Days out 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!

id be so grateful for any suggestions?

Harry Potter film locations in London
https://www.the-magician.co.uk/harry-potter-film-locations.htm

If they are Star Wars fans then Canary Wharf tube station and the Barbican are used for Imperial bases. (Imperial as in the baddies not the university) Andor (Disney +) and Rogue One (film)

If you google something they are into they may have filmed in London.

Americans do have baked beans, but the sauce is completely different, and they're never served at breakfast or served on toast or a jacket potato.

Sweets and biscuits and crisps will probably be popular because the flavours are different. Even the same brands aren't the same (I prefer UK KitKat to American). I'd take them out for a pub lunch though, especially if you've got a nice historic one.

It is very much going to depend on what they are interested in.
Harry Potter Studio tour in London
The Imperial War Museum
Theatre, Musicals -
Boat / river tours
Swimming in Lidos
The London Dungeon
Escape rooms.....

At those ages they probably know what they want to see/do and have done a decent google job.

I’m an American. On our visit to the UK last year, we enjoyed London and Windsor. But if they are your family you should have a good idea of what they like. I can’t imagine shopping would be interesting as we pretty much have the same stores and brands from what we noticed when we were there. Don’t assume they will like the food there just because you do.

On the subject of food, we liked authentic pubs but they were hard to find. Everything seemed to be owned by a chain, and the menus were a poor attempt at standard American food, which was disappointing. Almost every place seemed to be offering 10 variations of a cheeseburger. A countryside pub would be a good idea.

Theme parks don’t interest us. We travel to avoid them!

Oh and we have baked beans. Nothing “baffling” about them!

My north American visitor loved Wagamama and can’t wait to come back, think they do now have it in the USA but only in a very few cities.

Train to Waterloo and walk to Houses of Parliament vis South Bank up Whitehall maybe a boat ride.

Train to Portsmouth Dockyard - fun, interesting, old

Definitely a nice pub lunch or two, Shere obviously.

West Sussex way …
Arundel castle is a good shout.

How about Weald and Downland ( repair shop) . Lots of olde worlde charm plus great village pub lunch in Singleton. Chi for shopping and walking the Roman walls and Cathedral which are free.

@OneGladRoseTiger shame you couldn’t find a proper pub. You possibly needed to find a decent village first. Come back and I’ll show you some lovely ones!

I agree the Americans don’t really need a theme park given the standard over there is so much better.

I think Jane Austen’s house in Hants is a great shout, as is the Weald and Downland Museum, with different houses from different time periods. Some of the suggestions would mean spending most of each day driving which seems somewhat unnecessary when you have interesting places, including london, on your doorstep!

How about Oakhurst national trust cottage in Hambledon? Very pretty village with shop/cafe and cricket green and nice pub. Would tick the picturesque English village box without having to drive 3 hours?

West Wittering or similar if you want a day at the beach if weather allows?

Depending on budget, you could incorporate going for afternoon tea on one of your london days, as something quintessentially British- either an old fashioned hotel or somewhere like Sketch or the place in the Shard?

Thanks, we tend to go down to West Wittering and Chichester, but every time I say ‘oh next time let’s do Arundel Castle’ so this would be a fab add-on. We live in Surrey. Thank you!

West Witteting is a good shout and Chichester is pretty. There’s a roman fort near there that I’ve not been to - Fishbourne. Oh and Bosham is pretty, that’s nearby. We like having lunch at Chichester Marina and the walk through to Birdham is pretty.

Oh, how times have changed for the worse. I'm sorry to hear that.

Hampton Court Palace. Winchester.

Agreed , but I saw somebody suggest Bluewater and they do , aside from the shops , have a zip wire , crazy golf and a climbing centre so it’s a bit more for kids than the shops , which frankly aren’t that brilliant .

Are the kids on social media and have an idea bout what they’d like to see and do?
London China Town often comes up on TikTok and it they are online then having visited a viral place might make them happy.

Agree a day in London - don't overcram it with too much though.

How about Charleston at Lewes? As well as exhibitions at the original farmhouse, there's an exhibition space in the town as well now, and Lewes is a lovely old town to visit.

Fishbourne is not a Roman Fort it is a Roman Palace and the most impressive found north of the Alps. But it depends on how into History they are, we took an American friend who really didn’t get the difference between that and medieval tombs in a Church. Chichester itself is nice, and a walk along the walls can be good.