October.
We always take a fair amount of cash (my rule of thumb is to have enough to pay to get us home if some emergency would happen). I could not find ANYONE that would take it. They were all “contactless” (ie wanted a card).
The tube – you tap in and out. Read about this (or a reader can chime in) but I believe every individual needs their own credit card otherwise the system doesn’t know if/who is tapping in and out. Also be careful how you tap. My husband ended up paying almost double what I paid because he double tapped a lot.
Cell phones – I know you said Paul was taking care of this, but we always buy SIM cards when we get there. Very easy. $5 will get you a months worth. Note: your phones must be unlocked.
We never* check bags. Airlines and baggage claim are a nightmare. *Just returned from Utah yesterday. Checked a bag for the first time. It was somehow ripped open mid transit, souvenirs and other items were lost. We can rebuy whatever we lost and submit receipts for reimbursement so says the airport. They did let me take a tub of butter thru security, so there’s that.
I was terribly sick (not COVID) on our London trip. They have a pharmacy – Boots – on pretty much every corner with all the normal stuff. Tons of vegetarian options every place we went.
I suggest always checking the state dept website when traveling abroad: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/UnitedKingdom.html
I highly suggest doing a tea while there. A bit pricey but delicious and awesome.
You’ll have a great time!
Yeah everyone needs their own cc to tap in and out. Otherwise you can go to the ticket machine and buy paper tickets for those who don’t have cards.
Do they not have Oyster cards anymore? I thought those were so convenient, and the less I was taking out my credit card in a busy tube station, the better!
I believe they still have the oyster (I think they would have to for kids). We don’t pull out the actual credit card – just tap cell phone (Apple Pay). To us, this was more convenient than keeping track of oyster cards but I’m sure everyone has a different preference :)
This is so exciting! The UK is a wonderful place and very accessible to tourists. I will chime in with just a few thoughts. The primary pharmacy chain is Boots – they are everywhere, and will have every incidental thing you might need. You must visit the food halls at the major department stores, particularly Fortnum and Mason’s and Harrods. They are fascinating for browsing and excellent for souvenirs and gifts – teas! Candy! Marmalade! Biscuits! For another souvenir possibility, I would suggest a scarf. There are beautiful (if pricey) silk scarves at Liberty of London, as well as a huge variety of knits and plaids and tartans (even outside of Scotland) – fun to browse!
If you want tea as a souvenir there is a brilliant stall inside the Guildhall market in Bath, I think you would like the market there (very small, very British) and there’s also a lovely cheese stall.
Sharing tips for Bath but agree with everyone not to pressure yourself to do the BEST of everything. Just relax and enjoy it!
In Bath there is a Waitrose and a Marks and Spencers. In Waitrose they are currently selling very desirable Anya Hindmarch reusable shopping bags. They are £10 but would make a good souvenir (ask a staff member where they are, they’re in the home wares department). Bath central library is just up the escalator in the same building if you’d like to see an English public library!
There is a cath kidston in bath, it’s on a street with lovely independent shops if you kept walking up the hill (then turn left and walk down milsom street, a famous shopping street). This would take you past a Wagamama (someone recommended up thread). At the bottom of milsom street is sweet little things (lots of fake flowers outside), the choux buns they sell are DIVINE!
@bathmums is a great Instagram account that shares the best restaurants/cafes etc.
There’s a nice laundrette called Lovely Wash in bath on a lovely street very close to Sydney gardens and the Holburne museum (I think that’s free entry if you don’t want to go the special exhibits, the ballroom on the first (second to you!) floor is nice, great view down pulteney street). Sydney gardens itself is lovely and a good spot to see some narrow boats on the canal if that’s your jam. Henrietta Park very close by is also so tranquil with beautiful trees.
There’s lots of charity shops with book sections throughout bath and a dedicated oxfam book shop in the centre as well as a Dorothy house one just opposite the cath kidston shop (next to rossiters which is like Bath’s version of liberty, great kitchen section for dinky souvenirs or gifts).
What are your teenagers into?
Oh! I’m so excited for you! Ok, I travel a lot and I’m quite confident you will also enjoy one of our favorite pastimes while abroad: go to grocery stores. Stay with me here! Wander up and down every aisle. Buy the weirdest shit you can find, emphasis on weird snacks. Eat weird snacks for lunch in a park while people watching. Culture that doesn’t break the bank!
I’m so excited for you! I am American but lived in the Cotswold region of England for 3 years. When I visited last, I bought a suitcase there to fill up with things I can’t find here. But, for while you’re there, I think you’ll find that vegetarian, gluten free, nut free, etc. is much easier there. I would also prioritize having a scone with clotted cream (sometimes called a cream tea served with scones, clotted cream, jam and a pot of tea) and ALL the cheese. I love Double Gloucester especially. And if you come across the chain Italian restaurant Zizzi’s it’s pretty good. Here is what I would bring home for souvenirs: chocolate (even the kit kats are better but their cadbury and galaxy bars are so good), nutella (they have w/o palm oil), sunscreen (the european versions of La Roche Posay are better and even Boots brands are great), Percy Pigs from Marks & Spencers (my favorite gummy candy ever and now is all vegetarian – you used to have veg and non veg Percy Pigs), books from second hand bookstores (we found some first editions of favorites and I also really like the author India Knight who is harder to find here), Bakewell Tarts or any Mrs Kipling packaged cakes (I like the gluten free bakewell tarts from Costa too) (Mrs Kipling is like British Little Debbies but British-themed and with better ingredients). Tea towels are fun and easy to pack and I also love to get a wallet from Cath Kidston but I think they are closing some of their stores. I love pottery from Emma Bridgewater or Burleigh, but realize that’s hard to bring home. Have fun! I can’t wait to hear about your trip!
Hard YES to cream teas at every chance!
Although the sight of my American mother in law putting a tiny layer of cream and jam on a scone and then layering it back together and eating it like a sandwich never fails to crack me up ;)
MR Kipling! 😉
Cadbury chocolate! Get the roses mix, I think, it’s fun. Also, get a couple of the real kinder surprise eggs. They’re fun and have toys and are better than the USA versions.
I’ve never been to England but want to go narrowboating since seeing it on you tube. Downie Live.
Mu friend goes all the time. She and I went to Ireland together.
On my recent flights we have masked the ENTIRE time on planes and in the airport. No eating, no drinking. Easier if you have an overnight so you can eat eat eat all day and just not but I’ve done it for 2 6am flights as well. Duration was 7ish hours, which is how long it would take me to get from Boston across the pond. It worked all 3 times.
Have a great time. I am sending healthy, super fun thoughts your way.
Yes! Definitely the boxes of Roses chocolates. I have been able to get Quality Street in the US, but I have not seen Roses.
I would eat the Kinder eggs in the UK. You can’t bring them back into the USA though: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/importation-advisory-kinder-eggs#:~:text=Each%20egg%20contains%20a%20different,will%20be%20confiscated%20and%20destroyed.
I would counter that the boxes of either Heroes or Celebrations (equally mainstream and easily) are far nicer than Roses or Quality Street!
Exciting! Not much to add to others’ excellent advice, though I can tell you the card for the Tube is the Oyster Card and yes, each family member will need one and you do have to use it at the beginning and end of each ride (skip the latter and get charged for the most expensive possibility you might have traveled to on that trip, ask me how I know!).
When last we were there, we enjoyed the boats on the Thames that are part of the Tube system — they provide a nice way to see a bit of the city from a boat. We also quite enjoyed visiting the line where Grenwich Mean Time sits, and learning a bit about that history as well as walking through a nearby pedestrian tunnel under the Thames that if memory serves was put in during the war; I think there is signage about its history.
Oh! And one treat I very much enjoy that no one else has mentioned is digestive biscuits, ideally with dark chocolate on them. They are a fairly bland/not too sugary cookie but the chocolate makes all the difference.
Have fun!
I submit Hobnobs as an excellent biscuit as well!
you don’t need an oyster card anymore – any contactless credit or debit card works :)
You can get chocolate digestives over in the US – in some grocery store international aisles and also at places like World Market. So whilst I would eat them in the UK, I wouldn’t bring them back over to the US with me.
How fun! Our favorite souvineer everywhere we travel is a Christmas ornament. They are small, unusually inexpensive, and a fun thing we look forward to getting out each year as we decorate.
I am not a very confident decision maker on the go, so we usually like to have a rough plan of our plans for day, so including meals. We also eat way better this way since you can lookup places in advance. Have a great time!!
We’ve recently arrived home to New Zealand after about five weeks travelling around the United Kingdom. It was a wonderful trip and we have so many good memories.
Most of your questions have been responded to from earlier commenters but especially note that books ARE very cheap there, and there are good charity bookshops in almost every town. I’d buy a book, read it, then donate it in the next town. There are laundrettes everywhere also, if you don’t want to pay the hotel’s cleaning fees, but some we came across were not well maintained so the laundry powder is a good idea.
I also brought home unused cash. Loose change is handy for buskers, but that’s about it.
I have some arthritis in my knees; my doctor prescribed some anti-inflammatories to take at the end of the day, and I just took a paracetamol (aceta-what-you-call-it) if they got sore from aaaall the walking. I also bought gel inserts to make my sneakers a little springier, as they are also getting on in years.
For souvenirs we bought fridge magnets and t-shirts. It’s winter here now, so I’m looking forward to summer when I will find them in the drawer and have happy memories of their purchase. My daughter also brought back some nice tea from Whittards in Covent Garden, and a Victorian-style cardboard toy theatre from Pollocks Toyshop (also in Covent Garden). Everything light-weight so as not to overload our suitcases that we had to lug everywhere.
Gorgeous scenery, fascinating history and friendly people – have a fantastic trip!
My best advice for jet lag is to try to sleep on the plane. Force yourself to stay awake when you land in London until that evening. And try to walk outside in the sunshine (the sun really helps your body reset its clock).
Fun to read all the suggestions! Make sure you leave a little extra room in your suitcase for a souvenir or two. A little anectode to say that some travel snafus won’t be the end of the world! I had my luggage lost by the airline on a trip to France about 10 years ago. My husband, kids and I all got new French clothes and new suitcases. Our original suitcases showed up at our front door the day after we got home. I guess my lesson learned was to pack a change of clothes in my carryon.
Lots of great advice already! As for souvenirs, I like to bring home tea and snacks I can’t get in the US. For tea, pop into Fortnum & Mason to find some new teas to try. I also like picking up various candies at the grocery store. If you need to bring anything home as a gift, Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar sweets from M&S are always a hit with kids.
Coming back to say that I also want to second the suggestion for the Imperial War Museum. I thought it sounded AWFUL but went along with my husband and boys because they were interested. It was truly fascinating and a highlight of our trip! I always love the National Gallery and if you go please visit the Whistlejack picture and also the one of The Execution of Lady Jane Grey- they are so beautiful and my absolute faves!
I am also someone who loves loves loves to go to grocery stores in foreign countries and always come home with tons of candy and cookies. You will be amazed at the selection! I always make a point to come home with bourbon creams, Hobnobs and Mr Kiplings Battenbergs. Try all of the flavors of crisps too!
One of my favorite things about the UK is that you can get a half pint instead of a pint at the pub (I love cider so that’s what I always order).
I looooove traveling in the UK and you will have such fun.
Oh the snacks!
McVities chocolate digestive biscuits (I like milk chocolate but dark is good too. They sell fancy ones with caramel etc but the original milk chocolate are still my favorites.). My husband likes Hobnobs, with chocolate.
All the different flavors of crisps (potato chips). Some are delicious and some are terrible but they come in small packets so you can do a taste off.
Marks & Spencer food hall is a garden of delights. Again, so much to try. Nice boxes of chocolates to eat and/or bring home. Yogurts, nuts, amazing prepared foods if you want to take a picnic somewhere. Not cheap but not fancy.
Enjoy! It sounds like you are very ready and I can’t wait to read all about it.
We went to England last year, it was my first time traveling internationally! One thing I noticed in the hotels was that the showers did not have doors, and I really didn’t like that. Also, none of the hotels had washcloths, so make sure you bring something you can wash your face with. I tipped everybody and nobody seemed insulted. I know that I wasn’t supposed to, but I literally could not help myself. It felt rude and wrong not to do it. Lovely country. I would move there if I could.
The showers didn’t have doors and no washcloths? This was not my experience in London. We had a regular bathroom set up with both a shower door and plenty of towels and washcloths. No shower door would’ve really thrown me off!!!
We also had a shower door and washcloths for what it’s worth. Stayed in Soho.
I would say any hotel would bring you a wash cloth/extra towel if asked, so wouldn’t worry about this one.
The shower door – if concerned check the hotel pictures.
you can get peanut butter at any supermarket here! and paracetamol (=acetaminophen). one thing to point out is that our health coverage is only free to residents so make sure you have insurance in place. the cotswolds are so beautiful and so is bath. in london I recommend visiting one of the food markets with loads of stalls selling different prepared foods. southbank food market is my favourite. have a lovely time!!
Ooh, buy candy, they have all the good stuff.
I agree with all of the comments about vegetarian food being much, much easier to find in the UK. Elizabeth is in for a treat!
When I travel I like to have an emergency backup plan if things go sideways and in London, as people have noted, the taxi drivers are truly exceptional and can get you anywhere with the tiniest shred of information. As a coping thought, remind yourself that no matter where you are and what you need, you can always flag down a taxi and they will bring you to your hotel, a grocery store, a clothing store, etc. Also, if you are in need of something to plug into Google Maps, Tesco is a super common grocery store and Primark is a super common and inexpensive clothing store (fast fashion but works in a pinch if you need a pair of socks or something on the go).
AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Swistle! I am so excited for you!
RE: weather, you are correct that it will be unpredictable! I would say it will *likely* be on the warmer side, because it’s been warm in Ireland lately. (England and Ireland don’t have identical weather, but if it’s hot here it’s usually at least warm in the UK and vice versa.) But it also POURED rain yesterday and on Friday, so.
I don’t know exactly what kind of food Elizabeth likes, but my guess is she’ll be fine. I know lots of vegetarians who live in the UK, some of whom are picky eaters. If you do end up needing to stock up on sandwich ingredients, Tesco or Sainsbury’s will have what you need. (Those are the grocery store chains you’ll probably see most often.)
On a similar note, looks for Boots or Superdrug if you need to stock up on toiletries.
I’m not sure if hotels in England have washing machines, but at the very least there will probably be a laundry service near your hotel. It will likely be the kind where you bring them a bag of dirty laundry and then pick up your clean laundry awhile later, rather than a laundromat. Sometimes when I travel I’ll bring a few laundry soap pods, so I can hand-wash a few things in the hotel sink if the situation becomes Truly Dire.
In terms of tipping, you’re right that it’s not as much of A Thing as it is in the US, but no one will be offended if you do it anyway. Tipping is still common in restaurants, but you don’t have to tip quite as much. (I usually tip 20% minimum in American restaurants, which would be a huge tip in the UK.) Again, though, no one would object to you tipping more than expected!
For souvenirs, I would recommend bringing home a few different kinds of tea to try. And maybe a china teacup, so you can feel fancy drinking your English tea out of your English teacup! (I have done this; highly recommend.) Or go to a grocery store snack/candy aisle and pick out a bunch of different types of snacks/candy you can’t get in the US. I recommend Tunnock’s Tea Cakes—I crave them when I’m in the US and can’t get them.
Okay this comment is getting very long, but my Twitter DMs and email inbox are open if you have questions or need additional advice! My qualifications are that I lived in England for about a year, elsewhere in the UK for a year and a half, and currently live in Ireland but still travel to the UK on occasion.
Have a wonderful trip!!!
A few more recommendations:
Portobello Road has a really fun open-air market where you can find really interesting and unique souvenirs. (I once found an illustrated book of Shakespeare plays from 1890 at a stall there for like 10 pounds.) I think the market is only open on certain days and some days have more stalls open than others, so check beforehand if you decide to go. IIRC, Saturday is a good day to go.
I told you this on Twitter already, but I’m saying it again here: HARRODS. Go to Harrods. The whole place is cool, but the food hall is the best part.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is probably my favorite museum in London. The National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery are fantastic as well. The Museum of Natural History is in a beautiful old building; it’s worth going just for that even if you’re not interested in the natural history part. A lot of museums in London are free with a suggested donation of around 5 pounds. (It’s bugging me that I can’t type the pound symbol but I can’t figure out how to do it on my computer, so oh well.) Sometimes they’ll have free general admission but charge for special/temporary exhibits.
The London Eye isn’t worth the money, IMO. My friend and I did it once because she really wanted to go, and it mostly just felt like a tourist trap. Also, the panoramic views of the city don’t really work in a place that is often cloudy and foggy.
The Tower of London is a must. I was amazed at how many things there are to see and do there. I’ve been several times and I’ve discovered new things I hadn’t seen before on every visit.
If you plan to take the Underground, try to plan things so you’re not on the train during rush hour. (It’s not the end of the world if you can’t do that, though: the trains will just be really crowded.) If you have the Google Maps app, you can put in your destination and it will tell you what train(s) you can take to get there. The trains arrive every few minutes so you don’t need to worry about getting to the station at a specific time – if you miss your train, there will be another one on its way pretty quickly. I recommend taking a London cab at least once, just because it’s kind of fun. Ditto with the double-decker buses: even if you don’t *need* to take one, they’re sort of a London rite of passage.
Oh, and pubs! Definitely go to pubs.
Great advice on avoiding the tube during rush hours! Learned that our first morning, I was in danger of being left on the platform with the rest of my party on the train. People were so nice though, they totally crammed themselves even tighter so I could get on! They may have been thinking “Americans!” but they couldn’t have been lovelier!
You have gotten such good advice here! One suggestion that I haven’t seen here yet. I don’t know if you and your family are Jane Austen people but there is a free audio guided walking tour of Bath tied to the places in Bath from the Austen novels. It basically takes you all around the pretty little city with some little snippets from the books read in. You can download it here I think. https://visitbath.co.uk/blog/read/2019/11/in-the-footsteps-of-jane-austen-a-free-audio-walking-tour-b124
Hi! I scanned through all the (very insightful and helpful!) comments and did not see this mentioned – perhaps it doesn’t apply in the UK like the rest of Europe, but just in case: I was recently in Europe (Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, the Netherlands) and found out the hard way that hydrocortisone cream is BY PRESCRIPTION ONLY in all those places. I am a very delicate flower and get heat rash super easily, and my sister happened to suffer a truly appalling mosquito attack in Venice, and we could not get hydrocortisone to save our lives. The lesser alternative they offered was helpful for like 6 minutes before we had to reapply. Thankfully part of our trip was on a cruise ship where we were able to get some from the ship doctor, but it never occurred to me that something that seems so basic to me would be hard (relatively speaking) to obtain in Europe. So, ya know, leave the acetaminophen at home since that’s easy to get, and pack some hydrocortisone if that’s something anyone in your family occasionally requires!
The other suggestion I have is to take a travel fan if you struggle to sleep when it’s warm or without air movement. Most places in Europe don’t do window screens, so opening a window to try and get some cool night air means BUGS, all the bugs (see above re: mosquito attack). The a/c situation was not quite as robust as we’re used to in the US, and I’ve yet to see a ceiling fan anywhere I’ve been in Europe, so my little rechargeable fan set up to blow on me through the night was a literal lifesaver. This one is quite small, very powerful, and holds a charge much longer than most others I’ve tried: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TQLNNL8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can buy hydrocortisone cream over the counter in the UK – you will have to go to the pharmacy counter and ask for it. Chains of pharmacies are Boots, Lloyds, some Superdrugs. Some Tescos have a pharmacy also and there are plenty of independent ones.
Good to know, thank you! I don’t think I’ll ever travel without it again :)
I don’t think I will now I know it’s prescription in other countries, it never occurred to me but I will add some to my travel first aid kit! So thank you!
Not specific to England, but I like to bring a laundry bag and a silk eye mask for sleeping on all trips. And I would get the little Tide packs of laundry soap that are meant for sinks or the ones that are like little sheets of paper that turn into soap. But it’s hard to get clothes to dry unless they are quick dry stuff like workout clothes. Bring a change of clothes in your carryon in case they lose your luggage. That way you will have clean underwear while you go shopping! Packing cubes are good for keeping things organized. I would not pack bread, you can easily buy that anywhere. Maybe a few snack bars for emergencies. A light backpack or waist pack is good for carrying stuff around instead of a purse. Pack anything you can’t live without in your carryons, like medication and glasses/contacts. And most important, have fun!!!
THIS IS MY MOMENT!
OK so I’m super excited for you so I’m going to comment and theeen go back and read all the other comments, so forgive repetition.
1. We have acetamenophin! It’s called paracetamol. We do NOT have melatonin if you want to bring any for jetlag, it’s very tightly regulated here and only available on prescription.
2. Bring laundry liquid or just buy some here – probably a no to washing machines in hotels but it will depend.
3. Weather: It’s been super super warm and dry and sticky but with the odd thunder storm for the last month. That can always changed, welcome to England ;)
– I would pack light dresses/shorts and tees, comfy shoes to walk in, light cardigans/sweaters and a rain jacket and umbrella.
– You’ll look like a tourist. You just will. And that’s fine! Every other person in London or Edinburgh or York or Stratford is a tourist in July! So you’ll fit in great
4. Vegetarianism. You will have zero probs, everywhere caters for veggies and vegans, especially in London but even if you’re travelling around. Also we’re good with allergens, most places will ask you directly before you order.
5. If you’re staying in a big city, there is a small supermarket every 200 metres basically. Google ‘Tesco Metro’ or ‘Sainbsburys Local’ and they’ll have everything you need including a small pharmacy shelf with hayfever meds, basic painkillers etc.
6. You will barely need any cash. Everywhere operates with contactless card/Apple Pay including the tube, you just touch in and out and the barrier and lots of places are actually cash-free now.
7. You don’t need to tip anywhere except more formal restaurants (when it’s often added as a service charge anyway) and a taxi if you’re being nice. But nobody is ever offended by a tip!
I’m going to go back now and read and see if there’s anything else I can add. But honestly the UK is super super easy to travel in, London is mad and hectic but it’s not as bad as NYC, and most people are pretty kind and helpful.
In terms of souvenirs:
– English chocolate is the best chocolate. Cadburys, Galaxy, Tonys Chocoloney, all excellent.
– We do a great line in local honey, jam etc
– I personally like to buy Christmas tree ornaments to take home as souvenirs – small, easy to carry, memories to unbox each year and put on the tree
So my London highlights with teen kids, other than Buckingham Palace, London tour bus etc:
– The South Bank, the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern (which is free), the second hand book stalls outside the BFI, just basically amble along
– Covent Garden, the Royal Opera House has a lovely shop and cafe, street entertainers etc, lots of food options and shopping, 7 Dials. If you’re seeing any shows a lot are around there!
– Greenwich. A bit of a trek to get to but you can do it by riverboat (there are piers dotted along the river but there’s one at Tate Modern and one at Embankment) and then you’ve got the royal observatory, lovely restaurants etc and gorgeous parks
– Hampstead Heath! You can swim in the ladies pond with Elizabeth! And Primrose Hill for a picnic and an explore of the cute shops and cafes
– Notting Hill: Portobello Market, lovely mews streets, super pretty, where the £££££ live
– If you go watch the changing of the guard you can stroll around St James’ Park and up through Green Park to Fortnum & Mason. YOU NEED FORTNUMS IN YOUR LIFE
– Marylebone High Street. Adorable, lovely shops, Daunt Books, nice restaurants – at the north end is Madame Tassauds and the whole Sherlock Holmes tourist schtick.
– National Gallery – Trafalgar Square is touristy as hell but worth it, and the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery are both excellent, and, again, free
– East London: Brick Lane, Spitalfields, just get off the tube at Liverpool Street and go for a wander
Sorry one more! Google Bath spa.
Obviously Bath is a spa town – but there is an ACTUAL spa right in the centre with a rooftop pool and various levels with aromatherapy steam pods etc, it’s not super expensive and it’s just really lovely.
My favourite book to read about Bath while IN Bath is Persuasion.
Ok, I’ve accepted now that if I didn’t have a job and two small children and a dog I could keep remembering things to add and returning to this thread forever ;)
I’m sure you’ve already realised this but London is EXPENSIVE. Restaurants and cafes really add up there as opposed to in the US.
But one thing we’re pretty good at is takeaway food options for picnics. Boots, Tesco etc will all have fridges filled with…edible… let’s call them ‘edible’ and only slightly sad pre-packaged sandwiches. But Marks and Spencer (which is everywhere) has a food hall with so many great picnic-y options, from little cocktail sausages to sandwiches, sushi etc, delicious cookies and swiss rolls, cocktails in cans. There are lots of little indie sandwich shops in any areas with lots of offices, too, and they can be really tasty.
I would be very tempted to make room for a picnic blanket in your luggage – and then you can save yourself a small fortune by sitting in a lovely park or green space and enjoying a picnic for a fraction of the price of a cafe lunch.
If you’re looking for interesting snacks, one of the things that they have in England that we do not is all sorts of interesting flavors of potato chips. Combinations you have never even imagined and a lot of them are very tasty.
Also good: Cornish Pasties and sausage rolls, which are always high on my husband’s list of the food he misses that he has to track down soon after we arrive. And they usually have vegetarian versions of the pasties too.
I have not been to Bath or the Cotswolds, but if I were to go to London this summer, I would be delighted to do any of these activities again:
Tower of London (best to go early in the day)
British Museum
Tate Modern and Tate Britain
Boat trip on the Thames (you can take it in different directions, it is great if the weather is nice) There’s also a free Tate to Tate boat you can take but you don’t see as much
Kew Gardens
Richmond Palace
Museum of London
Museum of London Transport
Westminster Abbey is lovely but gets very crowded
It’s nice to wander in Hyde Park
Victoria & Albert Museum
Liberty of London is fun to visit, but expensive
My son loved the Imperial War Museum.
My go-to souvenir is magnets or keychains. They don’t take up a lot of room and you can find interesting ones :)
I hope you all have a lovely time!
I have traveled internationally quite a few times and I agree about the dual voltage Conair travel hair dryer- we used it no problem in several countries. (not England but all in Europe) England and Scotland are on my bucket list so I am very excited for you. Also to put your mind at ease if you are traveling on a direct flight it’s unusual to lose luggage….that being said the best advice is ALWAYS pack your prescriptions and important things in your carry on bag. I think different airlines have different rules about whether they need to be in their original labeled prescription bottles or not so look on the airlines website. Hiking poles were not allowed on some flights and allowed on others so hopefully yours are also in your checked bag to avoid any issue. Bring OTC meds as well, like travel sized Pepto and Imodium Benadryl and dayquil. Cough drops etc. E en if you don’t use them you won’t waste time trying to track down something in a foreign drugstore even if the labels are all in English. (We had to translate Norwegian to English on some Cranberry UTI pills packaging which was fun, and in Germany, while I spoke the language, the shop hours were not that convenient, closing at 5.) We are going to Italy in August and just found out it’s their mosquito season so I’m bringing bug spray and antihistamines. Have a wonderful time!!
I don’t have any UK-specific advice, but we do travel internationally a fair amount. Your friend that told you to go with the flow was spot-on: I am a Planner, the type that has spreadsheets with confirmation numbers and detailed itineraries, but no trip we have ever taken has gone according to The Original Plan. And that’s okay–they are usually better! Just breathe deep, and make a new plan.
One tip for traveling with teenagers (which I have done a lot): make sure they have the hotel name & address in their phone so they can find their way back, and let them have a little freedom to go off on their own. Set map boundaries and check-in rules and mandatory group size (no one goes alone!), and let them go have a little adventure they can tell you about later.
Wow! Very exciting. Jealous that your whole family is going? Well, the kids still at home. Last summer I went back to England with my oldest child. I hadn’t been home in 19 years. My two younger kids have never been. I always thought we’d take a family trip there and we never did.
So I was a vegetarian when I was a teenager. So much easier in the UK. I came over to the US in 1999 and asked for a veggie burger at McDonalds and they had no idea what I was asking for. “A vegetable patty?” Umm, not really. So yeah, vegetarianism is a much bigger thing in the UK.
Souveniers – I brought back a lot of food. Mostly chocolate. I also brought back several robin items because the British robin is different than the US robin – much cuter. I got a carved wooden one for inside and a metal one for outside and a bird puzzle at a charity shop (thrift store.) I got an amazing Queen Elizabeth coronation mug at a charity shop.
Go to Marks & Spencers and buy anything there! I got my son a T shirt there and all the Percy Pig gummies and a great tin of biscuits. It was a Jubilee one.
Oh and I got a mug I really liked at Tesco – a grocery store – it’s got all these British biscuits on it.
Anything blackcurrant flavoured you need to try – candy (sweets) and Ribena. I ate these when I was there: https://www.amazon.com/Rowntrees-Fruit-Pastilles-Strawberry-Blackcurrant/dp/B073JPN9N5/ and wish I’d brought more back.
Tourist shops are fun, but definitely go to a supermarket and also Marks & Spencers.
I also enjoyed being in WH Smiths and bought a fountain pen and cartridges.
Boots the pharmacy is another high street staple.
Look into how much it costs to ship stuff home if you use the cheapest possible method, if you find something you absolutely must have but don’t want to schlep it everywhere.
Oh this is so fun! When you mentioned the used books, my first thought was, make room for BRITISH used books (I just got some used books at a store in a town where I used to live, and they are such a nice lasting reminder of a pleasant trip). And yes, many things will not go as planned when traveling, really having plans beyond transportation and lodging is almost futile. But, this gives you the freedom to stop in anywhere that catches your eye, and take local recommendations when they come. Get allllll the packing cubes, they make a huge difference in fitting things in suitcases and keeping them organized. You are going to have SO MUCH FUN. It will be completely exhausting and completely worth it.
I just had to make a last minute trip to Denmark from California and I was really worried about shifting time zones. I got an app called Timeshifter that seriously helped me avoid any jetlag in BOTH directions! It’s free the first time you use it and I highly recommend it! Only one person needs it on their phone but everyone can follow the advice.
I think everyone else has already beaten me to the advice I would give so I will just say hello as another English reader! I hope you all have a wonderful time. I’m an anxious packer like yourself so my mantra is always that with passports, credit cards and anything prescription we can manage JUST FINE. Obviously I have a million lists also but still. Oh one thing someone mentioned – as a housekeeper in the UK, I would never never take money out of a hotel room during a guest’s stay. Never. Even with a note. I would only take money given directly into my hands whilst someone is telling me it is a tip for me, or money left behind by a departing guest (and then only up to £5 which is the rule where I work, more than that I have to hand in and can claim back in six months if the guest doesn’t return for it). To be safe I’d leave a note with a tip you leave as you leave. It is not expected at all but always pleasant. Tip 10% ish in restaurants if you have good service and for taxi rides round up to the nearest pound, no need to tip otherwise. And as a vegetarian I will concur with those above, it is much easier to be vegetarian in the UK than in the US or many other countries, and a lot of restaurants will ask about allergies as they seat you these days. I think that’s all. Enjoy it!
I was a teenage veg in the UK once. Jacket potatoes are everywhere. Pasta is plentiful. Beans are on all the menus. The veg fare is more prominent there than in the states and she will do just fine. Sometimes you have to ask or order off menu but pubs and fast food have menu ready options. London and Bath are downright metropolitan– you’ll do just fine. I bought leather bookmarks from every place we went and made a collage. It’s quite pretty. But I also still have a bracelet and ring from there that I bought 30 years ago. Small and delightful. Have FUN!
I’m in England, and have no idea if this is normal in other countries or not, but if not it’s worth noting that England has Sunday trading laws which means pretty much everything shop-wise aside from small convenience stores closes at 4pm on a Sunday. Just so you know! In London this might not be such an issue, and I think they are allowed to stay open later if they opened up later, but definitely will have an impact on your ability to find urgent supplies if you’re in Bath or the Cotswolds.
Have a great time!
I literally can’t wait for your review on what us Brits are really like!!!
Oh oh, I didn’t see this mentioned in my quick read through of the comments. For reference, I have a tree nut allergy and we were in London in Spring ’22. If you are eating on a restaurant and disclose the allergy, the manager has to take your order and deliver your food. Everywhere we went was very good about it, but sometimes it took a bit longer to get my meal or it wasn’t timed with the rest of the table.
And yes to all the chocolate and clotted cream! In fact, get an official tea somewhere, it was amazing. This is really basis and touristy, but we also enjoyed the Thames tours, Greenwich, and the Tower of London. We spent six hours there!
Having recently moved back to the US from London, I’ll give some souvenir suggestions based on the things I wish I had brought back with me:
– Anything and everything with William Morris patterns. I wish I had raided the V&A gift shop before I moved.
– Percy Pigs – these are gummy (but not too chewy) pig-shaped candies sold at Marks & Spencer. They are adorable and addictive. I’m not usually a lover of gummy candy, but I could eat bags and bags of these.
– Shortbread biscuits – nothing I’ve had in the US compares to even the cheapest supermarket shortbread in the UK
Also, not a souvenir suggestion, but a general interanational travel suggestion. Go to a grocery store just to browse. I always find it fascinating to see how things are laid out and what type of products they stock. In England, pay close attention to the potato chip (crisp) aisle – they have a whole world of flavors I’d never even imagined.
And two food suggestions I give to everyone who travels to the London:
– Halloumi fries, ideally the ones from Oli Baba’s covered with pomegranate seeds, yogurt, and sumac
– Pimm’s Cup, a perfect refreshing, low-alcohol cocktail to wander the city with
We lived in England for a bit less than a year and one of the fun things was trying a bunch of the cheeses. Would recommend. You can also run through the crisps/potato-chips, biscuits/cookies, candy, and bakery options (battenburg cake!), but be aware there will be surprises.
I loved some of the cordial (… flavored syrup to dilute into drinks? kind of like frozen fruit juice concentrate, except by the glass? and different flavors than we have?) and we brought back elderflower cordial; absolute magic for non-alcoholic fancy drinks. I also bring back blocks of the store-brand marzipan made for covering cakes – it is so goood and works well as a clay-ish option for making things to put on cakes. Their packaged fondant also tastes way better than US consumer-available fondant.
There is peanut butter readily available (not the literally dozens of options in the US, but at least two options available in relatively smallish grocery stores), and bread is obviously readily available, but plastic knives I am not so sure about.
The Sainsbury’s Basics chicken-flavored ramen was vegan in 2006; even back then, a lot of things were clearly labeled and it was a delight.
I would strongly endorse scheduling in some rest time for yourself, if not for others. Traveling can be very overstimulating, and you appreciate more things if you are not bedraggled. Rest time can be in a park or in a cathedral or hiding in your hotel room or sitting in one room of a museum for a couple of hours and not making yourself see *all * the museum; I do not personally know what would drain you specifically and what would recharge you specifically, but you probably know some of that by now and be aware and ready to deploy your solutions as needed. (sometimes you need Fully Familiar Food. sometimes you just need longer sleep. sometimes you need alone time. sometimes you need a hot drink or a cold drink. sometimes you need a good shower. whatever it is, odds are decent that you can at least partly simulate it while traveling if you do allow yourself gaps and down time.) Be okay with not maximizing your opportunities for theoretically experiencing things – consider language learning: it’s usually more worthwhile to know 5 phrases well than to have been exposed to the entire vocabulary of a language but not remember any of it? (but it’s also okay to just come away with vague impressions and sensations of a place!)
I hope it goes really, really well, and hope you all have a delightful time! And with travel catastrophes, the worse something is in the moment, the better of a story it is later, usually, so there is also that! The time my mom and I came down with strep throat *while* traveling internationally with a 5+ hour layover: it is a good story now! :-) But also pack extra underwear and all prescription medications and some snacks (that are TSA-okay and can get through customs) in your carry-on.
I haven’t read all the comments but here are my thoughts:
CABS- VERY hard to find cabs to fit larger families. We had a (mostly grown) kid on the floor one time. lol
The tube is great though- we got and used an oyster card. MIND THE GAP (this became a family joke!)
No plugs in the bathrooms.
Most homes don’t have A/C. I assume hotel rooms do but I’ve always done Vacation Rental homes.
You will have an amazing time!
Oh, and another thing… the USA has its issues for sure ( gun use, I’m looking at you) BUT pickpocketing is a big thing in parts of Europe and for sure in London. We go with some frequency and I recommend a money belt or travel safe purse. My husband blew me off the first time, thought I was being ridiculous and then LITERALLY caught someone in the process of picking his pocket. His wallet was on the way out of his pocket! DON’T hang your purse on the back of your chair, etc and use a cross body purse bc a purse on one shoulder can get snatched. Also be aware of someone grabbing something and jumping off at the next stop on the Tube. Just use your City Sense.
92 comments ahead of me so I am sure this is covered. We went to London Oct 2022 and it could NOT have been easier. Notes:
– We understand the language! No barrier! Makes everything so much easier.
– We didn’t convert a single dollar. Tapped to pay for EVERYTHING (purchases, meals, transit!). Left USD as small tip for housekeeping
– They are SO far ahead of US (IMO) as far as proactively asking about food allergies and preferences before every meal. It was cool to see.
– No souvenirs were purchased.
– As for your first exit from the US, I think you’ll have a very pleasant trip. To me, the easiest of international travel locations!
I just skimmed the responses and didn’t see mention of packing cubes. As a global traveler for work I insist you get compression packing cubes. They allow you to get more in a suitcase and make you feel like a champion when you bag is so organized! Plus a cube can double as a personal item if you need to carry one on because you’ve run out of room. I like these:
Compression Packing Cubes for… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Z7SLGMF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Exciting! I CANNOT wait for you to get back and tell us all about it. I plan to live vicariously through since the odds of me getting to England are slim to none.
This comment section has been amazing!! I love this corner of the internet. We’re going to England in August and this has been so helpful! Can’t wait to hear about your trip!!
I skimmed, like many before me, but didn’t see a few things:
I would highly recommend installing Apple Pay or Google Wallet before leaving. It is MUCH easier to tap to pay for something using your phone than swiping the card and having to explain to the cashier that you have to sign the receipt because the US is way behind and don’t do chip+PIN, but chip+signature. And the cashier will likely not be able to find a pen. (And this will happen EVERY TIME you visit that particular store, even though the cashier recognizes you but doesn’t remember the reason why you are memorable?)
If you can’t find the light switch in the bathroom, check just outside the bathroom for the switch or for a pull cord in the bathroom. Because water + electricity = bad, but in-line hot water heaters that are on the WALL OF THE SHOWER are totally fine, evidently? (As a bonus, they don’t tend to run out of hot water.)
There will likely be free wifi in most restaurants and pubs, but you might have to ask for the password. When we had friends visit, some managed to get by with no cell phone coverage, just using free wifi for their trip.
If you have trouble sleeping when it is too light out, consider an eye mask. Sunset in London today was 9:22pm.
Have fun! We lived in the UK for 3 years and I miss it a lot. Everyone was nice and friendly. The Cotswolds are beautiful.
So fun to read the comments! I’m inspired and off to re-watch that cute Olive Us video Designmom did of Ralph exploring London as a young tween.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet – London is designed for cooler weather, so if you are there during a hot stretch you may find the heat less bearable than you expect. There is a lot of stone and concrete which radiates heat and the public transport, especially the tube (subway) has very little ventilation, so consider bringing water and taking shade breaks at temperatures where you might nor usually need to. I’m Australian and was really surprised to have struggled so much with the heat in London.
All of my travel-in-England information is tragically outdated, but
People always say you must push through the first day and not take a nap. I think that’s nonsense, and recommend instead that if you can get into your hotel after lunch, do so, drink a LOT of water, and lie down. Your bladder will make you get up after a couple of hours, and then it’s time to power through. In England, that means it’s time to go for a stroll and hunt down a cream tea, then visit some gardens or other outdoor attractions. Early dinner, bed.
I had a dual-voltage travel hairdryer that switched internally, so although it looked as though it was set for European current, it was actually set for North America. If the hotel doesn’t have one, I think your plan of buying a cheap one there is smart.
The two things I wish I’d bought for cheap in the UK were a clunky brown teapot (yes, you can get them here, but they’re so much less expensive there) and eyelash dye, which at least when I was there was readily available at Boots. They may not trust you with the hydrocortisone cream, but you can dye your own lashes.
I also like buying refrigerator magnets and socks as souvenirs. Not sure what current regulations are, but it used to be that you couldn’t bring in meat or dairy from overseas, which is a shame because I love cheese so very much. And yes, you can just buy it here, but what could be better than Souvenir Cheese?
London is a place of so many museums, so little time, but if you have a soft spot for English eccentrics (most of whom were probably terrible people in real life, but let’s look at their stuff anyway), Sir john Soane’s Museum (https://www.soane.org/) is a must.
You can order Elizabeth a vegetarian meal for the flights, which is still pretty awful, but at least would be an option.
So excited for you, Swistle! I love visiting England. Most of my advice has already been given, but I want to double down on a few points:
– definitely have a full cream tea (potentially multiple times!), and try a high tea at least once
– please try McVittie’s biscuits
– in addition to visiting the Food Hall at Harrod’s, I also like Fortnum & Mason! Particularly I think their tea tins make a great souvenir, and they might still have ones commemorating the coronation (and the year you visited!). Plus their main color is very close to Swistle blue, which may be soothing!
– strongly agree with everyone who suggested that cheap used books are readily available at charity shops (thrift stores) all around, like Oxfam. Additionally they have some great authors that have never made it over the ocean to us, so I strongly recommend browsing a charity shop or bookstore even if you bring a stack of books. One of my favorite authors that I think you would like is Victoria Clayton.
– I personally love and agree with the recommendation for William Morris patterns and the V&A gift shop and think those are great for souvenirs too
– I absolutely love Portobello Road Market (especially on Saturdays) but it can be a bit overwhelming! I’ve found some amazing vintage stuff at great prices, though, and I really loved it when I was Elizabeth’s age too
I hope you have an amazing time, and I can’t wait to read about it!
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If any of the actual British people who have posted are still reading, can you clarify terms?
Americans often say “high tea” to mean elaborate 4 o’clockish treats served with tea, but I thought that was “afternoon tea,” and “high tea” was basically supper: solid homey food, served with tea. Has that changed? Or are we still separated by a common language?
(I once saw a young American woman trying to introduce her parents to the joys of cream tea getting very worked up about the “fruit scones” listed on the menu. “We just want plain scones! Just plain!” The server kept trying to say these were typical scones, and my peer clearly was expecting pineapple chunks or something, not just a few unobtrusive dried currants)
English person here! I would say that we don’t commonly use the phrase “high tea”.
“Afternoon tea” in a cafe or restaurant would typically be fancy sandwiches, little cakes and scones with jam and clotted cream.
“Cream tea” would be the scones and jam and cream with tea but no sandwiches or little cakes.
High tea is used far less than it used to be. It was originally used to indicate a heartier meal that was served on the dining table (high) rather than in the sitting room or garden (low tables).
It’s now basically afternoon tea (small sandwiches, scones and cakes) with the addition of some heartier dishes like quiche and Welsh Rarebit etc. Both high and afternoon tea have also grown in amounts – originally afternoon tea was to fill the gap between lunch and a later dinner served at about 8 o’clock and was fairly dainty. I would challenge most people to be able to eat a whole hotel-style afternoon tea served these days and then still need dinner!
I’d add that old fashioned high tea is still popular in Scotland, usually fish and chips or steak pie, with lots of bread and butter. It might be served any time from about 4.30pm onwards. After you’ve eaten that, you might just have a snack at bedtime, but no later dinner or other evening meal.
So (I’m English) my understanding is that afternoon tea is little sandwiches, scones, cakes, tea – or at a push just some kind of cake and tea.
‘High’ tea would be a jazzed up, more substantial version of that with more food and maybe something hot involved, say for an evening when you needed to eat early but wouldn’t then eat an evening meal later on.
Fun thing. I am reading this IN LONDON! While I wait for my kids to pack. They are taking an eternity and we are missing morning tourist things and it is fine. Perfect weather. Extremely easy to navigate by tube/underground. Have so much fuuuun!
I am assuming that your kids did eventually pack and you were awarded a gold star for not going off on them. Congratulations!
Congratulations! What a fun trip you’ll have!
I’d stick with your instincts to pack as lightly as your personality will allow (my personality strongly wants to be prepared for every scenario, so I always pack heavy). I tried to pack for every scenario on our Paris/Venice trip and seriously regretted schlepping all that stuff around from plane to taxi to subway down the streets to hotel and then all over again then we moved to another area. As you said, you can buy anything you forget or that crops up unexpectedly (plus, those items double as practical souvenirs – you’ll get a kick for months or years from using your British umbrella, your British lipstick, your British hair brush, your British socks, etc), but, if you’re like me, you won’t be able to leave behind any items brought from home that are weighing you down!
Enjoy!
Swistle, I am SO excited for your trip! I’m in England, and you’ve already been given so much excellent advice, but I will just add my two pen’orth (a little bit of English slang for you :) )…
There are tons and tons of options for vegetarians, vegans, and excellent labelling for allergies and intolerances. And if you are ever in doubt you can always ask.
If you’re bothered by the temperature, you can check with your hotel/rental whether it will have air conditioning. If I was travelling this summer I would look into handheld fans, cooling towels, that sort of thing – it’s been pretty warm here.
If it rains, you could always buy an umbrella as a souvenir! Available everywhere very cheaply, in both normal and very souvenir-y designs! Other souvenirs I pick up are tea towels, food/snacks (depending on the rules for what you can take back into your country), and bits and pieces from supermarkets – hand sanitizer, tissues, etc.
Ooh! Supermarket bags for life (reusable shopping bags), tote bags, etc. they would probably be my number one souvenir.
Books – very cheap in charity shops everywhere, and not especially expensive new in shops like Waterstones, a chain bookshop.
You will see a lot of the same chains over and over again, lots have been mentioned already but I would add that Waitrose (supermarket) and John Lewis (department store) are usually seen as being a little bit “fancier” if you were in the mood for that!
I would definitely get clothes/shoes etc. in Marks & Spencer’s.
Don’t worry about looking like a tourist, everywhere you’re going will have plenty of tourists from all of the world, and styles are so international these days, I don’t think it’s even a thing. The only thing you could do to signal “tourist” would be to have your whole party wear matching t-shirts – but no-one would bat an eye at that anyway (and I think they are adorable!).
Use your normal awareness for being in cities, don’t leave your phone in your back pocket, and NEVER leave bags unattended.
If you have any questions or worries at all, I think this comments section shows that your readers are delighted to help :) so do just ask us!
And be prepared to go home with a little bit of an English accent!
How exciting – I feel happy and excited for you! As someone who is based in Europe (Germany), I feel I can give advice in regard to weather-related questions. I would pack things that layer well – like, for example, a tank top with a lightweight cardigan to go on top that can additionally be topped off with a sweater or jacket. As for legwear, I would pack a variation of long and short, like a couple of shorts/skirts and a certain number of leggings/jeans/trousers – in my experience, the weather in England may be quite unpredictable.
I hope you have a safe journey and a very enjoyable stay!!
Is this thing that no one wants cash true outside of big cities? I’m going to England later this summer and am mostly going to small towns or non-touristy types of places. Can you use cash in grocery stores? Gift shops? I ask because family has already given us quite a bit of cash pounds.
Don’t worry, you’ll be fine with cash in the vast majority of places! Yes, there are some instances where it’s card only, just like there are some where it’s cash only, but categorically most places take both.
How exciting! I’m British and from the UK but it’s hard to know what advice to give because I’m from here and everything seems normal to me!
It has been very hot and dry in the south of England recently but today we’ve had high humidity and showers! You’ll need layers!
People do tip here for sit-down meals. About 10-15% It’s optional but is usually added on onto your bill.
You might be reassured to know that I am also immune compromised and I do wear a mask on public transport. Everyone is accepting of that! There’s also anti-bacterial/anti-viral hand gel in most places. There are usually tables outside pubs and restaurants, that’s a good way to avoid being in an enclosed space and catching germs! All food outlets have a hygiene rating that must be displayed. There’s a green and black sticker on every restaurant/cafe window, 1 is the worst, 5 is the best. I don’t ever eat anywhere below 4!
Picnics are another good option! There are parks and green spaces all over London and you’ll see lots of people having their lunch in the park. So pop into a shop, grab a sandwich or other picknicky foods (Scotch eggs and sausage rolls are traditional!) and enjoy your meal al-fresco!
A bus tour and/or a boat tour down the Thames is a wonderful way to see the sights without exhausting yourself! Look up TFL (Transport for London) river boat for a normal boat trip rather than a guided trip.
Citymapper is a VERY useful app for figuring out how to get from A to B.
Definitely book online for the spa in Bath. It’s called Thermae Bath Spa. The views from the rooftop pool are gorgeous and it’ll be a relaxing interlude!
My final piece of advice is “don’t overthink it”. Sometimes when you’re in a new place there’s a feeling of needing to have the “best” of something. Whether that’s the “best fish and chips” or the “best cream tea”. Don’t let that get in the way of having a good time and eating when you’re hungry!
My favorite souvenirs from my trip to the UK are used books by UK based authors (hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and Sherlock Holmes). Tons of wonderful used book shops over there.
I also got a teeny tiny wee red telephone box that lives on top of a door frame in my kitchen that makes me smile whenever I notice it.
Also of note, I needed bandaids for blisters after all the walking I did while I was over there and most of the “plasters” that I bought were awful and wished I had brought some decent ones from home.
I was just going to say rest if possible. We spend a few hours every afternoon doing nothing but resting in our vacation condo, have done so for years. There are simply limits to how much stimulation we can all take and we love to decompress. In a go go go World it is so indulgent and rejuvenating.
I JUST got back from two weeks in Iceland (a few hours ago) and I’ve been to England twice, so I’m full of (probably useless) advise ;)
For jet lag, I suggest powering through until 6 or 7 and then going to bed as early as possible—like 8:00 early. Every hotel I’ve stayed at in Europe has a hair dryer, so unless your kids REALLY are dependent on it I’d chance it and not buy anything..
I love international travel, but it always takes me a few days to get used to things being different wherever I’m at. So I always go in knowing that things will be weird at first. That doesn’t mean that you won’t love the trip.
Don’t try and see everything. See a few things really well instead of 20 things for 5 minutes. That being said, my favorite London things are the Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms, and the Harry Potter studio tour (a bus ride away). Don’t underestimate the need for down time. It’s OK if you have an early night or a late start one morning. It’s still a vacation!
Some of my favorite things have been activities that people have deemed too “touristy” in guidebooks. So don’t let that stop you if it looks like fun!
Have the BEST TIME!
I’ve been to England five times; my sister lived there for two years. One of the times I went, I was vegetarian and did not have any trouble finding delicious food to eat. Don’t discount pubs as restaurants. They have a great ambiance and the food is always good. I love a full English and I always order it vegetarian because I don’t like English breakfast meats and I have no desire to try blood sausage.
The last time I was there was in 2017 with my sister. We were in London, Bath, and Cardiff. Kew Gardens was my favorite spot in London. We spent the afternoon there and hardly saw much because there was so much to see. The greenhouse is amazing.
Bath was our favorite city. I’ve seen recommendations for the Thermae Bath Spa. The rooftop and lower level swimming pools are swimming pools. At one point my sister looked at me and asked if people don’t have swimming pools in England because it got a little boring. The floor with all the spa things – musical showers, two steam rooms, one sauna, the planetarium room – was the best part, in our opinion. It was a lot of fun to try all the places and it’s included in the price.
It was being renovated so it was closed but I would have loved to go to the Bath Postal Museum. It seems like something up your alley.
Finally, we went to Sally Lunn’s and got one of her famous buns with jam. You may have a different experience but it tasted like a hamburger bun with jam. I don’t think it’s worth it. If I go back, I want to try a Bath bun, which is an entirely different item.
I hope you and your family have the best time.
One more thing I thought of reading the comments – baguette sandwiches and jacket potatoes. Both are delicious and there’s lot of variety. You might think a Jarlsberg and olive sandwich wouldn’t taste good but it’s great. My favorite jacket potato is Heinz beans with cheese. I went to World Market and bought some cans just so I can make them at home although they’ll never match what I got there.
You might bring back a bone china tea mug. They are almost impossible to find over here except for British import shops. I would go to England just to get some. Bon voyage!
As a vegetarian, England was THE BEST. I mean in many other ways also but as a vegetarian, WOW. Starburst are vegetarian there. I went to a very average-looking pub and they had a full Sunday roast type dinner available as vegetarian, including vegetarian Yorkshire puddings! And the crisps all say “suitable for vegetarians” or not on them, so you don’t have to wonder about sneaky “natural flavoring” and the ROAST CHICKEN flavor is vegetarian! And my favorite! Close second is cheese and onion. Why are these flavors not available in the states???? If I went those are the things I would stuff my suitcase with for home: starburst, crisps, and fox’s chocolate covered biscuits. Trust me.
Roast chicken crisps are the best of the best.
And totally agree, the UK is actually great for veggies and these days even for vegans. We mostly do really well with things like coeliac disease too – our tiny village fish and chip shop uses gluten free batter one night a week for example and makes sure there’s no cross-contamination.
We had a magical trip to London in October 2019, the before times. Our hotel bathroom had a powerful hairdryer in it. Every restaurant asks about allergies/preferences. If you possibly can, in London, treat yourself to Monmouth Coffee, and get some beans to take home. Any corner convenience store will have interesting sweet and salty snacks. Paddington Station is amazingly huge and has TWO groceries in it. The Museum of Natural History is SOOO big and has fantastic souvenir shopping, esp. stuffed animal friends. Seven Dials is a shopping area worth seeing. Wagamama has delicious Japanese food. We watched videos by Roberts of London beforehand, and they were very helpful. We took the Tube on a Sunday afternoon to get to Paddington Station and Abbey Road, and it turned out a cab would have been faster and cheaper, but the adventure was so worth it. You will love it. Have a blast!!!