Trip Report: London on a budget
 

We just got from our trip to London and thanks to this site we had lots of fun and didn't bust the budget.

As a background my husband and I left STL on a Monday evening (March 26,2007)on an overnight to arrive at LHR at 11:30 am tuesday. We had 7 full days (wednesday-tuesday) Airfare was about $1100 for both and we pricelined Holiday Inn Kensington Forum for $95nt. for a total with taxes of $912.

Arrival day:Getting to the hotel from the airport was very easy. Found the ATM in the airport and followed the signs to the underground. We purchased the 7 day travelcard for 23.20 GBP each and pre-payed the extra for the trip from LHR which was 3.50 gbp p.p. each way. We landed about 11:30 and were in our room by 2:30pm. Since we pricelined our room, we asked for a double bed, but when we checked in they only had 2 singles. For the money we saved, it wasn't that big of a deal. He told us we could check later in the week for a room with a double bed but we didn't mess with it. The HI was nice. We did have trouble finding the entrance which is on the back side of the building, not facing Cromwell. We liked the area very much. Two block from the entrance of the hotel was Tesco (foodmart), the underground, Burger King, Partisserie Restaurant and other places to eat. After checking in, we headed down to Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. Didn't spend much time in either but we did get a sandwich with 2 sides and a drink at the cafe in V&A for about 10gbp for dinner. We picked up some snacks and some 2 liters of water and soda at the Tesco for the room. The Hotel has one microwave and ice machine on the 25th floor and also has foreign electrical outlets in the room so there was no need for an adaptor. First night we were in bed by 8pm.

I will continue with the report tomorrow.

Other notes: After returning home, we found that we were only charged a $2.00 atm fee but the exchange rate was $2.04 to 1 GBP.
There were about 15 steps to drag your luggage up at the Gloucester Road tube station (not bad).

Great report....enjoying! Looking forward to the rest of the story!!
Shadow

That sounds like a decent airfare from STL.

Canon

Love your details about your recent trip to London.

May I inquire the airline you got that wonderful price from STL to LHR? Which airport did you connect through? How much time between flights. We also fly out of STL but prefer flights to LGW due to our final destination. I have considered the flights that arrive late as yours did thinking perhaps you may get a little more sleep on the plane. Did you sleep?

April weather can be dodgy however my family in the UK say they have been enjoying some lovely weather - full details on www.weatheronline.co.uk.

Looking forward to more.

Sandy

Thanks for the report. Details about how you kept in your budget in London are very beneficial - thanks!

Good beginning - looking forward to reading more about your week's activities.

Sandy, We flew American and connected through ORD Chicago. Our scheduled flight plan was to leave STL AT 7:25 pm, arrive ORD at 8:40pm and depart ORD at 9:50pm arrive LHR at 11:30 am. There was at least a 20 minute delay out of STL but we still had no problem making the connection. I did sleep on the plane, as did most other people. I do have to say, that single bed felt great after the night on the plane. I feel they fed us well. Shortly after take-off we were served a tv dinner type meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes and a roll. In the morning, we were served a croissant(sp?) and something else I think.

Day 1: For our first day in town we planned to do the double decker tour bus. I checked with the concierge at our hotel about day tours and the DD tours. They only had brochures for the Big Bus Tour Co. not the Original Tour. We could have bought tickets from our hotel for Big Bus and catch the tour a 8:50 am by the tube station. From my research I knew we could get a 3GBP ea. discount for Original Tour so we decided to save 10 GBP and took subway up to Embankment to an Original Tour starting place. I was expecting to find a counter or something since it was a starting point but all we found was a sign on one of poles showing that the first bus wouldn't be there until almost 10 am and was only 9:15. We just hung out in the area and checked out Cleopatra's Needle. Eventually a guy in a jacket showed up to help us with the tour. I just asked about the travelcard discount & he gave it to us. That being said, I wish I hadn't known about the discount because this tour was probably the biggest disappointment of our trip. The guy who did the live commentary tour was awful! We were going to do the entire loop which should have taken about 2 hrs but after an hour or so I was bored to tears. By time we got to the Tower of London I was so excited we jumped off the tour and checked out the area(Tower Bridge, London Wall section, shops, etc). Had lunch at the KFC there, 8GBP for 2 combo meals. We then wanted to do the 4:00 round trip boat cruise included with our tour so we hopped on the next bus that came by which was a recorded commentary. This was bad too. We missed the stop we wanted to get off at because they didn't annouce the stops and I couldn't tell whether it was a get off stop or just stopped in traffic. When I know we missed it for sure we went down to the door and got off asap. This wasn't all bad because the stop was near Buckingham Palace so we took photos there and walked back to the pier to catch the last cruise of the day at 5 pm. The cruise was great, about 40 min. round trip. Even bought the souvenir photo they took for 10 GBP. Had dinner in hotel area at Patisserie, both had chicken kiev w/fries and drinks for 16 GBP.
Overall we did see a lot on our tour but I wish we had spent the extra money for the Big Bus Co. I think the commentary would have been better.

Oops, I posted the last message when I wanted to edit. Oh well.

Day 2- This was our Paris Day trip. I pre-purchased our Eurostar tickets on the RailEurope website for $268 with shipping. I think this was the night that the time change hit me. I could not go to sleep. It was well after 2am b-4 I finally got to sleep and we had to get up at 4:30 to catch the 6:35 train. Since you have to be there at least 30 min. early, we left the room at 5:15am and that was perfect timing to get to Waterloo by 6:05. I did sleep almost the entire way on the train. Arrived at Gare du Nord @ 10:30. We did get turned around a little at the train station, it is huge. Finally managed to get 80 Euros from atm ($109 + 2 atm fee), purchased mobilis pass for metro & bus for one day (5.50 Euro ea.) Finally got to Eiffel Tower @ 12:00, 11.50 Euro ea. It looked very crowded with the bunch of school groups there but we managed to buy tickets, go to top and back down in about 2 hours. There was a problem with the elevator going down, after waiting in the very cold wind for about 20 min. we took the steps down from the 2nd level. I had spaghetti legs after going down all those steps. Can't even imagine walking up them. We got a kick out of watching a group of 5 or 6 yr old school kids huffing and puffing up as we were going down. We then made our way back to the metro and went to Place de la Concorde and walked the length of the Jardin des Tuileries to arrive at the Louvre @ 3pm. The rest of the day was spent exploring the Louvre (8.50 Euro ea.), shared a baguette sandwich and drink at museum for 10 Euro. At closing, 6 pm, we made our way back to Gare du Nord where we shared another baguette and drink for 10 Euros. Train was suppose to depart at 7:20 but was delayed and left at 7:45- arrived at Waterloo @ 9:05 and in room by 9:45pm.

Canon - I would have been sweating bullets with that tight connection going over. So glad it didn't cause a problem. I think perhaps the later arrival flights have some merit in terms of perhaps getting a little more sleep.

Sounds like you made the best of the disappointing Original Tour and glad the Boat Trip part was satisfactory.

Enjoyed your day trip to Paris - good details. Lots of people on this board will appreciate your detail to the cost of things.

Keep it coming please and tell us about the weather.

Terrific trip report.

Sandy

Canon - Great Trip report. I just returned from London last month and wrote a UK trip report as well.

I took that same night flight to London from Chicago. We were rushing to make our flight and when we finally got on, the plane sat around for an hour waiting for other connections which were late due to bad weather.

Notes: With the 7day travelcard we took full advantage of the 2 for 1 offers. You do need to fill out the vouchers at the back of the booklet which can be picked up at train stations. Tower of London was the only place that asked to see train ticket with voucher. We used them for Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Westmister Abbey, Discount on Original Tour Bus, Tower Bridge Expo. and Clink Prison Museum for a total of 56 GPB or $114 saved. Without 2 for 1 we would not have done Clink Prison and maybe not Tower Bridge (just wanted to walk on crosswalk, didn't do engine room tour). We only got these deals because of this wonderful site. I did see a big 2 for 1 sign at Waterloo train station but would have not paid any attention to if I didn't already know about it.

Day 3 Friday: After Paris we were exhausted and did not even leave the room until 11:30 at which time we headed to Tower of London. It was a cold rainy day. Not a good day to do the Tower. We were there from just after noon to they pushed us out a 5:30. We enjoyed the complex, but it was very crowded inside the White Tower and difficult to move and the see exibits.

Nice to hear how you do it on a budget. We also like to Priceline in London.

Canon, thanks for your trip report. I hope to be doing a similar trip in May. I haven't had any luck with my Priceline hotel bid, yet. We hope to take the Eurostar to Paris and I was wondering what the best method to get to the Eiffel Tower was. I, too, got a great airfare to London. However, I am going out of RDU to Gatwick, for around $1,160 for two tickets, after all the fees were tacked on. Thanks for the info on your day trip to Paris. I am a little apprehensive about getting around in Paris, since I don't know the language.

Canon, I had another question. Did you buy an Oystercard? Did you purchase it in advance? If so, where and how much does it cost? I am so confused about Oystercards, travelcards, and public transportation in general.

Oyster is easy and highly recommended. You can buy it at any of the manned booths in a Tube Station. You have to pony up 3 pounds to get the card and then you tell them how much you want on it. You can top up in person anytime.

You can also get your three pounds back when you hand-in your Oyster Card, or save it for the next time you'll be back!

RaleighGirl- Can't say that it is the best way, but the way we did it was Metro- Light blue, B line from Gare du Nord down to St-Michel-Notre Dame and changed over to Yellow, C line which took us right to Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel stop. Last year I spent a week in Lyon, France and we did a Paris day trip from there. For that, we came in to Gare de Lyon which is a much smaller train station and within 30 min of arrival into Paris we were enjoying the Louvre. From the Lourve, we took the bus up to the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the sights of the city on the way. The bus routes were displayed on the pole in the plaza outside of the Louvre, so it was easy. I noticed that more people at Gare du Nord (compared to Gare de Lyon) spoke english and I am sure that was because a lot of people coming into that station may have been coming from the UK, not from within France like the other station. Last year b-4 going to France for a week, I did the learn in your car thing. That was a huge help for the week, but just for a few hours you shouldn't have a problem as most of the big tourist places there seemed to be used to English speaking visitors.

Day 3 Cont'd- For lunch we ate the Tower Cafe- turkey sandwich, flapjack and drink 10 GPB- For dinner we went up to Picadilly Circus area, ate a TGIF's they had a deal for entre and dessert for 9.99. I got a burger with icecream brownie dessert and husband got ribs with cinnamon cheesecake plus drinks and service was 27GBP. (I noticed that same deal was 10.99 after April 1)

Day 4 Saturday- Hampton Court Palace- The recommendation from this site is what brought us to put this on our to do list. As was told on this site, it was easy. After arriving at Waterloo from tube, followed signs up to train station. Found electronic ticket booth, selected Hampton Court on touch screen and paid by debit card (5.70 GBP Per person round trip). Found train schedule to Hampton Court on rack and found which departure gate number posted on electronic screens just like airport. We took the 10:06 train out and brought the 4:56pm back. We did the 2 for 1 deal (13GBP) and took a little train ride around the garden for 2 GBP each. For lunch, the cafe had some sandwiches, but it was slim pickin's:) We split a sandwich and some chips and snacks we had brought from home. It was a cold day and the wind was brutal which made it difficult to enjoy the gardens. When we got back to Waterloo we had dinner at the Burger King in the train station (9 GBP for 2 combo meals) From there we walked over to London Eye area. It was a beautiful clear evening and people were everywhere. We were going to do the Eye but it looked very crowded and decided to do it later. Did get an icecream waffle from a cart vendor for 3.50 GBP, it was nearly as good as it looked. In the room for night at 8pm.

That's really helpful information. I'll get an Oystercard upon arrival. Also, it's really helpful to know a route to the Eiffel Tower from Gare Du Nord. We'll give the Big Bus Tour in London a try. I don't suppose we'd have enough time to get a bus tour of Paris, leaving London at 7 a.m. and arriving in Paris at 10:30 a.m. We also plan to leave Paris at 7 p.m, and it will also take quite a bit of time to get back to Gare Du Nord.

Last post about icecream waffle should have been "not nearly as good as it looked"


Day 5 Sunday- Stonehenge, Bath and Lacock tour with Premium Tours. I booked this tour in advance from home and was very glad I did. Our hotel did not have info about Premium tours, only Golden Tours. So again, if I hadn't researched the tours b-4 leaving, I wouldn't have known about the Special Access Stonehenge tour. I wanted to do the tour with Astral Travels mostly due to their smaller groups (only 13 I think) but the day I was going it they had raised thier price from 60 to 75 GBP so we decided to do the Special Access one with Premium for 75GBP per person. Their groups are up to 53 people. Our pick up point was directly across the road from Holiday Inn at 11:10am. We grabbed a sandwich & ate shortly b-4 being picked up. I have to say, this was one of the BEST organized tours I have ever been on! The tour was full, but our guide was an older gentleman and he was very experienced at dealing with these large groups. Just b-4 arriving into Bath (our first stop)they stopped at a large rest area to use the facilities. Pulled into Bath about 1:30, tour guide checked us into the Roman Baths & told us to meet at bus at 3:20. This was not much time, but we did hurry through the Baths and walked up to Putney Bridge & shops(some shops were closed due to Sunday). Next we took a beautiful drive through small villages to Lacock which is where we ate dinner. The meal choices and prices (11.50 GBP ea. + 4 for dessert if desired) were explained in the first leg of tour and we ordered on the bus in advance. My husband & I both got the steak & ale pie which was like roast beef and gravey with new potatoes and steamed veggies. This was by far our best of the week. Arrive in Lacock @ 4:15, left at 5:30pm, had about 40 min. to walk around after eating. Arrived at Stonehenge in time for our 6:30 scheduled 1 hr. viewing. The park was closed so the gift shop was not open. I did find it difficult to get pictures with out other people in them, but we managed to get a few good shots. It was very cold and very windy there. After everyone used restroom, went left about 7:40pm. We were first to be dropped off at hotel around 9:15pm. The tour was rushed, but very well planned and worth the money.

Day 6 Monday: Around town- Start at Westminster, spent about 2 hrs there, 2 for 1 (10 gbp) This was our best weather day, warm and clear sky. Went to Picadilly Circus area for Pizza Hut lunch buffet with drinks 16GBP ( not worth it) Down to Tower Bridge Expo. 2 for 1 (6 GBP), just walked across the top for view and skipped engine room. Walked from there all the way up to Clink Prison Museum. I wouldn't recommend that unless it is a nice day. Clink Prison - 2 for 1 (5GBP) Could have skipped this, but the area was worth seeing. Next, took tube to Waterloo and walked back to London Eye. This time it looked busy again, but we wanted to do it anyway. Thought it would take a couple of hours with the lines, but we got in line at 4:50 to buy tickets and by 5:50pm we were getting off the ride. At 14.50 GBP per person, this was rediculously expensive for 30min., but I guess I'm glad I did it. We had dinner in Picadilly Circus area again and went to The Ice Bar. This was a unique experience. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find. It was a few blocks up Regents Street from the Picadilly tube station, tucked in an alley. Spent over an hour looking for it, most of the shop owners in the area hadn't even heard of it. We found it on the left side of Regents St. directly across from the Timberland Store. At 24 GBP p.p.to get in for 40min.and one tiny drink, this too was very expensive but I feel it was worth it for a one of a kind experience.

Day 7 Tuesday - Around town again- Frist went St. Bartholomew the Great Church- out of the way but worth it. There was a sign that said after 4-11-07 they would be charging 4 GBP p.p. instead of just donations. It was a cold, wet & windy day so we just headed to the British Museum a for few hours. Shared 1 sandwich chips and drink for 8gbp at museum for lunch. Did some souvenir shopping, went down to Westminster Pier after dark for photos and back to room by 10pm.

Departure day Wednesday- Flight out was at 12:15pm. We were on tube to LHR by 9:40am We off tube by 10:20 and didn't make it through American check-in and security until almost 11:25. By 11:40am we were boarding the plane and lifting off about 12:45pm headed 3,949 miles to ORD.

Whew, I think that's it.

One more thing, Our total tally for the trip with souvenirs and everything was about $4000. We really saved on our meals. Sharing sandwiches and drinks and a couple of fast food dinners made a big difference. We also brought bags of powdered and chocolate donut gems and Hostess mini-muffins from home for breakfast everyday & used our Tesco 2-liters for drinks; we didn't buy one breakfast out. We did not sacrifice one activity due to price,(except the double decker bus tour where we saved $20, but we didn't know). Also brought some chips, beef jerkey and other packets of snacks from home.

Wow - if I am reading this correctly, you paid about $18 for dinner for two at Burger King, and about $30 for the same at Pizza Hut. That's fairly discouraging...seems that fast food in Britain costs about twice as much as here (US). When we go in October, a hearty breakfast will be included at our B&B. Think we will do a lot of picnicking; hopefully supermarket food is not so overpriced.