3 Days in London on a Budget: Our Real Trip Under £200
Can you visit London for three days on a budget? Our easyJet return flight, two nights at YHA London Thameside, Oyster travel, The Shard and sightseeing all stayed below £200 per person.
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Historical prices and schedules can change. Verify current details before booking.Can you spend three days in London for under £200?
We did. The total included return flights from Edinburgh, two hostel nights, Oyster travel, The Shard and three days of sightseeing. We relied on public transport for longer journeys, walked between nearby attractions and used free landmarks to balance the paid view.
Prices vary sharply by date, so treat our completed trip as a benchmark and compare current flights and stays before booking.
London is often described as an expensive city break, but our trip showed that it doesn't have to be. We booked about three months in advance, chose a youth hostel rather than a central hotel, carried much of our food from home, used public transport only when it made sense and walked a very long way.
Our London budget
| Expense | Cost per person |
|---|---|
| easyJet Edinburgh ↔ London Stansted return flight | £60 |
| YHA London Thameside — 2 nights | £50 |
| Oyster / London transport | £30 loaded |
| Stansted airport transfer at the time | About £16 return |
| The Shard | £10 |
| Walking | £0 |
| Breakfast + coffee | At the hostel |
| Most other food | Brought from home |
| Known major spend | About £166 |
How to replicate this London trip
The key was not finding one miraculous bargain. It was combining an early flight booking, low-cost hostel accommodation, sensible city transport and lots of walking.
We paid about £60 return per person with easyJet from Edinburgh to London Stansted.
Check easyJet fares →YHA London Thameside worked because the room was inexpensive and breakfast was available at the hostel.
Check YHA London Thameside →We walked heavily, used the Tube when needed and still paid for The Shard because it mattered to us.
Check The Shard →Getting there: Edinburgh to London
We flew from Edinburgh to London Stansted with easyJet (check current easyJet fares). Our return ticket cost around £60 per person. Booking the flight several months ahead was one of the biggest reasons the trip remained affordable.
From Stansted, we used the airport rail connection into London. Readers can check current Stansted Express fares here. Our fare at the time was about £8 each way. Airport-transfer prices are higher now, so this is one of the costs readers should always re-check before travelling.
Where we stayed: YHA London Thameside
We booked YHA London Thameside about three months in advance and paid around £50 per person for two nights. Staying outside the most expensive central areas gave us a much better accommodation price while still keeping London accessible.
Check YHA London Thameside
For current prices, room types and availability, check YHA directly. The hostel is in Rotherhithe, with public-transport links into central London.
One of our biggest budget lessons from this trip was that hostel does not automatically mean sacrificing the trip. For us, the room was mainly somewhere safe and comfortable to sleep before another long day exploring London.
Baker Street, Lord's, Downing Street and the Thames
We travelled from near the hostel to Baker Street Station. Once we reached central London, the rest of the day became a walking itinerary.
Sherlock Holmes Museum and Baker Street
We began around Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It was a useful starting point because we could connect several places without repeatedly paying for public transport.
Lord's Cricket Ground
From Baker Street we walked towards Lord's Cricket Ground. For cricket fans, it is one of London's most recognisable sporting landmarks.
10 Downing Street
Later we made our way towards 10 Downing Street, viewing the area from Whitehall.
Walking along the Thames
We finished the day with one of our favourite free activities: walking beside the River Thames.
The Shard, Canary Wharf and Hyde Park
Our paid highlight: The Shard
We paid around £10 per person to visit The Shard at the time. This was exactly the kind of experience we were happy to spend money on because we had saved elsewhere.
Canary Wharf
We also explored Canary Wharf. Its modern skyline and waterfront felt completely different from the historic parts of London we had visited the day before.
Hyde Park
We then spent a long time in Hyde Park. We walked, rested and kept walking. It became one of the longest walks of the trip — and cost us nothing.
St James's Park to Tower Bridge
Our final day was another long walking route. We started in St James's Park, continued to Buckingham Palace and headed through Trafalgar Square back towards the Thames.
Along the riverside we passed Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and the Millennium Bridge, before finishing at Tower Bridge and the Tower of London area.
Why walking made the trip work
We loaded about £30 onto our Oyster card, but we didn't automatically use the Tube every time we changed location. Our basic rule was simple:
Walking saved money, but it also showed us the streets, buildings, parks and riverside areas between the headline attractions.
How we kept London below £200
- Booked roughly three months in advance.
- Found a £60 easyJet return flight from Edinburgh.
- Stayed at YHA London Thameside for about £50.
- Had breakfast and coffee at the hostel.
- Brought much of our food from home.
- Used Oyster/public transport strategically.
- Walked extensively.
- Built free parks, neighbourhoods and riverside areas into the itinerary.
- Paid for one experience we really wanted: The Shard.
Budget traveller's quick summary
Route: Edinburgh → London Stansted
Airline: easyJet
Length: 3 days / 2 nights
Accommodation: YHA London Thameside
Return flight: £60 per person
Accommodation: £50 per person
Local transport: about £30 loaded onto Oyster
Paid highlight: The Shard — about £10 when we visited
Food strategy: hostel breakfast + coffee + food brought from home
Total target: under £200 per person
Practical guides behind this budget
More real UK budget trips
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Scotland NC500 for £600 for TwoOur London travel kit
We keep city trips light. These are items from our own kit; purchase prices are historical and may differ today.
We used our normal UK plan in London, with no separate travel SIM or add-on.
Our regular walking shoes for long sightseeing days.
Part of our three-piece Skybags set, bought through Amazon India for ₹8,000 in total.
A standard item in our travel bag on every trip.
Our go-to jacket when the forecast is changeable; we do not normally carry an umbrella.
Our regular compact crossbody options for carrying day-to-day essentials while sightseeing.
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How we kept food spending low in London
We used the hostel breakfast and carried most of our other food from home. That kept the trip focused on sightseeing instead of repeatedly paying London prices for snacks and meals.
Read our guide: how we save money by bringing food from home →
Booking options for this London itinerary
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Find a free walking tour in London
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Useful booking & planning links for London
These links take you to the businesses and official travel pages connected with our trip. Check current prices and availability before booking.
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