Money probems
 

I´m going to London soon and I don´t know how much money I need for three days.
I have to pay for my lunch and for dinner, on one day I can go shopping for one hour.
Please tell me soon were leaving Austria on Friday the 17th in the early morning.
Thanks

It's a bit of a vague request isn't it? Are you going to eat a Big Mac or a proper dinner. Are you going to shop in Harrods or the Poundsaver? What are you intending to buy? A Bentley or a book of matches?

Take Let's Do It's advice--budget out your expenses, and then add 20% for unforeseen expenses that always seem to spring up.

Put it this way:

- a sandwich, drink and a pot of yoghourt at a Pret a Manger for lunch will cost you around £6

- a cooked pub lunch with a pint of beer is likely to be around £10

- a sit-down evening meal at a fairly average local restaurant is not likely to cost you less than about £20, but of course you could spend a lot more.

Am I right in thinking this anxiety about getting money in advance might have something to do with not having a credit card - and that therefore you may be a young person? If by "shopping" you mean simple souvenirs, I'd just set a sum you could afford. You could try looking in the London Transport Museum shop (in Covent Garden: you don't have to visit the museum to use the shop) for relatively inexpensive items that are iconically "London".

You´re right PatrickLondon I don´t have a credit card because I´m 13. It´s a school trip and our teacher planed to go shopping, like you guessed, in Covent Garden.

Didnt your teacher provide a suggested budget?

For affordable lunches look for Boots, Pret, Eat, or other take out sandwich places...lunch should be about £5-6. You could do the same for dinner, but I would budget about £10-12 for dinner.

Iki, I hope you can post at least short a trip report. I'd love to see your impressions of London.

You need to consider your appetite as well. Some teens - my brother was one - can empty a fridge in half an hour. Also, soft drinks are very expensive versus the US - and come in tiny little cans. And there are never free refills on drinks. For some perspective, meals in fast food chains (Mickey D's etc) are about 50% more than in the US.

nytraveler,

The poster is not American.

PS Nytraveler, I'm just curious, since you've posted so many times about the cost of soda in Europe: Did you once take your teenage brother traveling and did soda-drinking become a huge issue?

This is certainly not a put down, but I don't understand comments regarding soda's. I don't drink them nor do any people I know. Now if you want to talk beer, well that's I understand :) iki, if you can, take around 20/25 pounds to cover a light lunch, dinner and for some shopping.

Hi iki,

Others have given you good suggestions on your meal budget. There are many shops around Covent Garden, but with only one hour I assume you plan to shop mainly for souvenirs? In that case, I wouldn't take too much. I think £50 for the shopping day should be enough, unless you know you plan to buy something more expensive as a souvenir. And perhaps £25 on the other days for lunch, dinner and snacks.

Enjoy your school trip! I agree - I would love to hear what you thought of London.