Budgeting for London
 

I'm finished with the budgeting for France and Italy and am now trying to do London. I have never been and we'll only be there for 2 days. I have my hotel cost, which includes, VAT and other taxes, but need to get an idea of cab fare from Gatwick to the Hyde Park area (5 of us plus bags). Also, if we ate very light for lunch (soups, sandwhiches) and had a very reasonably priced dinner (nothing fancy) what would you suggest budgeting?

Thank you for your responses.

..easy..if you are an american estimate what things would cost "at home" in us dollars..then assume things will cost whatever you have estimated in dollars but in pounds..ex lunch $7 = lunch 7 pounds therefore about $14..exception, subway (the tube).

what exactly is the exception with the tube?

For 5 people plus luggage, I wouldn't opt for a taxi but for one of the car services such as Swiss Cottage or Just Airports mentioned here on Fodors. We have used Ray Skinner's London Transports before but I think he is a little more expensive than the others. For that many people, you would probably need a Van.

Here's the website for Just Airports. You can get an online estimate or contact them by phone or email for a price.

...the subway (the tube)cost was truly equivalent to the cost in most major u.s. cities and much more farreaching and convenient than most us cities...i also find that if i plan well, i often am able to walk between places i want to go so that i may have only 2 subway fares a day...

A reasonable dinner is 30GBP per head, a cheap lunch 10 GBP per head. A taxi for two people would not be the cheapest option, however with so many people it might prove to be. However, I'm inclined to suggest the Gatwick Express to Victoria then a taxi - this should be cheaper, and far faster!

You're only there two days so it doesn't really matter how much you spend - budget for 1000GBP for 5 people, you'll have change, convert it into EUR the pound is strong at the moment.

Sorry, the website is:

http://www.justairports.co.uk/index.htm

thanks for the info!

m_kingdom2 ...this is only the first 2 days of a long vacation so it really does matter how much I budget. I'm trying to get a more realistic idea of the amount of money I will need to have on hand, and the amount to tell my parents to be ready to spend.

It's always best to overbudget, I'm sure your parents will be pleased if you return with some money left over.

It's nearly impossible to budget unless you tell people what you're prepared to spend - it's always best to spend the most you can afford.

A "reasonably priced dinner (nothing fancy)" mean what exactly? "reasonably priced" compared to what? Be more specific!

I always pad the dollar amounts a bit once I have a better understanding of the costs..always. I think most people understand what "resonably priced, nothing fancy" means. If you were to come to my town, I could tell you what to expect to pay for a no-frills sit down dinner..at least a price range. I totally understand it can vary. I'm not new at budgeting or travelling, just new to London.

London's a much bigger place, you really need to say how much you're willing to spend - you can't budget asking how much you should spend.

Ask what you can get for 30GBP a head - a reasonably priced 3 course meal with reasonable drinks including a reasonable service charge etc. etc. I think 500GBP a day for five people is not unreasonable to include transportation too.

Sandi - m_kingdom is right on the money on everything. London is expensive, but well worth it, especially if there is a group of 5.

If you take taxis to and from Gatwick for 5 people count on spending around $300 U.S. dollars. It's not cheap. Gatwick Express - only way to go.

In London, I just buy one meal a day and I give myself 10 GBP for it. There are plenty of reasonably priced places to eat in London - Indian, sandwich shops, pizza (all-you-eat is a good deal). Also, I use grocery stores for an inexpensive meal. I really don't consider London expensive.

London is the most expensive city in the world second to Tokyo in a recent survey, so what rubbish are you talking?

10GBP for one meal, I live in London and that would never be enough for a dinner with drinks. Even McDonalds is probably more expensive than that! I can spend four times that on a glass of champagne, London is never ever cheap!

When one is on holiday and not self catering they don't expect to go to supermarkets to buy dinner.

rj007 - I am very budget conscious and there is no way you can eat in London on 10 pounds a day unless you're anorexic.

Maybe we should skip London and come back when we'll have more time to enjoy it and it won't be the dead of winter.

You can cut costs at lunch time by buying a pre-made sandwich and drink from one of the chain sandwich cafes such as Eat or Pret A Manager - these are scattered throughout the West End and City. You could get away with £5-6 per head but you are not able to sit down in a lot of these places and there is no table service (There is a Pret at 77/78 St Martin's Lane,WC2N 4AA (near Leicester Square) which has ample seating) so you would need to take your sandwich to the Park.

In terms of dinner in the West End I think £30 per head for an average meal is about right. A lot of restaurants offer pre and post theatre meals at discounted prices. This website has lots of discounted meals in reasonable restaurants: http://www.toptable.co.uk/specialoffers.cfm?carrot=3 you can place your reservation on line. Alternatively you could eat somewhere like Pizza Express (nothing special at all but cheap and clean) for £15 per head with a glass of wine.

London is very expensive. Even the tube costs £2 to take a single trip in zone one. It will probably be sensible for you to get a daily zone 1 ticket for each day you are here - this will be valid on tubes and buses. I think this will cost about £5-6. A short cab fare in the West End, from say Oxford Street to Covent Garden, will cost £5-6.

A coffee in Starbuck costs £1.80 and a bottle of water about £1.50.

Good luck and enjoy - London is a great place to visit.

I am not sure the link I just posted works. Try www.toptable.co.uk and click on special offers.

I'm not anorexic, and it is barely possible to eat in London on 10 pounds per day if you are using a backpacker-style budget. Just use the grocery store and the cheapest takeaway a lot. Although even the cheapest takeaway will make it tough. 15 pounds is probably a more reasonable budget expectation. But a typical day would be like this:
hostel breakfast (in this case cold cereal, milk, a bun with butter and jam) (included)
Sainsbury lunch of 2 pieces of roast chicken plus a box of redcurrants (about 4 pounds)
Indian appetizers from the Safeway deli (2 pounds)
tomato/rocket/mozzerella salad from Bella's Cafe (5 pounds)
yogurt/juice smoothie from Marks and Spencer (2 pounds)
package of nuts (2 pounds)

Other variations on this: soup/sandwich near the British Museum - about 4 pounds takeaway at lunch
Pizza Express pizza margherita - 4.25 pounds takeaway
Pizza Hut all-you-can-eat - 5 pounds or so for pizza and salad (a good opportunity to eat up the green vegetables you might be missing otherwise)
Falafel or donair takeaway - 3 or 4 pounds
Bread and cheese from the grocery store - could probably get enough for a couple meals for under 5 pounds