-
Join the MyBroadband community
South Africa’s biggest forum. Discuss, discover, and connect with thousands of members.
-
Question of the Day: How do you normally pay for purchases in stores?
Travelling to London, how much should I save?
- Thread starter lynda123
- Start date
porchrat
Honorary Master
People need details. What sort of accommodation will you be staying in? How much shopping do you intend to do? How much traveling? what touristy things will you be doing?
Right now you're asking people what colour Tuesday is.
Right now you're asking people what colour Tuesday is.
ichigo
Executive Member
I would say about R15000 to R20000 to cover the above mentioned. Depends on what accomodation and Airline you choose & what you want to buy.
Yeah, accomodation there is a killer.
Depending on what you want, I would say 20k is about fair for an average time.
If you have accomodation sorted, then your expenses should be quite little.
Enjoy 1664...i envy you
It's my first time travelling, and obviously I am looking at the cheapest accommodation I can find, chepeast shops around and where to travel.
I have heard accommodation is very expensive. Staying in a hostel is that a good idea? I hear London has the best clubs in the world, lol. I would love to find out.
some hostels are ok. If its just you, i would recommend a cheap hotel instead. Its been a while since i was there (sadly), but hostels are great targets for theft.
There are some amazing clubs there and camdon town is a must see!!!! Its like a time warp! If cyberdogs is still goign in camden town, go check it out!
Sheppards bush walkabout was also a fairly decent blast, most of the clubs i went to have closed. (like the Fridge, camden palace, underground and silver!!)
Buy a 1 week pass for all tubes and busses. Food prices change depending on location even with the same franchise (Mc donalds prices change if you are in zone 1 or 6).
Be careful with how you are transporting your money with you
hungrybeaver
Expert Member
Flights - ~R10k return. I flew BA and Virgin direct.
Food - work on £10/day per person. That will cover breakfast & lunch if you're just grabbing something from a co-op or bakery or Tesco/Sainsburys.
Transport - Public transport is excellent. Depending on what you want to see and where you want to go, you can get day travel or week passes for certain zones or for the whole of London. Or you could use an Oyster card which is a prepaid travel card. It works out cheaper if you use the card as opposed to buying tickets, however if you're there for 1 week tickets may be the way to go. Also, buy your tickets after the morning rush hour (after 8am) - the prices drop significantly. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ will help you out. Here is a tube map of London with the zones.
Accommodation pricing can range from R100/night to well over R1000/night. A few mates have booked a hostel in London through here (http://www.hostels.com/london/england). The important question is where in London will you be staying. Bear in mind central London accommodation is not cheap. A shopping budget is entirely up to you, so I'd suggest you browse a few UK retailers' online stores for an idea of the cost of items.
R20k will do you fine. Might be worthwhile looking at a TravelCard from your bank.
Good weather in August too.
Food - work on £10/day per person. That will cover breakfast & lunch if you're just grabbing something from a co-op or bakery or Tesco/Sainsburys.
Transport - Public transport is excellent. Depending on what you want to see and where you want to go, you can get day travel or week passes for certain zones or for the whole of London. Or you could use an Oyster card which is a prepaid travel card. It works out cheaper if you use the card as opposed to buying tickets, however if you're there for 1 week tickets may be the way to go. Also, buy your tickets after the morning rush hour (after 8am) - the prices drop significantly. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ will help you out. Here is a tube map of London with the zones.
Accommodation pricing can range from R100/night to well over R1000/night. A few mates have booked a hostel in London through here (http://www.hostels.com/london/england). The important question is where in London will you be staying. Bear in mind central London accommodation is not cheap. A shopping budget is entirely up to you, so I'd suggest you browse a few UK retailers' online stores for an idea of the cost of items.
R20k will do you fine. Might be worthwhile looking at a TravelCard from your bank.
Good weather in August too.
Last edited:
Wow. Thanks for that! My cousin is getting married on a boat on the Thames River, I think it would be wise to stay in central London?
how cheap is a cheap hotel? what's the best way to transport money?
Backpacker type accomodation is resonable or some farms will offer you half day fruit picking/stable cleaning for free barnyard type acc! If not your cup of tea, then sorry for suggestion!
A weeks pass on their transport system is good value! Lots of SA people up there; if you can hook up with them on some forum, they helpful. UK has some type of gumtree forum system where all sorts of info can be found.
Google accomotation in UK & I'm sure you'll find! Good luck!
A weeks pass on their transport system is good value! Lots of SA people up there; if you can hook up with them on some forum, they helpful. UK has some type of gumtree forum system where all sorts of info can be found.
Google accomotation in UK & I'm sure you'll find! Good luck!
secure bundles of 100k with rubber bands
if you can, try and keep the banks paper wrapper on
then wrap bricks in 250 micron clear plastic
secure with duct tape
stuff in black duffle bag, with padded shoulder strap
extra compartents for passport, gloves, sunglasses, cap etc would be advantageous
put in boot of fast, but inconspicuous car
drive
farm accommodation aint my cup of tea lol!
Lupus
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 91,578
- Reaction score
- 62,171
3 years ago when I went, I spent a total of 25k, but that was for 3 1/2 weeks and I went to Scotland and the Reading festival too. It probably helped though that I have family living there and my brother let me crash on his couch in London, though in Scotland while in Edinburgh it was R500 or so a night and that was with sharing.
I'll be there for a week and R20k is quite hefty. My cousin lives in a bachelor pad and his parents are out in the country. I would prefer to stay in london central though without family - prefer to experience the night life, and meet some people.
Will do. thanks
hungrybeaver
Expert Member
Take a look in the Fulham, Chelsea, Kensington, Notting Hill areas. They are all pretty much central, but not "central" central.
See if your bank offers a Travel Wallet. Its a VISA or Mastercard card pre-loaded with cash that can be used to pay for things at stores as well as withdrawing money from ATMs. It came in pretty handy when I went to Oz and NZ.
When you're there make sure to spend a day in Camden!
A few more suggestions if you want it on the cheap:
[-]http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/springbok/
Look under terms and conditions for prices. [/-]
** Gumtree.com might help you with more places. There are many South Africans with houses that you can rent a room in (60pound/week upwards - 80 is the going rate for a room slightly bigger than a toilet, but it's area dependent). I would suggest you contact someone by email, then arrange to chat on skype (lockable rooms and house with majority women recommended). [Proceed with caution on Gumtree]
** When you land in London, buy call cards from the newspaper shops (/internet cafes) and use that to call home - they will explain usage. I recommend O2 as mobile operator (cheapest back in 2007 when I was there).
** Buy food in Tesco (Value-brand) and Asda (Smartprice). Also look for "Reduced to clear" shelves if you really want to go cheap (in all Spar-like shops).
** Check credit/debit card swiping fees (?), I'm not up to speed on that, but might be cheapest and safest instead of cash.
** Buy two cartons of cigarettes and sell to South Africans (35 to 40 pound per carton) to cover 1 weeks rent.
[-]http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/springbok/
Look under terms and conditions for prices. [/-]
** Gumtree.com might help you with more places. There are many South Africans with houses that you can rent a room in (60pound/week upwards - 80 is the going rate for a room slightly bigger than a toilet, but it's area dependent). I would suggest you contact someone by email, then arrange to chat on skype (lockable rooms and house with majority women recommended). [Proceed with caution on Gumtree]
** When you land in London, buy call cards from the newspaper shops (/internet cafes) and use that to call home - they will explain usage. I recommend O2 as mobile operator (cheapest back in 2007 when I was there).
** Buy food in Tesco (Value-brand) and Asda (Smartprice). Also look for "Reduced to clear" shelves if you really want to go cheap (in all Spar-like shops).
** Check credit/debit card swiping fees (?), I'm not up to speed on that, but might be cheapest and safest instead of cash.
** Buy two cartons of cigarettes and sell to South Africans (35 to 40 pound per carton) to cover 1 weeks rent.
Last edited: