London is expensive! It would be madness to pretend otherwise. But a visit shouldn’t destroy your bank account at home.
Two cross-cutting factors come into play. Let’s start with the good news for visitors. The British pound is historically quite weak at the moment, which means that, for the moment at least, daily costs in the city are roughly comparable to costs in major US cities and most major cities in Europe Western.
The bad news is that inflation is currently worse in the UK than anywhere else, so prices – particularly those of food and other consumer goods from the European Economic Area – continue to rise.
It goes without saying that it pays to have economic weapons in your arsenal. Here are 10 ways to save on your trip to London.
1. Buy an Oyster Visitor Card
The Visitor Oyster Card, a contactless smart card that can only be purchased before you arrive in London, is a great way to save money. It determines the cheapest fare for a given journey on public transport and can be recharged along the way. It also caps rates at a maximum amount per day; for example, if you travel exclusively by bus, a £20 Visitor Oyster card will cap charges at £4.65 per day.
The Visitor Oyster Card can be used on all Transport for London (TfL) services: tube, buses, tram lines, Docklands Light Railway, Thames Clipper ferry services and most National Rail train services in London as well as Heathrow and Gatwick Express. trains. Customers can get a refund for partially unused cards. The Visitor Oyster Card is a budget traveler’s dream, but we’re not going to fool you: there’s plenty of fine print attached to its use.
Taking the bus is more fun and much cheaper than taking the metro.
2. Take a bus
If you decide to travel by route, choose the bus rather than the metro. Buses may be slower than the metro, but they are cheaper. Around 95% of London residents live within 400 meters of a bus route: buses are effectively the capillaries of London’s public transport, penetrating — particularly south of the Thames — in a way that the subway does not penetrate. Bus fares now include a full hour of unlimited travel.
If you decide to take the subway instead, make sure you ride like a local with these tips.
3. Take advantage of the Boots lunch offer
Due to the insane rise in food prices, food products like Pret and Benugo have become much less affordable than they were in years past. But the Boots meal deal is still a good deal.
Boots is a chain of pharmacies (pharmacy) operating throughout the United Kingdom. The Boots meal deal is now £4.99 for a main, snack and drink in London – certainly more than the £3.99 it cost in London just a few years ago – but it remains a lot.
4. Buy food from supermarkets
If you want to find even cheaper food, you can always prepare meals on the go in supermarkets. Chains like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl are ideal for one-off meals; Waitrose, quite posh, has some good deals here and there.
5. Walk
London, a mostly very flat city, is a great place to walk around. (How far? Check your stair counter on your phone: it’s not hard to walk 20,000 steps in a day in London and find that you’ve only climbed two or three floors!) Use Google Maps or another customizable map to estimate travel times — remember, London is huge.
6. Camping in the city
Yes, remarkably, you can pitch a tent in London! Crystal Palace Club campsite in south London and Abbey Wood Club campsite in far south-east London are safe and secure places to camp. There are also tent sites just beyond the borders of Greater London at Aldenham Country Park in Elstree, Hertfordshire.
Regency Café, London. Photo: distillé
7. Dine locally
Eat at local cafes and canteens to get the most bang for your buck. Most of the cheap restaurants are outside central London, although even in the center there are good deals to be had. For example, at Regency Café (17-19 Regency Street SW1P 4BY), the weekly curry costs £6.20, the breakfast set costs £5.50 and a veggie burger costs £2.60.
8. Explore free museums
The best-known London museums are mostly free. Yes, you read that correctly. Permanent collections are always free at the Design Museum, Museum of London, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Tate Modern and the Victoria & Albert, among other museums. The London Transport Museum is free for everyone under 17.
Keep in mind that some museums may require you to reserve time slots before your visit, even if tickets are free. Check the museum’s website before visiting to avoid being turned away at the door.
9. Get Free and Discounted Theater Tickets
How to make theater on a limited budget? I asked my friend Derek Craig, a theater enthusiast, for his opinion. He suggested Seat Fillers, which offers free tickets — or tickets for the price of reservation fees only — to everyone. Another way to get free (or discounted) theater tickets is The Audience Club.
10. Book budget hotels in London
Use EuroCheapo to book cheap hotels in London, from our favorite cheap hotels in central London to the best hostels in the city. (Did you think we weren’t going to honk our own horn?)
Ready to book your trip? Search thousands of hotels in London.
