Hey all, looking to visit when we have the money and was wondering a few things.. we were trying to figure out prices, and wanted to know how much hotels run, any tips on saving money on a place to stay, how much food and such will cost us any all the other basics of traveling.. Also any tips on transportatsion or any other helpful thing
hi Mallory, not now! it's freezing cold and there's a 2inch covering of snow on my car i'm now going to contend with.
Generally July / August is the warmest time of year to visit, definitely don't come during spring as it rains 24/7.
Everything is super expensive, you're looking at at least £80 a night for a hotel in london. B&B's may be a bit cheaper (and you get helpful local knowledge)
In london travelling wont be a problem, get an Oyster card (pre paid thing you just swipe at terminals). ~£5 unlimited tube/bus travel a day i think.
If you venture out of london get a car (with sat nav!), it's just easier, trains are pants, buses are full of weirdo's.
The north, (Yorkshire, lancashire) are good if you're in to walking / scenery. London is good for being london, the south (devon, cornwall) have nice (but v. cold) beaches, surfing and walking are very popular down there. if you're looking for excitement come to Suffolk (ha!) but we do have some nice countryside and little village tea shops if you're in to that jazz.
I've gotta stand up for trains. I'm not a spotter or anything but I've travelled all over the UK by rail and find it loads better than being stuck in traffic jams. I'd say in my experience I've had a decent service 9/10 times. Costs can be high but cheap tickets are available if you get them in advance, you can do that over the internet but not sure how it works if buying from overseas.
Yeah, hotels can be fairly expensive in and around central London, even if booked now. i would suggest staying 30 min to 1 hour outside London BUT stay on a tube (underground) line.
Many places offer good 2-for-1 food deals and cheap(ish) theatre tickets can be bought quite easily.
Recommend the Oyster card - also gives acces to buses, most overground and the river taxi as well as the tube.
Most museums are free which is really good. These sites might be helpful
Personally I think that end of August / start of september is the best time to travel.. its not peak but everytihng's still open / working etc and the weather is good.
Tips to save money - DO NOT buy lunch in liecester square. Walking around london, look for an eat or a pret a manger .. the quality's not bad, price is decent. Also if you use the tube, and will be there for more than a week, sign up for an oyster card and go pay as you go
Hey I've always found Time Out magazine/website/app/book pretty good as it covers food/accommodation/exhibitions/events from budget to luxury. The Rough Guide to London is fairly good too
i dont want anything i do to be too touristy i want to see lots of things but i also want it to be like an experience and not just a vacation if you all know what i mean haha
yeah mallory I know what you mean. If you want that experience, then I say just walk - and I mean walk. Walk around covent garden.. go one way to your destination, take another way back. I mean dont do this in the dodgy areas but covent garden / leicester square / china town / soho are all relatively safe to a degree.
You can also take some of the walks of london... there's a company that does them : http://www.walks.com/
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Generally July / August is the warmest time of year to visit, definitely don't come during spring as it rains 24/7.
Everything is super expensive, you're looking at at least £80 a night for a hotel in london. B&B's may be a bit cheaper (and you get helpful local knowledge)
In london travelling wont be a problem, get an Oyster card (pre paid thing you just swipe at terminals). ~£5 unlimited tube/bus travel a day i think.
If you venture out of london get a car (with sat nav!), it's just easier, trains are pants, buses are full of weirdo's.
The north, (Yorkshire, lancashire) are good if you're in to walking / scenery. London is good for being london, the south (devon, cornwall) have nice (but v. cold) beaches, surfing and walking are very popular down there. if you're looking for excitement come to Suffolk (ha!) but we do have some nice countryside and little village tea shops if you're in to that jazz.
@Scrivna thatnks so much for all the tips! really appreciate it! were going to start planning and saving!
Many places offer good 2-for-1 food deals and cheap(ish) theatre tickets can be bought quite easily.
Recommend the Oyster card - also gives acces to buses, most overground and the river taxi as well as the tube.
Most museums are free which is really good. These sites might be helpful
http://www.timeout.com/london/
http://www.visitlondon.com/events/
Tips to save money - DO NOT buy lunch in liecester square. Walking around london, look for an eat or a pret a manger .. the quality's not bad, price is decent. Also if you use the tube, and will be there for more than a week, sign up for an oyster card and go pay as you go
i cant wait to go!
You can also take some of the walks of london... there's a company that does them : http://www.walks.com/
also another one http://www.walksoflondon.co.uk/
There's also a book which gives you a few different walks along with a rough time on how long it'll take. I took the 2 hour walk around st pauls and loved it. Even though I work around the corner from there, I saw things which were new and some things i'd passed every day without knowing what they were http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-London-Globetrotter-Walking-Guides/dp/1845373057/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1291332014&sr=8-18