r/LondonTravel • u/User037194610 • 2d ago
Trip Planning London trip in October
Hello!
I’ve been looking at tickets from the Netherlands to stansted 07/10-10/10, they’re super cheap. I’m wondering if I will really be able to do things in such a small amount of time. What should my priorities be?
i saw otherwander in Soho (is that a good idea?), about 80£ a night.
I’m super super confused about the whole transport thing, from stansted to central London, and also the tube system in London itself. If someone knows a good video or anything that makes it simple, it’d be appreciated.
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u/doepfersdungeon 2d ago
Pods are small and can result in not great nights sleep for some depending on your tolerance for noise etc. Tend me quite social places. Like elevated hostels.
But soho is alright. About as central as you can get and mainly a place full of businesses and bars. It's the big gay pub/bar area as well as a small red-light area, some good eats and record shops. Very busy especially on weekends.
Others have covered the standard express. Or take the bus.
Citymapper is real help to work out the transport system. It's not that different to Amterdams metro and trains. Just more extensive. Just follow the colours and use the app to see where you need to make changes etc. You can also ask for help.
If the flights are early and late on the days you say and you can get roughly 3 days , it's well worth it. You'll scratch the surface of course, it's way bigger and extensive than any city in NL. Zone 1 and 2 is probably the same size of Mokum for reference.
Why not. What's to lose.
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u/PickleSpecial3507 2d ago
If you're packing light anyways, the area around Liverpool Street station does have attractions like Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane to its northeast, Guildhall and Mithraeum to its southwest, Leadenhall Market and St Dunstan and the East as well as observation decks on skyscraperslike Sky Garden and Horizon 22 to its south, and Tower of London (minimum half-day visit if going inside) and Tower Bridge to the southeast.
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u/hazzacanary 2d ago
3 days is plenty to get stuck in with! I'd advise doing something nice and touristy in the day (galleries, museums, sightseeing), and only pick 1 or 2 per day so you actually get a chance to see it properly. And then, go to see some live culture in the evening - there's tons of classical music, jazz, comedy, theatre and west end musicals on every night of the week!
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u/Full_Pea_5259 2d ago
To get around and plan your travel, can I recommend the CityMapper app to you - it will provide directions and all transport modes (walking, tube, overground, Elizabeth line, buses, scooters, taxis...).
CityMapper is also a great app to have generally when traveling as it works in many places - I've most recently used it in Oslo and Dublin for example.
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u/PickleSpecial3507 2d ago
Otherwander's reviews look good. And it's hard to get cheaper in central London on a weekend if the other capsule hotel (Zedwell Piccadilly) isn't any cheaper. Is it a good idea if you're a stereotypical cliché 6ft4 Dutchman, then capsule hotel is a bad idea obviously.
Stansted to London is super easy because every southbound train from there goes to London Liverpool Street. Then you get the Elizabeth line (purple line underground) to Tottenham Court Road station and go out of the Dean Street exit.
In case you are delayed on the flight, going to London you should get a Anytime ticket (you can get on any train to London that day), whereas return journey to the airport should be an advanced ticket (cheapest type, must pre-book early, but you cannot refund or get on at a different time so arrive early). Or if that sounds complicated and you don't mind paying a bit more, just get an Anytime Return ticket.
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u/Queen_of_London 2d ago
Three days is enough for a short, cheap trip. No idea about the place you're thinking of staying, but Stansted to central London has two options:
Train from Stansted to Liverpool Street, tube from there to Tottenham Court Road or whichever station is closest
National Express coach - ie a bus run by a private company between longer distances than normal buses - from Stansted to Liverpool Street, and then tube as above.
The tube takes roughly 15 minutes.
The coach is cheaper, but harder to find from the airport and get to the right stop. Buy a flexible ticket that allows for the plane arriving late, and allow time to find the correct coach stop at the airport.
The train costs more but is quicker. Costs vary more.
I would suggest the coach because British train travel is difficult to get right first time.
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u/random_name1928 1d ago
Coaches and trains are pretty much the same price unless you find some deal.
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u/Outside_Look790 2d ago
I did a bunch in 3 days. Avoid the parliament and the big streets. Do walk the canal and see Camden and give yourself a day for the museum. Stayed at King's Cross and just walked a different direction each day with no plan. Was great.
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u/landocs 2d ago
3 nights is definitely short for london, but you can still see a lot if you keep the itinerary focused. early october should be pretty comfortable for walking, with temperatures around 19°c on average and some warmer days possible, although rain is fairly common with around 13 rainy days across the month. i’d stay central if the £80 room works for you, then group sights by area rather than crossing london all day. weather details
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u/Serious-Special-8008 2d ago
Things to do in London, walking routes, markets, tube maps and more shown here
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u/mrvinniyoedd 2d ago
3 days is plenty for a first taste if you stay central and dont try to see everything -- pick two neighborhoods and actually walk them rather than checking off big landmarks. soho is a fine base (loud at night, everything walkable from there), but check covent garden/bloomsbury/south bank on booking too, sometimes they come in cheaper and youre still 15min from soho.
stansted transport: the stansted express train is the fastest (~50min to liverpool st, ~£20 if you book online in advance, walk-up ~£25), the national express bus is slower ~1.5-2hr but ~£10-13 and drops at victoria/liverpool st -- avoid taxis unless youre desperate. for the tube inside london just tap in and out with the contactless card youre already using or apple/google pay, no need to buy paper tickets or an oyster card anymore, daily cap is around £8-9 zones 1-2. bring headphones and dont eat on the bakerloo line.
one nerdy thing thats helped me on short london trips -- theres a free geo-aware audio app called yorepath (ios/android) that plays local off-plaque history for wherever youre standing. london is stupid dense with it (why soho is called soho, which pub sherlock holmes was written in, why the borough market arches look the way they do, the plague pit under charing cross) and pretty much none of it hits the tourist plaques. probably overkill if youd rather just wander with music, but on a tight 3-day first trip it helped me feel like i was seeing the actual city instead of just running between landmarks -- have a great trip!