Newby: How much $ for incidentals on 7 Day/London

And you'll get "cash" if you need it from a local ATM using your debit card just like at home. If you have a CC that is contactless or have ApplePay on your phone you can also use that for many, many things negating the need for extra cash.

If you are asking about budget, then I'd probably figure about 50GBP a day on days you need to buy your own dinner and have free time to see other sights. TBH, on all the RS tours I've been on I think that is usually the suggested amount but I never spend that much. However, better to overbudget and underbudget in my book.

I do recommend you plan to go to London a couple of days ahead so you can adjust to jet lag/travel tiredness!

I know that you are asking about Budget, but I wanted to mention that almost every place where you will be spending money in London will accept Contactless cards. In fact, last May I went to several places that only accepted cards and would not accept cash.

You have enough lead time to make sure that your credit or debit card 1) is contactless 2) doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. If your current one doesn't meet these criteria, consider opening one that will. Don't bring a lot of pounds with you and only take a small amount from the ATM machine when you arrive. London is pretty close to a cashless society for tourists.

Spending money is very dependent on how you spend your free time and how expensive your tastes are for eating out. You could take public transport, visit a free museum, eat picnic type meals and spend may 25 pounds a day. You could take some taxis and ubers, eat at fancy restaurants, visit expensive museums and pay 100 pounds a day.

I put everything possible on a credit card. Usually get $100 in pounds when I get to a bank machine. Even the tickets on the Tube are paid by credit card or ATM.

We seldom carry much cash any longer on trips.

As noted just bring a tap debit or credit card.

If you like carrying cash, i’d say £20. You can leave a £ at a free museum if you wish to do so.

Remember tipping is not the custom in the UK.

In a pub you walk up to the bar to order unless you are seated in a booth or at a table and see a waiter or waitress. Then you order from them. Again no need to tip.

However, on my most recent London trip was a bit shocked and annoyed by a non English server who was pushy about a tip. Their rude behavior was not rewarded.

Pints are nearly £7. Pub meals £12-16.

Crisps ( potato chips ) 65 pence
Snickers Bar 65 pence
Bottled Water 65 pence to £1.10

Chiming in to reiterate that a contactless credit or debit card is essential for London travel. The only time I needed cash was to get change to do laundry at my hotel. Everything, even pay toilets, took contactless/tap cards. If you don't have one (here's a page that tells you how to know), then you have time to sort out an option that works for you. I personally have a Capital One Quicksilver Visa and a Capital One debit card, neither charges an international transaction fee. Even some credit unions have no-fee options, so if you bank with one check to see (you might need to order a new card to get contactless option). Whatever you choose, read the fine print to make sure you're really fee-free.

As for the cost of things outside the tour - it will highly depend on what you want to do in your free time and what you want to spend on food. I love a good inexpensive salad or sandwich from the M&S so I'm happy to eat a lunch for under 5 pounds. A sit down meal that isn't super fancy will be 10-30 pounds per person. Many museums are free (donation suggested). Pencil out your potential options and figure out ballpark costs.

I would suggest you add at least one full day at the end of the tour to do anything that wasn't on the tour but you decided you wished youd done.

Remember tipping is not the custom in the UK

Having spent quite a bit of time in London over the years, for a sit down meal with waiter service, tipping is expected in London, in fact many places will go ahead and add on a 10% gratuity/service charge, which you are free to decline. Certainly a 20-25% tip is not expected. Get outside London, then tipping is less of a thing, but in touristy places more of an expectation.

Tipping at any counter service, including in a pub for a pint or food, if you are ordering at the bar, is not expected.

I am surprised that Claudia who spends lots of time in the U.K. thinks tipping isn’t the norm - it is! I add 10% to a cafe and restaurant (unless restaurants have already added this). You aren’t expected to tip at a bar for drinks.

Taxis expect 10%.

Tip a bellboy for luggage delivery in a hotel. I don’t leave tips for hotel cleaners.

My hairdresser gets 10%.

Leave tips in cash to ensure that the staff get the tip, not the business owner.

Costs are rising rapidly in the U.K. - allow £10-15 a head for a sandwich and a drink in a cafe. Dinner will be £20+++ a head depending on what and where. Most places will take contactless card payment, but ensure you have enough cash just in case your card doesn’t work, as frequently happens. Expect to pay £3+ for a cappuccino and £6 for a glass of wine.

Tours - pay by card. Tip the tour guide and driver in cash.

Transport - use card payments.

Museums - many are free. Use a card for those that aren’t.

Don’t be surprised Jennifer.

Well aware 10% added in cafes and restaurants.

If I take a cab ( rare ) I’ll tip.

If staying at a hotel I always leave a tip for the cleaning staff.

I never tip the barman.

I always drop a pound or 2 pound coin in the donation box of any free museum I’m wandering about in.

So I still say £20 pounds in answering the OP’s question. That way if they don’t use it all for tipping and/or snacks, bottled water they’ll have currency for their next visit. Or merely keep the currency as memorabilia because of the late Queen’s image.

Kinda like the Kate & William Oyster card that was created after their engagement that I still have.

For restaurant tipping, my feeling is expectations are increasing. In June 2022, every London restaurant at which we dined added 12.5% automatically. On a semi-related note, several required a credit card to hold the reservation and would charge for a no-show. One article I read recently suggested 15% is the new 10% in London, but I don't have a sense if that's true in practice. In October 2022, none of the restaurants we visited in Devon had a service charge, but we tipped 13-18%.

Be aware prices are rising..rapidly. Ive been in the UK since early October and have noticed not only price rising but the exchange rate changing. When I got here, it was $1.13 to the pound. Its now about $1.21.

I'm not going to get involved in the tipping argument. They are expected in restaurants but not as high as in the U.S. Taxis, if taken, I mostly round up and the drivers seem appreciative. No tipping in bars or pubs where you order from the bar.

As for how much to take, that's difficult to say. It depends on what those extras are. Are your meals going to be inexpensive meal deals (sandwiches, drinks and side dish) from a market such as M & S, Sainsburys or Tesco, or a fancy sit down affair? A pub meal, with a drink will run, on average between 20 and 30 GBP.

I agree with the others that contactless is the way to go. The only times I've used cash in the last four and a half months is in taxis (my choice) and at one restaurant that told me their credit card machine was down. They did say that if I didn't have cash, I could go to a cash machine and return.
Some places are becoming charge only.

Lots of places you can get a meal and a pint for around £10.00

Lots of places you can get a meal and a pint for around £10.00

A pub meal with a pint In London for 10 GBP? In 2022? Where?