5. Know Exactly Where You're Staying
For an absentminded slob, I'm surprisingly high-strung, semi-obsessive even, about my pre-departure travel organization. Because of this, I book just about everything in advance: lodging, in-country travel, tours, even the occasional meal! I technically stayed in London twice during my recent trip to the U.K. and Ireland: once at the beginning of the trip and once at the end. Because we wanted to experience as much of the city as possible in our limited time, I booked two different hostels in two different neighborhoods.
Both hostels were pleasant, but differed greatly in their location. The first hostel (St. Christopher's Southwark) was super-affordable, adjacent to a lively bar, and had an awesome location near the south bank of the Thames. The second hostel (which shall remain nameless) was equally affordable, but happened to be a fifteen-hour round-trip walk from the Tower Bridge (I know this for a fact because, being on our last day and too broke for rail or bus passes, we walked the entire way there and back.) At first, we weren't even sure which direction to start walking: the neighborhood we were staying in wasn't even on our overview map of greater London!
I almost wanted to go punch the hostelworld.com people in the face for even listing that property as a "London" hostel... but in the end, I know it was my own dumbass fault. A little pre-booking research in this instance could have saved me a great many blisters.
4. Bring Twice as Much Money as You Think You'll Need
If you've been in the planning stages for a while, you've probably heard or read this same advice at least two or three times already. If you're anything like me, you need to hear it again.
200 US dollars in a tourist's pocket in London is not the same as 200 US dollars in a local's pocket in normal-town, USA. It's not even close. Something as simple as a quick lunch of hamburgers and fries for two people can easily cost upwards of 20-25 bucks. One pint of local beer can cost as much as $10, and a single underground (subway) ticket is about $6.
On the surface, prices in the States and prices in London look comparable: a high-quality hamburger here is about six bucks; a hamburger in London is six pounds. Don't be deceived. The kicker is that a British pound is about twice as much as an American dollar. (At the time of this writing, one pound was worth $1.91.) Couple that with the fact that you'll have to pay a service charge every time you exchange currency and you can see why you'll have trouble stretching your American dollars.
The best advice I can give you: don't be in a rush to get there. Give yourself enough time to save up a comfortable vacation budget. You're going to have a lot more fun if you don't spend the entire trip worrying about money.
3. First Item on the Itinerary: Nap Time
Take a quick nap as soon as you check in at your hotel or hostel. You will feel tempted to start sightseeing, or to go out for that first pint of ale, but don't give in. You'll enjoy yourself more if you wait until you're fully rested.
Unfortunately, nobody advised me to this end. We had pre-booked theater tickets and attempted to take in both "Stomp" and "The Woman in Black" on our very first afternoon in London. We slept through both of them. Thanks, jet lag.
And if you're worried that taking a nap will keep you up all night... so what? Isn't staying up all night what you came to London for in the first place?
2. Don't Rely on Credit Cards
Your stupid old-fashioned American credit cards might not work in London. Europeans have switched over to a system called "Chip and PIN" (not to be confused with Fish and Chips.) A "Chip and PIN" card is exactly what it sounds like: it has a small, electronic security chip and requires the user to enter a PIN (personal identification number) just like a debit card.
I, of course, didn't know anything about this system and didn't have a "Chip and PIN"-compliant card.
I missed out on a lot of great-smelling food and unique souvenirs because so much of my budgeting was based on the sound financial theory of "Screw it-I'll just use my credit card for everything." If you're like me and plunging into irreconcilable debt is part of your travel plan, call your credit company and ask about a European-style "Chip and PIN"-enabled card before you take off.
And my #1 tip for visitors to London...
1. Get the Hell Out!
On my recent 12-day jaunt, I spent five of those days in London. It was a big mistake. In my opinion, spending more than 2 or 3 days of a two-week vacation in London is wasteful. London is fun and amazing, granted, but by no means is it an end-all, be-all mecca for travelers.
After the first few nights, even London will get repetitive unless you're on an unlimited budget. If your only goal in visiting the U.K. is to pour thousands of dollars into a pretentious, snobbish nightlife scene, then by all means stay in London for months. Otherwise, get out!
With Stonehenge, Bath, the English countryside, Scotland, Ireland, and even France and the rest of Europe within easy and affordable striking distance, there's no excuse for any self-respecting traveler to hole up in foggy London town for more than a small percentage of their trip. Round-trip airfare to Prague is only about $150; to Paris is even cheaper; bus tickets into Scotland with Megabus (www.megabus.co.uk) can be had for under $10 for certain dates and routes... you get the picture.
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