London is one of the top most expensive cities in Europe, so having an idea of how much things cost is a good starting point to build a budget that you can stick to.

Accommodation

Here is a summary of the cost per night for a double bedroom in London.

Keep in mind that the most inexpensive stays in London are normally hostels and bed & breakfasts, while hotels and small apartments fall in the mid-range price category. However, if you are travelling in a group, apartments tend to be a much more convenient option than hotel rooms or bed & breakfasts.

No matter what your preferences are, remember that you’ll find much cheaper options the earlier you book. You can find and book your accommodation in London here.

Transport

Public transport in London is quite expensive, but if you know your options, you’ll be able to save up quite a bit. If you want to know more about it you can check out our article about transport in London. Here is a quick breakdown of the most commonly used ticket prices.

• Single Underground journey in (zone 1): £2.70 - £2.80 (off-peak and peak hours tickets)
• 1-day travel cap (zones 1-2): £8.10
• Weekly transport pass (zones 1-2): £40.70
• Cab within the city centre: £8.00 - £20.00
• Taxi between Heathrow Airport and Central London £50.00 - £60.00
• Taxi between Stansted Airport and Central London £40.00 - £50.00

Food and beverages

Like all big cities, London offers a wide range of dining options, so you can accommodate this part of the budget to your liking.

On average, a cup of coffee in London will cost around £3.00, while a latte will be around £3.50. As for alcoholic beverages, the most common order in the UK is a pint of beer, which costs around £7 - although you can expect craft beers to be much pricier.

As for meals, you will find there is a big difference depending on whether you want to sit down at a restaurant or if you want to have something on the go. A dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant will be around £50.00 or £60.00. The cost will be a bit lower if you decide to eat at a pub (around £10.00 - £15.00 per person).

However, there are also plenty of options to eat on the go in the city. They are all delicious, thanks to the city’s diversity and abundance of venues, and much cheaper than restaurants. A meal like this can cost as little as £5.00 per person.

Entries and tickets

Sightseeing is on average a lot cheaper in London than people expect, thanks to the large number of free entry museums. However, this only applies to national museums, meaning that there still are plenty of attractions that are not free.

In the latter group are the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, The Shard, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, among others. Remember that many of them are included in the London Pass and/or in the 2FOR1 National Rail offers, so if you intend to visit several of them, we recommend you use these discounts.

The first one, the London Pass, gives you free access to all included sights for a select number of days. Additionally, you won’t have to queue at the entrance, thus saving yourself quite a bit of time. The prices are as follows.

• London Pass for 1 day: £89.00
• London Pass for 2 days: £116.00
• London Pass for 3 days: £136.00
• London Pass for 4 days: £156.00
• London Pass for 5 days: £169.00
• London Pass for 6 days: £180.00
• London Pass for 7 days: £186.00
• London Pass for 10 days: £200.00

The second offer mentioned, the 2FOR1, is essentially a discount scheme in collaboration with one of the UK’s biggest passenger rail companies. If you have a transport ticket issued by National Rail, you can get 2 entries for the price of 1 at all included attractions. We suggest you check out our detailed 2FOR1 offers article to understand how it works and how to redeem your discounts.