Traveling to London Solo

[willow728k]

Hi everyone,

I was a sporadic poster on the nest and happened to come across the link to this board.

I am coming off a divorce and I am contemplating a trip to London by myself just as a way to do something for myself after a tough year. I want to prove to myself that I don't have to stop traveling just because I may not always have someone to go with me.

I have not been to anywhere in Europe yet and London seems like a good place for me to start. I figure the language barrier won't be so bad and well, I want to see the Harry Potter Studio tour. LOL

Any advice for a single woman in 30s traveling to London? Inexpensive but safe places to stay? Budget tips, must things to see and do, safety suggestions... any info is much appreciated.

[IIOY]

I did this many times, often because I'd buy a last-minute ticket to London when my local airline would offer last-minute cheap deals (does any airline do that anymore? LOL).

It is VERY doable. I stayed all over London, went to sites during the day, and hit pubs in the evening for dinner and drinks. The Tube makes it incredibly easy to get around. I always carried a book with me to read while eating or drinking or during any potential down times so that I didn't feel awkward.

I haven't done this in about 10 year, but at the time, I used a Fodor's guide book to find good, safe hotels and recommended sites/pubs. Fodor's tends to be (or used to) a tad more upscale than some of the other travel guides, so it felt more trustworthy in terms of finding grown-up, i.e., non-hostel, lodgings.

I came to love traveling alone - it's very liberating not to have to compromise with someone else on how to spend your time or money. I ended up traveling to all sorts of places, including places where I didn't know a single word of the language. My scariest trip was to Australia simply because it felt soooo far away, but even there I had a fabulous time.

Best wishes to you - you will have a great time!

[mrsukyankee]

A few years before I moved to London, I did a solo trip here. I loved it! I stayed in a B&B (google London b&b) which made it very affordable. I'd try to stay in zone 1 or 2 of the tube (check transport for london site). If you come for a week, get an Oyster card with a 1 week zone - you have to pay an initial fee and then can get it back when you leave. Things to do (which I do on my own when I have free time or which I have done): Borough Market, hop-on-off bus, a London Walk (www.walks.com), tons of museums, a show or two (get half price tickets from tkts in Leicester Square), a walk in the various parks of London, and there are tons of places where you can eat at the bar if you don't want to sit at a table on your own. There are great places to eat that are inexpensive.

[mdgirl]

What a great idea! And I think London is a perfect city for this. We stayed at this place a couple years ago. The neighborhood is really nice, there's a tube stop nearby, and it's easy walking distance to a few things. We were there in January so we got a really good rate, but the price for the Classic single room looks really reasonable, too.

[daringmiss]

You will love it.

You will find that Londoners are very nice people. Tell your hotel that you are traveling alone and they might have lots of suggestions about things to do, plus might have leads on single tickets for events, etc.

Don't go during the Olympics. London will be INSANE. But since the Brits don't have Thanksgiving to create an artificial barrier to Christmas, they start Christmas right after Halloween. Early winter in London is very pretty.


British Museum is free. The lunch in the nice restaurant inside is terrific but exotic.

Harrods is overwhelming.

If you go to the War Rooms Museum (and you should), play with the light table in the Winston Churchill area. Churchill kept daily diaries and every day is represented on the table. Use it like a file system. I strongly recommend finding the dates of August 6-8, 1945 (bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The table does interesting things.

If you want to see the Changing of the Guard, go to the guard station in the park. Better view.

The tea at the Goring is very yummy. Expensive but yummy.

I have heard the tea at Kensington Palace's Orangerie is pretty terrific.

I like the V&A museum because they have pretty dresses. May not be your thing.

The British taxis are terrific. Wish we had that style here.

The Crown Jewels are boring and the crowds are huge.

If you go to the Globe Theatre, I will be envious. I really want the "Out Out Damn Spot!" tea towel!

You can visit Stonehenge at dawn if you make reservations way in advance.

Traveling alone is great. You will really enjoy yourself.

[willow728k]

Thanks so much! Great ideas.... do you think that immediately after the Olympics are over it will still be crazy? I am a teacher and I was thinking the end of August. It looks like they end August 12 and my summer job ends the 13th... I was thinking of trying to find a last minute deal of some sort for like the 15-22... the dates are slightly flexible.

[basilosaurus]

I'm not sure the same schedule is followed every olympics, but you still have to be aware of paralympics following. In Torino, it was immediately after, but I think that varies by year.

I happened to be in Torino the day after the paralympics ended, and it was dead. If it's still on when you're there, there are thousands of athletes competing, along with full opening and closing ceremonies, medals, etc. I have no idea how busy it might be.

[dutchgirl678]

I was in Londong by myself once. I grew up in the Netherlands and was supposed to go camping with a friend of mine. We took the bus and ferry over and went to Cambridge. When we got there we found out our backpacks were too heavily packed and our tent so small we couldn't fit the backpacks inside and it started raining really bad. After a few days my friend went home. I took the bus up to see family in Yorkshire but after that went down to London and stayed there for 3 days. I loved it.

The tube is so easy to get around! I stayed at a youth hostel near one of the metro stops, don't remember what it was called. I saw Picadilly Circus and went to the National Gallery. Saw Buckinham Palace, got cheap tickets at Leicester Square to see Miss Saigon on West End (got totally ripped off as the seats were all the way at the top but it was still worth it). The Tower of London is great too. When I was there they didn't have the London Eye yet.

[smock]

Ha, I'm doing this right now! Well, technically it's a research trip, so I'm spending most of my time locked up in the library. But London is a great city to visit solo; there's tons of stuff to do.

Since no one has mentioned it, I'd suggest taking a boat down the Thames to Greenwich, which will be especially nice in August (it's coooold here right now), where you can visit the Royal Observatory and see the Prime Meridian. So much of central London is walkable, and just strolling around is a nice way to pass the time, and there are tons of parks. Plus many of the museums are free, which makes it easy to just drop in.

[mrsukyankee]

I wouldn't suggest coming in August after the regular Olympics - it'll still be crazy and with the Paralympics, it will remain crazy. But if it's your only break, then do come...just be prepared.

[mbcdefg]

My favorite things in London were Westminster Abbey (I could have spent all day there), an all-day bus trip to Windsor Castle/Bath/Stonehenge, the Tower of London tour, climbing to the top of Saint Paul's, and the aforementioned Thames boat ride to Greenwich.

[ejpint]

If you're traveling alone, I might recommend a B&B. We're using this site for our October trip on the recommendation of a friend.
www.londonbb.com/cata.html
I like B&Bs for solo trips because the owners are often helpful with suggesting local finds.
Have fun if you go, London is one of my most favorite cities in the world!

[travelingjen]

I just wanted to add that I think this is a wonderful idea! I too did the same thing a few years ago after my divorce. I booked a round-trip ticket into and out of Amsterdam and spent two weeks visiting the Netherlands, Belgium and a little of Ireland. I had visited Europe several times prior with others but I found traveling by myself to be quite enjoyable and a very healing experience. I met a lot of people during this trip but I also spent a lot of time alone which was much needed for reflection; traveling by myself on that trip was one of the best things I have ever done for myself! London is a great place to travel solo. You will have a blast!

[sunny]

I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to say that I think this sounds heavenly and good for you!!!!!!!