Short break in London: travel light & travel well

Planning a short break in London? Are you taking a short haul flight to the Big Smoke? Understandably, many passengers are reluctant to pay for a suitcase or large bag to go in the hold. Having to retrieve a suitcase from the carousel at the airport can delay your departure from the airport to your eventual destination. If I'm flying with a budget airline, I tend to carry the bulk of my luggage in a holdall. I also like to include a small backpack, which I pack in my holdall for the flight, which I can carry things in during my stay.

Once you arrive at your base for your stay - be it a hostel, hotel, bed and breakfast - leave your main bag in your room and then pack a few essentials in a backpack that you can take with you when you venture out into the city.

As mentioned in a previous post, I always like to take a bottle or two of water when I'm out and about. I tend to get thirsty and you never know when it is going to come in handy. The Underground can be hot, particularly at this time of year.

Some people like taking a guidebook with them when they're visiting a major city, like London, for the first time. A well written up-to-date guidebook can provide an insight into a city. On the flip side, a guidebook adds weight to your backpack and marks you out as tourist - when you might prefer to be a little less conspicuous.

Visitors can go walk about in London with five Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable tour guides. Listeners download their chosen tour or tours from our website to their iPod, MP3 player or cell phone. Most of the tours with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular audio tour guide can be completed in two hours.

Each Walk Talk Tour London audio downloadable guide costs just £5.95. Purchase two tours from walktalktour.com simultaneously and receive a twenty per cent discount.

A Walk Talk Tour allows the listener the ultimate in flexibility. The listener can stop and start as they see fit. If you're out and about in the UK it's always a good idea to have a waterproof or an umbrella close at hand, so you day doesn't end up being a damp squib or, at worst, a washout. If the rain starts to fall and you're enjoying a Walk Talk Tour, your day need not be ruined. Simply pause your tour and resume it when the weather has improved.

Pictured above is the National Gallery on the north side of Trafalgar Square. The Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts London tour guide begins outside the National Gallery. Like the other four Walk Talk Tour city walking tours it is available in English, French, German and Spanish. And the tour comes complete with a downloadable tour plan (map) for listeners to print off.