john0451

Hello all,

I am trying a budget plan to London, any tips on how to save? Budget $1500 for the month?

john0451

This will include hostel accommodation.

margo_oz

Wrong forum!

Moderator3

Moved to Europe board and tagged for UK

janisj

Welcome to Fodors. $1500 covering what for a month besides the hostel? Food? Sightseeing? Transit?

Understand that US$1500 is less than £40 per day. So in general -- no you can't do a month on only $1500/£1180. I can't imagine most any 1st world city one could do on £40 / day unless they stayed in a pretty low end hostel, ate just sandwiches and ramen, walked everywhere, and only visited free sites. Safe/decent hostels in central London often have a 14 night maximum. There are quite a few where you can find dorm rooms for the region of £30-ish per night but that would leave you less than £10 for everything else.

Sassafrass

Are you talking this June, next month? Where are you from? Have you already booked airline tickets? Are you staying the entire time in London?
Don’t know how safe couch surfing is, but might be a solution. If it is this June though, it is very late for planning and finding lodging.
Besides hostels, does your 1500 have to cover food, transportation around town and to/from the airport, tickets to museums, etc? If so, I do not think it is possible in London.

bilboburgler

yha.org.uk
"tickets to museums"? majority are free
don't take the express from heathrow
Greggs for lunch but avoid branded drinks, tap water is better for the environment and pocket
last minute tickets for the theatre
time out, for example https://www.timeout.com/london/food-...est-cheap-eats
since the world has many $ currencies try thinking in £

john0451

Thanks for the tips this month, I was wondering the best way to get the cheapest options, I have not bought airlines or book accommodations yet.

Realistic I should budget for $2000?

john0451

This is the total cost of the trip, including sightseeing, accomindation, not including flights. I am from Australia.

KayF

Accommodation will the biggest cost I think. A backpackers or hostel would be cheapest, check a few online and get an idea of cost, then multiply by your month stay. Staying outside London is much cheaper but then transport costs are higher and it takes time to get into London and back out again. You could think about mixing it up - two weeks in central London where you can walk to most things, then two weeks outside London to see a different area.

There is loads to do in London that is free or cheap. A lot of museums are free. London Walks has a wide range of walks and they are pretty reasonable. https://www.walks.com/ Bear in mind that everything in the UK will seem pricey due to the exchange rate with the Aust dollar. You can get pre-made sandwiches just about everywhere and with water, is a cheap lunch. Get an Oyster card on arrival, use the tube or bus. Walk whenever you can, you see more and save money.

Be aware that immigration in the UK can turn you away if they think you don't have enough money to live on and will likely have to work. AUD$2000 is around GBP1100 which seems too low for a month.

bilboburgler

AUD$ yikes,

the big costs
flights
accom
food

yha has some great deals in some very high price areas.

If you can couch surf that would help
Go veggie, that really helps
Stay off the booze and international sugary drinks

janisj

AUS$1500 = approx £850 and even AUS$2000 is still only £1100-ish. Border Patrol may not even let you in the country if you only have £850 on you (not a big danger but they can and do sometimes ask one to prove their resources)

You wouldn't be able to take the tube -- but buses everywhere in zone 1 will cap at £4.95 a day (that alone would eat up AUS$9 per day)

Some will say - sure you can do it -- a lot of museums are free and you can drink tap water, and stay out of the centre (which won't work because you couldn't afford the daily commute). Are you willing to fix almost every meal yourself or stick to wraps and sandwiches? No beer or soft drinks? Buses or walking everywhere - even for journeys that might take an hour longer than the tube? No theatre? Realistically, a pretty bare bones budget would be about £50 per day. So about £1500 or between AUS$2600 and 2700

thursdaysd

Lonely Planet's take on London costs:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england...d-costs/358914

janisj

Oh -- I like the new Lonely Planet calculation. That's pretty well laid out and seems realistic at the low end. The one caveat on the up to £85/day budget -- a brave soul indeed to ride bicycles everywhere. Though an Aussie would at least have the advantage of already being used to riding on the left. (for a lot of others that would be a death sentence )

But the difference between a £2 Santander bike and £4.95 for buses wouldn't really affect that budget.


(Not relevant to this OP, but IMO/IME LP's over £200 budget is nowhere near realistic since almost all of the items listed would currently cost a lot more)

john0451

Thanks so I should budget for AUS$2600 and 2700. I should take exchange rate fees into account?

john0451

Is there any places I can avoid exchange rate fees? When converting AUD to pound?

janisj

AUS$ 2600/2700 is about £1500 which is still a pretty bare bones. Averaging £50/day. (You should try to think in terms of £ ). Did you look at the Lonely Planet chart thursdaysd posted? Some days you might get by for very little -- say £35 or £40. But that would just be a bed for the night, a couple of sandwiches/noodle-type meals, and a bus ride or two. Other days you'll be spending more.

That sounds like you plan on taking cash - is that so? That isn't very practical. Do you have a credit card(s) - check to see what sort of foreign exchange fees your cards charge. Some charge nothing, some about 1%, some 2%+. If you don't have a credit card, what about a debit/ATM card? Again, check the fees they charge. What you do not want to do is take OZ$ cash and try to exchange for £ -- that will be very expensive even not taking into account the security issues carrying a lot of cash around with you.

If you have a credit card -- that is what you should use for 80-90% of your spending. Some people use credit cards exclusively, but I personally like to use cash for small purchases, pubs, street markets, etc.

But instead of asking "will $2600 be enough/" tell us what sorts of things you want to see and do and we can tell you what those sorts of things cost.

Also . . . IF you have a limited amount of money, instead of visiting for a month, cut the length of the trip to make the pot of money work.

Sassafrass

I realize you are coming a long way and not asking for opinions, and If you can up your budget, great. However, if not, seriously consider making it a shorter trip, say two full weeks plus travel time. It will still be a budget trip, but you can do and see a lot in London in two full weeks, and wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to feel you were not worrying about the cost of every bite you eat?

Sassafrass

See that Janisj just posted with the same advice about shortening the trip.

lavandula

Cash-wise you should figure not on taking AUD with you but on taking money out at ATMs in the UK, if you feel you need to use it. Taking great wads of money is not a good idea and not how people travel anymore. And post-Covid people are using cash even less, so you might well have to tap and go rather than expect to pay cash.

London is one of the priciest places in the world. Other cities in the UK will be much cheaper (although I would not miss the chance to see London either)

Lavandula