Expect to Spend: London

With rates dipping as low as £50, the Crestfield Hotel represents a good bargain for London.

Hotel Rates

Ouch! Quite average hotels can easily reach £175 a night in London. Our upper limit for London hotels listed on EuroCheapo is £125 (low season) for a double. The least expensive beds we profile are as cheap as £40 for a double room, or as little as £15 for a hostel dorm bed.

There are some gems (we heart the Crestfield Hotel) that can be had for around £50 per night. Check out our guide to London hotels for more information about what to expect in your budget hotel.

Kebab shops and fish and chips shops can be the best way to get tasty, cheap food. Photo: Emily Webber.

Restaurant Prices

Restaurants are similarly expensive in London, but good cheap deals can be found. Restaurants range dramatically in price. Takeaway shops selling cheap local fast food like kebabs and fish and chips can be found throughout London and are particularly prevalent in neighborhoods catering to residents, not tourists. A very average pub meal will cost £10 at a traditional pub and between £15 and £20 at a swankier gastropub. A three-course dinner at a gastropub will run between £20 and £30.

Check out our article on cheap eats for some tips on keeping costs low.

On the alcoholic beverage front, a pint of beer will cost around £4. A lower-end bottle of wine will start around £7 at supermarkets and from £18 at most restaurants. A cup of coffee will cost from between £2 and £4 at a café.

Transportation

Depending on you preferences, transportation costs can vary greatly in London. Options for getting around range from free (walking), to affordable (bus, Tube), to not cheap at all (taxi).  

Unless you plan on doing a ton of walking, public transportation is likely your best option to see a lot and keep costs manageable. Manageable is relative for London, though, and like everything else in the city, public transportation is a little more expensive here (£4.50 for a one-way Underground ticket and £2.40 for the bus). 

That's why the Oyster card is absolutely essential for anyone that's planning to ride the bus or Tube more than once. It gives significant discounts on fares, and puts a limit on how much you can spend on transportation per day. If you're travelling between zones 1 and 2, the price cap is £8.40 for the Underground and £4.40 for the bus. See the Transport for London website for details.

For more information on the various modes of transportation in the city, check out the getting around London article in our London City Guide.

Related posts from our blog

• London cheap eats in Soho
• A Cheapo guide to free music and comedy clubs in London