In article , Chan WK
writes
Hi netters,

A lady friend will be travelling to London for a two-weeks training
programme. Would appreciate comments on how much she should budget for
based on following info :


She is welcome to London.

a) will fly into UK around July-August timeframe
b) probably take train from/to airport to/from London city centre to
save cost

From Heathrow take the 'tube' (subway) into central London - cheap but
takes around an hour. An alternative is the Heathrow Express train which
is very fast but costs about 3 times as much as the tube (£15 IIRC)

c) training venue is University College of London (for
"histology-related work". Not sure which campus at this stage)
d) she is not a frequent traveller, so preferably staying at somewhere
close to UCL

UCL - main campus is on Gower Street - just off the Euston Road. Close
to a number of hotels. Obvious choices are the Hotel Ibis Euston (near
Euston train station so 10 min walk to UCL) or the Euston Road Travel
Lodge which is a couple of minutes further away. Both are clean, secure
and reasonably priced.


Some transport-related questions :
1) what is the mean of getting around in London, as well as to/from
the airport?

The tube is the cheapest and best method of transport but is crowded in
the peak periods in central London. If yoru friend is staying close to
UCL then walking is easy.

2) how much will it cost? (assuming not taking taxi which I was told
is prohibitively expensive - she does have budget constraints)


£4 buys you a central zones travelcard for travel after 9.30pm for the
whole day and includes the bus too.

Some probably off-topic questions :
3) how much for accommodation which is close to UCL? (to minimize
travelling effort for her safety)

Search the web but check the location of the hotel and what it is like
as there are some real dives in London.

4) how much for meals?


£3 for a McDonalds up to £300. Pubs do good food from £5 upwards -
plenty of snack shops for a sandwich at lunchtime.

Please bear with me since I have never been to London before, hence
all these detail questions. TIA.

--
Andrew
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