How To Save Money Traveling in the UK

Aside from Hong Kong and Switzerland, England (especially London) is probably the most expensive place in the world.  If you’re American or Canadian, just imagine your $25 pizza take-out dinner costing about the same nominal amount in pounds – 25 pounds.  And then convert that back.  For a Canadian, the exchange is brutal.  25 pounds can come out to more than fifty dollars.  I was recently in London and wondered heavily about how the market would possibly support such outrageous prices in the UK.  Anyone have any idea?

Just take your average price for any goods or service you find in Canada (and to some extent in the U.S.), then don’t even bother “converting” it – just switch that dollar sign to a pound symbol, and that’s about what you’ll pay.  Convert back to find out the real amount in your home currency.  So for example:

Starbucks grande latte: $2.80-$3.10 (USD) vs. £3.20 UK = $5.25 (USD)

3-star budget hotel room $50 (USD) (in some places) vs. £50-55 UK = $82-93 (USD)

single-entree dinner with no dessert or drinks: $9.99-$15.99 (USD) vs. £8.99-19.99 UK = $ 16.42-32.86 (USD)

These are just average prices on middle-range hotel rooms and entrees.  In New York City, of course, they might be higher.  NYC readers could do their own comparison to London, but I am sure the same quality will still be more expensive in London.  And this is not even looking at the “four-star” quality restaurants and hotels yet – so if you like good quality hotel rooms when you travel, be prepared to pay for it in London.  That said, here are some of my suggestions for cutting back on costs while in the UK.

Suggestions for Saving Money in the UK

1.  Consider a different destination.  Do you *have* to make a trip to the UK?  If the goal is merely a vacation overseas of any sort, there are many cheaper places.  Even places in Europe, such as Germany, and parts of Italy, will be cheaper than the UK.  As a case in point, I’ve seen couples from London deliberately making the move to Spain and places such as Croatia just to get away from the British cost of living.  And these were folks whose salaries were paid in GBP, too.  You won’t even have that advantage!

2.  Determine what you’re willing to cut back on.  Accomodation and food are the biggest expenses, but “sightseeing” costs can really add up, too – especially since the tourist economy panders to unaware foreigners who aren’t familiar with usual prices and who are usually willing to pay more since they’re on vacation and having a good time.  You will need to cut back on something if you don’t want to feel the pain of overspending once you get back home.

3. If UK is just one stop as part of a longer overseas trip, then skimp on the UK part so that you can enjoy a more comfortable vacation in other destinations.  If you want to live it up in some nice hotel rooms, consider saving that for one of your cheaper destinations.  London is one of the top tourist destinations in the world.  Heathrow is still the busiest airport.  The travel industry there knows that, and will gouge you accordingly.

4. Don’t order room service.  In four-star hotels, these prices are high anyway, but will also be jacked up to include the unexplained but obligatory “surcharge” – and on top of that, they will still expect you to include a tip.

5. Don’t eat at the hotel restaurant. Check to see if there is anything else nearby, even if it involves using public transit or walking for 10 minutes.  You’ll get a chance to leave the hotel room and you won’t be paying doubly-overpriced numbers for your meal.  The hotel-owned restaurants capitalize on their visitors being new and unfamiliar with the area.  Instead, wander around yourself or go to a local pub first for dinner suggestions.

6. Don’t get suckered into last minute “upgrades.” (unless you really need them, of course). These might happen when you go to check in.  It happened to me.  By the time you get to check in, you’re probably tired and just want to get to your room as quickly as you can.  This is not the time to get sold on a £20 upgrade to “executive suite” or a free £4 bag of popcorn that also comes with a free in-room movie.  The upgrades could be anything – but they are always examples of the hotel trying to get more of your money when you are least prepared for it.  So watch out.  Do you really need an executive suite when you’re already in a 4-star hotel to begin with? etc.  Just think about your real needs.  This can happen at check-in on airlines, too.  While waiting to check some of my bags, the representative was going up and down the queues to ask if anyone would like a £120 upgrade to premium economy, but it was done in a slippery, tempting way that is hard to resist in the name of more relaxation and comfort.

7.  Ask for the discount for staying more than two nights in the same hotel.  Based on my understanding, hotels assume you will be there only 1 or 2 nights.  I was able to get ten pounds knocked off my price right away just for staying two nights in a row.  It works if you’re trying to make a same-day booking and it’s clear that you’re walking around to compare prices with other hotels in the area.  I would imagine even greater discounts might be possible if you book for more than 2 nights at a time.  This does save the hotel money anyway, in the form of less work for their cleaning staff and cleaning costs.

8. Ask for the price that doesn’t include breakfast.  I noticed that many UK hotels automatically included breakfast in their prices.  But if you’re leaving early or don’t eat breakfast, or just want to pick up something fast and cheap at Costa Coffee or Starbucks, ask what the price is without the breakfast.  This is an easy way to save anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds, depending on the length of your stay it could be even more.  It goes without saying that hotel restaurant breakfasts are usually more expensive than what you could find elsewhere.  Not always, but generally speaking.  And definitely if you’re dealing with a 4-star place.

9. Instead of a tour bus, get a day pass on local transit instead.  This could apply to any city, really, but the interconnectedness of transit in London and other UK cities makes it a great option.  Buy a day pass and pick a bus and ride it around for a cheap view of the city.  You’ll bypass the crowds of other American and European tourists and get a more local view of the city.  You can also design your own route and hop on and off at your own leisure, without seeing the same old places that everyone else will be trying to crowd their way into.

10.  Unless you’re staying for more than a week, skip the “all-inclusive” tourist passes. Many places will try to sell packages including entrance to 5 or more hot sites – such as all the castles in England or Scotland, or popular theatre and museum attractions.  The savings on tickets can add up, but only if you’re around long enough to see many of these without trying to crowd three sites into one day.  Based on what I’ve learned, seeing one major attraction a day is plenty – otherwise you will just end up rushing through it and not getting much out of it at all.  You might be able to rush through a museum if you don’t read all the signs and artifacts and don’t think about what you’re seeing, but then what’s the point?

11. Get a hotel with a refridgerator in the room and buy groceries.  This way you can save on breakfast costs and also store drinks for the evening.  It gives you a chance to go to a local grocery and meet people who aren’t tourists.  You save on having to pay tips and you’ll have more choice over what you can eat.  Sandwiches, nuts, granola bars and other packaged snacks can save not only money, but time, when you might want to spend the day doing something other than looking around for a good, cheap place to eat.

12. Look at hostels and bed and breakfasts instead of hotels.  You could save as much as 50%.  There are a wide range of hostels.  Read their reviews on tripadvisor.com.  Some European hostels, for example, aren’t much different than hotels in terms of quality.  You can get private rooms for cheaper prices than at hotels.  Also, there is a range of quality in bed and breakfasts or “guest houses.”  Often you can cut your accommodations costs in half if you’re willing to try out a different sort of accommodation.

13.  Buy “off-peak” travel tickets for specific dates and times.  The London tube sells discounted tickets if you wait until after 9:30 am (”off-peak”) and use them same-day.  I saw many Londoners lining up and just waiting for the clock to turn so they could use their off-peak tickets.  This applies to the national railways, too – National Express tickets are significantly cheaper if you purchase them (online, in person or in advance) for specific days and travel times (which also gets you a reserved seat) and for “off-peak” hours.  By contrast, buying an “anytime” ticket is much more expensive.

14. Use the London Underground to get back and forth from Heathrow for only £4 each way.  It can take a good 50 minutes, and it’s not 100% comfortable with the crowds and your baggage, but it does save money.  By contrast, Heathrow Connect or Heathrow Express cost between £15-£28 each way.

15.  Bring your laptop and use all the free wi-fi.   There aren’t as many internet cafes around in the UK anymore.  More frequently, there are pubs and corner cafes of all sorts which provide free wi-fi if you just bring in your own laptop.  I say that’s a far better option, if you can do it, than searching for some obscure and possibly smoky internet cafe that might charge £1/ 20 minutes.  Why not work at your leisure in a location of your own choosing if you can.  I know I will do this instead on my next trip.  This is also a great example of lifestyle inflation.

16. Bring your own cell phone if it can work in the UK and your plan is a good one.  Otherwise, you’re stuck paying hotel and credit card rates for phone calls and you’ll be stuck probably overpaying even to make local calls, which start at 50p and go up quite quickly.  Even better, if you’re on Skype or some other online calling system, you could just use your laptop for this.