I'm putting this separately from my other post because it's unrelated. Don't Take The Picadilly To Heathrow! If you're just carrying a small backpack, then it's fine but don't load your luggage onto the tube. Picadilly is a VERY busy line and hauling 4 huge suitcases onto the train - esp. if you have an early flight, you'll be on the tube during rush hour - is cumbersome. Put a taxi or Express ticket into your trip expenses. You'll thank yourself, Londoners will thank you. Take my advice with a grain of salt, as just another traveler but I did it once with just one suitcase and it was brutal.
Haha I took the Piccadilly to Heathrow with a carry on and personal item bag. I was on at 8 in the morning. Not packed and I was able to get a seat. Maybe I just got lucky!
Just to add to the public transport tips on this video, be especially wary when using the tube between 8-9 in the morning and between 5-7 in the evening Monday-Friday as these times are when city workers are using the tube to get to and from work and therefore it's even busier than usual
Huge point: there’s a £6.80 cap per day on an oyster card in zones 1-3. So you could ride 1,000 times in 1 day and pay no more than £6.80 for the entire day.
@@rimbadawi8187 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_fare_zones You can also get a 1 week travel card/pass for the zones you want (eg: 1 to 6) which lets you travel an unlimited amount of times within those zones for the week. You can add these passes to an oyster card instead of topping it up with money
London Ontario!! My hometown. 😂 I moved to London UK on a working holiday visa for a year after university. I got a lot of people confused as to which London I was actually in. 😂
How exciting! I live in London and have tons of Christmas things to do blog posts and videos on my channel, if you would find them helpful. Happy to offer ideas if you need any assistance ;-)
Londoners who are responding, you have to give yourselves and your city some love. I've been there a lot. Most of our flights go in and out of Heathrow anyway so I may as well stay a few days on my way home, so I'm at the point where I'm no longer doing touristy things. The food is great (British cuisine gets a bad rap but I love the simplicity.) and, while a lot of people are in a hurry (tourists forget that people live and work there!), if they're not, they have time to chat. Even a construction worker noticed my look of confusion and came over to help me. Cut yourself slack. You don't notice because it's just your work-a-day place but you live in a great city and you're fantastic, warm, welcoming people - even if you're complaining on the inside LOL. I miss you when I'm gone.
I recommend taking the boat across the thames across town, its like 4 pounds and you can see a ton. Also do a pub crawl or check out a rugby or soccer match at a pub.
Especially if you are staying outside of London... at places like Swindon or Reading or Bristol... the trains direct to these locations are MUCH cheaper & quicker... (You don't have to go in to London & then change trains & maybe stations to go out again)
As in every capital city around the world, everything is expensive in the tourist hot spots. Be aware that Westminster Abbey is a lovely place, but it will cost you about £20 ($25) each to go in, and there is a strict "No Photography" rule. They will even tell you to turn off mobile (cell) phones.
It's pronounced 'tems' not 'tames', but overall a fun and interesting video. Especially from the perspective of a Londoner, I've always wondered what tourists really think of the city
The easiest airport to arrive at is Heathrow. You just get on the tube and it will take you into the centre of London, cheaply (for London) and with no hassle. The only problem is if you are staying at somewhere not too close to a Piccadilly line station then you'll need to haul your bags from station to station which is no fun at all.
very strange,, you recorded this 2 years before... just watched the vid about pick pockets. ha ha ha ,, you made my city sound so great... nothing wrong with good old bangers and mash ...
If you buy your Heathrow Express tickets in advance you can have them for as cheap as £5, it’s all about planning. From Gatwick it’s usually better to take the local trains to London Bridge. or other stations if you are staying at a hotel further up north in London.You can buy tickets in advance on Trainline,co.uk or Thameslinkrailway.com. On public transport you can either use an Oyster card or your contactless bank card ( applewatch works too). To avoid transactions fees it might be better to top up an Oyster Card . Just remember to touch in and out with the same device/card to get the right price and your daily cap.
Another vote for the Oyster card! The daily rate is cheaper than public transit in a lot of U.S. cities, and it's very accessible. Just avoid rush hour. :)
People need to know London is expensive very expensive . And iam a local . Before getting on a plane to Heathrow or Gatwick. Its imperative you do and in depth research about London and travelling around the uk from transport , hotels and food booze ect . Book early and I mean months ahead . So travel for example from London to Glasgow by train look at the virgin rail site they operate from Euston station to the likes of the North of england Manchester , liverpool & Glasgow ect . And LNER east coast from kings cross also serves the north of England ie York Newcastle Edinburgh to Inverness ect . Great western railways operate into paddington and they serve Wales, Bristol and penzance areas also Heathrow Express. Planes low cost generally Easyjet or Ryanair from london for scotland and the north and Ireland. Best airport for me would be luton airport about 20 mins from london st pancras. Stansted is ok from liverpool street station about 25min or less . Gatwick is some distance but lots of flights low cost British carriers serving the same areas . Heathrow has British airways flights but you could pay slightly more for a flight up north. Finally bus national express is our form of American greyhound buses Serve the majority of the uk plus you hopefully get some great views of our beautiful country . All of these carriers have web sites. So research and research always ask if your not sure loads of cheap travel but book early . Have a great trip .
@TheRenaissanceman65 ive been to London 2 times when ive been to the uk London is cool ? But Liverpool is far better for me a lot cheaper and the buildings and the nightlife and the beatles tours .
We will, but that won't be for a couple years i think. My dad worked there for years and loved it, so hoping to get the parents to go as well as my dad knew so many people there.
They have every kind of food there. Just google it, I can't recommend any restaurant because I grab sandwiches at Tesco but I don't think there's a cuisine you can't get in London.
The Heathrow and Gatwick Express are both scams. If coming from Gatwick use the regular local Southern Train or if coming from Heathrow use the TFL rail train or the Tube.
When you said the most dangerous thing about London is the traffic, the stats for this year show London had more murders than NYC. There are big knife problems in large UK cities such as London and Glasgow.
Duncan MacDougall for one month of the year London had a higher homicide rate than NYC and that’s all I hear from Americans. Oh I heard the stabbing were bad and that legalising guns would stop that. The uk public I would argue are some of the most violent people (not something to be proud of) but knife crime peaked in London due to the mayor banning stop and searches as it targeted minorities. But he had to reintroduce stop and searches as the stabbing and drug offences skyrocketed. But again London’s homicide rate is much lower than New York’s
Duncan MacDougall "for this year"??? *Don't spread misinformation. The murder rates only exceeded NYC's for 1-2 months. NYC's murder rates is far higher than London's.* And like Ru said, knife crime doesn't affect tourists, only gangs.
You seem to travel all year around and with the family! How much money would you recommend a 22 yr old solo male to take per week to london? Minimum-to Average to Comfortable
Depends entirely where you're planning to eat and what you want to see. There are loads of free museums and attractions, for example, so in that case most of your budget is going to go to your accommodations and travelling around the city. If you plan ahead, it's easier to estimate how much you need and you can buy cheaper online tickets to some places.
definitely start planning six months in advance for international travel so you can get good deals with accommodation (hotels, airbnb, coach surf, etc.) and plane tickets...meals may not be as expensive if you get food from small joints or grocery markets...good luck!
As a resident of London for a time and having travelled there more or less fortnightly for 3 years as well before that I can tell you that a hotel will be expensive, and budgeting can be quite a task to figure out. To get by in a basic way, look at hotels, book one or read the prices and then save that much up plus 40% to allow for price hikes that happen at different holidays and during busy concert and sports events and then add £150 a day to your hotel estimation to eat and get around and visit attractions, to enjoy nice restaurants while there upgrade that to £220 a day and if you want to go into the attractions and museums (many many one time visitors or occasional visitors to london on here will try to tell you they are free, almost none of them are, just the likes of things on at the southbank area are free and things promoting cultural events, the mayor's shows and fireworks, carnivals are free entry etc) then upgrade that to £300 a day, I will assume that you would on average like to visit 2 attractions a day and these will be £40-60 entry tickets each... Things like the coca cola London Eye (about £45 per person) madame Tousads (about £40 per person) the sealife centre (£40-50 per person depending on season) and a view from the viewing deck of the shard tower (£45-70 per person depending on season) can add up. If you'd like to buy nice souvenirs and not plastic cups and candy, silly flags etc you'll need to budget £150-200 a day extra for each day you shop if you want nice t shirts, candy, alcohol, perfume etc to take home.. Get your hotel and flights and bring £1200 for a weeks spending and you will be ok
Usually no, if it is for tourism, subject to a time limit. If you have a criminal record, do check with the embassy or consulate, who can also confirm the time limit. Time limits can also be checked on the UK Government website.
If you are going to the Tower of London go as early as you can and see the Crown Jewels first. The Lines get immense by 11. Also do the tour with the beefeater...
He's not kidding! London IS expensive even if you are just buying basics so you need to be aware of what you are spending and keep an eye on it. Prices in the rest of England should not be a shock.
If you go to Gatwick, don't use the Gatwick Express (red train). Use the Southern Rail (green/white) trains, which go along the same route at a lower price and take 40 minutes instead of 30. GX is a scam. The same thing kind of applies to Heathrow, the TfL rail/Elizabeth Line trains take twice as long and cost half as much
London is such an easy place to visit if you speak english, and it is not a lot of different from what people from Japan or the US might be used to. It is one of the most tourist friendly city in Europe
Really? When was the last time you visited London? I was there two months ago and only a small minority I met was remotely English or speaking English?
Spent 6 days touring London in September. Got an Oyster card & the London Pass ahead of time. They both worked great as I moved around a lot. Used the tube, buses & water taxi's everyday and walked a lot as well. Never felt unsafe or threatened. Thanks Mark for commenting on the traffic safety rules as I found myself almost getting clipped by a black cab when I looked the wrong way :-). All in all had a great time and would go back tomorrow. I agree that London is a unique city in England and is not representative of the country. Sort of like saying you went to New York City and saw the United States.
Glad you enjoyed your tour. London has always been one of the best places for tourists attraction, great people, food/resturants, pubs the list goes on. GREAT FOR VACATION TOO. Left there recently, definitely would recommend.
@@johnwilson4283 Mine wasn’t even a planned vacation, I made profits from an investment so I decided to take myself out, toured around London and dined at some of their top restaurants such as The Araki, and Dinner by Heston to name a few. I really enjoyed myself there, you should definitely try it too.
London is such an easy place to visit if you speak english, and it is not a lot of different from what people from Japan or the US might be used to. It is one of the most tourist friendly city in Europe
The thing with the tube is not to buy seperate tickets to every station. Instead buy an all zones (or the central zones) all day ticket which you can reuse to get anywhere in London on the tube. Much cheaper than buying lots of individual tickets
Oyster card / contactless you don't need to 'buy tickets', you just need to load your oyster card with money or have money in your account. It'll cap out at each day depending on which zones you visit/whether you've travelled before 9:30am. No need to buy tickets ever
I would add London is incredibly cheap. Yes you could spend a fortune but you could also eat, sleep, and visit attractions for very little money. Food : you could buy everything in a chain supermarket like Tescos or Sainsburys. You could stay in a budget chain like Travel Lodge . Most museums are free. Attractions like Westminster Abbey and St Paul's can be visited for free for evesong. It is incredibly free place to go.
Why would anyone want to visit London? I could spend my money somewhere Like India or Africa and get the real deal of Southeast Asian culture and African Culture by actually visiting those areas of the world?
The easy way to know which of London's two major airports (Heathrow and Gatwick) you are flying into is to know which airline you are flying with, if it's British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines or Air Canada you will be flying into Heathrow whereas if you are flying in with Tui, Thomas Cook, Norwegian or Wow Air you will likely be flying into Gatwick
Currently planning for 2 weeks in England in the spring. Been watching your videos on London and Bath. Do you have anything for Southampton or Newcastle? Videos to watch or suggestions?
Also remember that Oyster cards do have a cap so usually they won’t charge you more than £10 a day. Also don’t take a black cab, unless you’re loaded. Uber or Gett are better with set fares.
if you are in London for a while you can purchase online a 7 day Travelcard covers buses & tube. you get the choice of 2 different zones. only drawback is that you cant travel before 9.30am Mon- Fri but heaps cheaper starts at $23.00 for a week ticket unlimited travel.
Judy Hayward That’s not entirely true. 7 day travel card which can only be loaded onto an Oyster card has no time restrictions only the 1 day travel card does and you can choose anything up to 6 zones.
More zones=more money, A LOT more, you cannot buy a 1 or 2 zone card economically ie for it to be useful unless you live inside a tube/subway zone and are going to travel only 1 or 2 zones each direction to your place of work/employment, if you plan to travel round London as a tourist/visitor or go between for instance museums and parks and music venues on different sides of the city, obviously miles apart, you must go through sometimes up to 6 zones each way on a single route/journey,the zone card will not be valid and you will get charged a lot more or possibly charged fees and penalties. In some cases your route can enter a zone and leave it 200 meters later into another zone and you'll get charged for the extra zone. The busses are the cheapest way to travel round but take a very long time to get from a to b and you need to change busses at different stops, be aware that the whole bus system is managed by a control centre and if the bus you are travelling on is re tasked ie diverted to take over from a broken down bus on a different busier route or one perceived as more crucial, you will need to notice that the bus Is deviating from the direction/route that it is supposed to be taking, sometimes an audio announcement plays on the bus to tell you to get off at the next stop and find an alternative way to continue your journey, other times this does not happen and the bus can take a different turn and end up taking you up to 10 miles in the wrong direction, if this happens you'll need to look out for or go on google maps and wait until the nearest subway/underground station is coming up, get off at the bus stop closest to it and walk to the underground to use the train for the rest of your route or to another connecting bus route/bus stop/bus station. Frequently when the underground trains go offline for repairs or a breakdown or tube workers strike, the busses all of a sudden get re tasked/rerouted and diverted, so you have to keep your wits about you and be ready to get off and find another way to travel onwards, don't rely on a taxi or uber for any kind of distance unless you are quite happy to part with £100/$130 as the traffic can be horrendous at morning and evening rush hours.. (edited due to autocorrect changing random words)
On the Oyster / Contactless thing: Don't worry if you forget to tap out, you can regsister online and fill in the blanks there - then you get the money back. Also, if you are makeing several journeys in one day, you can buy a travelcard for around £13 - however Oyster / Contactless will always be cheaper
If you have Apple Pay or contactless on your card you can do that plus you can use your card on the train system (tube) instead of an Oyster card it works out the same
There are £50.00 notes but people may react with suspicion if you use them (due to counterfeiting). As a result they are pretty uncommon, which again increases peoples reluctance to take them.
Also don’t forget to check out the various suburbs of London such as: Hampstead, Richmond, Camden and Wimbledon! All beautiful places worth to explore.
Hey. It is nice to hear from you again from London. Do you have a video on Oxford as well? We want to visit it as a day trip from London this week. I have a second question. We travel a lot with our children, which are a bit older than yours 10 and 14 and the baby. I always want to eat local so as you recommend. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find a place with acceptable prices and good food. Do you have some tips on finding places to eat in other countries. Greeting from Germany.
I live in the UK and must have been to London hundereds of times, for leisure and work. I think this year I went about 7 times already. I use contactless for the underground or Apple Pay which you can use now. I've never used a taxi though, you can get almost anywhere by foot, bus or underground. I really recommend the British Museum for a free museum, you can easily spend a few hours, and for parks Hyde Park and Regent's Park.
As an American living in London and having a UA-cam channel about visiting London, I just have a few suggestions. 'Big Ben' is covered in scaffolding and will only ring on NYE and Remembrance Day for a few years. Also, I write about the London Pass a lot on my blog because it's a great way to save money on attractions. Regarding food, as a foodie traveller, I think the culinary scene is immense here and just published a video on Bray- England's food capital. Regarding the Tube- just make sure you pay attention to strike information. They've been happening much more often the past few years. Uber is far more affordable. I use it all the time- even on my trip to Windsor over the weekend. And I agree- Madame Tussaud's is overrated, but probably you're only 'real' way to see the Queen" 😉☀️🇬🇧
I have been doing some research because we are visiting London for the first time in April. I found about the London Pass a few days ago and it will make our visit so much less stressful. I found your blog and your You Tube so I am off to go watch some of your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with those from across the pond.
Yes, absolutely let your bank know you'll be traveling. I took a flight to another state and my bank locked my credit card when I tried to make a purchase. I spent an hour on the phone with them to get it removed so I could order dinner and get home the next day.
The daily fare on the Oyster card is actually capped at around £6 for tube zones 1 and 2 (central part of London). If I remember right, after the 4th ride you don't pay any more for the day. The cap increases depending how far out you travel, maybe £10 or so if you go all the way to Heathrow.
You can use your contactless debit or credit card instead of an Oyster card. It's also worth checking out a witty London channel called Jools Guides ua-cam.com/users/Joolzybaby for the sort of info you won't get from the usual sources.
I remember the story from 1999. A group of former raf pilots from ww2 at a reunion. One of the pilots was killed by a tourist bus. ironically the bus was a charter bus of German tourists. The English pilots said it took 45 years but the Germans finally got bill.
You can buy attraction passes for London that cover all attractions including Windsor Castle and London Zoo we did this on a recent visit and saved a ton of money .
London is Expensive. I tried to atay st the Holiday inn express camden and they wanted 400 pounds.. New york is a Joke also.. all the same over priced fake crap
Its an exciting city to visit, but compared to just about every other location and town or city in the Uk, its prohibitively expensive. Obviously business rates and other financial regulations, mean that business owners have to hand these charges over to the visiting customers, but as a Uk resident, i rarely visit the countries capital, because of the huge financial cost. Its just too expensive, and that's from someone who is in a very well paid job.
What to do before you visit London? Choose somewhere else. London is expensive, dirty, crowded and not nearly as good as it used to be. For the price of a theatre ticket, you could put a deposit on a small car.
And you can use your oyster for the journey - although it's a bit cheaper to get a paper return ticket, but if it's just a single you require, tap away!
Heads up: Better not ask locals where an "ATM" is - in UK they are known as "Cashpoint". Also, at times Westminster abbey is closed, especially for church services - better check online before you visit to avoid annoyance.
It's not really that expensive. A beer in a pub is less expensive than in major U.S. cities, public transport is relatively affordable, and food in a restaurant costs about the same as in a major U.S. city. Best of all there are lots of free museums and attractions.
Vry useful video...i wl b coming to London from Malaysia in Dec....hope I can have great time there...First time as solo traveler to abroad...excited...
London is not for the faint, please be prepared to walk. Wear comfy shoes. Bring a jacket. Bring a power bank. Have a few pounds for buying souvenirs. Ask for " still " water because all water served is sparkling water. Chips are just fries. The tube is mostly always packed. Download citymapper or Google maps for directions.
I've never once been given sparkling water when asking for water in my 11 years of living here. They may ask if I want still or sparkling, normally I just say 'tap water'
With the Oyster the only places you have to tap in and out is the tube network Docklands Light Railway and with that there are in some cases no actual barriers but the card readers are at the bottom of the stairs or the top so keep an eye out for them. The overland trains and suburban railway services. The main thing that you have to look out for is the barriers being open especially when you're exiting any other rail services because if you don't tap out your will be charged for the hole days travel on the network. But you can be reimbursed but you'll have to phone TFL and explain the situation to them and they'll give you a refund on your Oyster card but that means you'll have to find a local tube station to be reimbursed. If this does happen to you the TFL customer service phone number is on the back of the card. As for London buses you do not need to be tap out but make sure you tap on because if the bus inspectors get on and check your card you could get yourself and £80 fine and they may even confiscate Oyster card on the spot. So make sure you tap into the buses.
I'm putting this separately from my other post because it's unrelated. Don't Take The Picadilly To Heathrow! If you're just carrying a small backpack, then it's fine but don't load your luggage onto the tube. Picadilly is a VERY busy line and hauling 4 huge suitcases onto the train - esp. if you have an early flight, you'll be on the tube during rush hour - is cumbersome. Put a taxi or Express ticket into your trip expenses. You'll thank yourself, Londoners will thank you. Take my advice with a grain of salt, as just another traveler but I did it once with just one suitcase and it was brutal.
Haha I took the Piccadilly to Heathrow with a carry on and personal item bag. I was on at 8 in the morning. Not packed and I was able to get a seat. Maybe I just got lucky!
Just to add to the public transport tips on this video, be especially wary when using the tube between 8-9 in the morning and between 5-7 in the evening Monday-Friday as these times are when city workers are using the tube to get to and from work and therefore it's even busier than usual
Aaron Hurst especially the northern and central
So the usual public transport rush-hour (I guess there be students as well, considering lessons start at 9 in the UK)
Huge point: there’s a £6.80 cap per day on an oyster card in zones 1-3. So you could ride 1,000 times in 1 day and pay no more than £6.80 for the entire day.
We are going to visir london soon.. can i know what are zones 1-3 ?
@@rimbadawi8187 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_fare_zones You can also get a 1 week travel card/pass for the zones you want (eg: 1 to 6) which lets you travel an unlimited amount of times within those zones for the week. You can add these passes to an oyster card instead of topping it up with money
Nice to know. Thnx :)
The payment system is overcomplicated.
London Ontario!! My hometown. 😂
I moved to London UK on a working holiday visa for a year after university. I got a lot of people confused as to which London I was actually in. 😂
I’m visiting London for the first time for Christmas. Thanks for this vid!
that is a great time to go! i spent a couple christmas around london and they were all a wonderful experience
How exciting! I live in London and have tons of Christmas things to do blog posts and videos on my channel, if you would find them helpful. Happy to offer ideas if you need any assistance ;-)
@@DiamondOnTheInternet you're*
Jealously sucks huh?
It's you're not your.
In my personal experience as a former Thames Valley resident, you have to go a bit outside of London to get great British food.
Londoners who are responding, you have to give yourselves and your city some love. I've been there a lot. Most of our flights go in and out of Heathrow anyway so I may as well stay a few days on my way home, so I'm at the point where I'm no longer doing touristy things. The food is great (British cuisine gets a bad rap but I love the simplicity.) and, while a lot of people are in a hurry (tourists forget that people live and work there!), if they're not, they have time to chat. Even a construction worker noticed my look of confusion and came over to help me. Cut yourself slack. You don't notice because it's just your work-a-day place but you live in a great city and you're fantastic, warm, welcoming people - even if you're complaining on the inside LOL. I miss you when I'm gone.
If a pub is advertising "British food" it is a tourist trap. Go to a country pub if you want a true Sunday roasted.
I recommend taking the boat across the thames across town, its like 4 pounds and you can see a ton. Also do a pub crawl or check out a rugby or soccer match at a pub.
pub crawl is one of my must do's everytime :)
Football "cough, cough"
Be careful what pub you choose in London for a football match.
Spot on. I recommend watching a Millwall match in a pub in Bermondsey. Make sure you loudly call it "soccer" as well.
Those damn nutters will kill the man lol
If you get regular oyster card instead of the tourist card, you can redeem it at many stations at the end of your trip and get the £5 fee back.
If arriving at Gatwick, don't pay extra for the Gatwick Express, most trains are barely any slower but cheaper.
Especially if you are staying outside of London... at places like Swindon or Reading or Bristol... the trains direct to these locations are MUCH cheaper & quicker... (You don't have to go in to London & then change trains & maybe stations to go out again)
Go to pimlico, best pubs, best people and we have many cheep hotels as well as classy ones
that bird almost got you at 9:30
As in every capital city around the world, everything is expensive in the tourist hot spots. Be aware that Westminster Abbey is a lovely place, but it will cost you about £20 ($25) each to go in, and there is a strict "No Photography" rule. They will even tell you to turn off mobile (cell) phones.
4:20 is the smaller building next to the abbey.
I recommend going Liverpool when going England
TheRenaissanceman65 I’m not English I’m scouse
Thank you for great explanation sir appreciate that
You are very welcome
Thank you. Very useful video.
Why is the card named the Oyster Card? Isn't Oyster a delicacy?
It's pronounced 'tems' not 'tames', but overall a fun and interesting video. Especially from the perspective of a Londoner, I've always wondered what tourists really think of the city
The easiest airport to arrive at is Heathrow. You just get on the tube and it will take you into the centre of London, cheaply (for London) and with no hassle. The only problem is if you are staying at somewhere not too close to a Piccadilly line station then you'll need to haul your bags from station to station which is no fun at all.
very strange,, you recorded this 2 years before... just watched the vid about pick pockets. ha ha ha ,, you made my city sound so great... nothing wrong with good old bangers and mash ...
If you buy your Heathrow Express tickets in advance you can have them for as cheap as £5, it’s all about planning. From Gatwick it’s usually better to take the local trains to London Bridge. or other stations if you are staying at a hotel further up north in London.You can buy tickets in advance on Trainline,co.uk or Thameslinkrailway.com.
On public transport you can either use an Oyster card or your contactless bank card ( applewatch works too). To avoid transactions fees it might be better to top up an Oyster Card . Just remember to touch in and out with the same device/card to get the right price and your daily cap.
Another vote for the Oyster card! The daily rate is cheaper than public transit in a lot of U.S. cities, and it's very accessible. Just avoid rush hour. :)
if you plan your vacation right London is not that expensive
People need to know London is expensive very expensive . And iam a local . Before getting on a plane to Heathrow or Gatwick. Its imperative you do and in depth research about London and travelling around the uk from transport , hotels and food booze ect . Book early and I mean months ahead .
So travel for example from London to Glasgow by train look at the virgin rail site they operate from Euston station to the likes of the North of england Manchester , liverpool & Glasgow ect . And LNER east coast from kings cross also serves the north of England ie York Newcastle Edinburgh to Inverness ect . Great western railways operate into paddington and they serve Wales, Bristol and penzance areas also Heathrow Express.
Planes low cost generally Easyjet or Ryanair from london for scotland and the north and Ireland. Best airport for me would be luton airport about 20 mins from london st pancras. Stansted is ok from liverpool street station about 25min or less . Gatwick is some distance but lots of flights low cost British carriers serving the same areas . Heathrow has British airways flights but you could pay slightly more for a flight up north.
Finally bus national express is our form of American greyhound buses Serve the majority of the uk plus you hopefully get some great views of our beautiful country . All of these carriers have web sites. So research and research always ask if your not sure loads of cheap travel but book early . Have a great trip .
Liverpool is my favourite city in the uk .
@TheRenaissanceman65 ive been to London 2 times when ive been to the uk London is cool ? But Liverpool is far better for me a lot cheaper and the buildings and the nightlife and the beatles tours .
@TheRenaissanceman65 I thought Bath was better than London has well ?
Can you do a South Korea bit?
We will, but that won't be for a couple years i think. My dad worked there for years and loved it, so hoping to get the parents to go as well as my dad knew so many people there.
What’s the best time of the year to visit as far as weather goes (not cold or too hot)? Also, do they have Persian food in London? 😊
September or March through May
They have every kind of food there. Just google it, I can't recommend any restaurant because I grab sandwiches at Tesco but I don't think there's a cuisine you can't get in London.
@@cijmo I have Googled it since my original post and yes, they have a lot! 😊
The Heathrow and Gatwick Express are both scams. If coming from Gatwick use the regular local Southern Train or if coming from Heathrow use the TFL rail train or the Tube.
Stephen Hyland yes that was 20 pounds for one trip . I was shocked
They're not "scams" but there are certainly cheaper options.
When you said the most dangerous thing about London is the traffic, the stats for this year show London had more murders than NYC. There are big knife problems in large UK cities such as London and Glasgow.
Duncan MacDougall for one month of the year London had a higher homicide rate than NYC and that’s all I hear from Americans. Oh I heard the stabbing were bad and that legalising guns would stop that. The uk public I would argue are some of the most violent people (not something to be proud of) but knife crime peaked in London due to the mayor banning stop and searches as it targeted minorities. But he had to reintroduce stop and searches as the stabbing and drug offences skyrocketed. But again London’s homicide rate is much lower than New York’s
Oh and yes knife crime is a definite problem in Glasgow
Knife crime doesn't really affect tourists, it's a gang thing on the estates
Duncan MacDougall You should probably stop getting your information from Fox.
Duncan MacDougall "for this year"??? *Don't spread misinformation. The murder rates only exceeded NYC's for 1-2 months. NYC's murder rates is far higher than London's.*
And like Ru said, knife crime doesn't affect tourists, only gangs.
@WoltersWorld - is the scaffolding still around Big Ben for the renovation?
yes it is still up. this is from before.
I just wanna move there. But my kids dad won't let me take them
You seem to travel all year around and with the family! How much money would you recommend a 22 yr old solo male to take per week to london? Minimum-to Average to Comfortable
Depends entirely where you're planning to eat and what you want to see. There are loads of free museums and attractions, for example, so in that case most of your budget is going to go to your accommodations and travelling around the city. If you plan ahead, it's easier to estimate how much you need and you can buy cheaper online tickets to some places.
definitely start planning six months in advance for international travel so you can get good deals with accommodation (hotels, airbnb, coach surf, etc.) and plane tickets...meals may not be as expensive if you get food from small joints or grocery markets...good luck!
@Geronimo McDuggins Travel isn't free. Anywhere will cost anything.
As a resident of London for a time and having travelled there more or less fortnightly for 3 years as well before that I can tell you that a hotel will be expensive, and budgeting can be quite a task to figure out.
To get by in a basic way, look at hotels, book one or read the prices and then save that much up plus 40% to allow for price hikes that happen at different holidays and during busy concert and sports events and then add £150 a day to your hotel estimation to eat and get around and visit attractions, to enjoy nice restaurants while there upgrade that to £220 a day and if you want to go into the attractions and museums (many many one time visitors or occasional visitors to london on here will try to tell you they are free, almost none of them are, just the likes of things on at the southbank area are free and things promoting cultural events, the mayor's shows and fireworks, carnivals are free entry etc) then upgrade that to £300 a day, I will assume that you would on average like to visit 2 attractions a day and these will be £40-60 entry tickets each...
Things like the coca cola London Eye (about £45 per person) madame Tousads (about £40 per person) the sealife centre (£40-50 per person depending on season) and a view from the viewing deck of the shard tower (£45-70 per person depending on season) can add up.
If you'd like to buy nice souvenirs and not plastic cups and candy, silly flags etc you'll need to budget £150-200 a day extra for each day you shop if you want nice t shirts, candy, alcohol, perfume etc to take home..
Get your hotel and flights and bring £1200 for a weeks spending and you will be ok
@@grantrennie Thats the answer I was looking for. Thank you very much.
Why not say that most museums are free?
Don’t forget the electricity is 240v, so make sure your devices are compatible before plugging in as you could blow them.
Do you need a visa to visit London from America?
Usually no, if it is for tourism, subject to a time limit. If you have a criminal record, do check with the embassy or consulate, who can also confirm the time limit. Time limits can also be checked on the UK Government website.
No Uber in London.
If you are a student, bring your student ID. You can get student discounts at some tourist places.
Even for all US Universities?
If you are going to the Tower of London go as early as you can and see the Crown Jewels first. The Lines get immense by 11. Also do the tour with the beefeater...
each time my wife and i gonna visit a new city we watch your videos. cheers!
London actually gets low rainfall, on par with Tel Aviv or Melbourne and half that of NYC. It is however overcast a lot of the time.
Yeah I don’t think people realise how relatively dry western Britain is. I live near Detroit and we get like 4/3rds the rain they do annually.
He's not kidding! London IS expensive even if you are just buying basics so you need to be aware of what you are spending and keep an eye on it. Prices in the rest of England should not be a shock.
If you go to Gatwick, don't use the Gatwick Express (red train). Use the Southern Rail (green/white) trains, which go along the same route at a lower price and take 40 minutes instead of 30. GX is a scam.
The same thing kind of applies to Heathrow, the TfL rail/Elizabeth Line trains take twice as long and cost half as much
London is such an easy place to visit if you speak english, and it is not a lot of different from what people from Japan or the US might be used to. It is one of the most tourist friendly city in Europe
Really? When was the last time you visited London? I was there two months ago and only a small minority I met was remotely English or speaking English?
Spent 6 days touring London in September. Got an Oyster card & the London Pass ahead of time. They both worked great as I moved around a lot. Used the tube, buses & water taxi's everyday and walked a lot as well. Never felt unsafe or threatened. Thanks Mark for commenting on the traffic safety rules as I found myself almost getting clipped by a black cab when I looked the wrong way :-). All in all had a great time and would go back tomorrow. I agree that London is a unique city in England and is not representative of the country. Sort of like saying you went to New York City and saw the United States.
Glad you enjoyed your tour. London has always been one of the best places for tourists attraction, great people, food/resturants, pubs the list goes on. GREAT FOR VACATION TOO. Left there recently, definitely would recommend.
@@jaluriaja6294 You think so right? …. I haven’t been to London tho but my family and I plan on spending our next vacation there next year.
@@johnwilson4283 Mine wasn’t even a planned vacation, I made profits from an investment so I decided to take myself out, toured around London and dined at some of their top restaurants such as The Araki, and Dinner by Heston to name a few. I really enjoyed myself there, you should definitely try it too.
London is such an easy place to visit if you speak english, and it is not a lot of different from what people from Japan or the US might be used to. It is one of the most tourist friendly city in Europe
@@jaluriaja6294 That’s great to hear glad you enjoyed you visit, you mentioned about an investments, pls could you tell me more about that?
Vienna first and London are my favorite cities in the world!
Visit London in November or Feb/March - you'll have the place largely to yourself & it's not like you went there for the weather anyway.
The thing with the tube is not to buy seperate tickets to every station. Instead buy an all zones (or the central zones) all day ticket which you can reuse to get anywhere in London on the tube. Much cheaper than buying lots of individual tickets
Is this the same as an oyster card?
Oyster card / contactless you don't need to 'buy tickets', you just need to load your oyster card with money or have money in your account. It'll cap out at each day depending on which zones you visit/whether you've travelled before 9:30am. No need to buy tickets ever
All the major attractions are around £30 per adult
Watch out for fake taxis
Eastern Airlines where? Never heard of this
🤫
What my car
The only taxi you can get into without ordering one on the phone or an app are black cabs. Private cabs you have to order one.
Do not use 50 pound notes ... many places will not take them
I would add London is incredibly cheap. Yes you could spend a fortune but you could also eat, sleep, and visit attractions for very little money. Food : you could buy everything in a chain supermarket like Tescos or Sainsburys. You could stay in a budget chain like Travel Lodge . Most museums are free. Attractions like Westminster Abbey and St Paul's can be visited for free for evesong. It is incredibly free place to go.
Why would anyone want to visit London? I could spend my money somewhere Like India or Africa and get the real deal of Southeast Asian culture and African Culture by actually visiting those areas of the world?
Uh, because people don't want to visit cesspools or sanitary sewers is my guess.
London is really safe, as long as you are in the right areas of town. Just be sensible.
Adam Brittain then London is not safe. Simple.
@@archyarchfiendx2938 it's like any city. Some neighborhoods are safer than others.
The easy way to know which of London's two major airports (Heathrow and Gatwick) you are flying into is to know which airline you are flying with, if it's British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines or Air Canada you will be flying into Heathrow whereas if you are flying in with Tui, Thomas Cook, Norwegian or Wow Air you will likely be flying into Gatwick
Currently planning for 2 weeks in England in the spring. Been watching your videos on London and Bath.
Do you have anything for Southampton or Newcastle? Videos to watch or suggestions?
if you’re going to visit a pub in london go to a wetherspoon!! it’s family friendly and the food/drink is so much cheaper
We also now have 50p coins with peter rabbit or paddington bear on, and if you're really lucky you might just get one in your change. :)
I have one with sherlock homes on it
Also remember that Oyster cards do have a cap so usually they won’t charge you more than £10 a day. Also don’t take a black cab, unless you’re loaded. Uber or Gett are better with set fares.
if you are in London for a while you can purchase online a 7 day Travelcard covers buses & tube. you get the choice of 2 different zones. only drawback is that you cant travel before 9.30am Mon- Fri but heaps cheaper starts at $23.00 for a week ticket unlimited travel.
i know right! i remember wandering around until 9:31 and then hoping in the tube to visit a few sights :)
Judy Hayward That’s not entirely true. 7 day travel card which can only be loaded onto an Oyster card has no time restrictions only the 1 day travel card does and you can choose anything up to 6 zones.
@@MrBirdman1 thanks looked into that further 7 day anytime card pre purchased online before travelling even cheaper than the off peak pass.
More zones=more money, A LOT more, you cannot buy a 1 or 2 zone card economically ie for it to be useful unless you live inside a tube/subway zone and are going to travel only 1 or 2 zones each direction to your place of work/employment, if you plan to travel round London as a tourist/visitor or go between for instance museums and parks and music venues on different sides of the city, obviously miles apart, you must go through sometimes up to 6 zones each way on a single route/journey,the zone card will not be valid and you will get charged a lot more or possibly charged fees and penalties.
In some cases your route can enter a zone and leave it 200 meters later into another zone and you'll get charged for the extra zone.
The busses are the cheapest way to travel round but take a very long time to get from a to b and you need to change busses at different stops, be aware that the whole bus system is managed by a control centre and if the bus you are travelling on is re tasked ie diverted to take over from a broken down bus on a different busier route or one perceived as more crucial, you will need to notice that the bus Is deviating from the direction/route that it is supposed to be taking, sometimes an audio announcement plays on the bus to tell you to get off at the next stop and find an alternative way to continue your journey, other times this does not happen and the bus can take a different turn and end up taking you up to 10 miles in the wrong direction, if this happens you'll need to look out for or go on google maps and wait until the nearest subway/underground station is coming up, get off at the bus stop closest to it and walk to the underground to use the train for the rest of your route or to another connecting bus route/bus stop/bus station.
Frequently when the underground trains go offline for repairs or a breakdown or tube workers strike, the busses all of a sudden get re tasked/rerouted and diverted, so you have to keep your wits about you and be ready to get off and find another way to travel onwards, don't rely on a taxi or uber for any kind of distance unless you are quite happy to part with £100/$130 as the traffic can be horrendous at morning and evening rush hours..
(edited due to autocorrect changing random words)
You can buy travel cards for before 9:30 as well, but like most things on-peak (rush hour) tickets cost more. As a Londoner I just use contactless.
London Gatwick, London Luton and London Stanstead Stansted airport are no where near London.
On the Oyster / Contactless thing: Don't worry if you forget to tap out, you can regsister online and fill in the blanks there - then you get the money back.
Also, if you are makeing several journeys in one day, you can buy a travelcard for around £13 - however Oyster / Contactless will always be cheaper
If you have Apple Pay or contactless on your card you can do that plus you can use your card on the train system (tube) instead of an Oyster card it works out the same
Är du f.d KD twittraren?
There are £50.00 notes but people may react with suspicion if you use them (due to counterfeiting). As a result they are pretty uncommon, which again increases peoples reluctance to take them.
Also don’t forget to check out the various suburbs of London such as: Hampstead, Richmond, Camden and Wimbledon! All beautiful places worth to explore.
Hey. It is nice to hear from you again from London. Do you have a video on Oxford as well? We want to visit it as a day trip from London this week.
I have a second question. We travel a lot with our children, which are a bit older than yours 10 and 14 and the baby. I always want to eat local so as you recommend. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find a place with acceptable prices and good food. Do you have some tips on finding places to eat in other countries.
Greeting from Germany.
I live in the UK and must have been to London hundereds of times, for leisure and work. I think this year I went about 7 times already. I use contactless for the underground or Apple Pay which you can use now. I've never used a taxi though, you can get almost anywhere by foot, bus or underground. I really recommend the British Museum for a free museum, you can easily spend a few hours, and for parks Hyde Park and Regent's Park.
This is great and timely - we maybe going for Christmas! 😍
So , did you go ?
5:19 Brixton lol
As an American living in London and having a UA-cam channel about visiting London, I just have a few suggestions. 'Big Ben' is covered in scaffolding and will only ring on NYE and Remembrance Day for a few years. Also, I write about the London Pass a lot on my blog because it's a great way to save money on attractions. Regarding food, as a foodie traveller, I think the culinary scene is immense here and just published a video on Bray- England's food capital. Regarding the Tube- just make sure you pay attention to strike information. They've been happening much more often the past few years. Uber is far more affordable. I use it all the time- even on my trip to Windsor over the weekend. And I agree- Madame Tussaud's is overrated, but probably you're only 'real' way to see the Queen" 😉☀️🇬🇧
Sunny London Do you need a visa to visit London from America?
I have been doing some research because we are visiting London for the first time in April. I found about the London Pass a few days ago and it will make our visit so much less stressful. I found your blog and your You Tube so I am off to go watch some of your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with those from across the pond.
Yes, absolutely let your bank know you'll be traveling. I took a flight to another state and my bank locked my credit card when I tried to make a purchase. I spent an hour on the phone with them to get it removed so I could order dinner and get home the next day.
The tube has a daily price cap if you use same payment method. Unlimited for around 8 quid zone 1
The daily fare on the Oyster card is actually capped at around £6 for tube zones 1 and 2 (central part of London). If I remember right, after the 4th ride you don't pay any more for the day. The cap increases depending how far out you travel, maybe £10 or so if you go all the way to Heathrow.
Man compared to where I am in canada the tube was dirt cheap
Great Video! Very helpful since in January I will be coming to London with my wife for our anniversary. Do you have a top ten places to see list?
You can use your contactless debit or credit card instead of an Oyster card. It's also worth checking out a witty London channel called Jools Guides ua-cam.com/users/Joolzybaby for the sort of info you won't get from the usual sources.
I remember the story from 1999. A group of former raf pilots from ww2 at a reunion. One of the pilots was killed by a tourist bus. ironically the bus was a charter bus of German tourists. The English pilots said it took 45 years but the Germans finally got bill.
I will say some ATMs so charge. (1.00 - 2.00 per transaction)
You can buy attraction passes for London that cover all attractions including Windsor Castle and London Zoo we did this on a recent visit and saved a ton of money .
how on earth can you say London is expensive ??? then what is new York, i start it off peanuts in London £1 same peanuts in new york $7 lol NEXT
London is Expensive. I tried to atay st the Holiday inn express camden and they wanted 400 pounds.. New york is a Joke also.. all the same over priced fake crap
@@horseplop9 400 ??? for how long, strange most hotels are 40 to 100 per night, stop talking shit
Did you go to wetherspoons for the pictures of food? I’d recognise those plates from anywhere 😂
Its an exciting city to visit, but compared to just about every other location and town or city in the Uk, its prohibitively expensive.
Obviously business rates and other financial regulations, mean that business owners have to hand these charges over to the visiting customers, but as a Uk resident, i rarely visit the countries capital, because of the huge financial cost.
Its just too expensive, and that's from someone who is in a very well paid job.
£3,400 went downhill in 11 days of my trip but worth it
What to do before you visit London? Choose somewhere else. London is expensive, dirty, crowded and not nearly as good as it used to be. For the price of a theatre ticket, you could put a deposit on a small car.
Don't get the Gatwick Express, get a Thameslink train for London bridge and Thameslink core or a southern train for Victoria they are half the price
And you can use your oyster for the journey - although it's a bit cheaper to get a paper return ticket, but if it's just a single you require, tap away!
Sorry but your saying thames it's not spelt like this but we say it like tems I think brits get what I mean
Heads up: Better not ask locals where an "ATM" is - in UK they are known as "Cashpoint". Also, at times Westminster abbey is closed, especially for church services - better check online before you visit to avoid annoyance.
Really? I've lived in England my whole life and only ever called them ATM's
Na, it’s a cash point! Only use ATM when abroad so other people know what I’m referring to 😂
London is way too expensive - have a lot of money!
??? new York is 10 times more ??? peanuts in London £1 same peanuts in new York $7 lol
New York gets far more rain than London.
Don't believe me? Google it.
June 21 is the date that england will left all covid restrictions. I cant wait to visit london again it's one of my first cities
Enjoy your visit :)
Definitely best travel info yt channel
What to know about London- Everybody are wankers
It's expensive, but it still be interesting when the pound is weak to euro or dollar, or if you want to buy a Burberry... cheaper than elsewhere.
It's not really that expensive. A beer in a pub is less expensive than in major U.S. cities, public transport is relatively affordable, and food in a restaurant costs about the same as in a major U.S. city. Best of all there are lots of free museums and attractions.
Do you know that you can use your Oyster card on the Thames caliper. So you can get to Greenwich for the day.
Vry useful video...i wl b coming to London from Malaysia in Dec....hope I can have great time there...First time as solo traveler to abroad...excited...
Hello same here, do you have any advice for me? Did your trip go well?
London is not for the faint, please be prepared to walk. Wear comfy shoes. Bring a jacket. Bring a power bank. Have a few pounds for buying souvenirs. Ask for " still " water because all water served is sparkling water. Chips are just fries.
The tube is mostly always packed.
Download citymapper or Google maps for directions.
I've never once been given sparkling water when asking for water in my 11 years of living here. They may ask if I want still or sparkling, normally I just say 'tap water'
Were you going that all water was sparkling??
For credit cards (as opposed to debit cards) do you need a PIN number like in other European countries?
Yes!
Yes, it will be the same.
With the Oyster the only places you have to tap in and out is the tube network Docklands Light Railway and with that there are in some cases no actual barriers but the card readers are at the bottom of the stairs or the top so keep an eye out for them. The overland trains and suburban railway services. The main thing that you have to look out for is the barriers being open especially when you're exiting any other rail services because if you don't tap out your will be charged for the hole days travel on the network. But you can be reimbursed but you'll have to phone TFL and explain the situation to them and they'll give you a refund on your Oyster card but that means you'll have to find a local tube station to be reimbursed. If this does happen to you the TFL customer service phone number is on the back of the card. As for London buses you do not need to be tap out but make sure you tap on because if the bus inspectors get on and check your card you could get yourself and £80 fine and they may even confiscate Oyster card on the spot. So make sure you tap into the buses.
Thank you so much and God bless you. Very informative and you are very friendly.
bro i saw u on campus a while ago but i was nervous so i didnt say anything