So since I've been in Europe I've found myself spending hours on end search flights to everywhere on Skyscanner. I basically just type in where I am and select 'Everywhere' and see where the cheapest place is to get to! Sometimes its crazy cheap and it makes it so easy to be spontaneous and travel to places for just a few days.
A few months ago my friends and I got cheap flights to London. London is one of those bucket list places where everyone wants to visit at some point in there life. So after our trip to Ireland we got on a good old Ryan Air flight to London! Will just a short 2 nights in the city and so much to see the weekend was full of sight seeing.
TIP # 1
HOW TO AVOID THE CROWDS
You know the saying 'the early bird gets the worm', well when in London I highly recommend you apply this strategy. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to get up at the crack of dawn and go for a run while the sun rises.. It just means that if you want to enjoy a bit of the city with out the company of thousands of tourists then its definitely worth getting up slightly early than usually, and heading out to do some sight seeing before the rush. This way you get to enjoy your favorite sites with a bit less of a crowd, and I think no one could ever complain about that. You can always find a park at lunch time and have a nap to recharge the batteries if the early morning is taking that much of a toll on you!
Tip # 2
BUDGET TIP
So if you didn't know already London is in no way a budget friendly city.. Everything is going to cost you something and probably a lot more the you expect. Now I truly know the temptation of eating out all the time, and as nice as it can be the cost of breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack here and there adds up very fast! So as you've probably heard many times before, go to the supermarket and buy some cheap food that you can chuck together and take with you while you're on the go. Id recommend to do this for breakfast and dinner, if you do want to eat out I'd advice you do that for lunch, generally its is a cheaper meal. I would also highly recommend enjoying your snacks in a park, London is full of lovely parks in the city!
Tip # 3
TRAVELLING AROUND THE CITY
Now if you are anything like me you would agree that jumping on and off the underground can be pretty stressful.. But it also a bit of fun, so if you want to use the underground service during your stay you can by an Oyster card. You can get this each station and you simply just load money onto the card and scan away. At the end of the trip you can claim back the money that you have left if there is any, but be aware that I think this may be a bit of a process.. I had two friends try but gave up because the amount of money left wasn't worth all the hassle. Although I'm sure if you do really want it back the person at the desk can help. If you don't think its worth buying one of these cards you can also use any contactless card (paywave) to scan through the gates. Another point to add is that if you don't mind walking you can get to most of the main attractions by foot. Obviously it is a bit weather dependent but if you can I'd recommend just walking around, you'll also see so much more of the city this way.
JUST ENJOY IT
It so easy to become that person that complains about it being so crowd and busy, well as a matter of fact we are there to see the exact some things. So make the most the the experience, embrace the crowds and don't let them get you down. The busy city atmosphere is one of the things that makes this city so special, and if that's your thing you are going to love it. Even if big cities really aren't your thing I'd still say you should give London a shot, its just got an amazing feeling and I think everyone should see it at some point.
