Author: Irina
My first three-day trip to the "capital of Great Britain" I planned worse than ever - excursions in London for the most part passed me by. 60% of the time was spent on "exploring" Oxford Street - the main local shopping street, and in the remaining 40% I tried to cram the immense.
I have not seen many sights. But negative experiences are experiences too. Next time I will not blunder! Learning from my mistakes 🙂
Prices and description of excursions in London
The British capital is not only red telephone booths and double-decker buses, but also 3-4 kilograms of must visit attractions. Excursions in London take place both in standard palaces-castles-museums, and along "unknown paths": Baker Street, where the inimitable Sherlock Holmes lodged, King's Cross station, from where you can go to Hogwarts (an invitation brought by an owl is required!), pubs where you can listen to music, drink beer and, with a clear conscience, call such a trip a cultural program.
The official currency of the United Kingdom is the pound sterling, the prices are indicated in it. Indicative course: 1 pound ≈ 80 rubles.
Popular excursions in London and prices in 2021:
(in Russian!)
| Name | Price | Description of the excursion | Our Tips |
| London Walking Tour | ₤15 (1200 rubles) | Iconic places of London in 2 hours. And not a whole herd of tourists, but a group of up to 15 people. | Allows you to orient yourself in the city and build a further route. Take on the first day! An excellent option for London with a transfer. There is also a bus tour to choose from |
| In the footsteps of Harry Potter | ₤170 (13 800 rubles) for a group of up to 8 people | Everything is clear here: a walk through the key places of the young wizard from Hogwarts. Platform 9¾ at King's Cross, where you can take a photo with a cart, and other famous places in London associated with everyone's favorite history. | Alternative: look inside the action itself - at the Warner Brothers film studio and in the pavilions, filmed Harry Potter (and where all the props are stored)! Separately, the cost of tickets is ₤ 45 (adult) and ₤ 37 (child under 15). But you also have to get to the suburbs (≈1 hour). Therefore, it is easier to immediately take tickets with a transfer for ₤ 80-85 on GetYourGuide |
| Group tour of the Tower | ₤45 (3600 rubles) | The main fortress of Great Britain. Price includes guide services and entrance ticket: ₤ 24 - adults, ₤ 11 - children. | 1) For a more complete immersion: individual tours for ₤ 200 per group up to 10 people. 2) To save money: a river tram runs from the fortress to the center. It is part of the public transport system, and a ticket for it costs only ₤ 6.5 (+ entrance to the Tower). |
| City Walk | ₤78 (6300 rubles) for three OR on ₤ 20 per group up to 6 people | The best views of London City (historic center) and world-famous buildings: the Gherkin skyscraper, the inside out house, the Royal Exchange, the residence of the Lord Mayor, etc. | Of course, such an excursion can easily be independent. Therefore, it is recommended for those who wish to learn a lot about London from a local. |
| Westminster Abbey | ₤40 (3200 rubles) | The cost of excursions with a Russian-speaking guide to the church in London, where English monarchs are crowned and crowned, includes entrance tickets (₤ 21 - adults, ₤ 9 - for children). | The abbey is free to enter. But you need to watch the day. The church is active; on Sundays, services are held here, where those who wish can come (you can see the schedule on the official website). |
| Stonehenge | ₤85 (6800 rubles) | The price includes a ticket to the monument: ₤ 16.5 for an adult or ₤ 10 for a child 5-15 years old. | You come to London, want to see Stonehenge - and where to look for an excursion to Stonehenge, yes in Russian? So save this one to your favorites! |
| British pubs tour | ₤130 (10 500 rubles) for a group of up to 6 people | They will tell you, show you old pubs, drink beer / ale. | A great option if you are traveling alone or in a small company, but you want some action! For myself, I would slightly change my accent - just because I don't use it - and take a tour of coffee houses and tea rooms 🙂 |
| Madame Tussauds museum | ₤ 29-32 (2300-2600 rubles) | Photos with celebrities who do not strive to escape somewhere. | Get ready for the crowds! The cheapest tickets are on GetYourGuide, on the official website it is more expensive. When buying in advance online - ₤ 32 versus ₤ 34 per adult. |
| Hop-on hop-off red buses | ₤34 (2700 rubles) per adult, ₤ 16 (1300 rubles) per child | I love the hop-on hop-off system. You can buy it for 2 days (₤ 44) and on the second day use it as a public transport with a convenient route. | In London, this red bass can be combined with a hop-on hop-off boat that follows from the 4 piers of the city (included in the price). |
| Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes | ₤32 (2600 rubles) | The advantage of knowing English: all interesting and inexpensive excursions are yours. This particular one is about the "places of military glory" of criminals and detectives. | What can I say, a tour for an amateur. Like me 🙂 I skipped class a couple of times in school to find out who the killer was (if you know what I mean). |
Our London trip experience
Great Britain was my big English dream, which came true with one month's language courses in Portsmouth. I went to London by train for the weekend. At that time, I had no experience of solo travel, which partially justifies the ill-conceived cultural program.
What I did wrong:
× I didn't prepare for the trip at all, I didn't even read the page about the city on Wikipedia
× Went shopping on the first day
Right:
✓ Bought a ticket for a sightseeing tour
✓ Took an umbrella
When on Sunday lunchtime I heard from the guide about Bakery Street, where the famous detective lived, I almost burst into tears, so I wanted to take a walk there, but alas, next time!
Limited travel times are the best reason to plan your itinerary carefully. In 1 day, you can quickly see all the main sights of London, if you take a survey. And in the evening sit in a pub. In 3 days - you can explore the city in full detail, focusing on interesting places for yourself.
Our option of what to visit in London in 3 days
Day 1: sightseeing tour of London + Buckingham Palace
There are many variations of excursions to one of the few operating palaces in the world: to the stables, to the royal gallery, etc. I love the option of having a traditional tea after seeing the palace (English only, search on GetYourGuide). To be honest, I got a picture in my head that five o'clock tea is something from the siesta category in Spain, there is in every establishment. But no! Therefore, such a chance should not be missed.
Day 2: Tower + boat to the center
Day 3: Harry Potter Museum + Pub Crawl, which logically follows from the tasting of butter beer at the Warner Brothers studio.
Life hack from the editorhow to get to England without unnecessary paperwork (read, you don't need a visa): if you are flying to / from the USA or Canada, you have a valid American or Canadian visa and a long transfer: in London without a visa, in this case, you can walk up to 48 hours! Verified by us in September 2017.
Sightseeing tour of London in 2.5 hours / Walking tour of London
A sightseeing tour is the best way to decide what to see in London. It is reasonable to take a bus with elements of walking. The city is big, the sights are scattered around it, it is unrealistic to walk with your feet. Many (if not all) companies offer an audio guide in Russian. And on Tripster there are a bunch of excursions with a live 🙂 Russian-speaking guide.
Price: group ₤ 15-55 per person, individual excursions ₤ 60-320.
Duration: 2-4 hours.
In the footsteps of Harry Potter / Harry Potter Museum
England is firmly associated with Rowling's famous magical history. You can book a tour of London's places related to the events of the book via the Internet. Most often these are tours with a fixed price (₤ 160 - ₤ 180), which can be taken by a small company of up to 15 people.There are no "goodies" in the group - all additional costs (travel, souvenirs, photos) are borne by tourists.
What real fans of the saga about Harry and his friends really should see is the Harry Potter Museum. It was created by Warner Brothers and consists mostly of movie sets. There is the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest, Platform 9 ¾, and other iconic places and characters.
Price:
- excursion around London with a Russian-speaking guide - ₤ 170 for a group of up to 8 people.
- Harry Potter Museum with round-trip transfer: adults - ₤ 85, children - ₤ 80.
Duration: 3-7 hours.
Tower Treasures
England is a country with an ambiguous history. A visit to the Tower is definitely included in those excursions in London that are worth listening to in Russian (if your English is not influent). The centuries-old walls of the fortress are the best scenery for the sometimes bloody stories of British victories and defeats.
Price:
- group ₤ 45 per person (includes entrance tickets),
- individual ₤ 200 per group up to 10 people.
Duration: 2-3 hours.
For independent: Tower tickets >>
City Walk - 2000 years in 3 hours
To make your stay in London as informative as possible, you can combine a walk through the historic city center with an excursion into its past. How did a small Roman settlement become one of the world's key financial centers? The walking route with the story of a competent guide is priceless.
Price: from ₤ 78 (for 1-3 people) to ₤ 210 (for 20 people). Pick up the one you need on the Tripster.
Duration: 2-3 hours.
Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace Full-Day Tour
In general, these are group bus transfers around the main residences of the British monarchs. But such tours are organized only in English. Although an excursion to Buckingham Palace is possible with an audio guide in Russian.
Price:
- tour - about ₤ 100 per person on GetYourGuide
- ₤ 25 per adult and ₤ 14 per child - Buckingham tickets >>
- ₤ 22.5 per adult and ₤ 13 per child - tickets to Windsor >>
Fate and Treasures of the National Gallery
Despite the fact that the entrance to the museum is free, in some cases it is worth spending money on the services of a guide:
- you are interested in art and like to listen to lectures on this topic
- children travel with you who will find it useful to “touch art”, but you yourself cannot tell except “this is a house with a pipe, this is an uncle with a beard”
Price: ₤ 20 per person (group trips on Tripster).
Duration: 2 hours.
Stonehenge and Salisbury
If the time frame of your stay in London allows, another place to go "very nnnnado" is Stonehenge and the nearby town of Salisbury. Mysterious boulders standing in circles since the days when Great Britain was gone. Why the building served is still the subject of controversy among historians. Bonus: Salisbury Gothic architecture, traditional English landscapes from the bus window. Great excursion from London for 1 day!
Price: ₤ 85 per person.
Duration: 8 ocloc'k.
Excursions in London on your own
In London, everything related to paying for human resources is quite expensive. A guide in London is not a cheap pleasure. Advice to those who have plans to get by with "little blood":
➢ the cheapest excursions - group and English-speaking (maximum - audio guide in Russian),
➢ many places can be viewed independently (google and wikipedia for help),
➢ No one canceled the Free Walking Tour option, but, again, in English.
Remember, the best excursions in London are those after which you feel good at heart, and your wallet is not (completely) empty!
City walk + boat
If the plans do not include buying a guided tour of the City, then you can get a similar set of experiences (and even more) on your own. Wander for free, look at the famous "Gherkin", the house "inside out", the Royal Stock Exchange, walk to the Tower Bridge. Take a ticket for a boat (on the side of the fortress, right behind the bridge) - ₤ 6.5 and ride to the center.
Life hack: buy a takeaway drink on the beach. The boat is not touristy, you cannot make purchases on it, but you want to look at the fantastic views on the shore while sipping something pleasant.
Downtown Walking Tour + London Eye
Another route that I mapped out on my next tour to London, and which I am sharing! Please, I'm not sorry 🙂
From the National Gallery - across Trafalgar Square - down Whitehall and past Scotland Yard straight to Big Ben. Then walk along the House of Parliament, lie on the grass in Victoria Tower Gardens South. Then cross the Lambeth Bridge to the other side of the Thames and head back towards the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel. From this coast, there is a stunning view of the Parliament and Big Ben, and there are several times less tourists (why, it remained a mystery to me!).
Standard London Eye ticket: ₤ 27 for an adult and ₤ 22 for a child. How much do various additional options, such as champagne while riding, cost, you can check on the website (spoiler, ₤ 41). By the way, it is better to buy a ticket online, this will avoid the huge queue and save a couple of pounds.
Where is the best place to buy excursions in London? Reviews of tourists in 2019
In my travel experience, tourists are generally divided into 2 large categories:
✓ I'll come to town, go to a local pub, and then - as it goes!
✓ Monday - National Museum, Tuesday - Old Town, Wednesday - Opera, Thursday - Shopping, and Friday - Pubs!
There is no right or wrong here. On vacation, everyone lives at the pace at which he is comfortable.
For those who consider themselves to be of the second type (excursion Europe is more interesting to them), with the advent of online booking, it has become much easier. You buy all the excursions you are interested in from home, and do not look for a travel agency on the spot (who would even dare to look for them in London, especially without perfect English?)
The largest services for the selection of routes with a guide:
- Tripster
- Satellite
- GetYourGuide
- Airbnb (section "Impressions", but do not forget to pick up a discount of up to 4000 rubles for beginners, it works for impressions too!)
First two good for the presence of Russian-language excursions. A plus on the Tripster many author's routes. Downside: it can be quite expensive.
GetYourGuide pleases with the status of the official seller of tickets to museums, palaces and other entertainments (like the Ferris wheel) and the availability of cheaper tours (because in English).
Well, and on Airbnb Impressions - for a non-standard set of impressions (from sup-surfing in the park to a jazz club)!
Another useful life hack: CouchSurfing. Reviews indicate that most people are known for the service offers free accommodation. However, many Londoners who cannot accommodate guests are ready to take a walk around the city. Tell them what they know, help impromptu English, and just keep company. Register, make acquaintances 🙂
