Save For This Trip NOW: 5 Days in London
- Devyn
- Jan 6, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 1, 2019
Most people (at least, most people I asked on Instagram recently) stated cost is one of the biggest reasons why they don’t travel. This is a super valid point. An international trip is always going to be more expensive than a concert ticket or a new dress or a night out at a nice restaurant. But traveling to a new destination isn’t as expensive as you probably think.
Today, I’m featuring a shorter trip (4 nights) to London. This is a fantastic city for a novice traveler but I recommend London for anyone. It’s gorgeous to stroll around and the public transport is efficient , making the city very accessible. London is one of the more expensive cities I have been to, but I wanted to take on a challenge and show you that you can have a great experience without skimping out. This trip "mock-up" takes all aspects into consideration (like transport) and includes a few splurges (hello swanky afternoon tea and VIP champagne ride on the London Eye).
All prices have been (roughly) converted to USD as needed based on exchange rates available when I wrote this. I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by any brands or companies noted below - just personal suggestions!
Flight:
A quick search on my go-to flight finder, Skyscanner.com, resulted in a $300 (includes taxes and fees) round trip flight from Chicago to London on my favorite airline, Norwegian Air. Bonus: it’s a nonstop flight and includes a carry on. Trust me, a carry on is all you need – see my post HERE. This flight will give you a solid 4 days in London (Saturday – Tuesday); it leaves ORD on a Friday night and returns at noon on Wednesday.
Total Trip Cost Counter: $330
Transport:
The flight will land in Gatwick, which is about a half hour train ride to London. Round trip train fare will set you back about $40 (Pro Move: you can save 10% if you book your ticket ahead of time). A Visitor Oyster Card is the best route to go for using the various public transport systems in and throughout London. If you order ahead of time, it’ll come to your house (pre-loaded with fare credit) before you even leave for your trip. The card reduces the fair for a tube ride in Central London to about $3. A card pre-loaded with $25ish for fares will set you back about $32. That should be enough to cover just about all your traveling, depending on how much you move around.
Total Trip Cost Counter: $402
Lodging:
London hotels can be small, shared, and expensive. With that being said, the efficient public transport systems make it easy to move around town quickly. Therefore, it’s not really essential to be near the sights to experience London. Make sure you're within walking distance of a tube station and all of London will be within your reach. For purposes of this trip mock-up, I went with the Avni Kensington Hotel, located in Kensington/Chelsea. It’s a short walk to the Gloucester Road station, includes breakfast, and is about a mile from Hyde Park. Rooms in London will always be smaller, but this one includes a private bathroom (with a shower) in the room. It comes in at $413 for a double bed for four nights.
Total Trip Cost Counter: $815
Things to Do:
There are a lot of free things to do in London. You can stroll around the Kensington Gardens, watch the Changing the Guard, visit one of the many free museums - VisitLondon.com includes an exhaustive list of free things the city offers. Check out the many shops (Oxford Street and King’s Road are my favorite shopping areas), catch a show at Shakespeare’s Globe ($6ish tickets are available at all shows), or check out the Sky Garden. Splurge on a traditional afternoon tea at Aqua Shard for $57, a $47 champagne VIP London Eye experience, and a $55 ticket to the Harry Potter Studios. Pro Tip: Purchase a 3-day London Pass for about $133. This will give you 3 day access to over 80 attractions in around London.
Total Trip Cost Counter: $1,107 (assuming you opt for the London Pass and the three splurge items noted above)
Food and Drink:
You can make food and drink as cheap or as expensive as you’d like. Breakfast is included with the hotel, so you won’t have to worry about that. Opt for a food truck or stop at a mart for a sandwich for your lunches and enjoy it at one of the many parks. Make dinner your main money-spending meal. I found it doable to keep lunch and dinner below $35 a day per person – drinking more than a simple drink (beer or glass of wine) with dinner might require more spending.
Total Trip Cost Counter: $1,247
GUYS. $1,200ish for a full four days in London – without any hostels or having to cook your own food. It would also only eat up three vacation days, assuming you work all day Friday before the red-eye flight. This trip outline is definitely not sacrificing for the sake of cost. You’re getting a great hotel in a solid location, some amazing experiences and sightseeing, and plenty of opportunities to really explore London. You could bring this trip price down even more by staying at a different hotel or taking away the splurge-y experiences. I understand that a thousand dollars is a lot of money. Most of us don’t have that laying around. But it wouldn’t be difficult to save that kind of money with some planning.
Make this trip happen within a year. Save $100 a month and you can take this trip to London. Find a way to save an additional $100 a month by cutting everyday expenses and you could go in 6 months. You just have to make saving for a trip a priority. Doesn’t going to London to sip champagne at the top of the London Eye sound so much more rewarding than a night at the movies? If you're looking for advice on making saving easy, check out my post HERE!
I wanted to start this blog to show people that you can have great travel experiences without having to spend thousands or cut too many corners. I hope to do more of these trip mock-ups in the future for a variety of cities to really highlight what’s within your reach. Start saving for this trip NOW!
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