This year marks our 25th wedding anniversary. After going to Alberta, we really saved and planned for this trip to Europe. After all, this is a special celebration and the destination is different from the rockies.
As I was planning, I asked the kids what they would like to see in Europe and they just said - related to Harry Potter. So we ended up with 3 cities as our bases - Edinburgh, London and Paris. The last city was for my youngest kid's request to go to Euro Disneyland and also my top choice. After all, lovers visit the city of love during honeymoon or anniversaries. I will post a separate one for the Parisienne stories.
Scotland
Highlights were the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the bridge featured in Hogwart's Express. These are the places we visited during the Highlands tour - Loch Lomond and Trossachs, Glen Coe, the Skyfall filming location, Fort William, a glimpse on Ben Nevis, Pitlochry where we tried the whisky Ice cream. Also on other days we tried a DIY tour to Stirling, Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel. I fell in love with the beautiful city of Edinburgh where J. K. Rowling penned the Harry Potter books. We joined a free Harry Potter tour around the city and had fun when the guide told and showed us interesting facts about the HP and the Kirkyard (graveyard) where the HP character's names were taken.
London and Oxford
The mega city of London got lots of Harry Potter filming locations but our visit to the Warner Bros Studio was a blast. The kids had fantastic time celebrating while browsing through the many artifacts used in the movies. The 9 3/4 platform in King's Cross station caught our attention as soon as we got off the train from Edinburgh. Then there's the Renaissance Hotel where Ron Weasley parked his car before they tried getting on the Hogwart's Express. The Leadenhall, St. Paul's Cathedral and Millennial Bridge had appeared in the HP movies. We chose a Stonehenge, Windsor and Oxford tour to explore and recall more Harry Potter scenes from the Oxford University. We love the old buildings and cloisters but those that stood out were the Bodleian Library, Bridge of sighs and Christ Church college.
I only mentioned all relevant sites and scenes from Harry Potter but we had other amazing experiences from this trip - the Stonehenge, the London Eye, walking along Royal Mile, Victoria Street and hiking to Calton Hill, visiting the museums and galleries. I will include those in another blog, maybe. We really had a very hectic schedule. I would say we jam-packed our days with activities, with rests sa parks or just staring at a painting in a gallery. We tried to cover most of the attractions for the 15-day trip. Sinulit talaga namin ang euro spent and the time to be together as a family enjoying the vacation. Hindi ito yung tipo ng trip Na mema lang - Me masabi lang na nagpunta sa Europe. Pinaghandaan at pinag isipan talaga to Get all the money's worth. We worked hard but also deserved a value-for-money enjoyable vacation.
On this note, I am sharing some of the travel tips I followed to save time, money and effort (from reading other travel vlogs and friend's recommendations, shout out to Gwen Carag :)
1. Buy tickets early - airfare, attractions, train tickets. I booked everything in advance. Very significant ang cost savings sa transport kung bibilhin ng months before. i.e. Yung Eurostar ticket na dodoble ang price kapag on the day binili.
2. Buy Rail cards - (Family and Friends ung kinuha namin sa Scotrail) 30% discount sa train tickets. Nag apply ito sa lahat ng train tickets sa Scotland (Stirling, Falkirk) at sa London (Watford Junction going to Warner Brother studios), bawi na ang ibinayad sa rail card at ang daming discounts, more on number 3.
3. Avail the 2-for-1 or days out in Scotland or London. The train ticket that you bought discounted from the rail card also gives you discount to participating attractions, we used this in buying Stirling castle tickets, sa London Eye, we even had a timed entry meaning no need to line up. 50% discount ito, we are 5 in the family so malaking tulong ito to Save.
4. DIY your tours - research the places you want to go and how to get there, then compare the price and consider the complexity or effort vs. The comfort when joining a bus tour. Kung pwede mag rent a car, you have more flexibility and can explore more, pero dahil right-hand drive sa UK, public transportation na lang kami :).
We joined tours going to Highlands in Scotland, also the Stonehenge-Windsor Castle-Oxford University as these are longer trips and tour guides gave more information about the attractions.
But DIY ang trips namin going to Stirling, Kelpies and Falkirk in Scotland using trains and bus. Ganun din ang mga attractions in London-combo ng underground and Double-decker bus. Sa Paris, we did a lot of walking like 20k steps every day and sa Edinburgh din with uphill and downhill pa.
DIY din ang pagpunta namin sa Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studios using overground train to Watford Junction, there's a free shuttle bus na going to the Studios. Just show your etickets To WB HP. Book and buy those tickets early. Spots are filling up fast.
We rarely used an Uber or never joined a Hop on, Hop off bus because we wanted to be adventurous and to save the fare to something else like souvenirs. Can you guess how much is the fare per person to the Official Shuttle going to Warner Bros Harry Potter Studios from London? I'd rather save that for butter beer and HP merchandise.
5. Rent Airbnbs - accommodation with kitchen and washer/dryer saves lots of £ and €. All the Airbnbs and aparthotels we rented had 3 bedrooms each or 2rooms plus sofa beds perfect for our family. We saved on food as we cooked our breakfast and dinner. Had extra € to try the local foods. We also had access to laundry facilities. We only brought carry-ons as this saves $, time and effort in lugging those in cobblestone-paved roads (sometimes uphill pa).
6. Use bank credit card vs oyster to tap on underground stations, do not buy travel cards or day pass if you will not have more than 5 trips per day. Plan the destination per day to reach more with one trip or route.
7. Buy Esim with a local provider. We used Orange eSim that covered both UK and Paris. The package includes data, calls and texts worldwide. Kahit nasa gitna kami ng bundok sa Highlands meron signal at sulit sa tawag at text. Gamit na gamit ko siya sa citymapper, transport apps.
I hope this helps you in planning for your next trip to Harry Potter locations and other Scotland-London attractions.
