The Budget Guide to London – How To Do London on $100 a Day

I recently read an article in the New York Times where the travel writer tried to spend several days in London on a budget. She considered budget travel under ‘$200’ a day. I read the article and thought I could do better. $200 a day is positively luxurious! If you REALLY want to experience London on a budget, say of $100 a day, then this article is for you.

The problem with travel is that the less you want to spend, the more miserable your travel experience can be. But in 25 years of travel to London, I’ve done budget. I’ve done non-budget. The older I got, the more I was willing to spend a little extra to keep things more comfortable or to have an experience that I normally couldn’t have. Personally, my last trip to London cost way more than I budgeted. It was financially painful (but worth it).

So, reading this article in the New York Times, and then comparing it to my own experiences, made me realize that you CAN travel to London on a budget and still enjoy yourself and enjoy some quality London Ambiance. And not spend a fortune. I think you CAN do it under $100 a day. I’m going to tell you how.

A Caveat

First, I’m not including airfare in this daily calculation because that’s not fair. And airfare is cheap right now anyway, you can easily get a transatlantic flight from most US gateway cities for around $500 if you watch out for a deal and plan far enough ahead. Less if you add more suffering to your journey and fly through Iceland or Dublin, or use one of the new budget transatlantic airlines (like Norse).

Lodging

Now, the biggest cost you’re going to experience in London is finding somewhere to stay. This becomes a calculus problem that weighs in comfort, distance, your time, safety, and cost. You could stay in Croydon for £20-£30 a night. But then you’re staying in Croydon, which is far from central London, and may have some…. dodgy hotels (I don’t mean to pick particularly on Croydon, I’m sure it’s lovely). If you stay somewhere far from central London, you’ll spend more time on public transport getting around.

Luckily, I have experience here. Have you heard of EasyHotel? They pioneered the on-demand, pod-style hotel model. The rooms are tiny, and basic. Literally a bed in a cupboard in some cases. You get a bed and a toilet. You have to pay extra for a window. Or to watch TV. But if you plan far enough in advance, you can secure a room for £30-£40 a night in central London – I recommend the South Kensington Branch because it’s near Gloucester Road Tube Station. There are other similar style hotels, that offer barebones lodging. I cannot recommend them, but I can recommend Easyhotel, as I stayed there several times during my poor college travel years (would I stay there now as a 41-year-old employed adult, probably not).

Of course, all the other travel websites will give you hacks to stay for free in central London or practically nothing. For example, if you accrue enough airline or credit card points, you could conceivably stay for free in London, or almost free. Your mileage (pun intended) will vary here.

The real travel hacks are: staying with friends or putting yourself in moderate danger.

I’d pick the EasyHotel if I couldn’t find a friend to stay with.

Attractions

You’re lucky here. In London, most of the major tourist attractions and museums are completely free (we have a list here). This means you can enjoy everything they have to offer completely for free. There’s a big BUT here. Where these attractions get you, though, is the special exhibitions. Those will cost extra (and usually require advance booking). But if you just want to say, experience the National Gallery without the current special exhibition, there is plenty to whet your cultural appetite.

Traditional tourist traps are usually overpriced and easily avoided. And if you’re on $100 a day, you’re not going to any of them. The real hard choice is for something like, say, The Tower of London, which is very much worth seeing, but rather expensive, even if you can get a discount of some kind.

Also, many famous London places are completely free to see. It doesn’t cost anything to sit in Trafalgar Square and people-watch. Or to stand in Parliament Square and wait for Big Ben to chime. Or to walk along the Thames South Bank and watch London go by. Things like these are amazing, and won’t cost you anything.

Transport

Getting around London on a budget is very easy. In the aforementioned NY Times article, the writer mentioned going on the Heathrow Express, which was her first mistake. By mile-to-fare, it’s Britain’s most expensive railway. If you’re really on a budget, take the Tube from Heathrow, sure, it takes 45 minutes. But it’s only a few pounds.

You’re also lucky that London has a world-class public transportation system. The tube is cheap – the max daily fare is £8.90 (about $10) will get you very far in London, and you can get almost anywhere a tourist would want to go. But there is a cheaper option, and that is London’s bus network. Fares are much lower than the Tube, the max pay-as-you-go fare is £1.75 ($2). You can get to more places, and you can also see more of London, whereas on the Tube you’re stuck mostly underground.

If you’re on a budget, what you will not be doing is taking a cab anywhere, or an Uber. These are the most expensive ways to get around. Traffic in central London is usually terrible anyway and barely moves, especially during rush hour. So, don’t use them if you’re on a budget. Take the Tube or the bus.

Food

You have to eat. If you took my advice and opted for the EasyHotel, then your hotel won’t have breakfast of any kind or even a mini-fridge. So, if you’re on a budget, the first thing you need to do is pop into a local grocery store (Tesco or Tesco Metro will be cheapest, Sainsburys or Waitrose more expensive). Pick up cheap foods for breakfast like muffins, donuts, bagels, fruit, etc. Nothing that needs to be refrigerated. But stuff to make sandwiches if you’re feeling bougie.

If you’re determined to stay under $100 a day, then eating in any sit-down restaurant is basically out of the question. Most guidebooks won’t tell you this advice; in fact, most will tell you to avoid it, but I’ll level with you here: the cheapest way to eat out in London is to eat fast food. I’m serious. Mcdonalds. Burger King. Greggs. KFC. Not just the major chains, but the local ‘takeaway’ that seems to sell everything from Gyros, kebabs, pizza, burgers, chips, etc. You can eat a full meal for under £10 at most fast food places. Also, keep on the lookout for the cabman’s shelters, they offer really cheap food that’s good quality (and you can get a cuppa).

I like dinner to be the treat – so eat cheap for breakfast, eat crap fast food for lunch, and then use your remaining funds for the day to eat in a sit-down restuarant. You will have to look and plan in advance, but you can find something that will either offer a meal deal or affordable entrées. The further you get from the West End, the cheaper the dinners will be. Many London restaurants will do a set-menu 3-course dinner for a fixed price (and since there’s generally no tipping in Britain, that’s the price you’ll pay!).

Entertainment

There are plenty of options here as well. You might be able to find a ticket deal for the West End, check the TKTS desk in Leicester Square for same-day ticket discounts. Many theaters will also do same-day deals, but you’ll have to wait in line (which takes time). Check the show you want and see their procedures for discounted tickets. Avoid third-party ticket brokers, they won’t necessarily give you the best deal.

If a show is too expensive, then how about a movie? Movies are cheap, especially if you don’t get snacks. Independent cinemas like the Prince Charles offer really cheap tickets and flexible showtimes.

Used Books

I love London’s bookstores. Most of the major ones in London are now all owned by the same company (Waterstones now owns Hatchards, Foyle’s, etc), so many offer the same books for the same prices. But there are still plenty of independent small bookstores and used bookshops. Look out for an Oxfam bookshop for cheap books. There’s also a used book market located under Waterloo Bridge on the South Bank. You can usually pick up a few books for under a tenner.

What are your tips on saving money in London? Let us know in the comments!