At the end of May, I decided to fly to London solo for a long weekend. I live in Ohio, so that’s about an 8-hour overseas flight in the best case. Why plan this whirlwind international weekend trip? In short, I’ve wanted to visit London for a long time, and I was tired of waiting!
It may sound crazy to fly across the ocean for just a couple of days, but I was surprised it wasn’t actually that challenging. To me an international weekend trip is like a concentrated espresso shot of travel, fleeting and invigorating. If you’re thinking of trying one, here’s what I can tell you about making your trip a success.
Managing jet lag is essential.
Jet lag is one of those unavoidable facts of international travel. You miss out on some sleep, you’re thrown into a new time zone, and the result is not feeling your best. Normally it only lasts a couple days, but on a short trip that’s all you get. I was worried exhaustion from jet lag might ruin my trip to London, so I did everything I could to minimize the impact. Here’s the plan:
First of all, try to shift your sleep schedule towards your destination time zone. For me, that meant waking up a couple hours earlier. Then, try to get as much sleep as you can before the trip and on the plane. Sleeping on an overnight flight can be tough, but even a few hours is helpful. (Try using a sleep mask to block out the light–it helps!)
Once you arrive, you should try and stay active. I find walking helps a lot. Just keep going and don’t sleep until it’s night time.
You need to plan your transportation.
When your time is short, you don’t want to waste any of it on figuring out how to get from A to B or worse, getting lost. Take the time to think through your transportation in advance. For my trip to London, that meant taking the Elizabeth Line train into the city and then using the Tube (London’s metro/subway) or public buses to get around town. I looked up a few key routes beforehand and learned how to use them. You can pay with a contactless credit card on both the Tube and the buses. Easy!
For a short trip, your best bet is to visit places that are easily reachable. Stick to the central area of the city and save faraway sights for another trip. I had some cool ideas for London that I ruled out pretty quick for this reason (sorry Greenwich).
Staying in a convenient location is key.
If you stay in a convenient location, you’ll be able to walk a lot of places and see more. This is sort of contextual depending on what you plan to do on your trip. For me, I decided to stay on the east side just outside the City (that’s what they call London’s central district). This location was convenient for places I planned to see like the Tower of London and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. And walking across Tower Bridge was really cool!
On the flip side, it took 20-30 minutes to get to sights over in Westminster. It wasn’t a huge investment of time, but if I planned to see more on the west side of London I would have stayed on that side of the city instead.
Also, when you’re picking a location, make sure it’s close to a Tube station and ideally a train station as well.
London is huge, so focus on one area at a time.
Speaking of different areas of town, you need to need to try and group things to do by the neighborhood where they’re located. London is huge, so you don’t want to spend too much time zooming back and forth across town. Instead, plan to spend a half day exploring one neighborhood at a time. A good guidebook can really help with this, but you can also just look up places on Google Maps and figure it out yourself.
For example, on my first day in London I spent some time in Westminster touring Westminster Abbey, strolling through St. James Park, and doing a self-guided walking tour (Rick Steves’ free audio tour). When I visited the Tower of London later on, I knew the famous Tower Bridge was right next to it. Figuring out multiple things to do in one area this way will save you a lot of time.
Walking is the best way to keep momentum and see the city.
On an international weekend trip, you’re going to be a little tired and disoriented. The best way to fix this is walking. When you’re walking, your brain knows it’s not time to rest just yet. Walking also allows you to see a lot of the city as you go. Oh hey, there’s Big Ben!
On my trip I did plenty of walking each day. Like 30K steps on one of the days, heh. Even though I didn’t do lots of individual activities, I feel like I got to see a lot of London. From crossing the Thames on the Millennium Bridge to strolling by the stately buildings along Whitehall, walking was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip.
Hydrate at all costs.
One thing that will kill your energy fast is getting dehydrated. Between flying and walking a lot, you’ll probably need to drink more water than usual. Don’t wait until you’re dying of thirst!
On my trip I was feeling dehydrated by lunchtime the first day, so I had to buy a big bottle of water right away. I don’t love buying water in single-use plastic bottles, but alas, sometimes that’s the only option to stay hydrated.
In general, bringing a reusable water bottle is a good idea. Metal bottles are rugged and easy to clean, or you can get one of those collapsible water bottles that easily fit into small bags.
Think of your trip as an introduction.
48 hours is an impossibly short time to see the sights of a city like London. There’s no way you’ll get to everything, and trying to fit in too many activities can drive you crazy. I had so much trouble deciding what to do: world famous museums, West End shows, historic churches, legendary food markets. Whatever I picked, I was worried I would be missing out on something else.
What I realized is that it’s better to think of a short trip as an introduction. It’s a sampler of all the city has to offer, and you get to try a few things. If you enjoy visiting the city, you can always come back someday.
You don’t have to check off the top 10 sights.
When you’re planning a trip, chances are you’ll come across someone’s list of “top ten things to do” or “must-sees.” Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need follow any of those. Getting ideas is always helpful, but just ticking off the most popular sights will not lead to a trip that fits your unique interests. Plus, those top ten places are always crowded so be sure to consider that.
In London, everyone knows about the West End theater scene, but I really wanted to see a show at the Globe Theater instead. It’s a time-warp reconstruction of Shakespeare’s theater and just the kind of nerd stuff I enjoy. I also wanted to explore East London a bit and check out some street art around Brick Lane. As much as I love the big historical sights, I also wanted to see a different side of the city.
My advice is to pick a few top sights but also get curious about your unique interests. Look for weird art galleries, local coffee shops, lesser known museums, whatever things get you excited to visit a city.
A few amazing travel experiences make the trip worth it.
When you consider the hassle of a long flight and all the costs of traveling far away just for a weekend, you may be wondering “is it really worth it?” Honestly I wasn’t sure if this trip to London would be worth it for me. Who wants to be grouchy and jet lagged in a strange city for a weekend?
In the end though, it was definitely worth it to me. Visiting London for a weekend gave me some amazing travel experiences that I couldn’t get back home. I got to see Romeo and Juliet while standing in the crowd at Shakespeare’s theater. I got to drink a pint with strangers at a 400-year-old pub. And I finally got to hear the history of the Tower of London as told by one of the Yeomen Warders. So yeah, totally worth it.
