talk to me about Wales (and London and Dublin)

[Anonymous]

Husband has a conference in Wales this summer, and we're considering making a 2 week family trip out of it. Kids are 5 and 8 and are in to castles, so I think it would be a good fit. However, I'm not sure where to start in terms of planning. Anybody been to Wales? Any advice?

Also, I'm considering flying into London, taking a few days there, then exploring Wales and possibly taking a ferry to Dublin to depart. Thoughts on that itinerary? Am I making things needlessly complicated by flying into London and out of Dublin?

[Anonymous]

Priority should be for the kids to see London. Most important: The Tower of London. Then go on the London Eye, ride a Double Decker bus sitting on top floor, see Buckingham Palace.

How does Husband feel about missing these? Timing would mostly depend on his desire to be included, otherwise do these things with the kids on your own. Meet up w/husband after the conference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Priority should be for the kids to see London. Most important: The Tower of London. Then go on the London Eye, ride a Double Decker bus sitting on top floor, see Buckingham Palace.

How does Husband feel about missing these? Timing would mostly depend on his desire to be included, otherwise do these things with the kids on your own. Meet up w/husband after the conference.

PP have you ever been to Wales?

[Anonymous]

We went to Wales several years ago for a night We stayed in Cardiff which was a nice city. I don't remember much of what we did, but we did go to to cool outside museum about the history of Welsh life. We didn't have kids when we went, but I think kids would like it.

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans/

We took our boys (7 and 9) to London last summer and had a blast. We spent a week there and still didn't see everything. I would do that plus Wales. I don't think you need to add in Dublin - that should be a separate trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Wales several years ago for a night We stayed in Cardiff which was a nice city. I don't remember much of what we did, but we did go to to cool outside museum about the history of Welsh life. We didn't have kids when we went, but I think kids would like it.

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans/

We took our boys (7 and 9) to London last summer and had a blast. We spent a week there and still didn't see everything. I would do that plus Wales. I don't think you need to add in Dublin - that should be a separate trip.

What did you do in London? What did your kids like best? Where did you stay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Wales several years ago for a night We stayed in Cardiff which was a nice city. I don't remember much of what we did, but we did go to to cool outside museum about the history of Welsh life. We didn't have kids when we went, but I think kids would like it.

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans/

We took our boys (7 and 9) to London last summer and had a blast. We spent a week there and still didn't see everything. I would do that plus Wales. I don't think you need to add in Dublin - that should be a separate trip.

What did you do in London? What did your kids like best? Where did you stay?

My older son liked the Tower of London best. My younger son liked the Tube and the chips.

We went to Tower of London, did the boat to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian, went to the London Transport Museum, saw the Changing of the Guard, saw Big Ben chime 12, walked through Hyde Park and Regents Park. We did not do the London Eye - too expensive and my kids didn't really seem to care. We walked a TON, and the kids were great on the Tube. We tried to get into Westminster Abbey, but it was too crowded the day we went. As I said, there was much more we could have done, but we had a really good time just walking around and seeing all the sights.

We rented an apartment through AirBnB in Mayfair. My husband used to live in Mayfair and it looked over his old house. The apartment was simple, but had everything we needed and was right by Bond Street Station.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Wales several years ago for a night We stayed in Cardiff which was a nice city. I don't remember much of what we did, but we did go to to cool outside museum about the history of Welsh life. We didn't have kids when we went, but I think kids would like it.

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans/

We took our boys (7 and 9) to London last summer and had a blast. We spent a week there and still didn't see everything. I would do that plus Wales. I don't think you need to add in Dublin - that should be a separate trip.

What did you do in London? What did your kids like best? Where did you stay?

My older son liked the Tower of London best. My younger son liked the Tube and the chips.

We went to Tower of London, did the boat to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian, went to the London Transport Museum, saw the Changing of the Guard, saw Big Ben chime 12, walked through Hyde Park and Regents Park. We did not do the London Eye - too expensive and my kids didn't really seem to care. We walked a TON, and the kids were great on the Tube. We tried to get into Westminster Abbey, but it was too crowded the day we went. As I said, there was much more we could have done, but we had a really good time just walking around and seeing all the sights.

We rented an apartment through AirBnB in Mayfair. My husband used to live in Mayfair and it looked over his old house. The apartment was simple, but had everything we needed and was right by Bond Street Station.

Thanks for the response. About how much did the apartment cost for a week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Wales several years ago for a night We stayed in Cardiff which was a nice city. I don't remember much of what we did, but we did go to to cool outside museum about the history of Welsh life. We didn't have kids when we went, but I think kids would like it.

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans/

We took our boys (7 and 9) to London last summer and had a blast. We spent a week there and still didn't see everything. I would do that plus Wales. I don't think you need to add in Dublin - that should be a separate trip.

What did you do in London? What did your kids like best? Where did you stay?

My older son liked the Tower of London best. My younger son liked the Tube and the chips.

We went to Tower of London, did the boat to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian, went to the London Transport Museum, saw the Changing of the Guard, saw Big Ben chime 12, walked through Hyde Park and Regents Park. We did not do the London Eye - too expensive and my kids didn't really seem to care. We walked a TON, and the kids were great on the Tube. We tried to get into Westminster Abbey, but it was too crowded the day we went. As I said, there was much more we could have done, but we had a really good time just walking around and seeing all the sights.

We rented an apartment through AirBnB in Mayfair. My husband used to live in Mayfair and it looked over his old house. The apartment was simple, but had everything we needed and was right by Bond Street Station.

Thanks for the response. About how much did the apartment cost for a week?

This is the apartment we rented:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/944539

The price has gone up since we booked it. I think we paid a little less than $2000 for the week. It was small, but served the purpose.

[Anonymous]

Cardiff and London would be lots of fun. Cardiff has Caerphilly Castle a short train ride away on the outskirts of the city, and Cardiff Castle in the city. We enjoyed both of them. The Tower of London was really neat, and castle-y. You could book day trips with tour bus companies from London to see Bath and Stonehenge, castles outside of London, etc. if you prefer not to rent a car and drive yourself. I'm not sure what the price differential would be from flying into London but out of Dublin. There are also cheap flights between cities in that area (you could throw in Scotland instead of Ireland) or you could take a train to Paris from London.

I would pick up guide books and see what strikes your family's fancy.