Budget Travel Guide To London

Are you visiting London and afraid that the trip is not going to be budget-friendly? After living for almost three years to London, I can safely say that London can be overwhelming at times, costing a whopping £6.70 for a single journey tube ride. Here is the budget travel guide if you are visiting London where you can travel with less expenses without burning your pockets.

Transportation:

If you are travelling in London for more than a week, I would suggest you buy an oyster card and take a weekly pass instead of tapping your contactless. And DO NOT BUY OYSTER CARD if you still want to use it as pay-as-you-go. There would be 0 difference but an extra £7.00 charge to buy an Oyster card itself.

Use the daily/weekly/monthly passes with your Oyster card. Check the link to see discounts and make use of the discounted prices.

If you are travelling for less than 7 days, plan all your travels accordingly. For example, try to plan sightseeing places in one/two days where you can spend only these days on transportation as there is a maximum fare even on pay-as-you-go.

Try to avoid different modes of transportation and stick to 2 or 3 different modes. For example, there are separate charges for buses, underground, overground, trains and trams. try to travel mostly by bus and underground as these cover a lot of places. If you are spending a day in central, stick to the buses as you can see many places and enjoy gorgeous views of London on the top deck of the famous red buses.

Food and Drinks:

Yes! London's food is amazing. But also is expensive. On average a pint of beer costs you £5.90 whereas the nation's average is £4.21 and the world's average is just £2.60. So, if you want to enjoy your pint in a pub, enjoying the rich British culture, you might or should cut down other costs. Yes, I love pub culture in Britain and it's one of my and my friend's top things to do is to visit cozy pubs although I don't drink alcoholic drinks. Also, try to avoid those pub foods as they are a bit more expensive than in normal restaurants.

Try to cut the costs of coffee and try to make coffee at home or make use of those free coffee packets at your hotel :D

Take advantage of food markets. Places like Camden Market, Chinatown, and Soho offer you many varieties.

Shopping:

Yay, Oxford Street! But, no!!!! A big no!!! Yes, visit Oxford Street but don't spend all your time, energy and money just there. Since we are talking about budget friendly guide, here are the few places you can go shopping and won't go bankrupt ;)

Shop at places like Portobello Road market, and Shoreditch, but it's also worth checking Bond Street and Regent Street.

I'm also big on shopping at charity/vintage clothing stores as you can find some brands like Burberry, Gucci, and Dior at very reasonable prices. Check out stores like the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, Oxfam, Fara and many others for regular clothing. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Sightseeing:

Please stop spending eternity on entrance tickets just because you are bored. There are many free things to do in London from Museums, parks, markets and many other historical places. Research for free things to do and you can get the most out of them.

I will write a separate blog with a series of top things to do in London for free and cover in detail.

Hop on Hop off Bus tours:

Last but not least, please, please, please don't be that tourist who takes hop-on and hop-off bus tours. They are not worth it. Instead, if you need a guided tour, download the Rick Steeves Application on your mobile, and hop on bus route 9 which takes you from Aldwych to Hammersmith, 11 - Fulham to Liverpool Street and 24 - from Pimlico to Hampstead Heath to cover most sights seeing places in London and thank me later :D

Categories: Budget Travel, London tourism, Top things to do in London, How to save money in London, Top 5 things to do in London, Top 10 Things to do in London