Dear Anglotopia: I’m a 21 year old from Chicago and I’ve been saving to visit London for a while now. It would be my first time there and I would be going by myself for about 2 weeks. I wasn’t sure of how much to save first off, where to stay for cheap, and if it’s safe for a girl to travel alone? Any other info would be wonderful 🙂 I look forward to hearing back from you!
Take care,
London Dreaming
Hi London Dreaming:
Thanks for getting in touch!
Well, budget about:
$1000 for a return plane ticket (though from Chicago right now you can snag one for under $900 depending on when you go).
$150 a night for a passable hotel, $250 a night for a nice hotel. Since you’ll be there for 2 weeks, you might also want to consider renting a self-catering flat – cheaper! Try out http://londonconnection.com
$100 a day spending money – at least but that depends on how much you like to shop and spend money. Some people can do it on a lot less. Most of the attractions in London are free so your biggest costs will be food, shopping, souvenirs and transport (minimize this by getting an Oyster Card).
So, roughly about $5,000 total. You can certainly do it for much less, depending on how much you’d like to suffer.
It’s perfectly safe to travel to London alone as a woman – just be on your guard. Don’t stay in a dodgy neighborhood (hint the hotels under $100 a night).
This guest article might also be useful: http://www.anglotopia.net/anglophilia/guest-post-a-single-girls-guide-to-travelling-in-london/
I would also recommend leaving London for a couple days – perhaps taking in Oxford, York or Bath all easily reached by train (cheaply as well).
Have a good trip!
Author: jonathan
Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.
Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!
The Norwiegen YWCA is also another option for a young woman traveling there. A single room with breakfast is about £45.00 a night. It seems like a pretty safe place too since only (besides Norwegian women) non-Norwegian woman and Norwegian men below 30 are allowed. Hope this helps! 🙂
http://www.kfukhjemmet.org.uk/
South Kensington is the best area to stay. It is safe & lots to do. Earls Court & Bayswater next door have lower prices on hotels. (you can find decent ones for really good prices but book early) Check out some of the B&B’s in those areas. You can meet people who will help you & they are cheaper. I can get by on $900 -$1400 cash for 2 weeks depending on exchange rate. Remember the money there is almost double the value of ours. Buy an Oyster card at the airport for the 2 weeks & get around by tube. I can do a 2 week trip for just under $3000 traveling with someone. It really helps to share that room cost. There are so many things to do that don’t cost anything like museums. Save money on food because it is really expensive. That will gobble up your budget faster than anything. Eat at pubs or grab a pasty at the tube stations. Organize yourself really well. Go online & research what is there. Find out the times & days open & cost to get in so you aren’t wasting your time running around. If you want to splurge I would suggest a day trip by bus to a place outside of London such as Oxford. You will go to more than one place & get a feel for what is outside of the city. Golden Tours & Evan Evans are good. You can book from your hotel. Good luck I admire you going on your own.
I always go to London on my own. I prefer to travel that way. I get to see what I want to see, and do what I want to do.
I always stay in Paddington. The B&B’s there are not luxurious, but if you just want a clean bed and a shower, they suffice. And you get breakfast. There are a lot of them a block from Paddington station on Norfolk Square, and even more down London Road on Sussex. As I said, they are nothing to write home about and you won’t be photographing the room, LOL, but they are clean, comfy, and Paddington is a great place to stay for a number of reasons.
The Heathrow Express goes straight there from the airport. And Paddington station is a HUGE hub of trains, both regular and underground. You can get anywhere in London from Paddington. It’s also not far from many of the tourist attractions, there is shopping, and the hop on hop off bus starts right there at Norfolk Gardens. There are also places to eat. If you want a casual burger type meal there is Garfunkels, or there is a nice steakhouse just across the street from there. There are also Indian restaurants (be careful in those as they all try to get you to over order on food, so learn to say “no” if you like Indian). There are some great places to eat in Covent Gardens, just take the underground from Paddington.
I went to London this summer & found a room through Airbnb.com. I wanted someone to know if I didn’t get home at night! I stayed with a nice lady- it was in an average middle class neighborhood so I got to see how people lived. It wasn’t as convenient as I might have liked, but the price was right & I felt safe.
I haven’t been in London, somehow I wanted to visit that country, I’m looking for affordable hotel which has package tour so it wont be hard to have a city tour.