Post by Melinda Halliwell on Jun 26, 2022 13:21:32 GMT -5
I thought this thread would be a good accompaniment to the main travel one so members can pen down any hints and tips to help others thinking of travelling if they haven't before and don't know what to do so people get the most benefit and satisfaction out of their trip especially for those on a budget themselves.
Being an Essex girl living an hour outside of London whose gone round that multiple times these are my tips for members visiting the capital and what to do there and eat without breaking the bank overall.
Booking
Before coming you have to book flight travel and accommodation and so the best way to do that with greatest protection post pandemic is via package holiday. Now this is more expensive than booking flights and hotel separately although usually only £50 $50 or euros more but if people have to cancel for any reason like covid your money will be refunded within 2 weeks by law so you won't loose out yourself.
EasyJet's a good airline that does economical flights and package holidays alongside. www.easyjet.com/en/holidays
If that's too expensive and not an option you can opt for separate flights and accommodation but make sure those are either flexible or free cancellation up to the day before so your money can be returned to you of course.
A good website to compare accommodation I've used before is Hotel Trivago. www.trivago.co.uk/ which gives you the three cheapest quotes to choose from.
Many hotels have reservation options which allow you to pay when you arrive in London which does cost more but is a good way of securing somewhere without any money leaving your bank till you get there encase you cancel beforehand that this option will allow you to do as well also.
Travel Into London From UK Airports
There are a few UK airports near the capital plus 1 inside and 1 in Essex which serve European countries but I'll only list how to get into London from the 3 main big ones because they serve countries outside of Europe as well then.
Heathrow - www.heathrow.com/ Biggest international airport with 5 terminals located 1 hour west away in Hounslow Middlesex served either by bus, London Underground or Heathrow Express trains.
Heathrow Express www.heathrowexpress.com/#/ is the quickest way to get into London around 15 minutes but is the most expensive so opt for London Underground on the Piccadilly Line totaling 1 hour travel costing £3.50 currently instead.
Heathrow has a bus/coach station good to use during rail strikes with direct links to Victoria Coach Station using companies like Flixbus www.flixbus.co.uk/ National Express then www.nationalexpress.com/en and Megabus
uk.megabus.com/.
These coaches are more affordable than black taxis and run all times throughout the day.
TOP TIP: Pay for return coach use than single which is normally around £16 currently instead of £20 of course.
Gatwick - www.gatwickairport.com/ The second biggest airport near Copthorne West Sussex has two terminals north and south connected via monorail with two main trainlines into London. The Gatwick Express www.gatwickexpress.com/ like Heathrow is only 15 minutes away from London Victoria but does cost £36.80 return compared to £18.00 national rail which is better then.
For other ways of paying you can use an Oyster Card (London's form of a contactless travelcard) or any debit or credit card.
Like Heathrow Gatwick also has a bus/coach station linked up again by coaches like the two I mentioned at that airport also costing £16 return giving you a second airport option if flight tickets to Heathrow are sold out actually.
TOP TIP - If you do use the Gatwick Express and there are two of you this option here www.gatwickexpress.com/tickets/ticket-types-explained/web-duo will only cost £18.50 return if booked in advance.
To travel national rail make sure you go via 'Three Bridges' station to London Bridge using Thameslink to pay £18 return fare.
Arrive at Gatwick after 9:30 am and that's classed as off peak travel till 4 pm so train fares cheaper than peak times then.
London Luton - www.london-luton.co.uk/ situated in Luton Bedfordshire is further out than Heathrow and Gatwick being 1 hour and 25 minutes from central London but is stated to be slightly cheaper flight wise in terms of price making this a good option for budget conscious travelers obviously.
Unlike Heathrow and Gatwick Luton doesn't have an express train like them but generally costs £28.80 return if bought with two super off peak day return purchased Saturday or Sunday.
Coach services the three I've already mentioned run from here and cost £18.80 fully flexible return allowing people to change dates or get refunds if need be.
BIG TIP: If you have a railcard which I'll mention what that is later on you can use it to get money off train travel to whatever part of London your staying in from whichever airport your travelling via but that must be used on national rail only and not London Underground which isn't acceptable unfortunately.
Accommodation
As most people know central London is expensive to stay in so my advice is to board on the outskirts in places like Stratford, Greenwich or Wembley which cost less and have fantastic train links to the capital anyway.
Accommodation need not cost too much if people will be out most of the day and only need somewhere to sleep as there are some great budgetary hotel options costing between £30 - £40 a night with breakfast included which I recommend if members want any suggestions actually. These include.
Ibis - ibis.accor.com/gb/city/hotels-london-v2352.shtml.
Travelodge - www.travelodge.co.uk/uk/london/index.html.
Holiday Inn Express - www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/destinations/gb/en/united-kingdom/london-hotels.
And Premier Inn - www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/budget-hotels-in-london.html.
Travelling Around London
Once in London you will need to use public transport to get around which for any budget conscious members the most economical way is using either Oyster card contactless debit or credit card or paper travelcard.
Oyster cards blue in color work in a pay as you go way in that you purchase them either online beforehand or at a mainline train station or TFL shop outside Victoria Station for £5 and then top up whatever money you want afterwards which you tap in and out on yellow readers to gain entry in and out for travel. The card has a daily cap which once reached won't charge any further for the day.
Click here tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/caps-and-travelcard-prices?intcmp=54720 to check what cap you'll pay depending on which zone you travel out to then.
The main form of train travel around London is of course the Underground served by many different zones and rail lines which this map below.
Shows what different stations TFL and Network Rail serve around the capital.
A visitor oyster card can be purchased before you leave on holiday and delivered to your own door topped up with whatever money's on there so you can head straight into London without buying a card once in.
Click here visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/en/london-visitor-oyster-card to purchase that then.
And finally either a paper one day or weekly travelcard costing £14.40 currently or weekly £70.30 zones 1-6.
Rail Card
As the name suggests this card either purchased in physical or digital form via an app or online for £30 allows users to get 1/3 off network rail travel that can be used in London or around the UK. There are many options from an individual card to duo persons card to disabled or senior citizen cards which are a good option if members plan to sightsee a lot.
Link to purchase that should anyone wish to do so is here. www.railcard.co.uk/ Which has more information on it also.
Buses
London buses red in color are operated by Transport For London (TFL) and serve most destination areas throughout the city. Single fares are £1.65 currently with a maximum £4.95 daily or £23.30 weekly cap for journeys made by multiple usage.
If multiple journeys are made within an hour to wherever your going then you only pay £1.65 called the hopper fare.
Attractions
London's thwart with them from museums, theaters, A zoo, aquarium, cathedrals, cinemas and art galleries so a varied number of options from people to choose from. They are expensive though so a couple of tips I recommend members is.
1. If two people are travelling then this website here www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ will get you two for 1 entries into certain London attractions provided you travel from a Network Rail station and not a London Underground one using a voucher you print off before of course.
Note: You do have to purchase a paper travelcard ticket which can be bought prior here. www.visitbritainshop.com/gb/en/london-travelcard along with the voucher that you show to gain entry in what can only be done at attractions on the day and not with tickets bought online digitally.
2. Buy either qualifying Kellogg's cereal www.kelloggs.co.uk/en_GB/offers-and-promotions/grownupsgofree.html or Carex products carex.co.uk/merlin/ and use the vouchers printed on them either at attraction gates or prebooked online with some of them beforehand and get one adult free entry.
Bookings easy and can be done here. www.merlinfun.com/book/
You can of course purchase something like the 'London Pass' londonpass.com/en-us which gives access to multiple places or 'Go City London' gocity.com/london/en-us based on the number of attractions you do but they can be expensive so a third tip is to purchase whatever paid places you intend to visit individually which many websites do like these.
www.attractiontickets.com/en/london-attraction-tickets
365tickets.tixuk.com/attractions/top-london-attractions
www.travelzoo.com/uk/
Most museums are free to get in which I highly recommend the Science, Natural History, and Victoria and Albert museums in South Kensington and the Fan Museum, Royal Navy College, Maritime Museum, Queens House, and Planetarium in Greenwich to name a few.
Theater Shows
Known as the West End or Theatreland Leicester Square, Charing Cross (Strand) and the surrounding areas feature a vast array of plays musicals, and comedies for people to see whilst visiting London.
Tickets range between £30 - £100 depending where you sit but can be half price on certain days if people visit ticket stands promoting left over seats for performances that evening provided people don't mind where there seated.
A good website which offers affordable prices is called Today Tix www.todaytix.com/ that also does a Friday lottery where you put your name forward and if win get awarded cheap tickets for evening performances sometimes £15 a pop a steal for anyone who enjoys a show.
Eating Out
Like attractions eating out costs a lot also but that shouldn't put people off because there are many affordable places to munch on like Borough Market for example boroughmarket.org.uk/ which has many delightful options from different street venders overall.
JJ Wetherspoons is a pub chain which offers food and drinks together as a meal under £10 a pop good for any conscious savvy saver that you can order at the bar or on the app here play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wetherspoon.orderandpay&hl=en_GB&gl=US through google play or Apple IOS store. apps.apple.com/gb/app/wetherspoon/id1003707932
TOP TIP: If you purchase travel insurance here www.comparethemarket.com/travel-insurance/ You have access to what's called 'Meerkat Movies or Meals' which give you codes within the app that can be used as 2 for 1 on movies or meals in the UK for a whole year used as many times as you like in a week giving a general saving for other things you do during your travel in London.
And for 60 days you can trial out and then cancel if you want to a 'Tastecard' www.tastecard.co.uk/subscribe another option giving you 2 for 1 on meals for duo travelers that you can upgrade to a yearly membership of £39.99 afterward if you fancy yourself.
Being an Essex girl living an hour outside of London whose gone round that multiple times these are my tips for members visiting the capital and what to do there and eat without breaking the bank overall.
Booking
Before coming you have to book flight travel and accommodation and so the best way to do that with greatest protection post pandemic is via package holiday. Now this is more expensive than booking flights and hotel separately although usually only £50 $50 or euros more but if people have to cancel for any reason like covid your money will be refunded within 2 weeks by law so you won't loose out yourself.
EasyJet's a good airline that does economical flights and package holidays alongside. www.easyjet.com/en/holidays
If that's too expensive and not an option you can opt for separate flights and accommodation but make sure those are either flexible or free cancellation up to the day before so your money can be returned to you of course.
A good website to compare accommodation I've used before is Hotel Trivago. www.trivago.co.uk/ which gives you the three cheapest quotes to choose from.
Many hotels have reservation options which allow you to pay when you arrive in London which does cost more but is a good way of securing somewhere without any money leaving your bank till you get there encase you cancel beforehand that this option will allow you to do as well also.
Travel Into London From UK Airports
There are a few UK airports near the capital plus 1 inside and 1 in Essex which serve European countries but I'll only list how to get into London from the 3 main big ones because they serve countries outside of Europe as well then.
Heathrow - www.heathrow.com/ Biggest international airport with 5 terminals located 1 hour west away in Hounslow Middlesex served either by bus, London Underground or Heathrow Express trains.
Heathrow Express www.heathrowexpress.com/#/ is the quickest way to get into London around 15 minutes but is the most expensive so opt for London Underground on the Piccadilly Line totaling 1 hour travel costing £3.50 currently instead.
Heathrow has a bus/coach station good to use during rail strikes with direct links to Victoria Coach Station using companies like Flixbus www.flixbus.co.uk/ National Express then www.nationalexpress.com/en and Megabus
uk.megabus.com/.
These coaches are more affordable than black taxis and run all times throughout the day.
TOP TIP: Pay for return coach use than single which is normally around £16 currently instead of £20 of course.
Gatwick - www.gatwickairport.com/ The second biggest airport near Copthorne West Sussex has two terminals north and south connected via monorail with two main trainlines into London. The Gatwick Express www.gatwickexpress.com/ like Heathrow is only 15 minutes away from London Victoria but does cost £36.80 return compared to £18.00 national rail which is better then.
For other ways of paying you can use an Oyster Card (London's form of a contactless travelcard) or any debit or credit card.
Like Heathrow Gatwick also has a bus/coach station linked up again by coaches like the two I mentioned at that airport also costing £16 return giving you a second airport option if flight tickets to Heathrow are sold out actually.
TOP TIP - If you do use the Gatwick Express and there are two of you this option here www.gatwickexpress.com/tickets/ticket-types-explained/web-duo will only cost £18.50 return if booked in advance.
To travel national rail make sure you go via 'Three Bridges' station to London Bridge using Thameslink to pay £18 return fare.
Arrive at Gatwick after 9:30 am and that's classed as off peak travel till 4 pm so train fares cheaper than peak times then.
London Luton - www.london-luton.co.uk/ situated in Luton Bedfordshire is further out than Heathrow and Gatwick being 1 hour and 25 minutes from central London but is stated to be slightly cheaper flight wise in terms of price making this a good option for budget conscious travelers obviously.
Unlike Heathrow and Gatwick Luton doesn't have an express train like them but generally costs £28.80 return if bought with two super off peak day return purchased Saturday or Sunday.
Coach services the three I've already mentioned run from here and cost £18.80 fully flexible return allowing people to change dates or get refunds if need be.
BIG TIP: If you have a railcard which I'll mention what that is later on you can use it to get money off train travel to whatever part of London your staying in from whichever airport your travelling via but that must be used on national rail only and not London Underground which isn't acceptable unfortunately.
Accommodation
As most people know central London is expensive to stay in so my advice is to board on the outskirts in places like Stratford, Greenwich or Wembley which cost less and have fantastic train links to the capital anyway.
Accommodation need not cost too much if people will be out most of the day and only need somewhere to sleep as there are some great budgetary hotel options costing between £30 - £40 a night with breakfast included which I recommend if members want any suggestions actually. These include.
Ibis - ibis.accor.com/gb/city/hotels-london-v2352.shtml.
Travelodge - www.travelodge.co.uk/uk/london/index.html.
Holiday Inn Express - www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/destinations/gb/en/united-kingdom/london-hotels.
And Premier Inn - www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/budget-hotels-in-london.html.
Travelling Around London
Once in London you will need to use public transport to get around which for any budget conscious members the most economical way is using either Oyster card contactless debit or credit card or paper travelcard.
Oyster cards blue in color work in a pay as you go way in that you purchase them either online beforehand or at a mainline train station or TFL shop outside Victoria Station for £5 and then top up whatever money you want afterwards which you tap in and out on yellow readers to gain entry in and out for travel. The card has a daily cap which once reached won't charge any further for the day.
Click here tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/caps-and-travelcard-prices?intcmp=54720 to check what cap you'll pay depending on which zone you travel out to then.
The main form of train travel around London is of course the Underground served by many different zones and rail lines which this map below.
Shows what different stations TFL and Network Rail serve around the capital.
A visitor oyster card can be purchased before you leave on holiday and delivered to your own door topped up with whatever money's on there so you can head straight into London without buying a card once in.
Click here visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/en/london-visitor-oyster-card to purchase that then.
And finally either a paper one day or weekly travelcard costing £14.40 currently or weekly £70.30 zones 1-6.
Rail Card
As the name suggests this card either purchased in physical or digital form via an app or online for £30 allows users to get 1/3 off network rail travel that can be used in London or around the UK. There are many options from an individual card to duo persons card to disabled or senior citizen cards which are a good option if members plan to sightsee a lot.
Link to purchase that should anyone wish to do so is here. www.railcard.co.uk/ Which has more information on it also.
Buses
London buses red in color are operated by Transport For London (TFL) and serve most destination areas throughout the city. Single fares are £1.65 currently with a maximum £4.95 daily or £23.30 weekly cap for journeys made by multiple usage.
If multiple journeys are made within an hour to wherever your going then you only pay £1.65 called the hopper fare.
Attractions
London's thwart with them from museums, theaters, A zoo, aquarium, cathedrals, cinemas and art galleries so a varied number of options from people to choose from. They are expensive though so a couple of tips I recommend members is.
1. If two people are travelling then this website here www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ will get you two for 1 entries into certain London attractions provided you travel from a Network Rail station and not a London Underground one using a voucher you print off before of course.
Note: You do have to purchase a paper travelcard ticket which can be bought prior here. www.visitbritainshop.com/gb/en/london-travelcard along with the voucher that you show to gain entry in what can only be done at attractions on the day and not with tickets bought online digitally.
2. Buy either qualifying Kellogg's cereal www.kelloggs.co.uk/en_GB/offers-and-promotions/grownupsgofree.html or Carex products carex.co.uk/merlin/ and use the vouchers printed on them either at attraction gates or prebooked online with some of them beforehand and get one adult free entry.
Bookings easy and can be done here. www.merlinfun.com/book/
You can of course purchase something like the 'London Pass' londonpass.com/en-us which gives access to multiple places or 'Go City London' gocity.com/london/en-us based on the number of attractions you do but they can be expensive so a third tip is to purchase whatever paid places you intend to visit individually which many websites do like these.
www.attractiontickets.com/en/london-attraction-tickets
365tickets.tixuk.com/attractions/top-london-attractions
www.travelzoo.com/uk/
Most museums are free to get in which I highly recommend the Science, Natural History, and Victoria and Albert museums in South Kensington and the Fan Museum, Royal Navy College, Maritime Museum, Queens House, and Planetarium in Greenwich to name a few.
Theater Shows
Known as the West End or Theatreland Leicester Square, Charing Cross (Strand) and the surrounding areas feature a vast array of plays musicals, and comedies for people to see whilst visiting London.
Tickets range between £30 - £100 depending where you sit but can be half price on certain days if people visit ticket stands promoting left over seats for performances that evening provided people don't mind where there seated.
A good website which offers affordable prices is called Today Tix www.todaytix.com/ that also does a Friday lottery where you put your name forward and if win get awarded cheap tickets for evening performances sometimes £15 a pop a steal for anyone who enjoys a show.
Eating Out
Like attractions eating out costs a lot also but that shouldn't put people off because there are many affordable places to munch on like Borough Market for example boroughmarket.org.uk/ which has many delightful options from different street venders overall.
JJ Wetherspoons is a pub chain which offers food and drinks together as a meal under £10 a pop good for any conscious savvy saver that you can order at the bar or on the app here play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wetherspoon.orderandpay&hl=en_GB&gl=US through google play or Apple IOS store. apps.apple.com/gb/app/wetherspoon/id1003707932
TOP TIP: If you purchase travel insurance here www.comparethemarket.com/travel-insurance/ You have access to what's called 'Meerkat Movies or Meals' which give you codes within the app that can be used as 2 for 1 on movies or meals in the UK for a whole year used as many times as you like in a week giving a general saving for other things you do during your travel in London.
And for 60 days you can trial out and then cancel if you want to a 'Tastecard' www.tastecard.co.uk/subscribe another option giving you 2 for 1 on meals for duo travelers that you can upgrade to a yearly membership of £39.99 afterward if you fancy yourself.