I just want to ask what a realistic budget could be for a trip to the UK and Ireland. We have found cheap flights from Germany to London (12-30euros) and back, and will be returning to Germany at the end of the trip. We have the entire month of March plus a little available to us, but we are concerned about running out of money. At the moment, our "trip savings" has approximately $8,200 (currently as dollars in a BofA account...should we make them into Euros first??). We are students and want to make it a budget trip, but want to see countryside, castles, a musical (or two!), and basically anything beautiful. Any thoughts or advice? I know this is a broad question and thank you in advance! :)
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I can't really speak to your budget question, but you don't need to change your BofA account into euros first. Just use your ATM card in the UK and Ireland to get euros as you need them. BofA has some of the worst fees, though, so see if there is a partner bank (Ithink it's Barclay in the UK) where you could use your card with no fees from BofA (there won't be any fees from the foreign ATM if it is a bank ATM).
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
1- The UK (England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) uses the British Pound- NOT Eruos. The Republic of Ireland uses Euros (I think). You can get the 'proper' curreny from ATMs in each country. 2- Budge- it depends on where you stay and how you prioritize. If you rent an apartment in London (The London School of Economics rents spare dorm rooms and apartments to tourists and has multiple central locations) you can save money. YOu can fix all or some of your meals that way, too. Or stay in hostels. For musical tickets, unless you have a strong desire to see a particular production, plan to buy same day tickets at the TKTS booth in Leciester square. If you are planning on using public transport, you should seriously consider firming up your itenerary now so you can purchase advance rail tickets on certain routes. London-Bath for example can be very expensive for walk-up tickets. Or look at getting a BritRail pass- you'll have to do the math on whether or not that is a good bargin. Some tickets don't need advance purchase as fare don't change (London-Windsor for example). Many of the museums in London are free. Others are expensive. There are 2-for-1 deals available with either vaild rail tickets or tube/bus passes called travel cards purchased at National Rail stations.