Planning a visit to London? Gillian Vine suggests ways of keeping down costs.
Wherever you go, the four main costs when holidaying are transport, accommodation, meals and sightseeing. Researching the best-value options will bring significant savings.
This is especially true if you plan to visit the United Kingdom and Europe this year, as the Olympics in London is expected to push up prices throughout the region, not just the English capital.
Now that Air Asia has pulled its ultra-cheap flights to London and Paris, long-haul flights are on full-service airlines, with meals and entertainment included in the fare. Several - among them the highly regarded Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines - offer stopover packages at their hub cities(Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore), which can be a cost-effective way of breaking your journey.
Taxes gobble up a chunk of what you pay to travel and the United Kingdom has to be the world's greediest when it comes to gathering revenue from travellers. In 2011, the British Government announced its Air Passenger Duty (APD) would increase in April from $170 to $185 per New Zealand-bound passenger travelling economy from a British airport, while business and first-class travellers would be socked about $350.
Going into the United Kingdom, tax has been paid ex New Zealand but it is on the return journey that APD - calculated according to distance travelled - kicks in.
The good news is there are ways, all legal, to reduce or eliminate the APD you pay. If you buy a through ticket and include a stopover of 24 hours or more, the Brits charge only the tax to the interim destination. Stop for a break in Dubai going home and your APD drops to £65 ($128). Do the same in Amsterdam and it shrinks to £13 ($25.60).
There are no departure taxes on travel by rail or ferry, so travelling to Paris on the high-speed Eurostar train from London is likely to be cheaper than flying, with one-way fares from £38 ($74.88). Depending on how long you are prepared to spend on the train - the journey to Amsterdam, for example, takes more than four hours - you can pick up flights to New Zealand from several European cities.
Another way to avoid APD is to head to Dublin - a ferry from the Welsh port of Holyhead costs $95 - and catch Emirates' new service out of the Irish capital.
Their fares are quite competitive, too.
Getting around
Travel isn't just about air fares.
Getting around can be costly. For travel in London, buy an Oyster card, which can be used on bus, tube, tram, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), London Overground and National Rail services within the London travel zones.
Visitor Oyster cards can be bought before you leave home.
Travelcards are paper tickets, valid for one or seven days. They give unlimited access to the tube, buses, trams, DLR and National Rail services within the London travel zones.
If you're going further afield, consider investing in a Britrail pass, which must be bought outside the United Kingdom. A Flexipass gives four, eight or 15 days unlimited, non-consecutive rail travel in England.
For eight days, $587 for a second-class pass or $883 for first class ($747 if you're 60-plus) may sound expensive but English rail travel is pricey (£177 - almost $350 - at peak times for a first-class London-York ticket, for example).
Cheaper fares usually involve travelling at unsociable hours but the Britrail passes are valid for travel at any time, day or night.
Except for major services, many trains no longer have first-class carriages. Last year, I travelled in the north of England on a first-class pass but the only first-class carriages were on the train I took back to London, so a second-class Britrail pass would have been adequate. A child under 16 can tag along for nothing, which adds to the value of the Britrail pass. There are also passes that cover Scotland, Wales and Ireland (including Eire).
A cheaper alternative is coach travel but this takes at least twice as long as rail to get between major cities. However, fares are much lower - National Express fares between York and London start at £10.50 ($20.70) - and can be prebooked and paid before you leave home.
Car hire costs from about $40 a day, depending on factors such as vehicle size. Driving on the motorways around London and other large cities can be a nightmare, so if you're doing most of your driving in, say, East Anglia, taking public transport to Cambridge or Norwich and picking up a hire car there could reduce the stress and may bring down costs.
A place to stay and food
With hotel rooms costing from about $180 to $1000-plus a night, London can be an expensive place to lay your weary head.
Some travel agents offer excellent deals in association with airline tickets - a reason for using a travel agent instead of booking online - but however you go about it, advance booking is strongly recommended, as reasonably priced rooms are in short supply at peak times.
My pick for value in London is base2stay in Kensington.
What makes it exceptional is the nightly rate (from £95) is for a room, not per guest.
The hotel has 67 rooms, all non-smoking. Four have private patios and several have disabled access.
Within easy walking distance of base2stay are Kensington Palace and Gardens, the Natural History Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Albert Hall. And it's a two-minute walk to Earls Court tube station, where the Piccadilly line will take you to Heathrow airport for £5.30 cash or as little as £1.40 if you have an Oyster card.
Some hotels advertise themselves as bed-and-breakfast establishments, but for a more personal touch, look for a small one operated by a home owner.
My favourite is Bed & Breakfast in Barnes, conveniently close to a major route through London, but in a peaceful street. Rates are from £37.50 for a single room, double or twin from £65 and owner Stella Mason provides generous cooked breakfasts.
Worth checking out for stay-put holidays is www.housetrip.com, which recently entered the London market and claims "anyone can book a whole apartment or villa for the price of a hotel room".
Sightseeing
Lots can be seen for nothing, so don your comfy shoes and start walking.
On a fine day, walking or cycling alongside the Thames is a pleasant way to stretch your legs, as is a stroll in St James Park, the oldest royal park in London, but it can get a tad crowded.
A quieter place for a brisk walk or cycle is another royal park, Richmond, where the descendants of Charles I's fallow and red deer herds roam the 10ha walled area.
Indoors, the best freebie is the British Museum, whose collection of art and artefacts is mind-blowing, but the Museum of London - overlooking the remains of a Roman wall -comes a very close second for the way it traces the city's sometimes turbulent history.
The first time I went to St Paul's Cathedral, there was no charge but these days - unless you're there to attend a church service - you'll be charged £14.50 ($29) per adult and 4.50 for a child.
For the budget-conscious, the London Pass is an economical way to see the sights and avoid long queues at 55 popular attractions. It comes in one, two, three or six-day options and costs from £46 for a one-day adult pass (£54 if you opt for the one that includes travel) to £89.10 ($139.10) for a six-day pass.
The London Pass is activated the first time you use it and a day is a calendar day, so don't start at 4pm; get going bright and early to maximise value.
Be aware, too, that a card can be used only once at any attraction and that it is loaded with what is called "purse value" (from £80 on a one-day pass to 480 for the six-day version). This means that, on a one-day card, when you have visited places whose entrance fees total £80, your card expires.
If your passion is stately homes and gardens, invest in membership of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The card now gives free admission to English Heritage attractions as well as National Trust properties in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The annual sub ($64 per person or $45 if you're over 60) is less than the average entry fee to three historic places, making it great value.
On the net
- Places to stay: www.bandbinbarnes.com, www.base2stay.com, www.housetrip.com
- Getting around: Transport for London's visitor cards - http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk; Britrail passes - http://www.railplus.co.nz; coach travel - www.nationalexpress.com.
- Sightseeing: London Pass - www.londonpass.com; freebies - http://www.londonforfree.net and http://www.walklondon.org.uk have suggestions for self-guided walks; NZ Historic Places Trust - http://www.historic.org.nz.
Other tips
- Pay as much as you can before leaving home. This avoids currency fluctations and ensures credit-card bills are not quite as daunting when you return.
- Don't forget travel insurance. Shop around to get the best deal, don't necessarily go with the one your travel agency suggests.
- Get a pre-loaded debit card: Instead of travellers' cheques, banks now issue cards pre-loaded with money in the currency of your choice. (Kiwibank cards can take up to five currencies but most banks offer only one per card.)
