Traveling is great—until you’re stuck in a new place without knowing what to do and having nowhere to go. This is especially true if you’re in one of the most popular tourist locations where street crimes and scams are just as popular—like London!
As one of the most stunning places in the whole world, London sure has a lot to offer. With its vibrant street life, majestic architecture, entertainment that doesn’t stop, delicious food, and endless shopping options, it’s one of the best places to go for a holiday.
With so much to do, it’s crystal clear why so many people are in absolute love with London. However, London comes with a darker side. With so many people visiting the city for the first time, it’s easy to get confused and make mistakes, costing visitors more than they were prepared to pay. These could include over-tipping, or not using a UK VPN to connect to public Wi-Fi networks.
To make sure you have a safe and happy London trip, let’s take a look at the 5 most common mistakes people make and how to avoid them.
Not getting an Oyster card
Tube rides are one of the best ways to get around London—until you have to pay for every single ride. It’s a tad bit expensive to get on again and again, not to mention, queuing up to get tickets is time-consuming.
The best solution for this is to get yourself an Oyster card. You can easily get one at any of your local tube or transport stations. All you have to do is to load them up, and they’re ready to use for your next trip.
It’s recommended to start with £20, which should be enough for four days, and keep adding more balance to it as you use the card.
Over tipping
Tipping is a big thing in many parts of the world. In some countries, people tip almost as much as they pay because it’s considered rude to leave a lesser tip. This is especially true for fancier restaurants. Now, tipping is excellent, but London is already an expensive city and tipping a significant amount every time you eat out or not knowing the tipping culture could end up eating a lot of your travel budget. It could cost you the money you could have used for another fun experience.
The truth is that in London, people don’t tip a lot; it’s not a very active part of the London restaurant culture. Knowing that you may as well save up on tipping on all your London lunches and dinners and put your money towards a souvenir—no one will mind!
One thing to know is that some restaurants can add a ‘gratuity to your total bill without talking to you about it. Don’t be embarrassed to ask about it. You can even get it removed if you want—no one will judge you for it.
Paying way too much for a room
As discussed before, London is an expensive city, and a vacation can put a pretty decent dent in your bank account if you’re planning on setting your living up in a hotel for the duration of your stay, it’s easy to go broke.
Because London has plenty of tourist attractions, even mid-level hotels are pretty expensive. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when visiting London is paying for a mid-range hotel when you’re not looking for lavish accommodations.
Instead, go for hostels, bed and breakfasts and even rentable flats to hold your stuff and rest during your trip. These are much cheaper, often come with food included, and will help you save money to spend on experiences, rather than just accommodations.
Not using a VPN
Someone’s data is hacked into every 39 seconds, and most of these are people who have been using public Wi-Fi to access the internet. This is because public Wi-Fis are easier to break into and provide easy access to all connected devices.
Now, it’s unrealistic to cut out public Wi-Fi access because airports and cafes are a great way to connect to the internet for free when you’re working on the go, and London has several such spots. A better way to connect to these spots safely is by using a VPN. If you’re looking to subscribe to a service try Ivacy VPN. You can download VPN and use the free trial version before making the actual purchase.
Not paying attention to the road orientation
Most first-time visitors don’t immediately realize that England has a different road orientation than other parts of the world, including the USA. This is why most places have huge blocks of text directing where to look when you’re standing on the side of a road.
Now that you know what mistakes to not make in London let us know how your trip goes!
