Hello! Can anyone give me an idea of how much
things cost- specifically:

1.I've heard bottled water is expensive- what is the price range?

2.My guidebooks only go as cheap as L15 for restaurant listing. Ummm, well, I need cheaper than that- does it exist?

3.How available were stores where you could stock up on fresh fruit, bread, cheese etc... to keep you going?

Were there any costs that surprised you on your trip?

I'm on a very tight budget and want to be prepared.

Thank you for your time.

Michelle

I've been to both many time so I really don't remember which things "surprised me" - everything sort of seems normal to me.

But a few observations:

London is a very expensive city. But most of the museums and galleries are free so that is a huge money saver. Public transport is still cheap in London - daily - or better, weekend or weekly - travel cards are real bargains. There are really good inexpensive restaurant chains throughout the city - Pret a Manger, Wagamama are just two but there are many others. You can get fruit/veg anywhere - in supermarkets, small green grocers, chemists (drug stores), sidewalk stalls, just all over. Theatre is another thing really cheap in London - either from the 1/2 price TKTS booth or student tickets which can be as little as £10 for a first run play.

In Scotland - outside of Edinburgh - accomodations are amazingly cheap. Great B&Bs are still available in many places for less than £20 per person - including a 4 or 5 course full Scottish Breakfast.

Rooms in Edinburgh are more expensive - but everything is pretty much within walking distance so you don't need much public transport - and if you do the buses are great.

Michelle,
We go to London evey year and it is an expensive city, but you can certainly eat on the cheap if you want to. Bottled water is about 1 pound. You can find grocery stores all over the place (supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Safeway) and smaller grocery stores as well. Marks & Spencer also sells food and their quality is very good. It is easy to stock up on fruit, bread etc. We rent an apartment so we usually buy enough for a couple of days, but you certainly can by "meal to meal"in grocery stores.

You can buy sandwiches all over the place, starting from about 1.60 pound and up. By all over the place I mean in tube stations there are often shops, in Boots (drugstores), in big and small grocery stores, and just about everyplace it seems. Pret a Manger is also a sandwich shop of moderatly priced food. For instance in the grocery stores you can get sandwiches from about 1.60 pounds to 2.60 pounds, depending on the sandwich. You can also buy individual salads, prices vary by size and store. Sainsbury's was selling individual loaves of french bread for 29 pence when we were there in April. You really need to wander up and down the aisles and check out the prices tho.

There are certainly cheaper places to eat the 15 pounds, you may not get gourmet food, but you won't starve either. There are pizza/pasta places all over London, as well as various fast food places and pubs. There is also a chain called Garfunkal's that you can get a meal or sandwiches, hamburgers, etc. (they are like Denny's). Think in the $6-$12 range.

You can got to the food court at Harrod's too and get inexpensive goodies, not everything there is super expensive, and its a fun place too! Pre-packed sandwiches can be had for about 2.50 pounds or you can spend more and have them make you one.

As I said, we go every year so costs don't surprise us that much anymore, but food is expensive. I would suggest eating your larger meal at lunch, lunches are cheaper in all places. Also, museums usually have cafes and/or sandwich places where you can either grab a quick bite or a regular meal. Department stores usually have several dining areas, again from quick bites to meals.

I can't help you with Edinburgh as I have not been there, sorry.

In Edinburgh, we stayed on the outskirts of the city (in Joppa) and tried to eat there (cheaper than city centre). At a local Italian restaurant entries started at 5 pounds. The nearest pub had evening specials (roasts and all the fixings starting at 7 pounds) Sandwiches starting at 2 pounds. Also, generally we only ate twice a day (huge breakfast included at B&B and then an early dinner).

The cost range is pretty broad in these areas. First class hotels and full-service restaraunts are definitely fairly expensive compared to many US cities, but I think there are more budget-travel options in London/Scotland as well. Lots of take-away/lunch-counter type shops in the cities where you can eat for under L5, lots of small stores to pick up food. Most pubs have moderate-priced food. The bigger stores will have better prices than the small ones if you want to stock up a bit.

We tend to spend less on a day in London than we would in SF or DC. The daily zone 1-2 transit pass works great for tourists (good after 9:30 am).

Things that seemed a bit expensive: Bus tours, train tickets, some entrance fees.

1. Bottled water is very inexpensive after the first bottle - just refill it from the hotel room tap.

2. Get a budget guidebook. All restaurants post their menus so just wander around until you find something you can afford. Many will have 2 or 3 course specials before 7:00 PM - in one of our favorites off Kensington High Street we had an excellent 3 course meal for 2 for $54 in March with a full bottle of the house wine and near Russell Square 3 courses in an Italian restaurant with wine for $46. (Don't ask the names, we found these on our own.) There are a few in Notting Hill Gate we frequent in these same price ranges.

3. Unless you spend all your time in Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square, Harrods you will have no trouble finding shops that sell the items you mentioned.

Enjoy your trip, Michelle, you should be able to do it without sweating every expenditure.

BTW, in response to the many 'what annoys you ' threads... THIS is an excellent example of HOW to ask questions here. The questions are specific, asking for exact information, relevant, and neatly organized

We were able to do London and Scotland relatively cheaply by stocking up at bread/lunch meat/cheese and munching sandwiches in the park every day

No one has mentioned this....

If you're from the US, and you're going to be driving during your trip, you may or may not be shocked at how much more expensive gas is in the UK. Depending on the exchange rate, I've seen gas as high as (the equivalent of) $5/gallon.

In London, if you don't mind (real) Chinese/Japanese food,there are several good/cheap restaurants around Little Newport Street(near Leicester Square)for 5-6 pounds a meal.

Food at the cafe in museums/gallery usually are not cheap.

Ticket for concerts at South Bank Centre is as low as 6 pounds.There are free performances around mid-day sometimes.

There are free(pay as you can)lunchtime concerts/organ recitals at churches almost every weekday.

I spent 3 weeks (2 separate trips) during 1996 in London and found it to be the most expensive city I've traveled to. I figured it was about 1 1/2 times as expensive as anything I could get in the U.S. Cheap, dry sandwiches were 2x as much as the same in the US (which I wouldn't have bought anyhow). You just have to adjust your expectations. London is wonderful, just not great for shopping (you can find the same stuff in the US). Definitely you'll find grocery stores where you can pick up food cheaper. Look at Rick Steves' travel guide. But, don't miss Harrod's! [email protected]

Nancy's expense factor is just about right -- whatever costs a dollar in the US will cost you a pound in London.

Thanks to everyone for their responses-they were very helpful. I was trying to find another thread I had started about how I have $2k budgeted for tourist expenses (excluding hotel) and if that was enough. But I can't find it. So I'll post here in addition to responding to your kind advice in this thread.

I really don't think the guidebooks give you a good idea of daily expenses. The L, LL, LLL,LLLL rating for restaurants is unhelpful when L is 15L- which is a rather expensive meal.

My concern was caused by those rather vague expense ratings in my guidebooks.

I am assured now that I will not be reduced to begging in the street.

Wouldn't it be nice if Fodor's provided a list of current prices for common commodites, eg. how much a bottle of advil cost, what film cost, water, pop, etc... Just one page of common items would have helped me so much.

But thanks to you all I'm prepared.

Ciao!

Michelle

Violet2: FYI - you find your other thread by clicking on your name. That will bring up every thread you have posted to . .

I'll top your other thread since in it you provided better details about what you needed.