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I'll be in London for 3 days and would like to minimize my expenses.

I'm getting a 3 pound Oyster Card when I get there...my intial trip from Airport to Hostel is going to be 3.50 since I'm rather far, but it looks like I can get to the city center for 2 pounds, or 1.50 if I want to get up early and stay out all day. (In other words, 3+3.50+4+4=~14.50. Any advice on minimizing transport costs would be appreciated. For reference I'm staying a little bit east of Greenwich.

Now, that aside, I'll be needing food for 3 days, beer (of course ), and a little money for various tourist stuff.

Not including my hostel expenses, I'm hoping to not spend more than 50 pounds in these 3 days. I'm already down to about 35 with my projected transportation costs (London's transportation price is absurd; I just had to say it). I figure I'll get groceries (10 pounds?), I'll likely eat out once for the experience(4?), and hopefully no more than 10 pounds on beer and going out. I wanted to ride the London Eye, but for nearly 30 bucks USD, I'll pass. I think I'll stick to walking and double-decker bus rides (how much are those?), which I'll be more than content with.

Any advice in general on how to have a good time in London without getting bent over with prices is appreciated.

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Originally posted by Chelovek:
Any advice on minimizing transport costs would be appreciated.

Stick to buses (which includes double deck). Avoid buying a paper ticket on the machine, Oyster card is cheaper. Once you are in Zone 1-2 then just walk. It may take you a while, but London is a great walking city--fairly flat, scenic, safe. Best to loosely plan your route out for the day if you do this.

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I'll likely eat out once for the experience (4?)

If you stick to kebab shops! If you want a 'nice' sit down, you are probably looking at more like £7-10. Maybe £4 is workable if you stick to dinner type places.

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hopefully no more than 10 pounds on beer

So, that's 2-4 pints maybe? If you buy beer at the store you could drink outside (not uncommon in London) for £1 each.

London is overall absurdly expensive. The estimates seem low but marginally doable if you go very basic on everything. I remember the costs being much higher than I excepted when I went for the first time a year ago. A tube/bus pass (which you can use on the normal double decker city bus routes (I believe including the historic tourist one--#15??? as well) is about as much for two days as one in Paris is for a week ($12, I think). Anyhow, beer can be very expensive if you go out. I would say that you are budgeting too low if you plan to go into any tourist sites and eat anything other than bread and water and have any beer. That said, I did survive there for three days on less than 50 GBP--I had to settle on everything and I brought some food along to ease the pain of the UK's price exorbitance.

There's probably more info for you in the London board.

Yes, London is expensive, but then you're suffering from the weak dollar against the pound at the moment so that disadvantages you further.

however, the 2 respondants exaggerate un petit peu, I have a feeling that they didn't leave Leicester Square ;-)

London is divided into zones 1 to 6, but central 'tourist' London is contained really within Zone 1. A 1 day Zone 1 & 2 travel card will cost you £5.10 or approx $10 for all tubes and buses that you will need. Heathrow is zone 6 though.

http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard.htm

You don't say where you're staying, but the best way to see London is on foot and you could really walk nearly everywhere that you'll probably want to go, if you get hold of a good AtoZ/ city map and your geography is good. i travelled everywhere by tube for years when I first moved here, then one day my dad came to visit and we walked everywhere and I suddenly thought, wow I can see how the city links together at last!

Yes it's legal to drink outside here and if the weathers nice you could just buy some beers and sit in one of London's beautiful parks and soak up the atmosphere.

Otherwise avoid drinking in Leicester Square, pity not to grab a pint in Soho (choose one of the old traditional pubs rather than one of the zillion trendy wine bars). Some cool pubs linked below:

Dickins Inn (in St. Katherines Dock near Tower of London) - http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/39/3905/Dickens_Inn/Tower_Hill

Tattershall Castle (boat pub, cool with great view of the Thames - The Eye, Tower of London) - Embankment tube stuff.

http://ultimatepubguide.com/pubs/info.phtml?pub_id=41

Lots of natives go to these as well. Ok, not the cheapest but a beer should cost you £3.50 or $7 max. Worth going to both just for one.

There are lots of cheaper pubs (try a JD Wetherspoons pub if you're desperate - there's an ok one on Tottenham Court road, these are pretty cheap and cheap grub too).

For lunch, try this place - http://www.london-eating.co.uk/5343-2.htm

It's a FAB Turkish restaurant. Not sure what it costs now, but when I worked near there 2 years ago, it was a great 2 course lunch for £5.95 so not bad and loads of choice, great atmosphere.

http://www.london-eating.co.uk/5343-2.htm

Finally, don't forget that most museums (apart from some special exhibitions) are FREE. So you could visit the Science Museum/ National History Museum and Victoria and Albert in South Kensington and save all your money for beer. Check them out! Plus Museum of London (in the City) is great, my favourite, the history of London since BC times but done in an way that's not overwhelming. History of people and their lives during the Great Fire of London, the Plague, World War 2 etc. Don't miss if you have any interest in history or culture at all! Again, it's FREE!! I paid about $15 per museum I went to in New York last year and Paris museums also cost a bomb, so here London wins

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/YourVisit/

Please let me know if you take up any of my tips or ask if you need any more info from a Londoner rather than an ex 2 day tourist ;-)

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however, the 2 respondants exaggerate

a former resident and frequent visitor, actually.

good point on the museums. i personally recommend the tate modern, but it depends what you are into. one can spend a few hours there...it combines well with a one-two hour long walk along the south bank.

Great replies everyone, thanks a lot.

I'll be about 9 miles from Soho, 11 from Hyde Park, so that should give you an idea of where I am. I'm definitely walking distance to Greenwich, but I think I'll take a bus or train at some point.

Are there bus routes in Greenwich that go to the city? They are indeed cheaper; apparently it's 1 pound on the Oyster card for a bus ride, as opposed to 2-3.50 if you ride the tube.

Can you get transfers from tube to bus, or bus to bus for reduced price/free?

EDIT: As far as beer, I had been wondering what the store prices were (specifically, how much for a 6 pack?). Buying exclusively in pubs is a bad idea just about everywhere, I think. And it is definitely legal to drink outside anywhere?

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Originally posted by welshcake:
Please let me know if you take up any of my tips or ask if you need any more info from a Londoner rather than an ex 2 day tourist ;-)

Umm... As the ex three day American tourist I think that I can understand in someways better what price shock, common problems and differences, etc may be for a future three day American tourist. You do make good points and suggest decent sounding places. The best attractions mainly being free is indeed a really good point.

A six-pack (or a four-pack of tall boys) should run around 3 quid on the low end in my experience. It is legal to drink outside unless you are told not to.

Using the Oyster Card the maximum you will have to pay on buses is 3 Pounds/every 24 hours. I'm not sure about direct transfers though. There are connections if not direct buses to where you are going, tfl.gov.uk should help clear things up. Also, remember that you have to catch buses on the opposite side of the road as at home . Also you will need to physically flag buses down or they will not stop for you.

Have a grand old time.

Hey I was just jesting, meant no offence! Always like to be controversial, hee hee. And impressive knowledge of TFL. Especially on flagging buses down, that took me ages to get used to and when I first moved here I was forever missing buses because of it!

Oh yes Stoo, forgot that art exhibitions (certain special exhibs excluded) are also free. The National Gallery is worth a visit too. Would second Tate modern, though not my kind of thing, you get a good view of the thames and south bank from the top.

Chelovek - that is staying way out, so in retrospect, yep you probably are going to be skinned somewhat on public transport! I think the Docklands Light Railway might be cheaper than the tube in, but yes there should be lots of buses. You can also get a boat.

Here's a useful link - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/greenwich-2106.pdf

Forgot to add that the bus/ tube transfer thing doesn't exist as far as I'm aware (I get my travel paid for by my company so don't pay much attention but never heard of this).

3 quid max on buses is due to the automated limit thing, right?

If so, that's awesome...definitely better than a minimum of 4 quid just getting to and from my hostel, plus 2-3 quid on other trips I might make.

3 quid on buses is the equivalent of a 1 day bus pass. If you take bus and tube combined, the maximum limit is the equivalent of a 1 day travel card (about a fiver for zones 1-2, I think. However this only applies if you travel after the morning peak time, that is after 9:30 am. Trips taken during peak time will be charged on top of the day pass/travel card equivalent.

Bus is cheaper than tube, and you'll see more of the city, but they can be slow (much improved now, with special bus lanes). There should be connections from Greenwich to the city.There is also a riverboat service, but I've never used that.

I'm moving this thread to the London Travel forum as it contains lots of good advise for everyone planning to travel there

Err, not to burst your bubble about buying beer to drink elsewhere but I think it does depend WHERE you're going to be drinking it. I know that in Manchester and some of the towns surrounding it (Stockport where I live), drinking alcohol whilst wandering the streets of the city is banned (i.e you can be arrested!!!) to try and reduce trouble caused by people under the influence.

Not, entirely sure about London but it may be worth checking it out before you wander about with a can of beer in your hand.... Don't want to spend your time in London in a police cell!!!

Its definitely not illegal to drink on the streets in London, and to be honest, if you are behaving sensibly (ie sitting quietly in a park chatting to friends rather than staggering into the paths of lorries whilst clutching your can of special brew), its very unlikely that anyone would stop you anyway!

Scoffing in disbelief, I looked it up and Tizwoz is correct!

Apart from those parts of town when there are lots of bars and people (Camden, Shoreditch, Soho, Westminster, Upper Street) then drinking in public (streets, parks, by the river, etc) is perfectly legal. Where there are local bylaws banning drinking in the street then there will be big signs posted by the police telling you that (the laws are designed to act as a deterrent rather than trying to raise money through fines or put people in prison)

Get drinking in the park - best way to spend an English summer evening. Oh and if you want professional drinking in the street then go to Notting Hill Carnival.

As angrylittlecoldier says, a great English summer day/evening can be spent with a beer in the park. Even a bottle of wine.

One of my favorite things to do, back in the day, was to head off to Green Park on a sunny day with an IHT (£1.20), a cheese bap (~£1.20) a beer (salad, mustard; £1) and plop myself down in one of those lawn chairs (£1)...and just chill for an hour or two.

Central London is fine for drinking in public. Behave yourself and there won't be a problem. It is not uncommon to see folks drinking beers on The Tube on a Friday or Saturday evening en route to a pub/dinner/party/whatever.



Spiceymell: what kind of self respecting, Burbury G-string wearing Essex girl would not know that drinking in public in London is legal, common and almost expected??? I am loosing faith...

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Originally posted by Stoo:
Spiceymell: what kind of self respecting, Burbury G-string wearing Essex girl would not know that drinking in public in London is legal, common and almost expected??? I am loosing faith...

Hmmm, not sure - good job I'm not an Essex girl really....!!!

Perhaps it's just a bit rougher oooop-north which is why they decided to ban it around these parts....

Bah, gone are the days of wanderi...sorry, staggering around the streets of a evening with Monsieur Smirnoff....

if i go for about 5 days how many euros will I need?

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if i go for about 5 days how many euros will I need?

Personally, I recommend bringing pounds. Euros are not accepted in the UK.

There's a lot of variables, depends where you eat, where you stay, what kind of attraction you visit, etc. Based on my own travelling patterns, I spend about £35-£40 per person per day before accomodation. Accomodation starts at about £15 for a bed in a hostel, £35 for a private single room, shared bath, in a cheap B&B - which is probably the best value for money - and the sky's the limit when you're looking at higher end accomodation.

A budget, but still fun, trip to London for 5 days could cost as little as £250 (about $500) once you arrive. If you want more than the basics, expect to spend more.

The 188 bus goes from North Greenwich, through Greenwich and onto Russel Square in the centre of town. It takes a while though, the overland train is much quicker, about £3.50 return. Don't forget the DLR either that will take you straight to Bank where you can get lots of tube lines.

Greenwich is pretty cool place in my book. Good for a mellowish night out - central London can be crazy with people sometimes. It's not that cheap unfortunately but it is a student town so you can find some cheaper pubs - try the Admiral Hardy. The Greenwich Union is about 5 minutes outside the centre of Greenwich and has its own micro-brewery with lots of cool beer including chocolate, coffee and vanilla stout. Noodle Time is also a great cheap chinese.

There's no getting away from it London is expensive but most of the key attractions are walkable. A stroll along the South Bank is well worth it with lots of cafes and restaurants along the way as well as the Tate Modern, The Globe(Shakespeare's Theatre with tickets for £10), London Eye. If your here at the weekend Borough Market on Saturday is a buzzing farmers market at London Bridge. Spitalfields on a Sunday is also cool with loads of trendy clothes and trinkets and food at Liverpool Street station. A trip to Westminister and Trafalgar Square is worth it too but this is the middle of town so things get pricier.

It's a great city I hope you can make the most of it