Sometimes my friends ask me how, on my meager teacher-and-writer salary, I’ve done all this traveling. It’s all about thinking creatively, investing your time and planning ahead. But even if you don’t (and I don’t always), you can still have a fabulous trip and have enough left over for another fabulous trip. For example, a trip to London.
London can be mad expensive, but it’s also a perfect chance to hone your amazing-trip-on-a-dime skills. First, don’t buy into the myth that you have to pay pounds of pounds for a place to stay. There are in fact cheap hotels in London city centre, and with a little planning you can stay somewhere awesome without blowing your budget.
Second, think outside the box when it comes to transportation. Getting here, sometimes there are cheap flights, especially in the off-season. If you’re lucky enough to live close by, track those trains, and look into buses, which are pretty comfy. Once you’re there, you’ll save a ton if you don’t rent a car. Taxis eat up budgets too. The tube is great, but if plan ahead to avoid zipping back and forth. If you can, pack your walking shoes! (You can even start training to be up for all the walking). Oh, and you wanted to ride the doubledecker bus, right? I certainly did, and it was an affordable way to get around in addition to being part of my London fantasy.
Third, you don’t have to buy your memories. Okay, I bought the coolest t-shirt from a designer at Greenwich Market, but awesome photos of Kensington Gardens are nicer than keychains. My crafty mom turned tickets from her favorite museums into decoupage coasters. Think creatively about souvenirs before you shop (but if you’re like me, do go ahead and buy one hella unique piece of clothing that you’ll never find elsewhere. It’s why you came to London, right?)
Finally, all the daily life stuff is what makes your holiday special. People watching on your way to Piccadilly Circus, stopping for a cup of tea to get out of the rain (and yeah, it will rain; it’s London), getting lost and discovering a beautiful old church through your wrong turns–these are the reasons to travel. They’re just as precious as the play you’re dying to see, the view from the London Eye, the tour of Buckingham Palace, or whatever else you’re dreaming of. Treasure those, and your trip will be rich.
Tags: cheap hotels, hotels, London, London city centre
