Before visiting Portsmouth …
What not to do before visiting Portsmouth
It would be fair to say that perceptions of UK travel have changed over the years. Once upon a time it was London, and that was the end of the story. Now, other cities are stepping up, and as today’s title may have already suggested, Portsmouth falls into this category.
For the purposes of today, we are not going to focus on all of the great things you can do in Portsmouth – there are plenty of guides out there to help you along your way. Instead, it’s going to be about everything that you shouldn’t do before visiting – which should hopefully give you a different slant on how to approach your trip there.
Mistake #1 – Don’t just turn up at the train station
First and foremost, while we are all for being spontaneous – it would be fair to say that there is a time and a place.
As we’re going to assume that most of you are traveling from London, there are ways and means to do this without spending a small fortune. Suffice to say, turning up at the train station and hoping for the best is out of the equation.
Unfortunately, rail fares are only going one way and that’s up. It means that you can blow your holiday budget in a flash if you just turn up and hope for the best.
Instead, try and book in advance. Sure, planning these sort of trips can be difficult, but you can save a small fortune if you opt for this method. How can you tell if you’re booking a lower-than-normal fare? As long as it says “Advance” next to the ticket, you’re paying a cut-price fee.
Mistake #2 – Don’t just treat this as a day trip
As we have already alluded to, the purpose of today isn’t to look at all of the things you can do in Portsmouth. This is already published all over the internet.
Something that we will say is that while this isn’t London in terms of the sheer number of attractions that are available to visit, there is still a lot to do. Portsmouth is still a major city, and it means that trying to cram in a day trip to this destination probably isn’t going to work.
If time doesn’t allow, then by all means try it, but otherwise you’re going to be left very frustrated with the few hours you have to spend there. Let’s not forget that it has everything from Charles Dickens attractions, right the way to the Mary Rose museum – so the amount of variety here is huge.
Mistake #3 – Timing is everything
Again, due to the fact that this isn’t London, a common mistake is that Portsmouth never gets truly busy.
Well, let’s dispel this once and for all. Once school holidays arrive, it is more difficult to find accommodation, and queues start to form at key attractions. This is another reason why planning is crucial when you start to think about heading over there for a couple of days or more.
Before visiting Portsmouth is a feature post you might also like my post on reasons to get outside
