Can I do London 'on the cheap'

[needastrongone]

Firstly, if this is the wrong section, apologies.

Second, I probably sound like a stereotypical northerner

We are a family of 4, teen DC (so adult pricing applies). We decided as a family to split our holiday this year. Lucky enough to be picking a subsidised trip abroad, due to a client of DH being exceedingly appreciative of his level of commitment to their company over the last year.

So, as we only have to pay flights for this holiday, we decided to take the DC to London for a few days. I really want them to experience the city, take in a show, see the sights, visit the Natural History museum etc. DD and myself have been before and she loved it.

We a restrained to school holidays, but not particular holiday, so flexible in this regard. Just a bit at how much an apartment, train fares etc would cost, before I even factor in travel, food, and activities. Budget is reasonably flexible, especially if we go later in the year as I can budget a little more.

So, at the risk of sounded extremely daft, can we, as a family of 4, do London 'cheap'? Is it a case of planning well?

Or do I sound stupid?!!!

TIA

Some of the university halls of residence are available for tourists etc. to rent rooms in during the long holidays. I've never done it but know pepole who have it they said it was a cheap way of getting a base in London for a few nights.

Also you could consider youth hostels?

Have you looked at air b&b as well?

Thanks lists

I don't think DH would do a youth hostel, but possibly halls of residence, which is a useful suggestion, thanks.

Just concerned, re B&B, that with teen DC (DS is 15 and is surgically attached to a bowl of cereal at present) that it's false economy?

Book Travelodge offers well in advance. Kids get breakfast for free too which could be useful given the informal buffet arrangement!

was going to suggest hall of residence. Have a look on the LSE (London school economics) site. they have some good, centrally located places.

otherwise Travelodge (generally cheaper than premier Inn) have lots of centrally located places. One in Leicester Square.

lots of museums are free. Travel can be affordable with Oyster cards - are teens free on public transport - not sure?

Look on the Time Out website for ideas too. they have a great 'cheap eats' section.

Get Oyster cards, look out for Groupon style deals and plan your discounts in advance. There are usually discounts for 2 plus 2 families at all of the attractions. Would have been more problematic with more DC.

here you go

www.lsevacations.co.uk/Accommodation/All-Locations.aspx#sthash.ZgmZ47ty.dpbs

Sign up here to find out when cheap train tickets go on sale.

e.g. if I look now for a ticket to visit my parents in mid-April, it looks really expensive. But in a couple of weeks' time the "super advance" tickets will come out. There are a limited number at each price point, but you can get good deals.

Most of the museums etc are free, for things that do cost money check out this website to look for 2 for 1 deals if you travel by train.

Thank you for the link.

Thanks re Travel Lodge, I had thought about this or Premier Inn. We would need two rooms though I think as DS/DD.

And I didn't know about the Time Out website.

Great point re museums. As I want to do a couple (or more), this will reduce costs. I'll look at the Oyster card too.

This is brilliant, thank you

We've done it for the past couple of years. We book two Travelodge rooms, well in advance. The breakfast is cheap, but I'm pretty fussy, so we don't usually bother booking it, and go elsewhere instead. Leon and Giraffe do reasonably priced breakfast food.

Train fares cheaper if you book well in advance. It would be worth investigating railcards too - dp and I have a 'Two Together' card, now the dc are too old for a family railcard, which gets us money off when we travel together. 16-25 cards are useful too, if the teens take trains several times a year at least.

If they like Harry Potter, I would highly recommend the Studio Tour for one of your days - just a short train journey. Go to the booth in Leicester Square first thing in the morning, and buy theatre tickets for whatever you fancy from what's available. Much cheaper than booking for a specific show in advance.

There are plenty of reasonably priced places for meals in the evening, especially if you're prepared to eat a bit earlier and have pre-theatre fixed menus. In the past we've eaten in places including: Las Iguanas on the South Bank, Carluccios in Covent Garden, Wahaca, Massala Zone, as well as Pizza Express and even Pizza Hut (wouldn't normally eat there but the one on The Strand is v convenient when doing touristy stuff and the heavens open! The staff are lovely in there). You could even go for pie and mash (or eels!) for a cheap taste of old London!

You can apply for a Zip card for teens online in advance. It allows teens free travel on buses and reduced rates on the tube.

I've stayed in halls of residence during the summer, it was pretty good, & you can book ensuite rooms with mini kitchens so that could save on meals, plus the breakfast was better than many hotels.

Show tickets - if you shop around websites etc you can get good deals (especially for long running shows) & TKTS in Leicester Square has great deals on the day.

Have you tried to get a place on airbnb.com? It's my favourite new go-to website, though I know it's been around for a while!

Do you live in a good location! There used to be a mumsnet houseswap site, does that still exist? You could houseswap?

Can you get a mega bus to London? (Sorry, not sure where you are coming from?).

If you have tesco club card points you can use them for bus tours. Alternatively taking the river bus is a fun way to take in some sights quite cheaply. I stay with friends/family when visiting - could this be an option even if you have a journey into central London?

When booking tickets on trains ect I seem to remember some advice about using the incognito tab so the ?computer doesn't remember your cookies? And the tickets will be cheaper? I'm not tech savvy but I think that was the suggestion.

Eat in places such as yates and spoons for cheaper prices. Waterloo has a great arcade with a fairly priced bar at the bottom, also have a wawander through graffiti tunnel it's awesome.

Museums are generally free, but the cafes are a rip off imo.

If you get train tickets usually you can get an offer of buy one get one free on admission into some attractions.

Wow, this is brilliant, thank you so much, I really do appreciate the suggestions and responses.

It's good to know that I can get reduced teen travel.

I've signed up for the advance alerts for rail tickets, for a selection of dates at this stage.

I knew about the show tickets deals and websites, but that's pretty much it!! So the website suggestions are great.

We do live in a good location, and most folk would be happy to stay in our house I feel.

I think it's all being organised and planning isn't it? Which I do well, to be fair, it's how I operate

The premier in/travel inn option isnt always cheapest. Last easter I got 1 2 bed suite (1 double, 1 twin -6 beds including sofa bed) - 2 bathrooms, living room/full kitchen/washing machine etc for just over £200 a night at a 5 star hotel. So shop around a bit.

plan well - ie if you are going to the london eye do everything else at the same time that you want to in that area
plenty of places to eat cheapish as well the usual mcdonalds pizza hut

Check out mega bus, I have bought tickets from Leeds to London for £5! It is cheaper the earlier you book.

Have a look at this

www.londonpass.com/

Haven't used it myself but have bookmarked it for a future trip. Looks like good value if you do several attractions.

Never heard of the mega bus, thank you.

simba - did you use a website for that deal such as booking.com or similar?

Sadly, Tesco is my least favourite supermarket, so we only really use it for petrol.

Yes was thinking, large breakfast, cheap lunch and a meal at night.

remus you post is very informative, thank you for taking the time to post that.

sim I heard someone do the same at the Bethnal Green
Twin Hall hotel! Kitchenette and laundry facilities. Brill location!

Have you thought of doing a home swap? I've never dne it but I know there are organisations/websites that you can register with. There must be families around who would like a weekend 'up north'?

look at the 2for1 Days Out website...lots of entry for big ticket things in there for just printing off a voucher and showing your train tickets.

Look at superbreaks website for hotels...I always recommend them. They are rubbish at disguising their secret bargain hotels, if you check out the "about section" and remember the details it's easy to match to a named hotel. Also check through to the actual prices page as some make reductions for children, some have children( u16) go free.

We have had fabulous bargains for some of the Canary Wharf area hotels...and that's not hugely far out for buses/tubes.

Train tickets are usually released about 12 weeks before, so get your dates sorted and watch the site like a hawk, you can get some amazing deals if you catch it right. Dh managed to book ds1 first class Scotland to London for pennies, and they feed and water you for free too, so that is fab with teens. Get any bank holidays looked up too as they will fairly bump up all your prices.
DS1 also stayed in the new premier HUB at Wextminster and was fairly impressed, and spent next to nothing on travel as everywhere was walkable....so that's worth bearing in mind.

Just looked on the Megabus website, depending on what time you travel you can get tickets for £1! We have used it quite often, it's great!

Definitely recommend Airbnb, you can search for entire properties, rather than just a room in a house. Travel around London is so easy that you might as well spend less on an apartment out in zone 3, it'll only be an extra 20 mins to get into Central London and will be way cheaper.