At this point, you may have read or at least have seen my posts from my little trip to London in November. I love going into detail with writing about my experience in each place, but I know that you may not have the time or interest to read each post in depth, so I am writing this post to sum up everything I did. I hope this can also work as a itinerary for anyone hoping to spend some time in London on a budget as well. Cost was something always on my mind when planning out this trip because London can get really expensive from the activities (which average at $50) and meals that were often between 15-20 pounds. I am going to start by showing you my original itinerary and thought process for planning this trip. Then I will talk more in depth about each day, my thoughts on it, and how much I spent before showing you the ideal itinerary that I would suggest for anyone wanting to visit these places. Feel free to skip to the parts that will help you the most in planning your own trip! My suggested itinerary is all the way at the end.
My Itinerary
Day 1
- Arrival at 10:50 am
- Check in starts at 2 pm at Wombat’s
- Historic London : “The City”- Rick Steves Walk
- St. Paul Cathedral Eveningsong at 5pm
- Going shopping on Oxford Street
Day 2
- MORNING Tower of London entrance at 9am- $48
- LUNCH at Borough Market (open 10am-5pm) noonish
- AFTERNOON Sky Garden for View at 2pm
- EVENING National Gallery (open 10-6pm) 4pm
- DINNER in Chinatown
Day 3
- MORNING Westminster Walk- Rick Steves
- Westminster Abbey
- Big Ben
- St. James Park
- Graffiti Tunnel
- Buckingham Palace (Changing of the Guard at 11 am)
- Take ferry to Greenwich 12:30 pm
- AFTERNOON in Greenwich
- Lunch at market
- Evening at Sherlock Holmes pub
Day 4
- MORNING Churchill War Rooms at 9:30am – $44
- LUNCH in Covent Garden
- Neal’s Yard
- AFTERNOON at the British Museum- Rick Steves Audioguide (open 10am-5pm) 2 pm
- British Library (if time)
- SIX the Musical at 8pm at Vaudeville Theatre
- Explore Piccadilly Circus Beforehand
Day 5
- MORNING in Notting Hill and Hyde Park (Kensington Palace)
- Full English Breakfast
- AFTERNOON walk to Camden and explore
- Primrose Hill
- Abbey Road
- Little Venice
- Eat at Camden Market
- EVENING Light Tour – $35
- Christmas Markets
Planning
If you have read my Italy itinerary then you have heard me talk about how much I love planning. I am all about the planning process. I will almost always choose doing a trip I get to plan over doing a tour because I find so much joy in the research process. Before I get into the details of planning on a budget I think I should just mention why I jam packed my itinerary. I like to have a tentative plan so that I can do the things I absolutely want to do because you sometimes you aren’t guaranteed entrance places when buying tickets for things on the spot.
I like to leave wiggle room to be spontaneous though. This trip I did not do that for a few reasons all related to the fact I was doing this trip completely solo. First off I was really nervous about being in London after dark alone and its get dark by 5pm in London in November, so I wanted to plan things out so that I could make sure I could fit everything I wanted to do into each day. I also didn’t see why I would need much time to be spontaneous. I didn’t expect to make friends at my hostel because I never really have before, so I though I was the only one dictating what I was doing. In the end I wish I had been a bit more flexible in my itinerary but I will get into that in a bit. First lets start with how I picked what I wanted to do in London.
Choosing my Activities and Attractions
I did extensive research for this trip! I tried to plan a well rounded trip based off Rick Steves suggestions and what people were talking about on TikTok. I started with Rick Steves’ London videos and kept track of the things that interested be like the Churchill War Rooms which I probably would not have made a priority if not for these videos. Then I watched Youtube videos and saved TikToks to keep track of the hidden gems and what people my own age were doing. Thats how I ended up finding places that are free for seeing the city from above instead of paying for the London Eye or the Shard. Once I had a list of everything I wanted to do I looked at their locations throughout the city and spent weeks coming up with an itinerary. As I did this I asked everyone I know who has been to London what are the things that they think you absolutely have to do. Tower of London was one of them which was good because that was a must for me.
While I picked out what I wanted to do I was decided on one paid activity a day (or the essentially four paid activities because some happened on the same day). The Tower of London was one of these as was the Churchill War Rooms. Then I also wanted to do a show in the Westend so that was another activity. That left me with one more and I thought maybe I would do a Christmas Lights tour on the last day but ended up just leaving that time open to do to stuff with my hostel roommates so I only ended up do three expensive activities in London.
So what activities I did I leave out? I ended up not visiting Westminster Abbey. That was one I didn’t want to do enough to pay for and nobody I had talked to had visited. I did find out close to my trip that it had a free evening song like the one I was planning to visit at St. Paul’s cathedral, but I couldn’t find a time in my itinerary to visit. I also left out a lot of museums, like the Natural History museum due to time but for someone truly wanting to visit London on a budget, there are a lot of free museums that are great alternatives to the couple paid ones I decided to visit.
Essentially the things I considered when picking my activities and planning my itinerary were costs, location, and time.
Accommodation
I looked at many different hostels for London and had the hardest time deciding. I was so nervous to end up somewhere not good or had a bad location. I checked every website possible reading every review to exist. In the end I settled on Wombat’s City Hostel London, because in my experience, chain hostels seem to be the nicest. I was so happy with it! Especially because one of the girls I was staying with had to change to a different hostel on one of my last days there because of a stay limit and her next hostel had bed bugs.
The hostel was well equipped with lockers and comfortable beds with curtains. I always felt safe and I was lucky in my roommate situation. The rooms were also very spacious and clean which isn’t always the case. The hostel also had a bar with lots of great fun activities most nights. I enjoyed comedy, trivia, and karaoke throughout the week there. They offered a paid breakfast as well which I heard wasn’t really good so I was completely ok eating the granola bars I had packed along for breakfast. There is a kitchen available though. They did have a cafe too in the lobby that I went to everyday for my coffee.
The location also ended up being great. I’m sure there are probably hostels that are better located to the main sights of London like Westminster, Soho, and the city, but I didn’t mind being near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It was about a 20 minute tube ride to the main attractions but since I planned to do the Tower my first full day it worked out well to be able to just walk to all these attractions. It also felt like a safe part of the city and I had options for food. It just wasn’t great for night life, but I didn’t really care about that in the first place. I was really happy with what I got from this hostel.
Transportation
I knew I would be taking the tube on this trip. There was absolutely no way I was going to walk everywhere in a city as big as London. I originally planned to get a travel card for a week so that I could take any of the public transportation. I ended up not doing it though. I got one for just the day I arrived because I needed multiple zones with being so far out at the airport. It ended up costing me about $25 and I didn’t take the bus. Once I realized each ride on the metro was about a pound I just decided that would be the cheaper option.
In an average day I took the metro between 2-4 times depending on where I was going, but often there were a few connections. I tried to plan my days out so that I would take the metro to one part of the city to explore that day. That meant I spent no more than 10 pounds on transportation for a given day other than the day I took the Uber boat which was just as much of an attraction than a form of transportation. The metro is really slick in London anyway and is by far the cheapest and most convenient mode of transportation. You can get nearly anywhere by metro if you are ok with walking 10 minutes to and from a stop. I never took a taxi in London. They can be expensive and I have heard that they can take awhile given the traffic in London. I would definitely say that when traveling to London on a budget, paying for trips on the metro is the way to go.
How it Went
Now lets get into how my itinerary worked out and what I would change, as well as how much I spent each day for those wanting to travel to London on a budget! I won’t put in all the little details to make it more of a summary, but if you want to know more about the exact restaurants I went to, the metro stops I used, and the things I did you can click the link to see the full post from that day!
Day 1: The City
I would say that my first day in London could not have gone better (that is other than walking in the rain for 13 minutes with my suitcase to the hostel). I was really happy with what I had planned out and how it worked out. Seeing the city with the historical buildings with no definitive plans was perfect for an arrival day after traveling overseas. I felt like I could really enjoy the day and was able to go back easily if I got tired. There are lots of food options so finding a coffee and a little lunch in the city wasn’t hard. As for the cathedral, I was happy with seeing it during the evening song. If you are tired the evening song may make you a bit sleepier, but if you are hyped off of “I am in London!” energy then it works just fine! The only thing is I wish I had left the hostel a bit sooner than I had so that I could have completed the Rick Steves walking tour because I was nervous to get too far away from the cathedral so close to the time of the evening song.
I also wish I had eaten dinner is this area before heading to Oxford Street to go shopping. Only, I wasn’t hungry when I was there, but there were a lot more options here than by the Primark. In the end I ended up at a really good cafe, but it still wasn’t exactly what I had been looking for.
Total Spent: $123.43 (91.98 pounds)
Attractions: None
Food: $35.26 ( 26.28 pounds)
Transportation: $25.17 (18.83 pounds)
Shopping: $63.00 (46.95 pounds)
Day 2: The Tower and its Surroundings
My second day in London was planned way too ambitiously. I also dropped the ball on my plans a little bit. I am going to start with all the things I regret. First off, I should have booked a time slot for Sky Garden earlier because I waited too long and then they were out of tickets for the duration of the time that I was there, so I ended up going to the Garden at 120 instead. It still was amazing, but it didn’t have the same view that Sky Garden would have since its not nearly as tall of a building. Second off, I wish I hadn’t booked my Tower of London tickets for such an early time. I thought I had got myself adjusted to the time zone pretty well by sleeping on the plane, but then I had the worst jet lag that first night in London. I slept for like an hour and then was up most of the night and only back asleep a few hours before I needed to be up to walk to the tower. Usually doing stuff early is a good way to beat jet lag and get on track, but I don’t think I needed to be up that early.
During the afternoon I was so tired that after the market I went back to the hostel to rest. I ended up not doing the gardens right away and rather did that once it got dark. This meant I also did not have time to do the art gallery. I wish I had gotten to the National Gallery, but it was really too much to do all that in a day.
If I had done things differently I would have eaten more than just a granola bar for breakfast and planned to go to the tower from last morning to late afternoon and then have done Borough Market. Afterwards I would have done Sky Garden (or if you would rather do the gallery) at sunset and left the evening free to check out places for dinner or go to a pub.
Total Spent: $123.78 (92.78 pounds)
Attractions:
- Tower of London: $47.95 (35.80 pounds)
Food: $56.66 (42.23 pounds)
Transportation: None
Shopping: $19.79 (14.75 pounds)
Day 3: Westminster to Greenwich
For my third day I had planned to spend the morning exploring Westminster before taking the Uber boat to Greenwich where I would plan to spend the afternoon. I took the metro to Westminster to do my Rick Steves walking tour. I wish I had gone just a lightly bit earlier because I wanted to see the graffiti tunnel on the other side of the bridge, but I didn’t have time. I also should have been earlier for changing of the guard. For anyone who feels really passionate about going to the changing of the guard and wants a good view, I would say plan to be there at least an hour early. I was there 15 minutes early and was way far away from the palace. I couldn’t see a single thing happening there. I was ok with that though because I knew I had other stuff I would rather do than wait around just to have a good view. For some you could skip the walking tour all together and just do the palace and changing of the guard. I would highly recommend though either on the way there or back from the changing of guard to walk through St. James park. It is absolutely beautiful.
I think doing the Uber Boar to Greenwich worked out really well this day! It was about 50 minutes from Westminster Pier to Greenwich and there were amazing views of the city by water. You definitely only need an afternoon in Greenwich as well. I opted to see the free Prime Meridian instead of paying to go in the observatory which may take a bit more time if you prefer that option. I did lunch at the Greenwich market which ended up being one if my favorite markets in London. It had a lot of great options. I then went to the Maritime Museum which was free. I didn’t have a whole lot of time here because it wasn’t planned, but I did see a bit of it or at least the stuff that interested me. I then took the train back to my hostel which was one of the longer metro/train rides I had in London as it was over an hour. The nice thing about recommending an itinerary like this for this day is its really flexible so you can spend more or less in Westminster or Greenwich depending on your interests.
Total Spent: $117.42 (87.51 pounds)
Attractions: None
Food: $49.28 (36.73 pounds)
Transportation: $25.98 (19.36 pounds)
Shopping: None
ATM: $42.16 (31.42 pounds)
Day 4: The Museums and Westend
Out of all my days in the itinerary this was probably my worst planned out day. Two museums in a day is not a good idea. If I had planned my trip differently I would have done only one museum in a day which meant I probably would have ended up doing one each day. I have some ideas on how I could have done this now that I know how long each thing takes and the accessibility, which I will put in my updated and suggested itinerary at the end of this post.
I don’t regret doing the Churchill War Rooms right away in the morning. You need at least 3 to 4 hours here, so it is nice to have flexibility and not a looming departure time. I went at 9:30 am and didn’t leave until close to 1. I had planned to arrive at the British museum at 2:30 pm so I had about 1 1/2 hours to get lunch and check out Covent Garden before getting to the museum. I ended up going to the Christmas Market in Trafalgar square for lunch because I was so hungry and wouldn’t make it to Covent Gardens. I also ended up walking the whole Westminster walk I had done the day before so I probably could have gotten away with doing the guided walk this day and arriving at changing of the guard earlier the day before.
I was completely miserable for the 2 1/2 hours I was at the British museum. My feet were killing me and I was so tired. I did not get much out of it at all. I pretty much saw what was in Rick Steves tour of the museum and that is it. I definitely wish I did this on a different day so I could really enjoy it. I did like its proximity to the stuff I wanted to do that evening though. That was one thing that did work out well this day. I walked to Chinatown for dinner and then to Piccadilly Circus before going to the Westend to see Six. I loved this part of the day. I think I really just needed to divide up the two museums I did to different days.
Total Spent: $186.88 (139.27 pounds)
Attractions:
- Churchill War Rooms: $43.45 (32.38 pounds)
- Six the Musical: $63.49 (47.40 pounds)
Food: $49.97 (37.24 pounds)
Transportation: $7.51 (5.60 pounds)
Shopping: $22.46 (16.74 pounds)
Day 5: Notting Hill and Camden
My last day in London did not go to plan at all! The only things I did from my itinerary was visit Notting Hill and Camden. I didn’t get to do the long walk between the two to see the in between due to weather. This also was a lengthy metro ride between the two. I also didn’t spend as nearly as much time in either neighborhood as I thought I would. Notting Hill mostly just has Portobello Market and the colorful houses to see while Camden is pretty much just the market. In my suggested itinerary I would definitely separate the two neighborhoods and pair them with the museums I would split up from the day before. I just wanted to have wiggle room in my last day so I wasn’t completely on a schedule, but I think it just would have been more enjoyable this way. I also did some Christmas stuff in the evening by visiting Winter Wonderland, but if you aren’t there during this season, the evening could also be a good time to check out a show, experience the nightlife, or visit a pub.
Total Spent: $113.46 (84.55 pounds)
Attractions:
- Winter Wonderland: $15.20 (11.33 pounds)
Food: $60.07 (44.77 pounds)
Transportation: $11.76 (8.76 pounds)
Shopping: $26.43 (19.70 pounds)
Total Expenditures
Hostel: $241.25 (180.10 pounds)
ETA: $22.35 (16.66 pounds)
Sim Card: $32.95 (24.56 pounds)
Drinks: $67.19 (50.07 pounds)
Train to Gatwick: $28.80 (21.50 pounds)
Day 1: $123.43 (91.98 pounds)
Day 2: $123.78 (92.78 pounds)
Day 3: $117.42 (87.51 pounds)
Day 4: $186.88 (139.27 pounds)
Day 5: $113.46 (84.55)
Total: $1,057.51 (788.09 pounds)
Now this is just a rough number on how much you can expect to spend in London if you are looking to travel on a budget. You can also spend much less if you don’t care quite as much about certain activities or food as me. I also did not include the price of a flight so that is all up to you when planning your trip to London! Now here is my updated itinerary for anyone looking to travel to London for 5 days on a similar budget.
Suggested Itinerary
- Arrival in morning
- Check in starts at 2 pm at Wombat’s
- Historic London : “The City”- Rick Steves Walk
- St. Paul Cathedral Eveningsong at 5pm
- Going shopping on Oxford Street
Day 2
- MORNING Tower of London entrance at 10 am- $48
- LUNCH at Borough Market (open 10am-5pm)
- AFTERNOON Sky Garden for View at sunset or National Gallery
- EVENING Stay close to hostel and see the local sites
Day 3
- MORNING Westminster Walk- Rick Steves
- Westminster Abbey
- Big Ben
- St. James Park
- Graffiti Tunnel
- Buckingham Palace (Changing of the Guard at 11 am)
- Take ferry to Greenwich 12:30 pm
- AFTERNOON in Greenwich
- Lunch at market
- See the Prime Meridian
- Spend some time at the Maritime Museum
Day 4
- MORNING at the British Museum- Rick Steves Audioguide (open 10am-5pm)
- LUNCH at Camden Market
- AFTERNOON spent in Camden
- See Primrose Hill
- EVENING walkthrough Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, and Chinatown
- NIGHT See a musical in the Westend
Day 5
- MORNING Churchill War Rooms at 9:30am – $44
- AFTERNOON in Notting Hill and Hyde Park (Kensington Palace)
- Check out Portobello Market
- Take the bus to Abbey Road
- EVENING Enjoy London Night life!
Thanks for tagging along on my adventures in London! I hope I inspired you to make the trek to the UK!
The Journal of Wanderlust 