UK Itinerary 2018: Day 9 - Half Day City Tour (Belfast) & Back to London

Our day started with a visit to Titanic Experience. From our hotel, we set out to Glengall Street and walked straight till Wellington Place. We head to the bus stop near "Visit Belfast" Information Center. After 20 minutes, we reached the place.  The bus stop to Titanic Experience is at Belfast Met, and there's a bus stop at the opposite side of the road to take back to the city.


RMS Titanic Experience

How to go: Take bus 26b/26c to go to Titanic Belfast. You can buy metro day tickets from Visit Belfast Tourist Information Centre. It costs 3GBP for 1 whole day of bus rides. Ask for : Metro day Tickets.

Ticket Price (Exhibition): It costs 18GBP pp to enter the exhibition w/SS Nomadic.




The whole experience went beyond what we have imagined. We thought that we were just going in to see some photos/memorabilia from the sunken ship, but it was more than that.

We enjoyed the whole experience including the ride to the shipyard. There was also an insight on how Titanic was first conceptualize till the time of its departure and ultimately its demise.





After the lift to the shipyard, we would be ushered to one of the ride experience inside the exhibition .

Peeking out of the window is the dockyard. 

This was the part of where the Titanic docked and made its maiden voyage. 


You can also take this tram to go around the area ... It costs 5GBP, but they open late in the day.

SS Nomadic










It was time to head back to the city. We took the bus back and went to Queen's Arcade.

Queen's Arcade

Queen street was actually just a few blocks away from Maldron Hotel .
Directions: At the back of maldron, walk straight till you hit upper queen street. Turn right. Walk Straight. Queen Street and Castle Street are some of the shopping area.
There's actually more to Queen's Arcade. If you walk straight past Tesco Metro, there's a big shopping mall, Castle Court, and you are in Shopping heaven.

Europa Bus Centre


 Airport Express runs every 20 mins from Europa Bus Centre.
At Europa Bus Centre

Boarding the Airport Bus 300. It has racks for big sized luggage.



Belfast International Airport 


After 40 minutes, you'll reach Belfast International Airport. There are not much places outside security area to sit down, so better go to the gates. (If you're lucky enough to find seats, stay until you're comfortable to go to the gates. )
Once you go up the escalator, it's already security.
Security Checkpoint 
This was roughly a 30-40 minutes wait at security, so time it properly. Our Golden Rule (after missing a flight last time) was to be at the gate , 1 hour before departure.
Tip: Do put your electronic device near your reach. Do not put it inside the carry-on. But it's ok to go through security with the device inside the carry-on.
After security, are the duty free shops before the gates.. Do take note that the Gate announcement is usually 30 mins before boarding.

Belfast International Airport do not use jet bridge. So you have to board the plane from a flight of stairs.

Boarding Easy Jet, Airbus A319


There was a few minutes delay on our departure. Since it was a full flight, they had our luggage stowed (free check-in!).

Gatwick Airport 

We reached Gatwick at 1700.

Take the shuttle train to south terminal where all the trains are...



We took the Southern Railway from Gatwick to London. It took us awhile to reach Victoria Station(longer than if you take Gatwick Express, but it's cheaper!)  .


We couldn't manage to book the first hotel we stayed in so we shifted to another place in Hammersmith.

At Hammersmith Station


One good thing about Hammersmith is that there are a lot of shops around the area. There's Primark, Poundland, Savers, and Iceland,a grocery store. But stores close early at 8-9PM. 
There's also KFC, Pret-A-Manger (8:30PM), and Wasabi Sushi & Bento.  The lone food outlet that closes till late is Iceland or KFC, which closes at 11PM. 

Accommodation: Best Western Seraphine Hammersmith
Directions: From hammersmith station, cross the street (head to where King Street is), head straight until you reach Primark. You should be passing by King's Theatre.

Pro:
  • Free nice breakfast. 
  • Room is slightly bigger than mowbray Court Hotel , but it's still small. 
  • Amenities: got stationery, towels, 1 biscuit, tea, coffee, shampoo, conditioner. 
  • Proximity to shops : primark, poundworld, savers and iceland (grocery). 
  • There is enough power outlet.
Con:
  • There's no complimentary water. 
  • It is quite a distance from Hammersmith Station (walking distance but still far). 
  • Shops close early at 8:30pm (though some open early at 8am).
  • There are no slippers. 
  • There is a communal body/hand wash, but shampoo, conditioner are separate. 
  • Room temperature can be controlled but it's still hot. 
  • There's no fridge, so you can't really keep anything, and there's no iron. 








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