Tips for first time visitor in London

Travelling to the London for the first time? (DON’T DO IT! lol) Just joking! London has so many things to do, so many attractions, excellent transport system and phenomenal cuisines that can

Planning a trip to London for the first time on your own may be daunting; you need information about as how to move around the city, where to stay, what to eat, what to visit, and so on. Fortunately for you, you have a Londoner who happens to be a traveller who can help guide you to know certain things about the city before you travel (aka me).
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I have devised some tips to make your trip memorable and leave you with long lasting memories for your first time in London.

WHAT TO SEE IN LONDON

Being the capital of England, London has so many places and attractions to see for travellers. All famous attractions of the city include The Big Ben, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge (which many mistake for London Bridge), The London Eye, Platform 9 and 3/4 in Kings Cross, Buckingham Palace and many more.

You can fit in most of the main sites in 1-2 days if you are strapped for time but do not try to see everything at once as it will make your schedule hectic. For first time travellers, it is advisable to spend some time for exploring the city as well. Do not try to book tickets online in advance for everything except from your flights and accommodation. Most online sites will scam you into paying more for things than you should. (In the coming weeks I will be making lists to help you with things you can do in London to make the most of your time here)

STAY CENTRAL

What are the best places to stay in London? For first time travellers, Central London is the best place to stay. As it is nearest to all major attractions of the city. This will save your time and money.

Finding your way around London is a bit complicated for the first time so its always a good idea to stay central where everything is close. It can be quite expensive but if you plan ahead and use sites like booking.com it’ll help you offset costs. You might find thousands of hotels to choose from for your stay, but you need to do extensive research before choosing accommodation and plan places you want to go in advance then it might help narrow your choice.

Do check for ongoing deals and offers on booking accommodation online beforehand.

GET AN OYSTER CARD

The first thing you need when coming to London is an Oystercard. It will be your main way to move around within London. Oyster card is more like a credit card or prepaid card which can be used for travelling by bus, tram or tube as Transport for London (TFL) is 100percent cashless. With an oyster card, you do not need to pay every time for every single ride and there is no need to stand in queues for purchasing tickets. It will save your time and cost too, as it is relatively cheaper than single tickets. You just need to the card to the yellow reader at the stations while entering and exiting (on the tube).

For more convenience, purchase this card online before you start your trip.

EXPERIENCE THE FINE DINING

England is well known for its love of tea and you you cannot miss to experience traditional afternoon tea in the capital city. (I would definitely recommend you have afternoon tea at Saint Aymes – its black owned).

Apart from afternoon tea, you must try fish and chips from either a wetherspoons or a real chippy, British Pies and experience yummy food at the various authenticity fine dining cuisine the capital has to offer that represents the diverse culture – African, Caribbean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and many more. There are so many restaurants with a wide range of dining options in the city. Definitely try to go to the Prince of Peckham if you have a chance – a black owned pub that serves amazing food and cocktails that will have you smiling.

If you want to save time in searching good restaurant for lunch and dinner while in the city, then you must search for good restaurants online near to your hotel. (Of you can check out the All Things London section of my website #ShamelessPlug)

USE GOOGLE MAPS FOR ROUTES

Using offline google maps on your phone is the perfect option for travelling in the city. Although, London is not difficult to navigate, but using an offline map will be of great help, especially if you are travelling to London for the first time. The map will guide you for discovering the city’s attractions. You just need to login into your Gmail account and enter your destination there.

Google Maps also has a section called Local Guides where people give feedback on places around different countries to help new people navigate around to good places and avoid places with bad reviews.

SOME OTHER TIPS NOT TO MISS:

• Bring your universal travel adaptor
• Always carry an umbrella and sunglasses with you, as weather of London is unpredictable.
• Always carry a powerbank
• Buy local SIM card to make calls and access internet – you can get this for £5 in a corner shop
• WIFI is available nearly every where so if you do not want to get a sim card
• Do not pay any tip, tips are not expected in London (mainly for Americans)
• Carry a bottle of water
• Look on the right side when you cross a street (we drive on the left side of the road)
• You must experience nightlife of the London at least once – if you get a change go to Soho
• Try to avoid school breaks as these are the peak periods of travelers and prices go up
• Check out London’s weekend markets (camden market, borough market etc)
• Enjoy Hop on Hop bus tour and river cruises for exploring the city

I hope this helped you prepare for your trip to London. If you need help planning your trip check out the ‘start planning‘ page on the top right of this blog post and I can help you.

Until next week, Love and Hugs!

Tillyah x