Staying in Birkenhead to visit Liverpool?

[Bernadinetta]

Looking at a weekend away in Liverpool with partner and kids. Hotels are so expensive! Birkenhead is much cheaper and on the map is less than 2 miles to Liverpool City Centre. Obviously across the water. Ferry? Is it doable? Just as a base to sleep and spend whole day out and about. Or worth it to splash out on Liverpool hotel prices? Have never been to either before. Thanks!

Where are you thinking of staying in Birkenhead? It's erm, not particularly desirable...

From a purely practical perspective, yes you could do it, but if you could stay in Liverpool instead I definitely would!

I remember Birkenhead as a bit grim.
Will you have a car? There are routes into Liverpool via the tunnel, train or by ferry. Look at Wallasey for accommodation, any of the smaller places near Wallasey or think of further out towards Chester maybe.

If you’re taking the kids then spend the extra and stay in Liverpool. Seriously. Go onto air bnb, there’s some lovely apartments cheap on there.

The peado capital of the uk :/ a relative lived there for a very short period of time, there was a registered peadofile in every single street in her borough. Imagine how many they haven’t caught yet. She moved out of an apartment block the day of a peado sting when someone set their flat on fire.

Birkenhead centre is grim and Liverpool itself will be nicer.

Other places at top of Wirral with easy access to Lpool are New Brighton or West Kirby. There is a gorgeous little village in the middle of Birkenhead called Oxton Village if you can find an Airbnb there.

The ferry from Woodside is easy and cheap! But for one night I'd just stay in Liverpool itself to save you a bit of travel. Try and stay near the Albert Dock for very minimal amounts of walking. Loads of free stuff to do there such as Tate, Maritime and museum and Liverpool One shopping right over the road from it too. Bold street is great for independent places to eat. Have fun!

Birkenhead is a shithole. Avoid.

Ha! You said it so much more succinctly than me!

In terms of distance, it’s fine. 10 minutes through the tunnel, 15 on the ferry. It’s nearer to Liverpool city centre than most places in Liverpool.

Nope. Nope nope nope.
New Brighton is LOVELY and the train to Liverpool is 10 mins.

Birkenhead is a hole. It's like The Hills Have Eyes but without the charisma.

Try New Brighton, there's a cinema, bowling alley, crazy golf, a massive soft play called Bubbles, some nice little cafes and restaurants and a street art trail, isn't dodgy like Birkenhead, and you can get the train from there to liverpool. You could also go to the new eureka kids museum in seacombe then catch the ferry to Liverpool. If your kids are quite young go to Vale Park too - theres a 'fairy village' made a group of locals made from driftwood and things as well as a cafe and play area.

You could get a price for maybe a travelodge - there's one in Aigburth which isn't rough and a 10 min train ride into the city, and on a bus route with frequent buses. Or there's a couple of hotels by the airport but that's in Speke, which is as bad if not worse than Birkenhead...

I think it will take a lot of the fun out of your trip by having to leave the city to return to your accommodation in Birkenhead. Liverpool is a great city on foot and part of the experience would be to walk back to your hotel after your sightseeing. Worth the extra money for sure. Hope you have a fantastic time - best city in the world!!

Lol. It’s been many, many years since I visited New Brighton. Lovely it was not, but it sounds like it might have improved.

Assume you mean the Premier Inn. It isn't a nice part of Birkenhead, but as a base, yes you absolutely should save your money. The Premier Inn is right next door to the tunnel entrance. It is a 5 minute walk to either Hamilton Square train station then just one stop on the train to Liverpool, and also 5 minute walk to the Woodside Ferry Terminal to get the ferry across the Mersey, and the view of the Liverpool skyline is far superior from that side. The Woodside Ferry Terminal is also a great place to eat (one of the only places I'd recommend in Birkenhead). It is also a short walk to Birkenhead Priory which is the oldest building in Merseyside. You can walk up to the top of the tower to see the views over to Liverpool.

Another more affordable option would be New Brighton Travelodge which is a seaside town and a 10 minute walk to the train station.

This sums it up perfectly 😂

OP; stay in the centre.

Don't stay in Birkenhead, just stay in Liverpool. The hotels in Birkenhead aren't nice at all and will likely be filled with people being homeless funded by the council etc

Staying on the Wirral - if near the train station - gives very easy access to Liverpool city centre. I commute and my train journey is under 20 minutes.
I wouldn’t choose Birkenhead if I’m honest, New Brighton, Hoylake or Port Sunlight would be a lot nicer as a base!

@User8646382 It has improved massively over the last 10 or so years 😊
A lot of money has been put into it and I'd never move anywhere else now. There's something magical about seeing the sea every day!

There are AirBnBs in Port Sunlight and you can get the Merseyrail from there. I love it! Nice architecture, lots of green spaces, child friendly art gallery with cafe, museum, and OK pub.

Don't ruin your lovely trip to Liverpool by going to Birkenhead

Avoid Birko, it's where dreams go to die and nightmares are born. 😳

Perfectly practical and great to approach the city by ferry, but Birkenhead isn't great. You'd be better close to a train station somewhere eg Meols, West Kirby, Bromborough. But I find when staying in a city it's a pain if you're too far away as you can't head back to hotel for a rest then go out again. Are you sure that you can't find somewhere at a reasonable price - are you going when there's a big event on? I've had quite reasonably priced stays in last few years in Premier Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Travellodge all near Albert Dock. Easyhotel is supposed to be good - or the Adelphi is a Liverpool classic though quite tired in places, but perfectly adequate and I've spent many a night at the Atlantic Tower though not for a few years. Or have you tried a bit further from the city centre, as there's great bus services?

Most of the must do visit Liverpool travel blog itinerary's say to take the ferry across the Mersey. Well there isn't much to do there once you've taken the ferry, so I think staying in a budget hotel and getting the ferry to Liverpool is a brilliant idea, and you can take the train back if coming back late. Birkenhead is closer to the city centre than nearly all residential areas of Liverpool. Personally I always take the cheapest hotel option when on a city break, as there is too much to see and do to spend time relaxing in nicer hotels so a waste to spend more than you need to.

Sorry for the derail but my mum grew up in Wallasey in the 40s/50s/early 60s - I had no idea Birkenhead was a shit-hole. I have fond memories of visits, the ferry across the Mersey and her suburban childhood home which seemed perfectly nice... she and her sister had elocution lesions and went to a grammar school! I am

Grandad remarried after Grandma died and moved to New Brighton - obviously went up in the world!

@IntheSnowySnowyMountains There’s some very nice bits of Wallasey. Some parts of Birkenhead (Oxton, Noctorum) are nice too, but the centre of Birkenhead is very run down, sadly, and some parts around it are pretty rough. But not all!