post-trip air travel

I"m not sure who to ask? I have a couple of questions:

1. Our cruise disembarks at Southampton/London in the early morning hours. We'd like to see a few sights? Any suggestions in a 8 hour time frame?

2. What is the preferred return trip to the US....London to Madrid...to USA or London to Rome. We will have several hours for our layover. We hoped to get in a little sight-seeing?

You have all of London as a start. What sorts of things interest you?

Why not fly direct from London. Should be able to find flights to every major US city.

Do you have some extra time to spend in Spain or Italy? If so, that is great, otherwise London to the US is the most direct.

The most obvious return to me would be London to the major city nearest your home. Or London to NYC spend a couple of days then fly home.

I"m not sure who to ask? I have a couple of questions:

 

1. Our cruise disembarks at Southampton/London in the early morning hours. We'd like to see a few sights? Any suggestions in a 8 hour time frame?

 

 

 

2. What is the preferred return trip to the US....London to Madrid...to USA or London to Rome. We will have several hours for our layover. We hoped to get in a little sight-seeing?

Plenty of direct non-stop

flights from LHR to major US hub cities.

You say "an 8-hour time frame" - can you be a bit more specific?

Your disembarkation time (or ship arrival time) and flight departure time and airport?

And what ship / disembarkation date / day-of-the-week? They all make a difference.

For instance if you're looking at the 8 hours between a 5am arrival (but earliest disembarkation is usually about 7am) and a 1pm flight you'll have no time at all to go into central London, but if you have a clear 8 hours in London that's more than long enough for a pretty good overview.

There are European flights from Southampton's own airport - ideal if you want a couple of post-cruise days in a European hub like Paris or Amsterdam before flying home, but not worth the extra time & cost for just a few hours layover.

Stacks of direct US flights from London Heathrow (LHR) and to a few places like Florida & Vegas from London Gatwick (LGW)

JB :)

We used to stay over a couple of nights in London.

Then fly from London to New York City and then to Pittsburgh.

If you only have 8-hours between disembarkation in Southampton and a flight, then as JB mentioned, you have no time for sightseeing. Southampton to London Heathrow may only be 65 miles, but depending on the day/time of day it can take many hours.

London is also a huge city with many, many attractions. I just can't imagine only visiting for a couple of hours.

LHR is Europe's major hub, so you should not need to go via another European airport. Most major US airlines operate out of LHR.

Yes, at European airports, flying to the US, you really want to be at the airport 3 hours before departure. Just in case. Many times, you will have enhanced security that will take extra time.

And yes, you can fly LHR to every US hub using either US carriers (Delta, United, American) or British Airways. No reason to fly to any other European city.

From Paddington Station to the airport is only a max of 30 minutes (15 minute train ride, trains every 15 minutes). But unless you are near Paddington, it take take a while to get there.

And YES, take a few days (weeks if you can), London is wonderful. And the museums are FREE.