Hi everyone, my friend and I are spending a week in London (with 2 days in Bath) and I was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestions on how much money to take for food, spending, transportation, and those miscellaneous expenses that might come up. We already bought our plane tickets and have our hotels booked.
Thanks!
Hi Gabby,
You're in for a treat, London is a fantastic city. For budget, do you have a particular amount you'd like to spend for the week? It's best to get an idea of how much you can spend/afford, convert it to Pounds and go from there. Every person on this site has a different budget in mind when they travel. I like to budget high for any unexpected expenses or just to say "I was under budget" at the end of the trip. If your hotel provides free breakfast, that's a great start. Depending on when you go, a cheap and memorable lunch can be a picnic in the many parks. My favorite part of London was buying sandwiches in a local grocery store and sitting in the park in front of Buckingham Palace surrounded by tulips and eating lunch.
It's been a few years since I've visited London, so fares may have changed. I'm sure there will be a few additional posters who can help you out with a more accurate approach to the cost of museums and transportation. My advice though, don't bother with the Hop on Hop off bus tours if you can help it. Although comfortable and a great way to see the city, they are terribly expensive.
Happy Travels
Amanda
Welcome Gabby,
As Amanda says think in Pounds. I use the Rule of Thumb (ROT) of 1.6 ish Pounds per United State Dollar (USD). You can be more accurate and find the exact conversion rate, but i dont unless im exchanging $.
your budget will depend on how well or not you want to eat. Spending on other things is relative too. I usually know what im going to buy as far as souvenirs go so that usually a known or close approximation. I will eat alot of hand/finger food on my travels since im on the go alot. I also go to grocery stores to get sandwiches or some pasties (meat pies) since they are filling and available. Donnar Kababs are around the place and those are usually inexpensive. So are some premade sandwich carts/stands.
this is what i spent last year in London. note my above comments.
For lunch approx 10 pounds
For dinner approx 20 pounds.
If there were some tasty desserts those ended up on my plate too.
happy trails.
Thanks everyone! I've been thinking about it a lot and I know I want to shop a little bit and I know some of the touristy things we want to do will cost money while others, such as museums, will most likely be free. I doubt we'll be eating anywhere super expensive everyday or anything like that so I think I have somewhat of an idea how much we'll be spending on food. I guess what I really need to do is sit down and decide exactly what we want to do and go from there. I guess was just wondering if there were any ballpark figures to shoot for that would be a safe amount for a week.
I spent three weeks in London this past summer and the prices we paid for meals varied greatly. In pubs we spent between 10 - 20 pounds per person depending on the pub and whether we had alcohol or not - we usually did...it's a pub after all! Don't forget to factor in afternoon tea! It's something that I just can't say no to. Even a simple tea at a regular eatery will run you anywhere from 8 - 15 pounds per person or so depending on what you order. Tea at a really nice place will cost a lot more. I would budget around 40 pounds per day for food...some days you'll spend more, some days you'll spend less.
Transportation will be pretty reasonable providing you get an Oyster card. 5 - 10 pounds a day if you stay in the central zones, depending on how far you go and how many rides you take on the tube or bus.
As far as misc. expenses, I always seem to underestimate how much I will spend. I can't resist buying fun little trinkets, books, magnets, and tea towels (silly, I know). I also end up snacking a lot between meals...I get so hungry with all the walking!
Budget for more than you think you'll need. Things will come up that you'll want to do and you don't want to have to skip things because you don't think you can afford it! Bring 20% more than you have budgeted and you'll be fine!
