London is the second most popular destination in the world for international tourists. It’s an amazing city no matter how you look at it and everyone can have a great time there. However, the abundance of entertainment, attractions, great food, and versatile accommodations comes at a rather steep price. The average daily cost of a stay in London is $187, which means this place definitely isn’t budget-friendly. However, if you are clever about your planning and choose your entertainment wisely, you’ll have a chance to cut your costs by quite a bit.
How to Cut the Costs of a Trip to London: 3 Ideas Guaranteed to Work
1. Eat smart
The most important thing to do if you want to cut food costs when traveling to London is to limit your eating out. There’s no way around it, even the cheaper restaurants in the city are way too expensive if you choose to get three daily meals there.
When you do eat out, you should go for small restaurants and pubs located away from major tourist attractions. Note that servers in the UK get a living wage, therefore, in the majority of cases, there is no need to tip.
The cheapest way to eat in London is to buy your food from supermarkets. You can find plenty of breakfast options there and get rather cheap meal deals for lunch. A good but affordable dinner can come from a food market. London street food is extremely diverse and rather cheap (by London standards) so you’ll have plenty of options.
2. Don’t pay for entertainment at all
One of the best things about traveling to London is that it’s full of free entertainment options. Therefore, you might cut this particular expense to the minimum. Many of the top museums in the city are free and you can always find a free tour in London.
During the summer, you can catch some free shows in the parks. Even if they aren’t free, tickets should be very cheap. It’s the same for many festivals, so schedule your trip for the time that will allow you to catch a few. Note that you should book places well in advance if this option exists.
Sadly, drinks and bar snacks in London are costly. Therefore, a budget traveler might not be able to enjoy a wild night out. There are pub crawl tours with included drinks that can help you work around this problem.
3. Get an Oyster card
London public transport is the most expensive in the world. Therefore, visitor Oyster card will be every traveler’s best friend for the duration of your stay. It won’t make going around London cheap, but it’s the best you can get.
The city is too big to navigate it on foot, so keep the availability and cost of public transport in mind when you are choosing your accommodations. Note that despite their higher cost, it’s more cost-efficient for tourists to stay in Central London hotels or hostels. This way you won’t have to travel too far from home to attractions and you’ll save more money in the long run due to lower transport costs.
Sadly, you also should skip the iconic black taxis. They might be one of the London symbols, but they are unreasonably expensive. In case public transport is unavailable for some reason, you should use Uber.
Final tip, book your train tickets from and to the airport about a week before your arrival. This will allow you to get the best deal. If you arrive at Heathrow, check if it’s possible to get to your destination in the city proper using the Undergrown. This is the cheapest option.
