July 27, 2009
How much money does it cost to travel and stay in the UK for a week?
Reader submitted question:
How much money does it cost to travel and stay in the UK for a week? I have been thinking about this for a while and was hoping you might be able to shed some light on the subject. Any help would be appreciated.
yours truly,
John
Well John, I might be able to help you some since I did spend a week in London (for New Year's 2009). But I definitely can't help you when it comes to traveling to London as I have no idea where you're traveling from. Flying from New York is probably cheaper than any other city in North America but that could be untrue depending on regional sales.
So you can go to Kayak.com or something to get get an idea of flight costs. Regarding a place to stay, I spent about 90 or 100 GBP a night I think staying in Central London at an illegal Korean B&B. I never did get around to telling that story but there was some drama involved. We did hear about cheaper (legal) B&Bs as well. A friend of mine stayed in a flat in Swiss Cottage for about 45 GBP a night - he had longer subway journeys and stuff but London is big and even though I was downtown in Victoria Station I still pretty much took the subway everywhere.
Since he had his own flat he was able to save money by cooking. Eating out in London is pretty expensive.
O2 Arena question.
My 6th day in London (check out the part about Wabamama for an idea of an "inexpensive" lunch).
Free attractions in London (museums are often free and this lists a few other things)
If anyone has more advice please share.
And John, if you're not staying in London, let us know what your plans are!
Posted by James Trotta at July 27, 2009 9:06 AM
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I am a Londoner and would be happy to help!
The number one thing to remember about London is that it is expensive. Wherever you go it'll be pretty expensive. Especially if you stay in a hotel.
Try http://www.londontoolkit.com/ for some cheap ideas though.
London is pretty easy to get around and your best bet is to get a Travelcard for a day of travel (£5.70 or so) or a pay as you go oyster card if you don't know what your plan is (£10 on it ought to be enough). Any tube station can help you figure this out.
What to do in London? My number one thing that I ALWAYS recommend and hasn't failed me yet is the Imperial War Museum (http://www.iwm.org.uk/). It charts the military history of Britain and really is fascinating. The Tate Modern, National Gallery, Science Museum, Natural History Museum are all fantastic too.
I would highly recommend doing a river boat trip along the Thames and convince the guy on there to do the commentary as they're great at pointing things out too.
Another little known gem of London is Camden. Go to Camden Town tube and head for the market and keep on going past it to the Lock Market. That place is insane and wonderful!
If the weather is nice check out the parks- which are always wonderful!
There's a classic walking route that takes in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St James's Park, Houses of Parliament which is easily found (I think Lonely Planet have it easily available)
Soho and China Town are probably nothing compared to their American counterparts but still fun places to check out nonetheless. Don't miss Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus at dusk (for the street artists and lights respectively)
For shopping Oxford Street and Regent's Street are your classics but consider Carnaby Street (just off Regent Street- try and find Kingly Court for one of my favourtie shops in the world called Playlounge they sell art) and also the Westfield shopping centre in Shephard's Bush is meant to be awesome.
There's always some form of sport going on if that's what you're in to (www.bbc.co.uk should have details).
Pick up the free newspapers to get a feel of what's going on and what there is to do.
And go for walk the city is full of hidden gems all over the place.
A great pub I recently discovered was the Samuel Smiths at Chancery Lane good and cheap. If a bar has the words Wetherspoon, Lloyds, Yates or Tiger Tiger on it avoid it like the plague- it's a chain pub. For cheap eats head away from the main areas just a little and you're bound to stumble on something.
As for the rest of the UK- there's loads to do.
One of my favourite British towns is Brighton and I can't recommend it enough- typical British seaside town with a pier and everything!
Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford, Edinburgh- name any British city and there'll be something fun going on. Do a quick search on them and you'll loads of info about them.
Hope this helps. Feel free to get in touch if you want any more help!
Posted by: Sophia P at July 29, 2009 9:35 PM