British Airways layover, time for sightseeing??

[pmc7704]

I read recently of a cruiser who took British Airways to connect to Venice, so that she could have a long layover and do some sightseeing. I checked the schedule, and it's possible to get a layover of 21 hours. Seems like this would give us time to see some things, and break up the trip a little. I would love to hear from anyone who's done this, with suggestions on what you can see in that time frame.

[harrodsfan]

Well it depends on when the 21 hours are....

Lets say its daytime...

Obviously I would suggest going to Harrods if you need to shop.

Also get a ticket on a round London sightseeing tour Hop on hop off bus.

stop and see The tower of London and Westminster Abby.

If time St. pauls and Covent Garden area.

Eat at a Pub or have a real English tea.

If you are there in the evening try to see a play. check What's on stage website for ideas.

I changed a flight to 8 hours later in 1996 so I could have time in London. (I was on my way from Los Angeles to Mombasa to catch a cruise boat. )Best idea I could have had. With two nights on an airplane the time in London got me tired which was great as I slept soundly on the leg to Mombasa and had no jet lag.

I would go for it.....;)

[Jane110]

If you're flying on BA's Business or First Class they have a wonderful arrivals lounge where you can have a shower, breakfast and a massage, all complimentary before heading out for your day.

 

I agree with going on the hop on hop off bus if you're never been to London. It'll take you to the tourist sites that you want to see as well as give you a nice look at London.

[Globaliser]

I checked the schedule, and it's possible to get a layover of 21 hours. Seems like this would give us time to see some things, and break up the trip a little.

Very good! Yes, it's a legal connection and it would definitely give you enough time to see some things in London.

 

You will have to make one strategic decision, though, namely where to stay. I expect that you're looking at arriving from Miami at about 10 am, and flying to Venice at about 7 am the following day. On current schedules, the Miami flight arrives at Heathrow, and the Venice flight leaves from Gatwick. A 7 am departure means a pretty early check-in time.

 

So you have three options.

 

Either you can go straight from Heathrow to Gatwick when you arrive, and check in to a hotel there (I'd recommend the Meridien at the North Terminal for convenience for your early check-in: but it's soon to become an Arora, I think). Then get the train to London, sightsee as much as you want and then come back to the hotel. All you then need to do is drag yourself over to the terminal to check-in in the morning, which is about a 5 minute walk. The disadvantage is that you will spend time doing this when you arrive.

 

Another alternative is to go straight into town when you arrive at Heathrow and stay in a hotel there. The advantage is that you will get to the sights faster, without the grand detour; the disadvantage is that it's an awfully early start the next morning to get yourself to the train and then to Gatwick (the same if you're going to be taken to Gatwick by car).

 

The third alternative is to go into town, drop your luggage at the left luggage place at one of the railway stations (perhaps Victoria) and then sightsee. At the end of the day, go back to the station, pick up your bag, go to Gatwick and check-in to a hotel there. This is probably the most creative but least conventional solution. But if you're creative enough to construct a legal 21-hour connection, then this may be the thing for you.

[reanbr2000]

I agree with everyone else~ go for it!

 

I had a 12 hour layover in London when I went on a missions trip to Rwanda. We flew from Newark to London, and then had 12 hours before our flight to Nairobi (going to and from Heathrow). We hopped on the Underground right from the airport. There was a group of about 20 of us, and in that short amount of time, we saw the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, walked through Trafalgar Square and had lunch, shopped a little, stopped to take pictures of Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Big Ben, and went for a ride on the London Eye.

 

It exhausted all of us, so we slept easily on our flight to Africa. As a result, I didn't have any jet lag once we got there. My only advice to you is to make sure that you sleep on your flight to London~ or you will want to sleep the entire time you are walking around.

[High C's]

I agree with the posting above regarding the hop on/off bus. We used this system last year, and it is absolutely the best way to see the most with the least effort. The tube system is wonderful (recent incidents aside) and will get you where you need to be in a heartbeat. But if you want to see everything, you're best to stay above ground and use the tour bus system. You always have the option to "hop off" at any specific location you wish to explore further, then hop back on again to carry on.

 

Bon voyage!

[mitaxi]

I understand how to use the tube/or tour buses and would love to plan a layover in London -BUT what do you do with your luggage? Our layover would probably occur after our 12 day cruise-

Thanks for the help

[Globaliser]

BUT what do you do with your luggage? Our layover would probably occur after our 12 day cruise

See my post above (#4) for some ideas.

 

I should have said that the company that runs the baggage storage facilities at the railway stations is the same company that runs those facilities at Heathrow and Gatwick.

[mitaxi]

the earilier post with the long layover -got me rethinking our flights:)

 

SO in checking I can get a legal 23 hour-layover conection (after our cruise) in London - we don't change airlines (British AIrways) or airport (Heathrow)

 

SO DO we get our luggage durring the layover or (better yet) does BA keep it (obviously except carryon) so we can get a hotel and not lug it

 

Thanks

[libramitch]

Shortly after 9/11 we traveled to London. While clearing customs, I watched the custom agent verbally grill an individual who wanted to go into London during his layover. After a few moments of grilling, she told the individual to make his way to his next gate and wait for his plane. It was not a pleasant situation. With what has happened recently, I would definitely make sure that leaving the airport during a layover is feasible.

[Globaliser]

SO in checking I can get a legal 23 hour-layover conection (after our cruise) in London - we don't change airlines (British AIrways) or airport (Heathrow)

 

SO DO we get our luggage durring the layover or (better yet) does BA keep it (obviously except carryon) so we can get a hotel and not lug it

If you're on a connection on a single ticket, you should be able to ask the airline to through-check the baggage so that you don't have to pick it up during the layover. The check-in agent may ask you whether you want that to happen or whether you'd like your bags back in London - or they may even make an assumption that you do, whereupon you will have to ask them to through-check them. And there's no guarantee that there won't be some change in policy by the time you travel - just remember to be prepared to be flexible.

 

At worst, there is a baggage storage facility at each terminal at Heathrow - the current charge is £5.50 per item per day - so this is an option if you really are unable to through-check your bags but you still don't want to carry them to your hotel.

 

Make sure that you can carry on everything that you will need during the stopover. There are limits on cabin baggage, and sometimes they will be strictly enforced. Check BA's website for details.

 

There should normally be no immigration problems. I suspect that the person that libramitch saw was someone who would have required a visa (or a different type of visa from the one he had) in order to do this. Most citizens of Western countries will not have this issue.

[pcur]

Another option: we have our air with British Airways and they frequently include 2 night stopovers in London as part of the fare. They also run fares that include 2 nights hotel. If you haven't already booked your air, look for these.

 

We got ours through bestfares.com, but you can book directly through BA, too. I found the cost with bestfares to be cheaper than what BA was offering on their website for our particular special.

[pmc7704]

I was just checking on ITA for airfares, and for BA they show some flights with layovers of up to 46 hours This was on an open jaw flight, Tampa to Venice, and return of Barcelona to Tampa. Granted., the cost was a little more than domestic airlines, but it may be worth it. I've sent an e-mail to BA asking about the layover restrictions, if there are any, and baggage issues. I'll let you all know if I receive an answer.

[Globaliser]

I was just checking on ITA for airfares, and for BA they show some flights with layovers of up to 46 hours This was on an open jaw flight, Tampa to Venice, and return of Barcelona to Tampa. Granted., the cost was a little more than domestic airlines, but it may be worth it.

You can always build a stopover into any journey. If the routing shows a connection time of 46 hours, then it'll be priced as a stopover rather than a connection. Sometimes it's more expensive, but not always, and often it's not much more expensive even if you do have a stopover rather than a long "connection".

 

To book these trips online, sometimes you will have to go to the multi-stop option in the relevant website. Some are better or friendlier than others in doing this.

 

But if you have the option of BA at a decent price, it's worth paying a bit more than for most other airlines, isn't it, even on the same routing?

[pmc7704]

Received an answer from BA. Here' what they said:

 

When booking online, we regret that it is not possible to make a

reservation arriving at one city and continuing your journey or

returning from another. If you need to book such a journey, please call

your local Reservations office. Click here for British Airways

telephone numbers.

 

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ctclist/public/en_

 

However, should you wish to depart from one city and arrive back into a

different one (eg depart New York, arrive back into Boston), this type

of journey can be booked by selecting the Book one-way and

multi-city option at the beginning of the booking process.

 

You can only have your baggage through-checked if your British Airways

flight connects with another British Airways flight on the same day.

 

Even though you may have booked this as a connecting flight, the airport

views this as a stopover as your baggage would have to be stowed

overnight. For this reason you will have to collect your baggage from

your first British Airways flight and check your baggage in again the

following day for your next British Airways flight.

 

For further assistance to your queries, please call your local British

Airways office where one of our agents would be able to advise you.

 

So, we'd have to collect luggage, and book through a travel agent, but still not a bad option. Really worth considering, like adding a country and a couple days to your trip ! :D

[Globaliser]

That's a pity about the bags - but at least the left luggage place is pretty easy to use.

 

Not being able to book an open-jaw-at-destination is probably the second most aggravating thing about ba.com - they keep promising that they will fix it and it's still overdue.