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

Glad to hear that, OP! I meant to say, head to Brixton Village (very quick on the tube from central London) and wander round for cheap, high quality food. Jay Rayner is a big fan.

Premier apartments Limehouse, near DLR, only 2 stops to bank, they have 2 and three bed apartments, kitchen and I think they all have 2 huge bathrooms.

There is a Tesco metro opposite so cereal not an issue and you can obviously cook your own meals.

We stayed there last November and I can't fault it, and plan to use them again.

It cost us £290 for 2 weekend nights 2 bed, it was more expensive than a family room at ibis and Novotel, premiering but only just, our Twins were 9 but with older DC you would need 2 rooms and honestly the amount of space and ability to cook made up for that

Lol, realised my idea of cheap is not cheap, but glad you have asked this to be moved as I will be going again next year, loads of good advice.
I will stand by recommendation as it works out £145 a night and if two couples £36.25 per person per night

If you go to Spittlefields/brick lane, be sure to get a salt beef bagel up the top of brick lane, close to bethnal green rd!

I assume teens would prefer Camden Lock market to Spitalfields - although most adults hate Camden Lock so it's your call.

Cool adults like Camden Lock!

Just a short walk along the canal from Regent's Park and London Zoo. The zoo definitely is NOT cheap.

Yes, don't even think about the zoo. I quite like Camden market myself (though am in no way cool) but DH would rather slam his bollocks in the fridge door than go.

Definitely get southern Indian food from Drummond street near euston.

August is kids go free in the theatre - google it and join the list to get advised of the date bookings open

I wouldn't eat out at lunchtime - and definitely not at any museum or tourist place - you can pick up a picnic from a supermarket much more cheaply - even M&s

Do walk along the south bank
Tate modern is great and free

I really like the docklands museum and the maritime museum

You can get the river bus to and from Greenwich for the maritime museum - think tickets are reduced if you have a train ticket

Battersea zoo is better value if you do want a zoo

London aquarium is good and is by south bank

You def should have a walk round covent garden in the evening (before the theatre?) and wagamama is nice and good value I think

Not too worried about a zoo, we've done plenty of that kind of thing, and wouldn't waste valuable time doing it in London iyswim?

Yes, yes to the kids go free to the theatre in August, I will sign up.

We do like our food, so I can see it being quite fun to find interesting and good value eats.

at enduring. DD would love, DS and DH, not so, especially DS.

This thread needs to stay, doesn't it? It's too valuable a source of information to lose after 30 days.

Oh and DD and I went to Olympia last year with a group of friends. The kids loved working out the tube journeys, so I can see them doing so again.

If you want a cheap place to stay try the Lea Valley YHA. It is two minutes from the station into London (20 minutes to liverpool st or 30 minutes into the West End) I know you said your dh wouldnt like it, but may be worth looking into. Also it's in the middle of the lea valley with lovely walks and there is a mariners/adventure base next door if you wanted a break from London for a day. The station takes Oyster cards do cheaper travel.

For the Theatre i would recommend "The Play that Goes Wrong" very cheap tickets and hilarious. Both my teens loved it.

If you're on the South Bank, go up the Oxo tower for a great view. And if you're at the top end of Regent's Park, cross over the road and climb Primrose Hill for another one.

Not read all of this but we did lots of short breaks in London with our teenagers. We managed to stay with family but made two big mistakes. One was going on an open top bus tour and the other was going to Madam Tussauds. Both were expensive mistakes.

Echoing everyone else that there's a ton of free stuff to do in London - and the museums are a lot of fun, plus there's often extra free or very cheap events/talks/workshops etc on at them as well as the usual exhibits.

If you are looking for a huge, cheap, teen-friendly meal which is also an iconic London experience, then go to Wong Kei in Wardour Street (Chinatown). It used to be described as "the rudest restaurant in Britain", which weirdly was a plus - you'd go there to be insulted as a kind of dinner theatre, as well as for the fantastic, cheap food, but sadly they've been retrained and they are polite now. But the food is still ridiculously fresh, good and cheap, and you can ask them to box up the leftovers (there will be leftovers) to take back to your hotel.

What are your kids interested in?

Our Travelodge in Woolwich the week before xmas was £39 per night per room for 4. so under a £10er each. We have stayed in the one at docklands for the same price in the past and was further in from a travel ticket point of view. We got a day ticket for the train/tube/bus. and used the top of the bus to see the lights down Oxford St. and Regents St. I would also look at the Tesco club card web site if you collect the rewards as they have loads of things in London you can use them on. Bus tour, London eye, Tower of London. We have also done a river tour and bus tour combined with the vouchers. Loads of things are free - changing the guard, Museums etc. We have also gone when free music events have been on in Hyde park which are great for teens. We usually go by car and pick the hotels with car parking included. We were also able to visit places like Greenwich, Hampton court etc.
Also going to a televised show is free. The BBC and others have web site you can register at although many shows are now recorded in Salford.

I would suggest not going to the national history or science museums, in the holidays they become the busiest places to go and queues or 1-2hrs are regular.

There are many other museums though. The British museum in Barbican is nice, the museum of art is also less busy.

Basically any museum that has 'kids' interactive things will be packed. But yours will be too old to want most of that stuff anyway so def look at alternate.

If coming in August bring a few rucksacks with small cool bags in. Then you can make up a picnic for a few days for lunch. There's huge parks everywhere you can head to. Bring swim suits and there are a few outdoor lido pools ie the serpentine in hyde park.

Don't rush to fit everything in. If you think something will take 2 hrs, allow 3-4 hours before next plan so you have time to chill in a park/ grab ice cream/ people watch. Otherwise you will just be exhausted as rushing everywhere

Walk everywhere. Most of central London is within a 2 mile radius, so never more than about 30mins from one end to another

Tesco clubcard deals are a great idea - lots of attractions available at a quarter of the price, from memory I think London dungeons, tussauds, some shows etc. Can also change tesco vouchers for meals at Pizza express etc so could save lots of money there.

Most museums are free, with an optional donation. Lots of the west end is all walking distance or could just use buses to save money, I think the off peak price cap on an oyster card for buses is only a few pounds per day.

Have fun, London is great

You've had lots of good advice. Here's a few more ideas:

Walk alongvRegents Canal, from Camden Lock just north of Camden Town tube, East to Kings X. There's a lovely sense of peace and quiet. Lots of restaurants/cafes in the redeveloped area at KX, from not so cheap but lovely Grain Store, to informal pop up style street food places serving cheap and cheerful Indian , Mexican, Japanese, Thai food. Think noodles/gyoza, or chicken tikka/salad wraps etc. You could stay off the canal then and wander through Bloomsbury to the south of KX, or carry on walking east via the canal to Islington with its quirky shops, decent cinema etc.

As others have said, try airbnb, but aim for one of the London 'villages' eg Highgate, Hampstead in the north (amazing views from some spots), or Blackheath, Dulwich, Greenwich to the south. The Nat Maritime Museum there is interesting. You could get to and fro the centre by river taxi too. Staying in a village/suburb woukd give you a feel for the duality of London life - less frenetic outlying areas as well as the (for me) irresistible buzz of the centre.

Novotel london Brentford is worth a look. You can get room for £69 and half price for adjoining second room for kids. Free parking, which can be a big deal in london! It's very new I think, and has a pool. Teens love it because lounge has lots of computers in tables and large screen games system, funky seating etc. you do need to buy travel cards though, as taxis there would be too much. The breakfast is free for kids and good by hotel standards. Decent coffee! The only thing it's really near is Kew. There is fridge in room, which matters for buying anything for snacks, sandwiches etc.
We usually use a chain hotel in London, as £100 isn't guaranteed to even buy a clean room in London, and we have had some awful rooms at this or higher budget.....

Don't forget the British Museum, it's just stunning.

You can spend ages watching buskers and street performers for free.

Lots of great tips on this thread, (we never have ever managed to get cheap show tickets, I must try again)!

I'd second GraceFox rec of Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum. Greenwich is full of beautiful free places (and paid things, like the planetarium), and isn't nearly as crowded in the holidays as the South Ken museums.

You can either stay up that end of town, or get a Thames Clipper up the river to Greenwich from Embankment tube, which is a brilliant and reasonably-priced way of travelling through London AND getting a tour of the Thames!

Travelodge rates have really crept up in recent years. Have stayed in loads of London Travelodges over the years, and remember the sales fondly when you could get fab deals for the very central ones like Covent garden. Days like this are sadly long gone..

We love Bethnal Green Travelodge, and the Waltamstow one also.
Staying in Grenwich Novatel in May. Fab breakfast. Sets you up for the day. Have been before.

If you plan to go independent B&B rather than a chain, do go to something recommended rather than just google, as there are some really ropey places around.

Eg, check the excellent Sawdays guide, which looks like it would only rec really expensive places, but also has stuff like this (which would be big enough for you, and is in zone 2 with excellent connections, a few mins by bus or tube to South Ken): www.sawdays.co.uk/britain/england/london/lower-studio

(I've had really good results with Sawdays in the past.)

Hi there, we've had a request to move this to Travel so that it doesn't disappear. And as you all know, your wish is our command...