thursdaysd

Go here to find out how long it will take to get to where you want to go.

https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

Then remember that if you are traveling by bus you are liable to be stuck in traffic. Also that transport isn't free.

I usually look at student dorms for cheap lodging in London, but there is nothing for your dates. I suggest that you look for hostels inside the Circle line. Try hostelworld.com and hostels.com

If your budget is that low, how are you affording all those day trips? Plus, have you looked at where the train stations are compared to your lodging?

janisj

No, Brixton would not be better. My 90 minutes was just as an example (that would be round trip, but when one is sightseeing it isn't that simple since one is traveling around during the day) but your flat to Trafalgar Square takes 45 minutes. So into the center and back out would be 90 minutes.

if you are on that long a trip you obviously will visit cheap cities and expensive cities. Economize where you can but trying to squeeze London into a $50 budget isn't realistic.

mamabearUK

JanisJ is right about Hampton Court, Windsor castle is lovely but very touristy around the castle... Hampton court is steeped in history and there are beautiful walks along the Thames and Richmond upon Thames is a lovely place to visit. There is a hotel with nice rooms across the road from Hampton Court, the Mitre if my memory serves me which I can highly recommend but not sure of the price.

mamabearUK

Hi travellover3, just to add...you can get a 7 day travel card for under £70 which covers tubes/buses and that gets you to Hampton Court and pretty much anywhere else you need to go in London (except Windsor). I have had a look on booking.com and there are 40 accommodation options in your budget for the dates you want...one option is Wembley Park, its about 25-30mins out by tube but around the stadium itself there are lots of restaurants and a retail outlet...trainline.com is a good site to look at for trains to York, if you can be flexible on dates and times you can usually get a good deal, good luck.

Odin

No point in suggesting the Mitre Hotel when the budget is that low. At least suggest a Travelodge of which there are two in nearby Kingston upon Thames, one of which has rooms as low as £45 a night, a much nicer option than staying in Wembley Park. The train service from Waterloo is only 30 mins to Kingston, probably quicker than travelling from Hackney to central London. What you save on accommodation gets spent on rail fares however.

The YHA in Oxford Street/Noel Street London W1 has availability for the OP's dates.

https://www.yha.org.uk/

AirBnB has several options within budget in central London but they would be for a room in a flat or house with shared bathrooms etc.

bilboburgler

the YHA system is very clean and most of the places are very well placed. Go look as Odin says

Morgana

Of course you can visit York for the day! And yes, of course it deserves more, but if you really want to visit then go for it!!
I live near York so do it in reverse and visit London for the day.
It does pay to pick your trains carefully as some take longer than others - I think the quickest time at the moment is I hour and 50 minutes from Kings Cross.
York is compact and very walkable so you can be off the train and into the heart of the city in minutes. Get yourself prepared by downloading a map of the centre and deciding where you want to go and what you want to see. You could see loads in a few hours.
Many people think the Minster itself is well worth the journey - stunning building. A walk along the walls, an exploration of The Shambles, tea at Bettys - well worth a day out!

thursdaysd

I don't think anyone is disputing that York is worth seeing. The question is whether someone on a short and budget-constrained first trip to London, which has enough sights for weeks rather than days, and plenty of day-trip-worthy places closer than York, should devote a day to York.

Morgana

And I would normally agree except the poster has said, and I quote, "I really, really want to go to York" - and she hasn't sounded (to me) as enthusiastic about any other 'day trip worthy' place, whether or not it is nearer to London. But, as always, the final decision is not ours - we can only give hopefully informed advice.

bilboburgler

I think after the hustle of London the quiet of York would be a good break.

RM67

Hackney is a long way from west london (museums at south kensington etc) but actually not that far from the Shoreditch/Hoxton/Spitalfields areas with good street markets, vietnamese food (15 mins), Camden Passage (15 mins), Whitechapel gallery, Old Brewhouse art fairs/installations,Tower Hill/Bridge area (20mins), so all is not lost imho.

I also think York is quite an easy daytrip being direct high speed rail - less than 2hrs from Kings Cross for the fastest trains. (The lack of connections is the important point to note),

janisj

I think York would be a fabulous day trip. As would Dover Castle. Absolutely NO arguments there. But -- the OP has a extremely low budget and each of the train journeys will cost as much as their nightly room budget. It seems York is a must for OP and Dover a must for DH. Maybe a compromise to save $$/££ and time they can each do 'their' day trip on their own on the same day. Travellover to York and DH to Dover. That would both give them an extra day IN London and save the cost of one day trip.

RM67

That's actually quite a good idea to save a day Janis. And something to talk about over dinner/drinks when they get back

Boveney

Hackney Central is not the typical visitor's base in London but perhaps OP is not a typical visitor. It is hardly the back of beyond - to get to Paddington, eg, will take 31 minutes via Overground to Highbury and Islington then Victoria line to Oxford Circus and Bakerloo to Paddington. And it's 28 minutes to Waterloo - same route. If OP has found a good deal in Hackney, s/he shouldn't be scared off by posters who think of London only in terms of the West End.

janisj

>>will take 31 minutes via Overground to Highbury and Islington then Victoria line to Oxford Circus and Bakerloo to Paddington.<< and then they would have to take additional transport to get anywhere useful.

28 mins isn't bad to Waterloo/the Southbank - but it would still require 2 or 3 changes and be a right schlepp. I definitely do not think everyone should stay in the West End. But on such a short visit a bit closer than Hackney for sure.

5alive

What I am wondering is, why make a city as expensive as London your home base when your budget is that tight?

We found much better lodging prices outside of London. Would it make sense to say, to stay by Heathrow the first night or go directly to Windsor from the Airport and spend the night there? Then see the castle in the morning, and then train to York. Spend the night there then train to Dover. Then stay in London for the latter part of the trip? I did Airbnb for York on Sat April 21st and saw several spots in the $50 range and 1-2 in the $40 range, right in the city.

They will be traveling with backpacks. Most lodgings will let you drop them off in a back room until the room opens up later in the day. If they stay in London, for each day trip they need to trek to Kings Cross or another central train station. If they are staying in York, you are much, much closer to their train station for the next stop. Someone better versed in the train routes can hopefully weigh in on this idea.

Finally, whether you take my idea up or not... with just two people and backpacks, have you considered hostels? Many have private rooms for 2 people now. Here is a link to a major hostel organization where you can reserve directly.

https://www.yha.org.uk/

PalenQ

YHA - Youth Hostels Association is good but only 'official' hostels - Let's Go Britain lists dozens and dozens of non-ARH hostels and youth hotels and cheaper digs for every age. YHA even offers a senior hostel card - any age welcome and with private rooms fine.

travellover3

Sorry guys for the delay in replying… work is crazy right now and you guys are putting me to read so so much! Thank you so much for all the comments and ideas…

Commenting from the last time...yes, we do know that our ideal budget is very, very low… hence the compromise to stay further away from the center… Actually, a lot of the hostels that we found in Booking.com were about the same mileage away from the center, so as I said, we thought I would not be too bad. The hostels that are in the center of the city are actually more expensive for two beds in the dorms and we figured with a private room in someone’s apt we would at least have some quiet and be able to get some sleep after busy days. RM67 “so all is not lost imho” jajaja, I think that was my initial attitude towards being far from the center.
Thank you for all the links. I have been looking at the UK transportation site and Google maps.. that’s where I saw that the Airbnb I booked was about 30-45 min away from the few places I looked up. Thank you for the “circle line” reference… makes it easier to maybe look for an alternative to stay…and ok, Brixton is not better. I think the overall consensus is that we should find a closer location. I think we might go for the YHA after all the comments. I thought the YHA had age restrictions, but I just looked up really quick and these don’t.

One thing that I just realized yesterday after all your comments is that I was thinking about the transportation in the wrong way…I thought that if I had to take two trains to get to the center, I would pay for just one fare… I do not have much experience with underground as we don’t have that in Florida, or any helpful public transportation actually, but the experience I do have is that if I needed to switch to a second train, I would only pay for one fare and the connections would be included… this is not the case with London’s system right?

You gave us great options to substitute for the day trips… discussed with hubby and I think we might suck it up and just go to York even if it’s a long day… looked again and still found trains for £13, so let’s say it’s a sign… I ask travel companion to pick between Dover and York and now he really looked at what interested me of York and he changed his mind. I like that some of you think even a day could be a good breather from the city and I do think that the Minster is worth it. Thank you for the suggestion about splitting the day trip between likes… me going to York and him to Dover…. Not necessary in this leg of our trip after all, but might just end up doing it somewhere else. Funny that had not occurred to us…. It does save a day and $$...

I liked the suggestion about going straight to Windsor from the airport… looking into ii and already found an Airbnb in York, not quite in the city but about a 20min walk from the Minster for about $40… that was great!

Again, thank you very much... now will keep reading about the transportation options...

janisj

>>I do not have much experience with underground as we don’t have that in Florida, or any helpful public transportation actually, but the experience I do have is that if I needed to switch to a second train, I would only pay for one fare and the connections would be included… this is not the case with London’s system right?<<

No you don't have to pay for each leg separately-- as long as you don't exit the system. You tap your Oyster card as you enter a tube station (or enter the platform in a train station) and tap it as you exit to the street - even if you have been on 3 tube lines you don't tap until you are exiting through the turnstiles. If you have PAYG £ loaded on the Oyster the system calculates your total journey and deducts the amount up to the daily cap. If you DO tap out/exit the station, when you get back on the tube/train it is counted as a new journey.

>>looking into ii and already found an Airbnb in York, not quite in the city but about a 20min walk from the Minster for about $40… that was great!<<

If it is a 20 minute walk from Yorkminster it IS in the city for sure. Maybe not within the Medieval city walls but definitely in the city.

PalenQ

Bath to me isn about the prettiest cityn in England. If not doing Dover (castle nice but a dud otherwise) take the train to Bath Spa in about 2 hours. I liked York too but prefer Bath.