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

Hi. No clubcarlson which is radisson etc. It was plaza on the river which is a nice hotel- it has a cheaper one behind it (same entrance) Plaza riverbank which is often a very good price (bit noisy as train track runs at the back but much better than a travelodge) The plaza riverbank has double rooms and twins.It is quiet so you can sleep- 10 minutes walk to houses of parliament. Not a lot of eating places nearby but a few if you walk towards vauxhall.

Plaza riverbank is showing at £119 a night over Easter which is cheaper than the premier inn at county hall.

Hilton often have weekend booking offers- book direct via hilton honours. The hampton waterloo is usually quite reasonable. If you dont mind being out of town the doubletree chelsea harbour is again often under £100- bit challenging transport wise.

The aloft at excel is another really good hotel that is often cheaper. DLR station next to it. I think it has a small pool. It has parking- could you drive? You have to pay to park but it isnt outrageous. Nice cocktails

If you use TopCashBack you can exchange cash for Tesco points. I bought a 'free' friends and family railcard this way. Not sure about Quidco.

Agree Premier Inn is great value - the free kids' breakfasts are great.

Look at 'alternative' evening entertainment - the South Bank can offer much cheaper shows and plays than the West End.

I live in London and am constantly doing things on the cheap! Also check out the national rail 2 for 1 offers for big attractions. We normally buy a very cheap ticket for a cheap journey and that's fine. WRT a show there are loads that are much more reasonable than the west end shows which are really good. Depending on when you are coming look at things at the South Bank Centre, Unicorn Theatre. Lots of great (free markets) in Hackney at the weekend, you can do Columbia Road, Brick Lane and Spitalfields and eat at Spitalfields or loads of Street food places near Brick Lane. Tate Modern is great for kids, National Gallery etc. The Londonist website is really good for more of the beaten track ideas and stuff for kids there as well. Depending on when you are coming there is a great comedy festival at the Southbank and loads of stuff or all ages. The Olympic Park is brilliant and free and really easy to get to. Hoxton Hotel quite often has good accommodation offers if you book in advance so also worth checking out. Also you can use contactless pay on your credit or debit card now when paying for public transport and charges you the same as an Oyster card, it's really handy. Have a brilliant time.

I second the lse accommodation recommendation. I have stayed at Rosebery hall which is near Angel, so lots of cheap restaurants/wetherspoons etc nearby. When we stayed we got a full English breakfast included, and had a room to ourselves(group of 5).

Also if your teens are up for it, walk where possible, especially central London/tourist areas -things are closer together than you think or than a tube map makes them look- a proper map is really useful

Cool, it seems entirely doable, which it didn't this morning, particularly if I nail down a specific date and get planning. I am thinking a week in August now.

I got a return ticket Leeds to London by train for £20 return by collecting some tokens from the Yorkshire Post. I'm sure they do this sort of deal a couple of times a year, might be worth keeping an eye out.

Agree with so much on here. The Olympic Park is brilliant, for cheap eats think Chinatown (it's a great experience too). I would also recommend the museum of London (in the barbican) which is free and less busy than south ken, wandering round the city at the weekend is fun, the tate modern should be good for teen and is also free. My top tip is to get the tube to Westminster walk over the bridge and then go to the m&s simply food in St Thomas' for picnic food to eat on the south bank.

Re the trains, book a couple of months in advance, it's much cheaper… so much so that you might find first class for only a little more than standard. I know there are four of you, but it could make for a nice way to start/end your trip. Approach first class at the weekend with caution, though; on East Coast, it's doesn't offer much extra.

Have a look at family railcards, or if that's no good for you, maybe a Two Together for you and your DH (and maybe one for the DC); there's an annual cost, around £30 but then you get 30% off any train fares, so one trip could recoup the whole cost.

If you can, get Oyster cards in advance; paper tickets are now more expensive. You can use contactless payment cards, but I don't know if the daily spend is capped. Hopefully this link is the right link...

<a class="break-all" href="https://account.tfl.gov.uk/oyster?App=8ead5cf4-4624-4389-b90c-b1fd1937bf1f&returnURL=oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/security_check" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">account.tfl.gov.uk/oyster?App=8ead5cf4-4624-4389-b90c-b1fd1937bf1f&returnURL=oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/security_check

London really can be a walking city, check out Mintyy's thread, lots of really good suggestions in there. I'll try to post a link to it later, but I think it's in UK.

If there are attractions you definitely want to do, look at booking in advance online, and if you like the theatre, the half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square has some great offers; I think they sell online also.

For food, try Open Table or Bookatable for offers, there are usually great deals to be had. Please avoid Aberdeen Steak House, Garfunkel's and that like, they're generally over-priced and mediocre quality. If you like burgers, the Byron chain is worth trying. I love the Guardian food writer Marina O'Loughlin, check her reviews for some inspiration…

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/marina-o-loughlin-on-restaurants

You could also try posting in (or moving this thread to) travel, I've been given some great ideas there, also you might not want this to go poof in 90 days.

This is the London walking thread - some really great ideas here…

Try the Think apartments in London. Self catering and good standard of accommodation. I've booked people in there for work and they've said how good they are and were cheaper than Travelodge but a lot nicer.

Cheap trains to the north usually come out exactly 12 weeks in advance. I book singles there then 4/5 days later my return.

I wouldn't do a bus tour. They're over-priced and you could get your teens to work out equivalent routes by ordinary bus - free for them - using the TFL website.

Lots of small versions of the major supermarkets around. (The M&S on station concourses are expensive.) Buy a picnic for lunch and make use of the wonderful London parks. (Pack a frisbee.)

This is easily the best thread I have ever started on MN. OK, probably only started about 4, but you know what I mean!!! I simply wouldn't have thought of even half of he suggestions on here and I am very glad for the advice.

Can you keep threads? I really want to hang onto all this, I'll copy and paste it somewhere if needed, but there so many fabulous suggestions I need time to process and plan.

There are Tesco Metros/Sainsburys Locals/Bijou Waitrosettes almost everywhere in London so there's always a cheap place to get sandwiches for lunch - I love Pret a Manger and EAT, but buying your sarnies from them rather than getting a Tesco meal deal will cost quite a lot extra for 4 people. In August there will normally be somewhere nice to sit down and eat a pack lunch - if it's raining then the South Ken museums all have picnic areas and the Royal Festival Hall is a great place to hang out and have lunch / use the loos (there's also a great street food market at the back if your budget can stretch to it).

For theatres I agree that the subsidised sector normally has cheap (but perfectly fine) seats. I watched a great play at the Donmar for less than a tenner last year - standing admittedly, but with a bar to lean on. They're also more likely to have discounts for under 18s (though you should investigate Kids Week, which I think is in August and has a few good deals if you're quick on the draw).

Re: keeping the thread, just report your opening post and ask HQ to move from Chat to UK Travel to make it permanent, then Watch it so you can find it again.

Op just ask for thread to be moved to days out or holidays section- it'll stay forever

I'm pretty sure that Think apartments went into liquidation. I'm sure I read (maybe on Mn?) about people losing money on bookings.

Agree re train tickets. The cheap ones come out 12 weeks before your travel dates. If you are going for a few days, you buy the outward 'advance fare' ticket first and then have to wait for the return tickets to come up at a later date. If you are going to buy railcards, you can tick the 'railcard' box when you buy the tickets to get the discount but you don't actually need to have the railcard at the time you buy the tickets - just when you travel. So you can get a couple of extra months out of your railcard by delaying the purchase of it to a couple of weeks before you travel.

We have booked travel lodge a few months in advance and got a good deal - but have never bought breakfast from them as it is cheaper to go to a local cafe and buy something. We have also looked at hiring apartments in the past which is comparable in price - although we have never actually booked one.

Packed lunch. Train to Blackheath for great views. Walk down through greenwich park to the observatory (just go in the free bits), then to the maritime museum and painted hall in greenwich. On to greenwich market, look at the outside of the cutty sark. Foot tunnel under the Thames, then walk up through mudchute park to Canary Wharf. Museum of Docklands at West India Quay if you have time, then DLR to Stratford to see the Olympic park and cheap dinner in the food court at the Stratford Westfield.

Everything free apart from the train and your food.

For great, free views of the city book to go up the Walkie Talkie tower rather than the Shard as it is free. The roof terrace at the shopping centre next to St Paul's is also spectacular and free (no booking required).

Look for Premier Inn's or Travelodges that are not Zone 1/Zone 2 location. I live in East London and the new Travelodge near me in Walthamstow zone 3 is coming up at £163 for 4 nights over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend for 2 adults/2children.

From Walthamstow Central using the Victoria line you can get to Kings X and Euston in about 25-minutes and if you change at Euston onto the Northern line you are in Leicester Sq in 35 mins with easy access to Convent Garden and Chinatown

Walthamstow itself has a brand new cinema complex just opened with a Pizza Express/Nandos and a nice looking Caribbean restaurant and the longest street market in Europe apparently!

Don't let DH's pre-conceptions rule out youth hostels. In many you can get a private family room with en-suite bathroom and they also have a 50% discount offer if you book this month.
It really isn't sweaty shared dorms!

Loads of suggestions already but if you are considering using student accomodation in August then look at Imperial College as well, which is right next to the South Kensington museums, Royal Albert Hall etc.

For theatre tickets look at @BargainTheatre on Twitter as they publish all the best current deals. Some shows rarely discount though, even at the ticket booths. You might be better off in some cases going to the individual box office.

Here is the link to Imperial. The rooms at Princes Gardens Eastside and Southside are quite nice and fairly new.

www3.imperial.ac.uk/summeraccommodation/ourrooms

Our teens really enjoyed a mooch around the Spitalfields/Brick Lane area, and there are loads of cafes/restaurants around there too.

Lots of cheap curry places near Euston station.

Oh yes, if you have time, walk the foot tunnel from Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs, and pretend you're playing a spy (or Peter Wyngarde's love interest) in an episode of Department S. Fab. Then from Island Gardens, take the DLR to Bank, or to Shadwell, and walk to the city through Wapping, stopping for a drink at the Prospect of Whitby.