London advice please!

[londonadvice2]

Hey really hoping someone can help!

I’ve family members going to London for 3 days from ireland for a short city break. I’m looking for something I could give them as a last minute gift- ideally vouchers I can pop in a card for them to open on the way there. I just cannot for the life of me think of what to get them!

I thought of west end tickets but they actually mentioned in unrelated conversation that they don’t want to spend a night going to see a show when they’re only there for 3 days. Then I thought about maybe vouchers for harrods cafe or something for a cream tea but had no idea where was good, and also don’t want to book them somewhere you have to dress fancy and they’d feel not dressed up enough (we’re very much country people and I know they’re not taking clothes to go anywhere extremely fancy if you see what I mean).

They love touristy things and could walk and walk for miles so mobility not an issue. Basically I just have no clue ha, just wondered if anyone on here has any knowledge and could recommend anything? Thanks so much.

@Namechangerage. OP totally agree with this advice. Costa / Starbucks is not special. Give /Send money for them to treat as they like. Perhaps u could add a note to this effect so they can splash out on something that appeals. From experience, vouchers are a
pain / annoyance.

To be honest, I don’t think vouchers are a good idea. Tourists in London tend to get lost easily plus put themselves on tight itineraries. You don’t know exactly what they already have planned or when, to know if your vouchers even slot in with their timings. Chances are tickets to a west end show or even Harrods vouchers are awkward cause it ties them to specific areas at specific times that might not mesh with the rest of their plans. It can take hours to travel across London especially at rush hour. Tourists who are likely to be slow at getting from A to B, aren’t going to be as quick as seasoned Londoners.

Your suggestion of Costa/starbucks is okay but again I can’t help but think is it necessary? If I’m in London I’m not wanting to visit those usual chains. If you want to give them spending money, then just give them the cash? I’m not sure why you’re insistent on tying it to a specific shop or location. Let them have whatever London experience they intend to, without your influence…

In fact the only voucher I can see being of any use is if you get them Oyster cards with a generous top up to cover 3 days of all zone peak daily caps. Or uber credit. Getting rinsed on transport costs in London is essentially guaranteed.

Send cash

Can you get vouchers for the open top bus tour?

This would be my suggestion. I’d love the London Eye!

That’s a good one too! And perfect as they’re only there for 3 days.
Sorry but the Costa/Starbucks idea is boring. They could get that anywhere.

Send money alongside a few suggestions/recommendations.

The money gives flexibility, the suggestions indicate that you've put some thought into it.

Another vote for just cash and if it were me, I’d say, I know there’s a lot you want to see and much of it will involve the London Underground and buses so here’s a little something to at least help you all out with that expense.

Reason I say that is Costa and/or Starbucks are hardly unique to London. Also they’re overpriced and not necessarily places where your relatives would want to be. When I visit away, I deliberately try to give my business to little independence coffee and tea places - of which choices would be endless in London I imagine! Even a lot of hotels will offer decently priced hot beverages - I really wouldn’t line those corporate chains pockets!

Maybe a gift voucher for the lift at Battersea Power Station? There’s quite a bit to do round there so they could spend a few hours mooching around.

Lift 109

Unless they are already planning to do something very specific that you can offer to pay for, I strongly suggest you abandon the voucher idea. London is huge and there is so much to do that even the best made plans can easily fall by the wayside when something more appealing or unexpected comes up. They’re on holiday and I’m sure they want to relax rather than you (with good intentions) tying them into doing something or being somewhere specific. Let them enjoy their trip. The one thing that anyone needs when visiting London is money!

And don’t pay vouchers for the bloody awful hop-on hop-off bus. It’s a rip-off, it can’t use bus lanes and you’ve said they enjoy walking and they’ll see much more walking than on a tourist bus. Tell them to download the Citymapper app as that will help them get around whether walking, getting the tube / bus / bike / Uber / black cab / DLR or riverboat.

There are tons of outstanding independent coffee shops, cafes and restaurants. And let’s not even get started on delis or street food. The choices will blow their mind. They don’t need to be tied in to some very average chains that you can find in most places.

I’m a Londoner. My 60-something year old cousins came to visit from their village recently (first time in decades) and I offered to be their tour guide. They had a much better time than they expected. In fact I think they’d like to move here now if they could afford it! They kept repeating how amazing it was and how surely I will never leave. 😂 We never once ate or drank at a chain. We walked a lot. Saw some big sights, chatted to the locals, ate fabulous food and drank lots of very good coffee (and cocktails). Our plans changed on the fly depending on what they were enjoying and what they liked. Lots of things surprised them (in a good way). Flexibility and freedom is important.

There are so many nice coffee shops please dont send them Costa/Starbucks vouchers!

If you want something specifically not cash could you get them a welcome bottle of champagne for the hotel room if they're somewhere nice?
Or get them groceries for their return?

Battersea is a fair way from the area they're staying and the power station is essentially a shopping centre.
Not worth the travel if you're in London for 3 days

@SpanThatWorld It’s 25 minutes on a bus from Charing Cross so I wouldn’t consider that too far to travel. The lift is a pretty cool experience and you get great views of London. Yes there are shops but there are also interesting bars and places to eat. I don’t believe it’s a waste of time going there if you like these things, it’s just another option to consider.

There are some foodie walking tours but might be a bit pricy.

I like the hop on hop off bus option as it’s useful and fun.

Flat Iron does gift vouchers if they like steak, it’s an inexpensive option and multiple branches in central.

I agree that if you were in London for a week it might be somewhere to strike out for.
i work in the area. It's ok.
I just think other bits of London are more interesting.

How about this…
https://www.inthehiddencity.com/london/007
It’s great fun, and takes you to some interesting places!!

If you want to do vouchers I’d buy them each an Oyster card so they can just jump on any form of transport without worrying about cost.

please don’t subject them to a weekend of costa when they have the whole of London to eat in!

You could buy them a membership of historic royal palaces so they get free entry https://www.hrp.org.uk
3 of the 6 are in central London and are great to visit- Tower of London, banqueting house and Kensington palace plus there’s Kew palace and Hampton court if they wish to travel further out.

How vouchers for the viewing deck at the top of the Shard? It’s quite pricey so unlikely to be something they’d buy for themselves.
www.theviewfromtheshard.com

Yeah that's a nice idea, you could put them in a card with a hard copy of the tube map (old school but can be handy to have when underground without wifi)

The Uber boat from Battersea to, say, the Globe is a lovely and cheap way to travel.

I would love to arrive to a bottle of champagne!
Or you could check for their nearest mini supermarket and get them a voucher for that?