Cost Estimate for Trip to England and France

Your plans seem to be ok, but not sure what mode of transport you will use for Cotswolds, Bath and Stonehenge? There are bus tours that you might look into. One day in the Cotswolds is not enough.

Your time in Paris is too short, consider skipping Paris and stay in England for your entire trip.

Regarding daily costs, London and Paris and expensive.

Plan on spending minimum of $150 per day for hotel or B&B. Food, without alcohol will run on the cheap side $80-$100 (for two), perhaps less if you have a free breakfast in a B&B.

Other costs are transport and admission to museums and sites.

Day 1. No you don't sleep. You get out and get moving. Otherwise when it's night your awake and it takes a lot longer to get on local time.

I agree with the poster above on both budget and Plans. Your bouncing around the UK so much that all you will see is train stations. That Cotswalds, Bath, Stonehenge section is too much. Pick one

Day 1:
Don't sleep.

Day 2:

can a peak of Buckingham Palace be easily seen around this area?

What time of year? Inside or outside?

Day 3:

Tower of London and Tate (is that the best museum to see?)

Best museum? Do you want brand new modern art installations? If yes, yes. If no, no. City of London Museum, British Museum, Sir John Soane's, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery might all be prefered by some or many, depending on what you prefer and want to see.

Day 8:

(do something cool in London that evening)

Is that code for ice skating? Does that mean you are coming next winter?

Day 9:

Eurostar to Paris (see Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral)

Be sure to check in early enough for the Eurostar. It is a good idea to be there 60 minutes ahead so you can get through security and border controls.

You may be better off getting advice on a forum that's more geared to budget travel. Some folks here are more interested in telling you that you're traveling incorrectly than in answering the question that you asked.

London is an expensive city, to be sure, but a search of any booking site shows that even in peak season, there are double rooms to be found within your price range. But you'll definitely have an easier time sticking to your budget if you can tolerate sharing a bathroom.

When choosing a place to stay, take note of whether breakfast is included in the price, and if it is, whether it's English breakfast or continental. Even for a vegetarian, an English breakfast can be a hearty meal that will keep you full for much of the day. You can tell them to leave off the sausage and bacon and just get eggs, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, toast, and maybe vegetarian sausage, or any combination thereof. It used to be that most accommodations would include English breakfast in the price, but lately many places have been cutting costs by charging extra for breakfast, switching to continental breakfast, or stopping breakfast service altogether.

Don't be scared by the estimate of $80-100 per day for food for two people. I've traveled extensively in the UK and have never spent anywhere near that much. Count on 10 pounds per person per meal in a pub, cafe, or similar place. For cheaper meals, you can go to a bakery or takeaway sandwich shop, or stop by a supermarket for bread, hummus, and fruit and have a picnic.

For each day you spend in London, budget GBP 6.60 per person for transportation on the tube. That's the daily fare cap, provided you use an Oyster card and stick to zones 1 and 2 (which you probably will).

For days 5 through 8, do you plan on taking trains and buses or renting a car? The answer will have a big effect on both the cost and feasibility of your plans.

In London, I recommend Victoria & Albert Museum or the British Museum over Tate. We were underwhelmed by Tate Modern.

Day 11 - Versailles and then back to Paris the same day is totally doable. Just take an early train to Versailles, tour the grounds & the house then head back on a late afternoon train to Paris. We've done this twice and it works very well.

As far as cost, I don't know if you can find anywhere in either London or Paris for that small of a budget. We did apartments in both cities and spent around $125 per night.

Have a fantastic trip!

Thanks so much for your advice/suggestions!

Honestly, I think my husband and I would naturally get most lunches (salads/sandwiches) at a grocery store - I feel like that is a big time and money saver...and perhaps a little more healthy, too.

I have updated my itinerary based on everyone's comments.

Here is what I have now:
Day 1
Land, check into room, go see Big Ben (which might be under construction) and Westminster Abbey
Day 2
Buckingham Palace and Abbey Road (we are big Beatles fans)
Day 3:
Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Bath, Including Pub Lunch in Medieval Village of Lacock ( just saw a 12 hour bus tour for $126 per person)
Day 4:
Check out of room. Tower of London, Leadenhall Market, British Museum
Day 5
Do something else in London in the morning (what do you suggest?) and take Eurostar to Paris. Check into hotel in Paris. See Eiffel Tower
Day 6
Arc de Triomphe or Montparnasse (can we do both?), Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame Cathedral
Day 7
The Louvre in the morning and then Montmatre (or is there a better way to see both than on the same day?)
Day 8
train or bus to Versailles (can anything else fit into this day?)
Day 9
Catacombs (what else should we see?)
Day 11
Flight back to US

How does this look? We are trying to schedule an appointment with an agent at AAA to see if they can help us find affordable rooms. I feel like this itinerary makes it where we actually only need two hotels, since we are doing day trips. I know most day trips could turn into overnight trips, but I feel like we will get to see these things and spend less time checking into/out of hotels. Thoughts?

Thanks!

For budget accommodations, look at EuroCheapo's listings for London: http://www.eurocheapo.com/london/ and Paris: http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/

That website also has other money-saving tips for these places.

Be sure to buy your Eurostar ticket as soon as you are sure of your dates, to get the best price.

For train travel within England, look at National Rail: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ You'll see that for some routes, you can get Advance tickets that are very cheap, but lock you into a specific train.

You can find admission fees for your sights on the official websites. You have chosen some expensive places (Versailles, Tower of London); if that's where you want to go, you just have to pay the admission fee. For London, you may be able to get discounts with the two-for-one offers from National Rail. Details are here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c195600/London:United-Kingdom:2.4.1.Travelcards.Step.By.Step.html

Since you on a tight budget, you should plan on visiting supermarkets to get at least some of your meals. They will have all kinds of prepared and ready to eat foods, cheaper than a restaurant or cafe. In England, some prominent supermarket chains are Waitrose and M&S Simply Food (more upscale) and Sainsbury's and Tesco (less upscale). In Paris, there's Casino (both Grand Casino - big stores - and Petit Casino - smaller stores), Franprix, and Monoprix. I also find it fun to visit foreign grocery stores.

Harold - thank you for the links and suggestions.

I just noticed my typo on the number of days. This itinerary equates to 10 days, not 11.

For rooms in London, have a look at http://www.lsevacations.co.uk - the London School of Economics opens some of its dorms to tourists when the students aren't in them. I've had some good experiences with them. However, it looks like most of their buildings don't open until later in the summer, most of the cheapest rooms have shared bathrooms, and they advertise a 15% discount on 4+ night stays but that only seems to be available for certain dates. Still, depending on your schedule, they might work out for you.

There are many, many budget hotels in central London. Out of curiosity, I did a search on booking.com for some arbitrary dates in July and found several places within your price range. They typically get a lot of poor reviews, but I think that's to a large extent due to unrealistic expectations (e.g., expecting up-to-date furnishings and brand-new bedding).

Hi KH,

Thanks for that link - I'll bookmark it!

Yes, we are looking at Late late June/early July for departure.

There maybe some cheaper hotels in London, but exercise some caution, as some cheap places are used by Local Authorities to house homeless families. The value chains such as Travelodge and Premier Inn have some rooms at this price, but they sell out quickly, then prices increase as the travel date approaches. The best value rooms should have been booked last summer to stand a chance of getting places at £80 a night.

The LSE rooms are within your price bracket for a few of their properties, but these have shared bathrooms.

A 12 hour day trip is a long time on a bus. You will spend more time in transit than actually seeing the places. You may wish to consider getting the train from Paddington to Bath and enjoying the full day there instead of a coach trip, as this will give you sufficient time to explore.

Looks like for that time frame you can get a twin room with a private bathroom and full English breakfast in LSE's Bankside House for GBP 81.60 a night. The main drawback of that location is that it's a bit of a walk to the nearest tube station. But if I were in your shoes, and if I could afford to stretch the budget by an extra $2 a night, that's what I would do.

"Day 4:
Check out of room. Tower of London, Leadenhall Market, British Museum
Day 5
Do something else in London in the morning (what do you suggest?) and take Eurostar to Paris. Check into hotel in Paris. "

Where are you planning to be on the night of Day 4 if you've already checked out?

Glad you are taking advice from seasoned travelers and locals.

With that in mind my suggestion is to immediately use Google Maps Satellite Bird's Eye View of London. Merely type in Big Ben London. When the map appears on your screen scroll down and click on the satellite box. Use the + or - options beneath the yellow man to zoom in or out.

If you do it correctly you will find a the answer(S) to your question(S) can a quick peak of Buckingham Palace be easily seen around this area AND is there anything else seeing nearby these (i.e.. the London Eye across the Thames, Churchill War Rooms, The Horse Guards.)

In fact if you really explore this birds eye view of London you will see how close together many of the iconic sites of London. Very Walkable. Google maps is a Very valuable tool for traveling. Truly aides people in understanding the layout where they are going.

Could easily use to tube to get to Westminster to see Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms in a 3 hours span, then walk up Birdcage Walk thru St James Park to see the Palace, then through Green Park to Piccadilly and walk along it into SoHo and then keep walking to Covent Garden then back down to Trafalgar Square, etc., etc., etc.

Do the same for Paris. You will see you can visit Norte Dame, the Tower Eiffel, The Rodin Museum, The Invalides, easily in a day. Walking or using public transport.

Regarding Day 4 in London. I've been there over 12 times and I am never bored. So when you ask what else do recommend I have to wonder if you know anything about London or the is history of the United Kingdom.

Do you know the majority of Museums are free?

IMHO first timers should always see the Museum of London.

What do you know about the history of the Royal Family? Henry the VIII? Do you know what role the British played in WW2?

Are interested in finding out? British history is incredible. Goes back centuries.

As far as saving money you need to start reserving accommodations now. Y

ou will be visiting both cities at the height of tourist season. You also need to pay attention to booking your Eurostar train tickets early as well. Large savings if done properly.

Cotswolds are absolutely best seen by renting a car. Public transport there is tedious. I'd drop it from your schedule. Windsor is a short train ride. Bath a bit further. I've done as a day trip but in my younger days.

When in London my vegetarian friend and I always go to Tidbits or Rasa.

And as far as doing something in the evening.....Theatre, Theatre, Theatre. Go to the Half Price ticket booth in Leicester Square and get same night tickets. In this digital age you can now check on line for which plays, musicals will be on sale and can use credit cards. Back in the days it was cash only. The offerings were listed on a board and you never knew what the performances might be till they were posted.

Enjoy you trip. Just be prepared for the hordes.

You mentioned you are big Beatles fans...London Walks has a great walk called the Magical Mystery Tour. We did this on a Sunday, I think it was around 11am. We saw lots of different sites (from the outside) - Paul's London offices, a studio where they and many others recorded iconic songs, a club they used to go to, the art gallery where John met Yoko, Carnaby Street, the rooftop where their final concert was played and finally Abbey Road. It was really great.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for all your replies. Thank you even more for putting together all of my copied and pasted itineraries that are full of errors (I have honestly had the flu all weekend, so I am putting this together while on cough medicine).

My husband and I are definitely into the history and culture of England and France. We are both interested in any WWI or WWII museums, Medieval literature/history, Victorian literature/history and more modern cultural movements such as 60's Brit Pop Music/Psychedelia ( Kevin Ayers is my favorite musician) and the French New Wave film movement. Basically anything that has anything to do with any of this would be wonderful.

We have always learned/appreciated these things from afar, so we are unaware of what to visit to experience them in person. Thank you so much for all of these suggestions, you've saved me so much time and energy (when I barely have any energy since I am not feeling well)!

I share your interest in the World War II period and plan to visit some related sights myself later this year. (In other words, these suggestions are not at this point based on personal experience.)

I've heard and read good things about the Churchill War Rooms in London and Bletchley Park (where the enigma codes were broken) in Milton Keynes.

While I've been to London many times for work and fun, last time I went to the War rooms in London which was very interesting. You could spend a day in the British museum, get to the Tower of London early in am as it gets crowded and take the Beefeaters tour it is full of fun and real facts. Walk along the River or take the boat cruise from either Westminster to Tower or the other way. Walk over Tower bridge and go to Borough Market on Saturday for a great lunch experience. As someone stated look up Original London Walks www.walks.com as we took a Beatles walk with a man who wrote a book on the Beatles and you end the walk at Abbey Road! They have some other great walks, I like their night time pub walks (not pub crawls) but historic walks with stops in a few pubs along the way. Also they do a nice walk up in Hamstead Village on the Northern line. Why not go to a show, as they are cheaper than New York theatre. Pubs are cheap food options and the local stores that carry premade foods, Indian food is cheap too.

Day 2 Buckingham Palace and Abbey Road (we are big Beatles fans)

Day 3:Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Bath, Including Pub Lunch in Medieval Village of Lacock ( just saw a 12 hour bus tour for $126 per person

Day 4: Tower of London, Leadenhall Market, British Museum

Day 2 seems light and Day 4 overloaded. The Tower of London is a 3-4 hour experience and the Britsih Museum could take all day. I would move one to Day 2.

Another vote for the Churchill War Rooms and the Museum of London is terrific.

Now that you've shared your interests here are other possible London sites you would enjoy.

Definitely visit the Churchill War Rooms. They are not cheap but are fascinating and well worth your time. The Imperial War Museum is fabulous.

If you go to see Abbey Road you might also include a visit here:
https://www.bl.uk/events/treasures-of-the-british-library

Nothing better than seeing hand written Beatles lyrics. Well, that's not true seeing a Beatle is better. Thus I treasure my Polaroid, yes Polaroid, of Paul taken in 1972 when he rode up on a bicycle to the small cafe where we were eating lunch. The memory still makes me smile.

If you visit St Pauls, behind the High Altar is the American Memorial Chapel built in the early 50's ( this part of St Pauls was destroyed during The Blitz). Was built to honor the London based US serviceman who gave their lives defending Liberty.

There is also a stunning sculptured monument of The Battle Of Britain that is
on the Victoria Embankment along the Thames. Nearly directly across the river from the London Eye.

Enjoy.

I was just over at your other thread, where you are planning a trip to Hawaii in March/April 2017.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/one-week-in-hawaii
Wow! Hawaii in the spring, and then England/France in the summer. You are doing quite a bit of traveling early in 2017. Lucky you!

England is not all that expensive compared to Hawaii!
Hotels in London can be pricey, but if you look around you can find inexpensive options.
One good option are the YHA hostels in London. Clean and run like hotels.
They are very nice. You can get a private room for 49 pounds.
http://www.yha.org.uk/places-to-stay/london

"Day 4:
Check out of room. Tower of London, Leadenhall Market, British Museum
Day 5
Do something else in London in the morning (what do you suggest?) and take Eurostar to Paris. Check into hotel in Paris. "

Be aware that most museums and tourist attractions in London do not have luggage storage for your bags.
One or two do. But if you check out of your room on Day 4, as mentioned, you will not have anyplace to store them at the Tower of London or the British Museum. You can store them at a train station. Most of the major train stations (not tube) have luggage/bag storage for a small fee.

Day 5--You said "Do something else in London in the morning (what do you suggest?) and take Eurostar to Paris."
I suggest you take the earliest Eurostar you can get, and forget about doing anything in London that morning.

Hi Rebecca,

I laughed out loud at myself when I saw your post. You see, my husband and I have wanted to put together a vacation that makes sense for our schedules (and our budget) and have been toying with Europe (mostly) for quite sometime and one day after a long hike thought we had it all figured out...that we were going to Hawaii.

I'm sad to say that we are not that cool and not going to both places! However, I am happy to report that England and France is a go for mid/late August.

Your comment that Europe will be cheaper than Hawaii comes as a sigh of relief, by the way!

Claudia,

Thanks for all of the suggestions and the link. We are putting together a really cool itinerary based on our interests and people's suggestions.

I am a budget nut since we save our $$ before we go and I won't go over. That being said, I always come home with money so we have plenty to fully enjoy our trips.

It is easy to really find out how much you will spend. Find hotels, B & B 's or apartments online, you may find the 80 pounds/euros are sufficient, or find that you need to spend more. Will breakfast come with the room? If not, plan for breakfast. Look up restaurants in the area for lunch or dinner, including alcohol. That will give you a good idea what to expect. Look up costs for attractions you plan to visit. If you are trying to save money, go to Evensong at Westminster or St. Paul's for free. Same in Paris, check the costs. Will you take the metro or tube- plan the max cost per day. Throw in a little extra and you'll have an idea.

We really cant give you a budget because everyone is different in their desires. We spend a fair amount for food because we like to eat well. Just spend an hour of research and I bet you can get a pretty accurate idea.

We love the British museum (free) and Hampton court ( out of town and not free), we also enjoyed Churchill War Rooms

Will you take a tour to Windsor and the Cottswolds? Not sure how well you can go by public transport.

Versailles and back to Paris in a day is just fine.

Sounds like a great trip. Start booking your hotels and flights, then add in meals and entrance fees and transport- that will equal coast.

Have fun!!!

You wrote, "Here is what we are thinking our itinerary could be. Could you take a look at it, give advice and perhaps estimate the cost for each day?"

Susan and Monte are right. We cannot accurately make estimates for each day for you, because we don't know every detail of every day.

This is something you can do yourself.

Make a more detailed list of what you will do each day. Then you can write, to the right of each activity, what it will cost.

For example, you wrote,
"Day 5
Windsor Castle then head to Cotswolds
Day 6
Cotswolds
Day 7
Bath
Day 8
Stonehenge and back to London (do something cool in London that evening)"

Let's look at Day 5. How will you get to Windsor Castle? Train? Then write down the estimate for price of a train ticket. Then write down admission price to Windsor Castle. You can look these things up online.
You then say "Head to Cotswolds". How will you get from Windsor Castle to the Cotswolds? Write down an expense for this also.

"Day 6--Cotswolds"--Where in the Cotswolds? There are many, many small villages. Which one will you be going to?
You will want to determine that. We cannot decide for you.
Then check prices on a place to stay in that village. You can check and compare reviews on Trip Advisor, and we can also make suggestions, once you tell us where you want to stay.

"Day 7--Bath"--What do you want to do there that would cost money? Start a list. How will you get from the Cotswolds to Bath?
Figure transportation into the mix.

This is what I mean about filling in the details. You cannot get a valid estimate for the days of your trip without doing this.

This is the part of the trip planning that is not fun. You need to do some homework now.

Do consider buying the Rick Steves England guidebook. Many of your questions are answered in it, and his suggestions for hotels and B&B's include prices. Likewise he gives estimates for rail travel costs.

The guidebook covers the Cotswolds and hotels and B&B's there.
It covers London (of course), inexpensive hotels, and free things to do in London (most of the museums are free).

Happy travels, and happy planning!