Where to take American Visitors

[Jaffacake76]

Hi,

I have family visiting from USA. Their children 14 yrs old girl & 13 yr old boy..any suggestions they’re here for 5 days. We’re based near Guildford but happy to drive.

I'm also planning on doing gift bags for them but have no idea what to buy!

I’d be so grateful for any suggestions?

The train to London is the obvious choice? Have they travelled before? If not, I would do the iconic bits like the changing of the guard, fish and chips in a pub, maybe a boat ride on the Thames.

Instead of gift bags you could let them buy whatever they want on Oxford Street. Loads of tourist shops with T-shirts and bags.

Are they from the city, town or countryside ?

A selection of sweets, biscuits, crisps and biscuits would probably go down well.

Bath or Oxford are reasonably easy from London, either in the train or on the M4. Cities with buildings literally older than their country 😁

Take them to London and do a Treasure Trail- you will discover lots of places and information you didn’t know before. Go to Stratford and do the slide…I love Hampton Court- very entertaining when they have the actors performing- we met Henry the 8th!

A trip to Portsmouth historic dockyard. Visit a ship or two, then go up the spinnaker tower and finish with an early dinner and shopping at Gunwharf quays.

Hampton Court?
Our American visitors loved Windsor Castle and St George’s Chapel.
If you are coming into London then the London Eye and a trip down the Thames on a boat.

A traditional seaside town with a pier, funfair, sandy beach etc.
(Bournemouth maybe?)

Obviously it depends what their interests are. What is their link to the UK - as in where did their great granny come from if she emigrated. Visit there.

A day trip somewhere historic, Cambridge or Windsor.

A day trip to London, include the Natural History Museum, Harrods or Borough Market, Hamleys, a boat trip on the Thames, some photo opportunities in Trafalgar Square, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace etc.

A day out somewhere like The New Forest.

Maybe a day in Brighton.

@Jaffacake76 as for what treats to buy......a packet of Jaffa Cakes is the obvious one 😁

Windsor

BUT, don't go near the 'American Candy Stores' they charge exorbitant prices (and I mean really exorbitant) and are possibly linked to money laundering...

Where do they want to go?
Have they been to London in the past?

If you go into London, don't forget Covent Garden! My teens love it there.

A bit of a treck but Canterbury or Leeds Castle and a quick stop at the cliffs of Dover.

I'd also suggest Portsmouth from Guildford - it's on the right train line. I think the Mary Rose and a tour of HMS Victory are well worth a visit. Gunwharf Quays for a trip up the Spinnaker tower, a walk around Old Portsmouth and Fish & Chips on the beach.

Windsor and Eton
Maybe Oxford or Cambridge
Ask what they would like to see in London otherwise it's too much to see everything?

Swanage - park and ride, on the steam train to the town / beach

If they're here for 5 days and you wanted a lower key day close to home then there would be worse things to do than visit Guildford itself? The kids might enjoy the shops and you could take them round the castle gardens, down to the river and to one of the many lovely old pubs for lunch?

Which of the suggestions I would support the most would depend on where in the USA they came from. Someone from New York will have probably had different experiences than say from a rural mountain community.

New Forest? Plenty to see and do and the gorgeous foals are out at the moment. Beach, walks, lovely pubs.

I'm American, although I have been to the UK a number of times. When DH and DS 15 were with me we went to Stonehenge (iconic,) to Harrod's and had traditional afternoon tea, rode the Tube around, and went to the Harry Potter studio in Levensden (massive hit with DS.) We stay in Wales for 4 days in a Premier Inn and went to the Big Pit Coal Museum--my friend and I drank tea in the cafe and our DHs and DS went into the pit on the tour, we went shopping at M&S, took the dog and the boy for a walk at St. Fagan's and went on the history tour. It was amazing.

Runnymede on the way to Windsor - 1 acre that is been "gifted" to US (just don't tell Trump!)

Hampton Court, Hever Castle, Leeds Castle and the London they fancy seeing. A pub lunch in a pretty Surrey village.

Chartwell is a superb day out: Churchill family home is very atmospheric and the grounds are beautiful. Hampton Court too is very special

I usually send my American teen cousins Percy pigs and apparently our cadburys chocolate taste different to what they have.