Discover London
7 DAYS
London 5
Basic Inclusions
Accommodations
Accommodations in centrally-located three-star or four-star hotels. Rooming on a triple basis. Double rooms: $50 per night, per person.
Meals
All breakfasts. One lunch. Three dinners. Dinner on own on Day 5.
Transportation
Round-trip transportation on scheduled airline. All public transportation tickets included where applicable.
Guide
Services of a specially-trained passports Tour Director throughout. All tips are included in the Program Cost. Whisper headsets included.
Travel Protection
Passports provides and pays for a Post Departure Travel Protection Plan that includes coverage for Trip Interruption, Trip Delay, Medical Expense and Evacuation and more.
Tour Summary
Itinerary Includes
Unlimited public transportation
Days 1-2: Home - London
Arrival transfer
Tour director-led walking tour in Covent Garden
Day 3: London
London City Sightseeing: Local guide, Changing of the Guard (if scheduled)
Visit to the British Museum
Tour director-led walking tour in Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus
Day 4: London
Visit to Westminster Abbey with Royal Chapels, Royal Tombs and Chapter House
Tour director-led walking tour from Westminster to Trafalgar Square
Afternoon Tea at the church of Saint Martin in the Fields
Visit to the V&A Museum of Art and Design
Day 5: London
Visit to the Tower of London
Jack the Ripper guided walking tour
Optional West End Theatre Performance
Day 6: London
Round-trip Thames Cruise from Westminster Pier to Greenwich: Visits to the Old Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum
Traditional pub lunch
Day 7: Departure
Departure transfer
UNPARALLELED STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
Detailed Itinerary
Days 1-2: Arrival, Covent Garden Walking Tour
You head east, into a short night, and suddenly it's morning, and you're in England. Londontown: the hub and focus for theatergoers worldwide!
Settle into your hotel, then venture into your surroundings. Red, double-decker buses groan along the "wrong" side of the road, escorted by innumerable black taxicabs with engines that sound like sewing machines.
Enjoy a walk around the stomping ground of Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins. Once the site of a fruit-and-vegetable market, Covent Garden has become one of London's hottest shopping areas as well as a trendy food court, and a bustling cultural destination, with street performers and elegant theaters.
Overnight: London
Day 3: London City Sightseeing, British Museum, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus Walking Tour
Enjoy a tour of the sights and sounds of the British capital. See such sights as St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Kensington, and Trafalgar Square.
A certified local guide will accompany your group today.
Watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, if scheduled today. Have your cell phone at the ready to capture the Queen's Guard in this popular display of British pageantry.
Enjoy a visit to the world's oldest public museum, established in 1753, which has been splendidly renovated and has no admission fee. It houses countless treasures of ancient and modern civilizations, including Oriental ceramics. Sculptures from two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are on display along with the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, an important collection of Roman artifacts, and so much more.
Enjoy a walking tour highlighting the lively Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.
Overnight: London
Day 4: Westminster Abbey, Westminster to Trafalgar Square Walking Tour, Afternoon Tea, V&A Museum of Art and Design
Visit the great cathedral where the British monarchs have been crowned since 1066. Westminster Abbey has also hosted royal weddings since the marriage of King Henry I in 1100, including the wedding of Prince William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and Catherine Middleton in 2011. Twelve kings and five queens are buried in this former abbey church, along with many illustrious Britons. In addition to Poets' Corner, burial place of writers, you will see the Royal Tombs, the Coronation Chair, the Henry VII Chapel and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Scientists and fans of The Da Vinci Code will seek the grave of Sir Isaac Newton (in the nave, near the choir screen) and won't want to miss the splendid Chapter House.
An audio-guide is included for your visit to Westminster Abbey.
Under the guidance of your tour director, make your way to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament to the foot of Big Ben. Enjoy a walking tour that will take you to Downing Street, up Whitehall, through St. James' Park along part of the Mall and by Nelson's Column and Admiralty Arch.
There is nothing more quintessentially English than Afternoon Tea, in fact it's an institution, just like cricket, the BBC, and red double-decker buses!
Now, it's your turn to discover the delights of an Afternoon Tea at the 2012 Café of the Year winner, Café in the Crypt, which is located at the church of Saint Martin in the Fields, off Trafalgar Square. Savor your choice of tea, cakes, pastries and freshly-baked scones, served with luscious Devonshire clotted cream.
Visit a royal institution that was intended as a teaching museum. The Victoria and Albert Museum, now called V&A Museum of Art and Design, houses over 4 million objects spanning more than 2,000 years, and it is indeed widely regarded as one of the world's most important museums of art and design. (The museum's permanent exhibits are accessible free of charge, but there's an admission fee for temporary exhibitions.)
Overnight: London
Day 5: Tower of London, London, Jack the Ripper Walking Tour, Optional West End Theatre
Enter the mighty fortress, royal palace and prison where the best-known features are Traitors' Gate, the Bloody Tower where two young princes were last seen alive, the White Tower, the Block where two of Henry VIII's ill-fated wives lost their heads, the Crown Jewels, and the ravens! If you choose to follow one of the Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters), you may also be able to visit the Royal Chapels.
Check out Harrods, the largest department store in the United Kingdom, and one of the most glamorous. You'll see that it lives up to its motto, "All Things for All People, Everywhere," given the variety of products and services it offers on its six floors. Don't miss the opulent Egyptian Hall, and check out the popular Food Halls, where patrons have a wide range of options, from Afternoon Tea to tapas.
Experience thrills and chills on a guided walking tour of London "In the Footsteps of Jack the Ripper."
The London theatre scene is unmatched in Europe, from classical drama to Shakespeare, from whodunnits to musicals. Tonight, enjoy a West End theatre performance.
Overnight: London
Day 6: Round-trip Thames River Cruise to Greenwich, Pub Lunch
You will see London from the soothing perspective of the River Thames as you cruise downstream from Westminster Pier to Greenwich. Entertaining cockney commentary punctuates the trip, introducing London's riverside treasures: the Globe Theatre, St. Paul's Cathedral, H.M.S. Belfast, Tower Bridge, and the spectacular waterfront of Greenwich.
Your visit to the Royal Observatory includes, in addition to the Astronomy Centre, the Meridian Courtyard and the Camera Obscura, the Meridian Building with the Telescope Gallery, and Flamsteed House, location of the Old Observatory, which now houses the Time Galleries with their wealth of exhibits on inventions and instruments.
You will also visit the National Maritime Museum, which holds the world's largest exhibit of ship models, naval instruments and maps.
At a traditional London pub, customers can pop in for a cup of coffee or a half-pint, settle into a cozy corner and enjoy a relaxed, home-made meal, often just lunch, but occasionally dinner as well. Pub lunches are something of a British institution, where businessmen from the City, in suits, may rub elbows with college students and construction workers, all tucking into Steak and Kidney Pies, Fish and Chips and BLT's in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.
Overnight: London
Day 7: Departure
With images of your journey still vivid in your mind, race the sun westward aboard your wide-bodied jet. Write down what you remember best. You'll be home before you know it, eager to share your discoveries with family and friends.
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London City Sightseeing
Leicester Square
Westminster Abbey
Trafalgar Square
Tower of London
Thames River Cruise
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