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Old 05-27-2008, 06:47 AM   #1
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Default Average Spending -- London

I will be in London for 7 days and 6 nights, I have my hostel already booked so I am looking for advice on what my average daily spending will be around because I am not sure what the cost of food is over there or how much drinks are.

I'm pretty heavy drinker/partier so I'm assuming that if I am not out for all six nights, it will be very close to that and I do plan on visiting a few museums. If anyone can just let me know what they had spent themselves and what they did it will give me a good idea at what I'm looking at.

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Old 05-27-2008, 09:25 AM   #2
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I've been planning a much shorter trip to London and from what I've found in my research is that most of the big museums are free. Don't know about food/drink prices yet, I'm planning on shopping at grocery stores and stocking up on the free hostel breakfast.
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Old 05-27-2008, 10:43 AM   #3
 
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Drinks average from 3-4 pounds in a bar, as for food you can get whole meals from 3-8 pounds. Just depends on what you're looking for. If you lived on Chicken Shwarma like me, it was 2.70 for chips and a shwarma. It was enough to feed me and I'm a big guy.

Remember to double all of those prices if you're coming from America.
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Old 05-27-2008, 10:44 AM   #4
 
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And yes, museums are free for the most part. I would suggest getting an Oyster card as well, it saves you a lot in the long run.
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Old 05-27-2008, 03:42 PM   #5
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Definitely get the week long oyster.. I think that cost me 30 pounds, but is unlimited for the week... super handy..

and I'm not sure you wanna be eating kebabs all week.. but definitly budget about 5-7 quid for brekky/lunch, and up to 10 if you want a decent dinner.. But I would also recommend grocery food... although if you're staying at the Generator, they don't have personal fridges or self serve kitchen, so buy stuff that doesn't need to be cooled, like cereal and crackers.
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Old 05-27-2008, 03:49 PM   #6
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It's a little expensive here (I'm in London now and will be for a couple more days), but as SGRHewitt said, you have to pretty much double all prices for what you'll be spending since you seem to be from America. A cup of tea at the corner cafe is 90p, so $1.80 for that. Red Bull is 99p at the store I was at the other day, pretty reasonable I guess, even when doubled it's cheaper than 7/11. A can of soda is 70-85p. I've been spending 5-7 pounds each on most of my meals if we go cheap, and since it's the final leg of my trip I'm doing just that. The Tube, with the Oyster card (good idea to get this, as it cuts your fare in half), is about 1.50 each trip, but it adds up quickly. It helps for me not to think how many dollars I'm spending and just keep it in pounds and I'll sort it out when I get home.

Going out... That's something else. I was in Bath, a town in Southwest England, for a couple of nights and I spent no less than 40 pounds on those two nights on drinks and some pub snacks, and I wouldn't even consider myself a very heavy drinker. Prices there were ridiculous, but I haven't really gone out like that in London yet. Tonight I spent about 5 on a couple of pints though, in London, which isn't that bad. If you're a heavy drinker, budget a lot of your money for alcohol.

I went to the British Museum today, totally free, as most museums here are. It's also free to do the whirlwind tour like seeing the outside of places like Buckingham Palace, House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and go to parks like I also did today.

Hope that helps out.
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Old 05-27-2008, 07:06 PM   #7
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All of these tips help a great deal, despite I'll probably be broke, haha.
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Old 05-27-2008, 07:11 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SGRHewitt View Post
And yes, museums are free for the most part. I would suggest getting an Oyster card as well, it saves you a lot in the long run.
which would you recommend for the oyster card, the 7 day traveller's pass or pay as you go, for the length of time I will be there?
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Old 05-27-2008, 07:46 PM   #9
 
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Week pass would suffice. Plus as I've always said the buses are free tours in itself. Just grab a map of the city, hop on a bus, and get lost. It's not a bad place to get lost in, especially since they speak English and getting directions back is just as easy.
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Old 05-27-2008, 07:47 PM   #10
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolsonGirl View Post
Definitely get the week long oyster.. I think that cost me 30 pounds, but is unlimited for the week... super handy..

and I'm not sure you wanna be eating kebabs all week.. but definitly budget about 5-7 quid for brekky/lunch, and up to 10 if you want a decent dinner.. But I would also recommend grocery food... although if you're staying at the Generator, they don't have personal fridges or self serve kitchen, so buy stuff that doesn't need to be cooled, like cereal and crackers.
You don't realize how much I miss a good kebab. America knows nothing of a Chicken Shwarma and garlic sauce. All they use is that crap Greek cucumber stuff.
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Old 05-28-2008, 02:58 AM   #11
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Ha ha I suppose I can't really relate... when I was in London I was last in London I was living with a VERY well-off family friend, amazing flat in London, the type of place where we drank 200 pound bottles of wine while watching Count Down... haha... where as before that i was living off ham and cheese sandwiches for the week..
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Old 05-28-2008, 06:41 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SGRHewitt View Post
You don't realize how much I miss a good kebab. America knows nothing of a Chicken Shwarma and garlic sauce. All they use is that crap Greek cucumber stuff.
NYC shwarma > London shwarma
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