The UK and Ireland

[sakura_bloom]

How and where do you apply for a tax refund for purchases in London and Dublin?

[glacy_rein]

^In London you'll just get the form from the store itself then present it along with the items in Heathrow airport. (do take note that electronic items have a separate line from all the rest, I wasn't able to get the tax refund from my camera that's why because it was 2 procedures and both were long lines and i might miss my flight)

[shegie_285]

^^ same process for Dublin.  Get the tax refund form from the store and then present sa airport. Actually dito sa Dublin I just read na may tax refund booth/s somewhere in the city centre, can't remember kung saan. If you are here go to Carroll's (souvenir shops) nagkalat sila dito, you can ask them.

glacy_rein Shannon from where? If from Europe. Ryanair is cheap. Weather hopefully mainit na sa July! 20C is mainit na

[mama squeak!]

@glacy_rein, sis there are no direct flights to Shannon from Manila. You will have to transit either in London (if taking PAL) to a local flight. Or HKG if taking CX, TPE/AMS if taking KLM/AF or the transit hubs in Asia of the other carriers servicing MNL.

Now the cheapest, depends na lang when you are leaving. Peak season in MNL for Europe usually starts late March all the way to Aug/Sep. the rest of the months are low season except the Christmas holidays. Among the carriers here in MNL minsan konti lang ang difference sa fares nila kasi since competition yan they try to stay within each others fare range. Unless mag super promo fare sale. Try checking their websites for any deals. Right now depends on your travel dates and destination in Europe you can get $900 round trip all-in economy fares.

If your travel dates are next year pa (from March onwards), abang ka ng travel expo which is held every Feb sa SMX. The airlines really offer great deals that time. I was able to get really low fares to Europe and US on the last one for my travels this year.

 

[glacy_rein]

Thanks for the reply shegie_285 and mama squeak

So I can get flights like PAL direct flight to London then Ryanair to Shannon?

Here's the situation and enlight me please.. I have this friend from County Clare in Shannon and I'd like to visit him by mid-June this year and stay for about 7-10days. Since I have a trip to Japan this March to April I am planning to lodge my visa by mid-April since holyweek is also up. (Can you link me to the Ireland Visa thread because I can't find it)

Is my timetable doable? I have questions in getting the Ireland visa I don't know if I can ask it here.  TIA

[little_princess]

^ you can but you have to take Aer Lingus that flies out from Heathrow din if you want to fly the same day and less hassle sa transfers. If not, Ryan Air flies out from Stansted and Gatwick.

I think your timetable is do-able naman, you have a month for your visa application.

[shegie_285]

glacy_rein ah from Manila pala. Kung PAL nga, you need to fly aerlingus from Heathrow. Both airlines charge you extra for your check-in bag, baka additional £30 or €40 per bag one way.

Agree with little_princess, I think your timetable is doable. My mom and nephews went here (Dublin) in 2012 and as far as I remember less than 2 weeks lang ang visa process, baka nga one week lang. I don't know if there is a separate thread for Irish visa, I suppose you can post here but you can also pm me, I might be able to help .

[glacy_rein]

^thanks to both of you sisses! he decided to go here na lang.

[caterpillar-girl]

^^Thanks little_princess. I think GBP1,000 is bitin nga. Sa hotel/apartment palang pala ubos na money namin. Maybe we'll try those Air BnB apartments. We're planning to go around May or June next year. We'll aim for GBP2,000. Ulp good luck to us!

Katuwa basahin my post from last year. We just got our visas approved and we're leaving for the UK next month! Woohoooo I'm sooo excited. I backread and I don't know if this has been asked na, but has anyone taken the sleeper train from London to Edinburgh? We don't want to spend on flights anymore so we're thinking sleeper train nalang. Or is a flight really the better option?

[super bratinella]

I want to visit this place, my hubby was able to go here for a business trip gusto ko din pumunta..

[meimei]

i'll be coming to London for a business trip and stay at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. i'm still contemplating kung mag-eextend ako ng 1-2 days para makapag-gala naman kahit papano...

if mag-extend ako under personal account, syempre lilipat ako sa mas murang accommodation. i'm thinking about Best Western Mornington Hotel. naghahanap din ako ng promo rate sa Accor hotels (kasi i have a loyalty card) kaso walang mura na malapit sa heart of London.

budget ko lang kasi is 4K-8K per night. yung Best Western is around 8K, sana may mahanap akong mas mura pero pasok sa hinahanap ko: malapit sa central London, walking distance to the tube, 3-star hotel (no-no sa akin ang hostels).

[shegie_285]

^ have you considered Travelodge hotels? Madami sila hotels sa central London, good value na hotel. NOt sure about the star dahil parang basic hotel sya but I stayed there, maganda ang hotel for the price and comfortable din ang bed.

[little_princess]

^^ when are you going to London? Starting May - August mas mahal na since it is almost or summertime na.

we got a hotel for around 129GBP and it is in the heart of London - Hilton London Bridge. There are a lot of hotels that are below 100GBP, try the budget chains like Travelodge, Premier Inn, Best Western, Ibis, etc. You can also check booking.com and search for the area you would like to stay

[juana_antonia]

^^^ There are lots of hotels within your budget na malapit sa Bayswater Tube Station.  Try hotels along Kensington Gardens, and Hereford Road.  A friend stayed in Hyde Park Suites which is a serviced apartment, ok naman feedback niya- very near sa tube and food establishments.

[meimei]

hello mga sis! i only have a few days in London. i've been reading up on the transportation and it's giving me a headache, hahaha! anyway, so here's my tentative itinerary, incomplete pa...

Thu night: Watch a play (Once)

Fri: The Original Tour's yellow route (so i won't be using much the oyster card)
- Hyde Park
- Marble Arch (Speakers' Corner)
- Buckingham Palace
- Horseferry Rd, Milbank (Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament)
- Aldwych, Covent Garden
- London Bridge
- Tower Hill, Tower of London
- Southwark Bridge Rd, Shakespeare's Globe
- Free Thames River Cruise
- Piccadilly Circus
- Trafalgar Square
- Westminster Bridge, County Hall, London Eye

Sat: Use oyster card to travel around other spots in London
- Kew Garden (i love nature so i might spend morning til noon here)
- (incomplete - where to go in the afternoon?)

Sun: Use oyster card to travel around other spots in London
- chillax sa Hyde Park, souvenir shopping (not yet sure where)
- Abbey Road (picture lang kasi Beatles fan)
- 4:30pm leave for Heathrow airport

tama naman intindi ko sa oyster card na para siyang prepaid card, right? ang iniisip ko kasi, 20 pound worth of oyster lang muna kunin ko kasi para sa Sat and Sun na pag-iikot sa London.

pero yung sa Friday, iniisip ko mas sulit pa rin yung hop-on/off bus tour kasi buong araw kong iikutin yung mga spots na yun and 25 pounds lang naman ang fee sa The Original Tour (w/ free Thames na). ayoko ng London Pass kasi iilan lang naman ang gusto ko puntahan and most of them don't have entrance fees.

 HELP! i just have a few questions:

1. may portion na na-confuse ako sa oyster card kasi nabasa ko sa website: "If you have an Oyster card, you can top it up with pay as you go credit or add a Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass to it." na-confuse ako, akala ko i can use my oyster card for the tube, bus, tram, eh bakit ko kailangan mag-add ng Travelcard and/or Bus & Tram Pass? iba pang bayad yun?

2. marami akong bibigyan ng pasalubong so i only have budget of 1.50 pounds per person. kasi as in souvenir lang talaga... saan merong ganito ka-affordable na souvenirs?

[gj1206]

meimei

How much is this Original Tour bus ba? Because Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Bridge (and see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Parliament) are all so close to each other you can walk it. Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square are within minutes of walking next to each other too. The Tower Bridge, Southwark, Shakespeare's Globe are all walkable down the river.

What I'm saying is, you can probably live doing the Oyster for that, but again depende on how much that tour bus thing costs. A bus ride is £1.45 every touch and it's a max of...£7.something a day I think? Like, they stop charging you if you've reached a certain amount in a day. A £20 oyster top-up lasts me roughly a 5-7 days depending on how much I go around the city.

Don't worry about the Travelcard achuchuchu. When you have an Oyster, you have the option of pay as you go (prepaid) or getting a week's worth of travelling, kahit gaano ka pa ka-often mag bus/tube. But you've decided to top-up naman na.

I don't know about souvenirs, to be honest. Depende what souvenir you want, I guess? I do remember getting keychains before and it was like, £5 for 3 keychains? Exag sila dito eh 

[meimei]

^thanks sis! Yup, mag-oyster card na lang ako.

Mga sis, HELP! Yung kuya ko, gusto ko bilhan ng football jersey, like yung mga Manchester United, Chelsea, etc, kasi sobrang football fan yun. Para sa kanya willing ako mag-spend up to 30 pounds per jersey. Any idea where i can buy it? Please please please!

Kasi i only have 3 nights in London and puno na itinerary ko so i might not have much time scouring for the jersey. So if you have an idea where i can buy it, pls pls tell me. Thanks.

[gj1206]

meimei lots of souvenir shops around Piccadilly Circus. I'm pretty sure I've seen them selling football shirts there, but I don't know how much. They're not original, of course, so as long as your kuya wouldn't mind...you'll see them when you go around your first day! The original ones you can get at the big Nike store at Oxford Circus, but they cost £80+ last I checked, mga 2 years ago.

[shegie_285]

meimei mahal nga ang original jerseys, ang £30 makukuha mo lang na jersey na original for that price is pag may sale, and lumang jersey and minsan malalaking size. You can buy jerseys at any sports shop.

[meimei]

Thanks mga sis, ang mahal nga! Whoa!! Sana may makita akong sale ng last season's shirts (orig) kasi much cheaper daw than new releases. Eh ok naman na ang last season's shirts (orig). Pero kung wala talaga, ok na kahit hindi orig, i read somewhere cheaper daw sa Lilywhites.