Advice in London.

Here is the final installment in the London Project:

What advice would you give someone moving to London, or just coming for a trip?

I’m a bit of a bargain hunter so my advice is going to be on money saving if you’re travelling to London!

If you’re looking for somewhere to stay hotels can be SO pricey, although they are ever so slightly cheaper of a weekend due to London being geared up for weekday business travellers, it’s worth looking in websites like Air B’n’B for people are are renting rooms or their homes to tourists.  They often have great deals, a will give you a lot more space than a hotel room!  The other options you have is to stay somewhere just outside London.  Essex can be 25mins by train from central London and hotels will be far cheaper that way! Plus Essex is a great place in it’s own right!

Drinking in London can come with a large price tag so if you want to socialise then why not look out for the ‘Happy Hour’ signs all over London.  These offer all kinds of drink deals usually including half price drinks or buy one get one free, so it eases up the spending slightly!  Happy Hour tends to happen around ‘working’ areas of London, so where they can entice the office worked out for a few drinks after work, this means happy hour usually runs from 5pm to 8pm.  Obviously there are some that run longer, and there’s lots of bars that don’t do it at all. Chose wisely!

Eating lunch out in London can work out a small fortune especially if you go for the likes of sushi or go out for a cooked meal.  There are a few ways round that… Most supermarkets will do a meal deal with a sandwich or pasta pot with a drink and crisps/fruit, these usually work out at around £3, but they do get boring quickly!  The second option is to seek out restaurants that do lunch deals, there are a fair few around the Regents Street ares that will offer 2 or 3 courses from a set menu for under £15, some even come with a drink.  The third option is to look out for people handing out vouchers; places will want you to pick them to eat in so they can often offer you an incentive to eat with them!  Subway are really good at this!  My last option is take a packed lunch, it’s what I do!

Dinner in London is often a really nice treat but if you’re on holiday it usually means eating out most nights which all adds up!  I find checking sites like Groupon, Living Social and Wowcher have great offers; 2 dine for £20 at selected restaurants, or cocktail and a three course meal for £30 are not hard to find!  Chains of restaurants such as Pizza Express will often have offers on so check their websites for downloadable vouchers; these often have 2nd mail meal for a pound or 2/3 courses for a set price.  Some restaurants even do happy hour prices as bars do!

My last money saving tip is to get an Oyster Card, they cap train fares and can be used on the underground, some overground trains, DLR, buses and the Thames Clipper.  If you’re doing lots of travel enquire about Travelcards for the duration of your stay Trust me, it can save you a small fortune!

Hope these helped!