My wife and I are taking the Globus London Week tour in November, and I have a few questions. Most are general, and I'm sure anyone who has been on a Globus tour of London can help me.

Please forgive me if some of the questions seem obvious to seasoned travelers; I've only been to Europe once, and that was in the Marines so it was a whole different experience!

1. How difficult is it to exchange money? Any problem using the ATMs over there? I'm wary of exchanging too much before we leave, and then wandering around London with wads of cash. (My wife and I are a little adventurous, and we'll likely spend a lot of time in punk clubs, seedy pubs, and the like.)

2. We'll need plug adaptors, right? Can anyone recommend a good place to get them, and which kind we'll need?

3. Has anyone done a tour that included a pass for the London Eye? Ours does, but we can't let them know when we want to go yet, and I'm afraid the spots will be booked up by the time we get over there. I assume Globus buys blocks of tickets, but is there any elbow room as far as the day and time you want to go?

4. I've seen a lot of things online about the London Visitor travel card. Unlimited use of tubes and buses within London for a week is about $40 each. Seems like a good deal. Is it?

4. Finally - and this seems to be one of the biggest questions on this forum - the optional excursions. This being our first tour experience, we have no concept of what they might cost. The only one we're really considering is the Bath & Stonehenge trip, and we'd like to get some idea of what that will run us.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Yes your questions are obvious to the seasoned traveler, but who cares they are Good ones (lol). . First the ATM's are Everywhere and are very easy to find, plus they tend to give the BEST exchange rates AND there is only a standard "Transaction Fee" ($2-$3 usually) as opposed to a bigger Fee/Charge the Currency exchange places add on.. ..Use ATM's. Notify your Bank and Credit Card companies that you will be using the cards in England, that way they wont put a STOP on the card(s) because of Unusual activity. While your at it contact your Medical Insurance carrier to see what to do "IF" your fall at one of the "Punk Clubs" better safe than sorry. Plug adapters are needed, it is a 3 prong type (looks like a 220 type a little) and can be found at places like radio shack, walmart (i think) and electronics stores.. ..we got a set on line for about 1/2 the stores cost.
London Eye has plenty of room as they only allow so many per room/glass capsule and tickets shouldn't be a problem at all. Look the London eye up on the internet and it will show you how big and roomy the viewing things are and how much you can see from it. Get the "London Pass" the Buses and Tube are the ONLY way to go as cars are very restricted and a pain to park. The bus & tube is perfect to go ANYWHERE you want in London. It is a very Good deal and you will happy you got it.
The Optionals are really more what sounds good to You and most are in the $40-$65 dollar range. Stonehengeis a must see , but thats just my opinion and Bath was Interesting but not on my must see list.. ..again we all have different likes/dislikes. Well hope this helps a little and BTW You are Going to LOVE London.. .. . it has everything for everyone and the people are GREAT.

Thanks very much for your help! It makes me feel a lot better about the tour to know a few details. I'm very hands-on and independent when it comes to travelling, so it has been hard to deal with a travel agent saying, "Don't worry about it, it's all taken care of." I need to KNOW!

I'm definitely going to go ahead and get the travel card. And, assuming the timing works out for the stonehenge trip, we will take that excursion as well. I'm really looking forward to this trip!

Thanks again,

Jon

I second everything that Brian said.

1. ATMs work just fine over there. We don't use them at home and were nervous but they were no problem. The first one we used in London did not accept our card after two tries, so we walked away to another one nearby and it worked fine from them on out. Not sure what the problem was with the first one. We used a card from a credit union which just charged $1 per transaction. There is also a 1% conversion fee. Our regular bank would have charged about $4 per transaction. No big deal but it did save us a few bucks to use the credit union one.

2. There are two parts to the plug adaptor. One is the voltage converter and the other is the plug part that fits into the wall. The plug part for England is different than the plug part for the rest of Europe.

We did find out that there are two kinds. The kind we bought originally is for hair dryers and heat-producing appliances. We got it from Office Max.

We later realized that we needed a different one to recharge my son's Game Boy. The one we bought for him was from Radio Shack and the plugs were permanently attached to the voltage adapter. You just pulled out whichever one you wanted.

I read somewhere that if yours is a two part thing (voltage adaptor separate from plug) that is it a good idea to attach them together with electrical tape so that you don't accidentally leave the plug in the wall when you leave. I thought that was kind of silly until one day when I did it. Fortunately, it wasn't a day that we were leaving the hotel.

The adaptors we bought ran about $25.

3. We didn't do the London Eye - saw it but didn't do it. I don't know if Globus buys up blocks of tickets or not. No mention of that was made when we went. But our tour was only in London for 3 nights.

4. We didn't see that weekly pass for the tube but of course we were only there a couple of days so it probably wouldn't have been worth it. However we did buy daily passes and went all over the city with them. The tube is really handy. They have a web site that you can go to if you want to study it out a little.

5. I have our booklet that listed some of the optionals that we could take. Here is what were listed for London (money in US dollars):

Tower of London and Crown Jewels $52.
Windsor Castle $52
Bath and Stonehenge $82 (full day - Tuesdays and Fridays)
Lion King - $134
Phantom of the Opera - $134.

I deleted a couple that were seasonal and weren't available in November.

If you are interested in the Tower of London and Crown Jewels, you could do that one on your own. It cost somewhere around $25 to get in the Tower of London. You could use the tube to get there.

In our two full days, some of the things that we did on our own were:

Thames River tour
Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian (took the Thames River tour to get there and the tube back)
Mousetrap - longest running play - we did a matinee
Globe Theater tour

By the way, on our way back from Greenwich, one of the tube stop stations overlooked a shopping area that said some name of store - division of Wal-mart. If we had seen it more quickly, I think it would have been fun to stop there and see what it was like. I'll be it would have been a good place to pick up reasonably priced sourvenirs.

Debbie

Thanks for the tips! I'll most certainly tape the adaptors together, because I would lose my head if it wasn't attached.

When I first started planning this trip (before we even found a travel agent) I had wanted to go see The Mousetrap in London (my wife has never been to a murder mystery, and that's one of the best), and since then I had forgotten all about it. I'm definitely going to get tickets for that!

We'll probably just see the tower of London on our own, but I think the convenience of seeing Bath & Stonehenge with the tour is worth $85 or so.

I'm going to buy that London Travel Card now. For anyone else who's looking for one - it pays to shop around. There are some sites that charge $40, and some that charge as little as $32. Then there are sites that charge the same amount, but only send you a voucher for a pass (which you then have to redeem at certain tube stations around London). . The best one I've seen is http://www.railpass.com. . A 7-day pass for central London is $35. With Fed Ex shipping the total for two is $82. Well worth it, I think, for a week of unlimited free travel on tubes & buses.

Thanks again for all your help! I'm sure I'll have more questions as the date gets closer!

Thanks for the tips! I'll most certainly tape the adaptors together, because I would lose my head if it wasn't attached.

When I first started planning this trip (before we even found a travel agent) I had wanted to go see The Mousetrap in London (my wife has never been to a murder mystery, and that's one of the best), and since then I had forgotten all about it. I'm definitely going to get tickets for that!

We'll probably just see the tower of London on our own, but I think the convenience of seeing Bath & Stonehenge with the tour is worth $85 or so.

I'm going to buy that London Travel Card now. For anyone else who's looking for one - it pays to shop around. There are some sites that charge $40, and some that charge as little as $32. Then there are sites that charge the same amount, but only send you a voucher for a pass (which you then have to redeem at certain tube stations around London). . The best one I've seen is http://www.railpass.com. . A 7-day pass for central London is $35. With Fed Ex shipping the total for two is $82. Well worth it, I think, for a week of unlimited free travel on tubes & buses.

Thanks again for all your help! I'm sure I'll have more questions as the date gets closer!

oops.. .. . I posted that twice.
Sorry!

All of you have been very helpful! I went to Italy with Globus and loved it. I was considering GATE 1 for London next year and have just read the Gate 1 Thread on this BB. I don't know what to do! So many bad reviews!!

Can I ask a few more questions? How was the hotel on the Globus tour? Were the optionals worth the price? Is it easy to navigate London. Gate 1 offered much more of a tour at a cheaper price but now I am nervous to use them. Thanks!

>Can I ask a few more questions? How was the hotel on the Globus tour? Were the optionals worth the price? Is it easy to navigate London. Gate 1 offered much more of a tour at a cheaper price but now I am nervous to use them. Thanks!

We stayed at the Ramada Hyde Park. It was midway between two tube stops so fairly convenient. The hotel itself was OK. There was nothing bad about it - but it was not what I'd call "really nice" either. There were three of us so we had 3 single beds. They were touching each other with the first very close to the window. There was enough floor space for our line-up of suitcases and that was about it.

The lobby was a small area with the front desk and several chairs - smaller than most lobbies in American hotels.

Everything was clean and the hotel was perfectly adequate - but it wasn't fancy - think Comfort not Mariott. Or, I suppose (G), think Ramada.

We didn't go on any optionals in London. We did everything that we wanted to do on our own.

It was easy to navigate London. We bought tube passes and rode it all over the city. Very efficient, clean, and convenient.

We did not take the bus as the tube went everywhere that we wanted.

Debbie

We did a week in four years ago with Globus. A half day tour was included , but not the London Eye. The conciege at the hotel got us tickets for the Eye. I would suggest that you wait until afternoon. We went at mid morning and the fog had not completely burned off.

Don't depend completely on ATM. We've heard stories where people couldn't get money from the ATMs. We carry dollars, traveler checks that either of us can sign, and puchase some pounds before we leave from a large bank. The traveler checks can be cashed at banks or Marks and Spenser Department store. Stay away from exchanging at hotel or the little shops in London. We used our credit cards when possible. We both have a money belt that hangs around our necks. We keep our credit cards, passports, cash and checks with us most of the time. If you want, you can put your valuables in the hotel safe. The personnel at Globus's reception desk can be a big help. You may get a packet of discount coupons that may be of some value.

You normally can purchase the electrical adapters at the luggage department of large department store or at the luggage store in a mall.

Using a travel card is a great way to travel in London. I wouldn't go to London without one.

If you aren't happy with what Globus has to offer as far as optional tours, try Frame Rickards, Evan Evans, Gray Tours or one of the companies that offer day tours. Most will pick you up at your hotel and drop you off after the tour at their station in central London. The one we took was left from the Victoria Station bus terminal and it was easy for us to get back to the hotel using the underground. We took a day tour to Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, and Dover, and another to Hampton Court, Windor Castle with lunch on a canal boat. All the tour companies have web sites which describe their tours.

Once you have your tour with Globus and become familiar with London, you won't have trouble getting around London. We also took in a musical with dinner as a Globus option. What was nice is they provided the transpotation and the seating was excellent at the theatre. We also bought tickets at the half price box office and saw "Chicago" the last time we were in London.