London on the cheap

[Greedyfly]

Hi there we go to London once a year and always end up spending a bomb. I have carefully planned this years trip with lots of free museums etc... But I wanted to know if there are any other ways to save cash getting into the Zoo & Aquarium etc.. I have heard of the 2for1 thing that national rail are doing - Problem is my rail tickets are for 4 days, and according to the website you have to have a ticket valid for the day you visit the attraction! Would it work if I were to buy a cheap single for a couple of �'s for that day to get in? Anyone know any great websites where I can get money off places to go? Thanks

[Greedyfly]

Ps - does this work too?
http://www.discountbritain.net/

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

I've answered another question about the 2-for-1 rail offer and, as I read it, the offer is valid throughout the validity of the ticket, not just on the dates of travel. For example, if you have a Saver ticket, it's valid for a month from the outbound date. You can use it, to obtain the discount, at any time during that period. So, if you've got tickets which show out on Date A, and back on Date B, you should be able to get the discounts at anytime between 'A' & 'B'. (I also used to run a railway station. Customers would occasionally ask the same question and I would give my interpretation of the rules. The few customers who were kind enough to report back on their experiences all reported that they'd had no difficulty obtaining the discount. I even managed to get some 2-for-1 admissions by simply showing my rail staff pass).

[Buenchico]

Discount Britain (and similar offers) are fine if you're sure that you really want to spend most of your time visiting museums (and other tourist attractions) which charge an admission fee. You also need to be aware that some of the places they give discounted admission to are often well outside the central London tourist area. The only way to know if these discounts will be worthwhile for you is to plan a schedule of visits and see what you'd save.

Normally, to save money on travel in London, you should buy an Oystercard. However, if you intend to take some river trips, you should be aware that many river operators give you a third off their fares if you present either a Travelcard or an Oystercard charged with a Travelcard. (An Oystercard charged with cash doesn't get you the discount). So it might be worth buying a Travelcard for one or two day's travel.

For a really good 3-course meal, at really cheap prices, try a branch of Bistro 1:
http://www.bistro1.co.uk/
(For example, at lunchtime, you could have a starter of Smoked Duck salad served with mixed berry coulis, a main course of Fillet of Sea Bream served with mashed potato& smoked salmon with saffron cream sauce, finished off with Tiramisu for just �7.50).

Chris

[Greedyfly]

Thanks alot Chris - always a great help!