London can be quite an expensive city if you allow it to be. Whether it be travel, shopping or accommodation, the prices can begin to rise as you spend more time here. The trick is to find some great value London hotel deal special offers, and get to grips with the money saving tips and tricks in the city. Whether you’re visiting with family or with friends, saving your cash can help your holiday go that little bit further.
Avoiding peak times
One money rinser in the city is the peak time fares on tubes, trains and buses. Not only do these periods of time hike the price up, especially if you are travelling through, to and from zone 1, but it can get extremely congested too. Off peak, a contactless tube journey will cost you £2.40 from zone 1 to 2, whilst at peak times it will cost you £2.90. 50p per tube journey during peak times can really start to make a difference. Peak travel times in London are between 7.30 and 9.30am and 4.30 and 7pm.
Free museums to explore
Many museums around London are free to visit. These government funded museums hold many permanent exhibits which are free to visit, and make up the staples of the London tourist economy. Free museums for the general public include the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, all on Museum Row in South Kensington, alongside the British Museum near Kings Cross. There are a wide range of other smaller museums scattered around the city as well which are free to visit, including the William Morris House and the IMperial War Museum.
Free galleries to explore
It’s not just museums which are free to visit in London. Some of the most iconic galleries in not only the city but the world are based in London. These include the converted power station setting of the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain in Pimlico, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square alongside the contemporary arts based White Cube and the Damien Hirst owned Newport Street Gallery in Elephant and Castle.
Walking Central London
One thing to keep in mind when spending the day out, is that if you are able bodied and the weather is ok, it is easy to walk through the city centre rather than take the bus or the tube. With only a few miles in radius, you could walk from the Tate Modern to the Tate Britain in under 45 minutes.
Go contactless
Make sure that if you do travel on public transport, that you utilise the contactless payments, whether through oyster card or you’re own card. This will significantly decrease the price of your ticket and will make your journey far easier.
Travelling by bus and hopper fees
Hopper fares are bus fares where, if you are making multiple journey in under an hour, it will still cost you the same as one journey. You can even take a tube or tram journey in between two bus journeys, and that same bus journey will still cost you £1.50.
Travelling by Santander Cycles
Santander Cycles are one of the most recent additions to the London public transport system. Utilising the London cycle highways, the Santander Cycles are bikes which cost £2 to higher for 24 hours. The first half an hour of this journey is free to use and with 750 docking stations across the city, including many which are close to the Hotel Paddington Court London, they’ll be hard to miss.
