It’s two weeks before we depart for London! Some of the information below are reminders but a few notes are new. Please take the time to read the information. Remaining details will be discussed once we are in London. Should you have specific question, please feel free to contact me. The trip is planned with a sixth-grade boy’s attention span in mind. That said, we are traveling with multiple families. Should you desire to skip a specific stop on the itinerary and spend more time exploring an area of your family’s interest, feel free to. If you would like to see something different from the set itinerary, please feel free to explore London separately from the group. Students, however, may not be left with the group while parents explore London separately. United Airlines- Since airline tickets are purchased through group bookings, United automatically generates seating. If you would like to change seating, you can contact group bookings at 1–800–426–1122. Simply contact our travel agent Alice Johnson at alice@allthingstravel.biz. She will be able to assist you.
Travel Insurance- Like most trips, travel insurance is optional. You will find listed below a couple of options if you are interested in purchasing travel insurance.
Passports- Do you know where your passport is located? Please check that you know where its located – today, a week, and the day before we depart.
Travel Convertors- Don’t forget to bring your travel convertor for US to UK for charging devices. Here’s an example of one should you need to buy before departing – Travel Convertor
Airport- I’ll meet everyone at the airport (at the United Airlines desk) to be sure we are all checked in, and then once through security, you’ll be on your own. Of course, I’ll be around if you need anything. Once we land in London, we’ll move together closely as a group to pass through border control and then load the bus at Heathrow Airport.
- Try to sleep as much as possible on the flight from Chicago to London to help your body adjust. Once we land, we immediately begin touring and adjusting to U.K. time.
Mind the Gap – The Underground- Once we arrive in London, I’ll distribute Oyster Cards for travel on the Tube (the London Underground).
- Download the Tube Map app to familiarize yourself with the London Underground. Pay close attention, and by the second day, you will feel comfortable travelling it by yourself.
Communication- Remind App – All communication on the trip will be through the Remind App. You experienced its use as a parent during the recent Washington D.C. trip. If you download the App and join the class, it will allow you to receive and send texts. I’ll send frequent updates about the trip using Remind. You can join by clicking here. Or, send a text message to 81010 with the following information: @pdsl.
- Phone – If you need to reach me by phone on the trip, please call 901–492–1735.
- International Calling Plan – Please check your international data and phone plan before departure.
Currency Exchange- While almost every place we dine will take a credit card, you may want to have a few British pounds with you. However, it’s not necessary. Typically, you can purchase pounds from your bank if you would like to take pounds with you.
Dining- Breakfast is included at the hotel each morning.
- Lunch & Dinner – You will have a range of meal options. Each family will decide what they will like most from the options. We give plenty of time to have lunch and dinner, and we will point you toward several good options for each meal.
Hotel Arrival, Luggage, and Touring- We will arrive at London Heathrow during the morning and take a charter bus to the hotel. Check-in time is approximately 4:00 PM.
- We will leave our luggage at the hotel with the porter in a locked room until check-in.
- Our tour guide, Karen, will meet us at the airport and begin touring with us upon arrival. Once we clear border control, transfer to downtown, and leave our luggage at our hotel, it will be time for lunch. Following lunch, we’ll tour Parliament Square, visit Buckingham Palace, and then return to the hotel to conclude the first day. If you can push through first-day exhaustion, you should have adjusted to U.K. time by the following day.
Weather- It’s exceptionally rare to make it through a week in London without rain. Please bring a raincoat! We press on regardless of the rain.
Optional Evenings in London- Karen, our tour guide, will be with our group each day till 5:00 PM. Evenings are the perfect time for you to explore London as a family. We’ll have suggestions for every free evening and can help direct you to where they would like to go.
- Based on past trips, most people may choose to pursue their interests in the evening. That said, I will go to specific locations in the evening for those interested.
- Platform 9 Âľ for Harry Potter fans.
- Evensong at St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Jack-the-Ripper Tour
- Covent Garden
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 ‍901-842-4600
pds.school  4025 Poplar Avenue
Memphis, TN 38111 |
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