London is a city filled with opposites: modern and historic, worldly and local, relaxed days and vibrant nights. The city is filled with so many things to see and do, everyone is bound to find something they enjoy. So then it’s no wonder, it is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. With so many people flocking to London for vacations, we’ve put together this London travel guide to help you plan your trip to England.
What to budget? What to do? When to visit? What to pack? We’ll get to all of this, but first a little about London.
The city of London reaches all the way back to Roman times when it was founded. This convenient riverside city traded hands a few times before the London that we know today, the “royal” London, was born. Since then, it’s seen dozens of monarchs, a plague, a big fire, two world wars and more. And yet it still stands and a mix of all of this history can still be found in the city today.
Top Things To Do
When to Visit
London has a relatively mild climate year round. Though London is also known for cloudy skies and rainy weather year round.
You can time your visit to get slightly warmer temperatures, but don’t expect perfect weather for your trip. March through October are pleasant times to visit. However, with amazing Christmas markets and decorations, December is also a popular time to visit. June and July tend to be the busiest as they also have the warmest temperatures.
Whenever you visit, London will be busy. London is not the best city for spur of the moment decisions as you’ll waste a lot of time traveling, waiting in line and standing around staring at each other arguing over what to do next. We recommend planning as much in advance as you can and buying tickets ahead of time. And this London travel guide is here to help! Purchasing tickets ahead of time often saves you money as well.
Itinerary
Getting There and Around
The easiest airport to fly into is Heathrow. This international airport has flights arriving and departing constantly and airfare is relatively inexpensive.
London is a large city. With all the people, it’s no wonder that traffic can be terrible. With that in mind, we’d recommend forgoing a car and using public transport to navigate the city. The easiest way to get around is via the Tube. You can even take the Tube directly from Heathrow Airport into the city. Also, a majority of top tourist destinations are within easy walking distance of Tube stations.
While many people may avoid underground rails for a variety of reasons, the tube is easy to use, clean and timely. The color coded maps and well placed signs make navigating the system easy. Give it a try and you’ll have a good time. But mind the gap.
The London bus system within the city is also really useful and accurate, especially if you don’t want to walk as much.
If you’re interested in using the underground system and the bus system, you’ll want to grab an Oyster card. These public transit cards can be purchased for certain periods of time (a day or week) or a certain preloaded amount of money. We purchased weeklong fares and they got us everywhere we needed to go in town. These will save you money if you travel by transit a lot. However, if you don’t use it often, you can just use a tap to pay credit card to buy yourself single tickets.
Fares for traveling within the inner circle of London are less expensive than those fares going outside of town. When you’re choosing a place to stay, make sure to get accommodation that is within the same zone as a majority of the things you’ll be visiting. Read more about our accommodation suggestions here.
You can also get around by taxis in London. However, with high rates and bad traffic, these are not the best ways to travel.
What to Budget
London is a large metropolitan city. And as such, it is one of the more expensive destinations in the world.
London is set up to take credit cards. You’ll find places that take cash but card is more common. Be sure to have a Visa or Mastercard. Other US brand cards are rarely accepted. Make sure to have cash on hand but you’ll only need a small amount.
Accommodations in London are pricy. However, we still recommend staying in city center even though prices outside of town are less expensive. An average hotel room will cost around £300-400/night. Home rentals are generally less expensive. You’ll find studio apartments for two people for around £180/night.
Also, eating in London is pricy. For standard fare, a typical lunch will cost around £13-16/person. A larger dinner will cost around £35/person. The plus side to this more expensive fare is the tip is generally included. This cost tends to be higher in tourist areas and less in more residential areas.
We were lucky enough to stay at a hotel with breakfast included, which is not typical. However when we did eat out for breakfast, we ate pastries. So while we can’t accurately account for breakfast prices, a breakfast worth of pastries cost us about £8/person – except for that one day when we ate a cake for breakfast…
A good tip for saving money on food is finding creative places to eat lunch. We grabbed food from butcher shops, pastry shops and grocery stores. These light lunches saved us money, but also saved us time we would have spent at sit down restaurants or waiting in long take away lines.
However, you’ll likely spend a decent amount of money on admission into attractions. If you plan on visiting a lot of attractions with fees, consider getting The London Pass. This will get you admission into tons of top tourist destinations. However, be sure to price it out ahead of time as it is only worth it if you visit a large amount of attractions.
What To Pack For London
As London is generally cloudy and can sometimes be rainy, it’s wise to carry a raincoat or umbrella with you everywhere you go.
London uses a different electric system so make sure to pack a Type G adapter.
You’ll probably be walking a lot because walking between destinations is actually pretty convenient. So make sure to pack yourself some comfortable well-worn shoes.
Safety
Generally, London feels like a safe city. However, like all big cities, there are instances of crime, particularly theft. Keep yourself aware of your surroundings and do your best to travel in groups. Stay in safe areas. And only carry a minimal amount of valuables with you in a safe and secure place. All of these smart travel strategies will help to reduce your chances of emergency. However, if you do run into trouble, keep in mind that the emergency number is 999 or 112.
We hope you’re able to travel to this amazing city in your future and you’ve found this London travel guide useful. If you have any questions about our trip to London or your upcoming trip to London, please leave them in the comments below and we’ll be happy to help.
This is a really interesting post. You’ve included some really useful tips. Its good to hear different perspectives about London, from someone travelling into the country.
Great info! I agree about the tube being so easy to navigate. Next time I go back I’ll have to remember your tip to try unique places for meals to save some money. Never thought about going to a butcher shop! Great suggestions!
Yes! I was impressed by the non-restaurant food. We were just being cheap but they were all so impressive.