London On A Budget Tips - 10 Money Saving Tips For Visiting London - ItsAllBee | Solo Travel & Adventure Tips (2024)

Finding travel hacks of tips to save you money in a new city can be tricky, hence my post with tips for saving money in London. London is said to be one of the most expensive cities in the world. Yes, London can be expensive for local residents too but it needn’t be so for visitors, providing you come well versed with money-saving tips for visiting London. This post will allow you to find out where to stay in London, places to see in the city, cheap and free things to see and do in London and their for allowing you to make the most of your visit to London a pleasurable one without breaking the bank.

Also, booking where to stay in London, England should be an expensive task, you just have to know what options are available and what you get for your budget range. You can also get a detailed list of hostels on some of my favorite hotel and hostel booking sites likeBooking.com,Agoda,andTrivago.I also shared a post onLondon’s best-located hostel with tips on tourist attractions close to them as well. The same goes for things to do in London. There are plenty of free things to do in London at night, from museums, free viewing points, beautiful parks in London.

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• The Best Hostels In London
• Tower Bridge At Night

1. Save money on food and buy local and from the supermarkets

Eating in London can be expensive but if you are on a budget then get to Tesco buy you some lunch and chill in London’s city parks.You can shave of a lot of money from a typical average cost of a trip to London for a week. You can grab yourself a meal deal for 2.99. That includes a sandwich, salad or wrap, then a snack and drink too. Meals on offer are a selection of healthy and naughty. Boots, Sainsbury’s does the same, they also do gourmet lunch selection by chefs like Jamie Oliver.

They now have Tesco and Sainburys Express stores all over London which makes saving money on food while visiting London even easier. The point is you can find plenty of ways to eat around London without blowing the budget and eat as healthily or as unhealthy as you want. You also have plenty of local cafes(I am not talking chain cafes) that will rustle up a mean breakfast for a fiver! Also, check out markets which offer delicious meals on a budget. Many have a wide range too, from India, Malaysia, Lebanese, African, and so many more regions. Check out my post on Borough Market Breakfast for inspiration.

2. Take a walk – Walk As Much As Possible In London

Walk! Yes, you might want to have an insta-staged shoot for the gram but pack some comfortable flats in your bag too and walk yourself to a firm rear end. You will save on our expensive transport system. Leave the Tube/Underground for when you are exploring tourist sights further away from you as those will take longer to get to on foot. This is by far one of the cheapest way to sightsee in London. My One Day London Itinerary post takes you on a walk around the Southbank, passing many touristattractions on the way. Many of which you wouldn’t see by being on the underground or bus.

3. Stay within central London

Stay with Zones 1-3. This way I can guarantee you most of the majority of the places you will want to see will be within walking distance or a short bus ride away thus no need to buy an expensive travel card until it’s time to head back to the airport. Say, you stay in Greenwich, which is in falls in Zone 2 and 3 you still have places like Cutty Sark, Greenwich Park, and Observatory, Maritime Museum, Greenwich Market all near you together with the riverside views. For more travel tips for London on where to stay, check out my guide on the best areas to stay in London as well as cool places to stay in Shoreditch or if you want to stay in London’s self-catering hotels.

Cool pubs and local restaurants and cafes near you in addition to being a short bus ride into London Bridge for further exploring of London. So don’toverlook certain areas because you think you have to stay in Zone 1 of London. For more on things to do in Greenwich, I have a post ontop 10 things to do in Greenwich. I will be publishing a post on where to stay in London England for variable budgets. I will start London’s best-located hostels including what tourist sites are near them.

4. Use London buses to get around | The Cheapest Way To Sightsee In London

4. Public transport, use the bus and less of the underground.For one, you will see more of London without blowing your wallet. You will spend less money on the hop on/off buses and underground and still see more of London. Londist did a cool post on the best bus routes in London for sightseeing. Why do I say use the bus instead of the tourist buses? A hop on/off bus will cost you roughly £25-30 for a 24-hour ticket, while a 7-day bus pass covering buses and trams in London will costs you £21.20 for a 7-day pass.

You can hop on and off London buses until your heart is content! If you are in London for more than 2 days I would recommend getting a weekly travel card as this covers buses, underground, overground and trams. A Zone 1-2 will cost you £33 and 1-3 costs £38 so that works on cheaper for exploring the city. A one-day travel card is £12.30 so if staying a couple of day buying a weekly travel card is more cost-effective.

5. Buy a Visitor Oyster card Or London Pass Card

Buy a Visitor Oyster card. Unless you have a contactless credit/debit card you will have to buy an Oyster card to get around London. A visitor Oyster card costs £3. It makes buying a pay as you go fares easier and cheaper than buying paper tickets. Your daily fares are capped at £6.60 compared to buying a one-day travel card at £12.30. Any balance you have can also be refunded to you when you leave London.

You can also buy it online before you travel to London, in addition to special offers and discounts around London when you buy a Visitor Oyster card.You can also opt to purchase the London Pass Card, which gives you free entry to 60 attractions. Some of which I have covered on the blog. From free museums, the best river cruises in London, free entry to Hampton Court Palace, Westminister Abbey,The View from the Shard, Kensington Palace, The London Bridge Experience, Hop On Hop Off bus, Tower of London, and so many more places. Individual tips would cost you hundreds of pounds whereas the London Pass Card only costs £69.

6. Shop around for accommodation

Shop around for Hostels, Hotels and Airbnb apartments. Yes, London is expensive and more so if you are trying to keep up with the Jones for the gram. There are plenty of smaller bed and breakfast, hotels, and hostels in fantastic locations in the heart of the city. As I said above I will be sharing a post on London’s best-located hostels soon, but just bear in mind that you will spend the majority of your time exploring so why blow your budget on a super expensive hotel room that you only spent a night in, especially if you don’t have to or can’t afford it.

Don’t get me wrong I love a splurge and a treat when I travel enter private hideaway in Thailand, Twin Tower views in Malaysian or an African hideaway on the Zambezi. It’s up to you where you stay, my point is that there are plenty of places available that you won’t have sell your kidney to afford to tay in so don’t overlook small locally owned hotels that offer great value. Also if you are visiting during the summer,student halls offer great value on where to stay and most over great accommodation options all within the heart of the city(you can also search other cities in the UK). There are plenty within central London all offering a variety of options from self-contained rooms with breakfast included to those that provide a room with shared bathrooms.

Some of these, like Kings College student hall apartments, are within 5 minutes walk from Borough Market and the Shard for a further 5 minutes from beautiful tower bridge and a whole host of tourist places within walking distance such as Big Ben, London Eye, Tate Modern. For more on how to see London on foot, I have a Local’s Guide to exploring London. You also have YHA hostels that have hostels in fantastic locations in London. One is next to St Pauls Cathedral, Kings Cross, Thames side, and Centralwhich is close to London’s shopping Mecca that is Oxford Street. Blackfriars and Waterloo have had few hotels pop up in recent years that provide easy access to tourist places within walking distance.

Waterloo has Hamptons, Park Plaza,H10 and Blackfriars hasIbis, also just around Tate Modern you have Citzen M, Hilton and Holiday Inn all within earshot of the Southbank, Borough Market and Tower Bridge all within 10 minutes walking. There is plenty of offer from apartments, hostels to hotel covering budget to luxury whatever your budget travel means to you in London so it’s only as expensive as you want it to be.

You can also get a detailed list of hotels, apartments andhostels on some of my favouritebooking sites likeBooking.com,Agoda,andTrivago. I also did a post onLondon’s best-located hostel with tips on tourist attractions covering the best tourist attractions within walking distance to your accommodation which also saves money as you also keep healthy while walking.