Expert: David Stewart White - 12/19/2009

Question
QUESTION: My 21 yr old son will be studying abroad his college senior year at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. He will be traveling alone and arriving at the Heathrow airport Jan. 2nd and wants to see the sights of London before having to be in Amsterdam on Jan. 6th. Do you have "cheap" suggestions on what to see (he's into beer/pubs!-go figure!)and history, bus tours and not into shopping.  (He currently has a flight scheduled on Jan. 2nd from Heathrow to Amsterdam-but decided to stay in London since he just found out he doesn't need to be Amsterdam until Jan. 6th and will just cancel that flight---so if you have any suggestions if he does travel in London-another airport to fly out of to Amsterdam?  Or he can just change the date from the 2nd to the 6th out of LHR to Amsterdam.)

He's on a budget and he does not like to spend a lot of money. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

ANSWER: Hi,

Well beer and pubs are certainly a less expensive way to see London than champagne and Michelin-starred restaurants!  There are many online guides to the pub scene like:

www.pubs.com
www.fancyapint.com

and for general student-oriented activities, there's an online version of TimeOut that might be useful:

http://tinyurl.com/studentlondon

And all sorts of other references online.

Walking around London is virtually free and there's a lot of history to see there.  Many of the museums are free, but big sights like the Tower of London charge admission (usually they have student prices).  The London Underground and bus system are terrific--your son should get an electronic Oyster card (farecard) for use on the transport system.  These can be purchased at Heathrow in the arrivals hall of Terminal 5 and several other places at the airport. There are student fares, but they aren't practical for a short-term visitor.  Cheapest way from the airport to central London is the bus, but the best time/money value is the Underground.

Where to stay?  Sounds like a hostel is a possibility.  Here's a review on TripAdvisor.com of a supposedly good choice:

http://tinyurl.com/hostellondon

And there are hundreds of others...just choose carefully and look online to see what others say about them.

Regarding airline reservations.  Unless your son has a flexible ticket, I doubt it will be easy or cheap to change the flight.  Check the conditions on the ticket.  For a new ticket, if you book quickly, there are fares from British Airways for about $85 (incl. taxes) flying out of London Gatwick airport; about $100 on BMI out of Heathrow; and about $120 on KLM out of close-in London City airport.  All are nonstop flights.

I hope this is helpful and that your son has a good year abroad.

Dave White





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response and we really appreciate your advice! His airline ticket is currently LAX (Los Angeles, California) to London (LHR) with a 7 hour lay over in London before leaving to Amsterdam (AMS). So we're thinking of letting his Jan. 2 LHR to AMS ticket cancel and just take the loss and would buy a new ticket for Jan. 6 departure to AMS.. just wssn't sure if LHR would be the best flight out... and I saw online British Airways might be on strike?

Answer
Hi,

Is the LAX-LHR-AMS part of a round trip ticket?  With your son's return a year off, I sort of doubt it.  But I mention this only because if you don't use one leg of a ticket (in this case the LHR-AMS portion) the airline has the right to cancel the return leg (AMS-LHR-LAX).  If not, then there's little risk in "abandoning" the last leg of the ticket.  But read the ticket's "conditions of carriage" details just to make sure there are no other penalties for not using the last leg.  

As for the London to Amsterdam flight on Jan.6:  I'd pick the London airport based upon ticket prices, not airport convenience, if the choice is between Gatwick and Heathrow.  There's a slight bit of convenience if the airport is LCY (London City) and a bit of inconvenience if the airport is Luton or Stansted (LCY is close to center of London; the other two are not).

British Airways may go on strike again, but probably not until the 3rd or 4th week of January, or start of February.  The BA holiday strike was overturned by a court decision and the process for re-voting by the union members will take some time.

Cheers,

Dave White