Hey all. I want to get into some of the cool things we did on our trip to the United Kingdom (and bonus Paris overnighter), but first there is more to trips than just having fun, learning about history of course. It takes planning. I’d like to share with you some tips to help make your visit to London as easy as shepherds pie.

Think twice about the pocket wifi

One of the biggest concerns in modern day traveling is whether our mobile devices will work. Besides communicating, that’s how we navigate, access tickets to activities, and even check into our hotels. You’ll want to ensure you have access to these things.

Based on the research I did, the first stop at Heathrow after getting our bags was a kiosk for pocket wifi. It is as it sounds, a little device that provides a wifi signal you stick in your pocket. I believe we paid over $150 for 17 days.

It’s fair to say it was not worth it, especially if you are not leaving the London area. The internet was slow and did not always work. The hotels we stayed at had free wifi. Plus, with our carrier (T-Mobile), we had 5G EVERYWHERE we went in the city. We didn’t even need to switch to an international plan as data and text were included. The only thing we did have to pay extra is for phone calls, but who uses phones for calls anymore?

So before you spend your money on a pocket wifi, contact your phone carrier to see if you’ll be fine with just your phone plan. Absolutely bring a portable charger though!

Pick a hotel near the tube

Hotel choices are very personal to all of us, come in wide varieties, and can differ greatly based on budget and number of travelers. There are several great areas in London to stay as well.

There is one piece of advice that applies to everyone: make sure there is a tube stop in the vicinity. London’s subway system, or tube, is the best way to get anywhere in the city not in walking distance. Choosing a hotel near a tube station can save you dearly on time.

Luckily, there are no shortage of options. We chose to stay what ended up being right above Charing Cross Station (adjacent to Trafalgar Square) and then right next to King’s Cross Station after a road trip through the UK. Both were on the Piccadilly Line, which directly connects to Heathrow Airport.

This might be the greatest advice you can get when planning your trip. The only downsides are these areas tend to be a little more touristy and may come with an increased price. But face it, you are a tourist! Still, you can ease this and the price by finding a place a couple of blocks away.

Be wary of the tours

Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who really likes tours. We booked an all day tour with a company that I was really excited about. The tour included a visit inside Westminster Abbey and also outside Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard in the morning. In the afternoon, we took a speed boat to Tower Bridge for a visit to the Tower of London.

For a history guy, this was the crown jewel of the trip. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, Westminster Abbey is amazing, the Changing of the Guard was super cool, and the Tower of London leaves you in awe.

The problem was we gained no benefit from the tour itself. The tour guide was very hard to hear and had difficulty keeping the group together. And for icing on this terrible tasting cake, tour guides aren’t even allowed in the building that holds the actual Crown Jewels!

Instead, get tickets to Westminster Abbey on your own and arrive before opening. If you plan it right, you can go directly to watch the Changing of the Guard afterwards (occurring on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays). The tour sites claim they can get you the best viewing, but that is not what we experienced as they can’t reserve spots. Get your own tickets for the Tower of London too. Included with admission is a tour with the famous Beefeaters that start every half hour and last 60 minutes.

We surely got a stinker of a tour and there are better ones out there. Skipping the tour package will save you money, time, and add flexibility.

Be ready to book in advance

London is one of the most visited city on the entire planet. There are therefore lots of people vying to do the same things you are. It is essential to book in advance the activities you want to do.

London has so many great museums, many of which are free. Though there is no cost, the most popular museums still require a reservation for timed entry. Take the Natural History Museum for example. We did get a timed entry and still waited 20 minutes to get in. The poor souls without reservations were in a separate line twice as long that wasn’t moving as fast. I actually felt a little guilty speeding past a family with little kids miserably waiting while the youngest screamed bloody murder.

Booking in advance doesn’t stop at attractions though. You’ll want to check out a London pub or two while in town. We went to several and all required a reservation to eat and sometimes to guarantee a table just for drinks. (If you choose drinks, your food options might be limited to snacks.) The reservation gives you the table for two hours. Walk ups might be available on a limited basis, but it’s a quintessential London experience you don’t want to miss out on.

Prepare to go cashless

There was a time when you left your house without paper money at your own peril. Now, it’s tricky to travel without some plastic in your wallet. On London streets, you’ll see way more street vendor signs with “No Cash Accepted” than you will indicating cards aren’t.

Besides food, lots of attractions require online payment and forego payment windows. Going even further, we experienced a lot of “tap to pay” only options. This could even be done at the tube gates!

Don’t get me wrong. London is not a cashless only city (yet). However, leaving the hotel without your card could leave you with less options.

Reserve time to leave the city

There is so much to see in London that there is not really a “need” to leave. We had eight whole days there and still somehow managed to miss the British Museum! The history doesn’t stop in London though.

The total time you have matters of course, but if you can at all manage to get out of the city then do it! There are so many options from Stonehenge to Windsor to Oxford or Cambridge. If you can mange an overnighter, then the options are nearly endless.

This is a good time to mention one glaring difference in American and British cultures. To an American, a four-hour road trip doesn’t make us bat an eye. To the British, that is literally cross-country. Think about this. If the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) were a state, it would only be the 12th largest geographically. We heard from many locals that something was really far away only to discover it was actually pretty manageable.

We rented a car since we trekked all the way up to Scotland, but places like Stonehenge and Oxford you can get to by train or charter bus.

Watch a Football Match

I get it. Soccer is not everyone’s thing. There is a good chance you rolled your eyes when you saw the title of this tip. You might even be tempted to stop reading, but don’t.

There is nothing in the world like it. We love our sports in America without a doubt. It’s on a whole other level in Europe though.

We were lucky enough to be in town for the last match day of the season. And when I say lucky, what I really mean is I planned the whole trip around getting a chance to see my Arsenal.

I could go on and on about the nuances of the sport, but will just say here that there are 20 teams in the English Premier League (the top division in English soccer) and all 10 matches the last day of the season are played simultaneously to combat match throwing. That means four games were being played at the same time in London alone. The energy in the city that day was unreal. Being at the Arsenal match was out of this world.

If you like sports, competition, or just being in a crowd full of energy, you must make it to a match. You don’t even have to go to a Premier League match as there are lower divisions with teams in London that are just as passionate. The biggest hurdle will be that the season runs basically parallel to the school schedule (August to May).

Have you been to London?

That’s all the tips I have for you. There are loads more, but didn’t want to overwhelm you! I hope you find these useful if you travel to London in the near future. Please let me know in the comments if you’ve had the pleasure to travel to London and have additional tips.