Tips to CHEAPLY Travel London
This February I visited London for the second time, and this trip yet again verified that London is one of my favorite cities. Both times I’ve visited London, I’ve done it cheaply and still seen so amazing things. London is a city that is super popular for student travelers and backpackers, and while it can be pricey, it’s not too difficult to travel cheaply. Here’s a short list of tips to see the sites of London on a budget (and in only a few days too)!
A quick word of warning to pay attention to is the exchange rate between dollars and pounds as it’s more inflated than the exchange rate between dollars and euros. Coming from a place that uses predominately euros, it was a tough adjustment to remember.
1) Book a hostel in the city center:
If you want to stay somewhere for cheap and are a student traveler or backpacker, there are a plethora of good hostels in central London to stay in for really good prices. The hostel I stayed at both times as it was clean, lively, and very central was Wombats Hostel- it’s located 10 minutes from the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge (aka the London Bridge) and has a really cool downstairs bar where it’s really easy to socialize and get cheap drinks- without leaving the hostel. They also give you free drink tickets upon arrival! Overall one of the nicest hostels I’ve ever stayed at.
By booking a place to stay in the city center, you will also save on transportation costs!
2) Go on a ‘free' walking tour:
The alley that inspired J.K. Rowling to think up Diagon Alley in Harry Potter spotted on our walking tour!
I write this in quotations as it is courtesy to tip at the end of a free walking tour as tour guides make their wages exclusively off tips. That being said, mostly people tip around $15 (USD), so it’s not too expensive given how long the tours are (usually around 2 1/2 to 3 hours) and you see A LOT in a short amount of time.
I went on a free walking tour each time I was in London, both through Strawberry Tours, and both tours left straight from our hostel!
3) Book accommodations with breakfast included or a cheap breakfast option, plan restaurants beforehand, or book a place with a kitchen:
If you want to save money on food, I’d recommend staying at a place with breakfast included or offered cheaply- this way you can eat A LOT at the beginning of the day and spend less on food throughout the day.
Exploring restaurants is, however, one of my favorite things to do so in my opinion it’s always a good idea to do research beforehand and plan restaurants where you want to splurge and have a nice meal.
Airbnb is often a nice and cheap travel option (although it can be pricey to find a cheap place in central London), however when staying at an Airbnb, it’s easy to save money by cooking at least one meal at home each day.
4) If you are a fan of theater, it is easy to get discounted tickets to see several different shows:
There’s several websites to go to to find cheap tickets to all the shows playing in London’s theaters, but I booked a ticket to Wicked the day before the show using this website.
London has a great theater scene, and there’s so many shows being offered with various seats and ticket prices.