London Feature | Visiting London?

London is a very big and very popular city, that hundreds of thousands of people visit every single year. But if you are planning a trip to London, whether it's a family holiday or an educational trip, I've compiled a list of things you should probably know before you do come. 
Things that I wish somebody had told me before coming here, and mainly ways to stop you from being shouted at by people on their way to work!

- Beware of pick pockets. 
They are everywhere! And they know a tourist when they see it, if you are in central London especially. Ways to avoid them include, not keeping belongings in pockets, but always in a bag preferably with a zip that you keep an eye on at all times! Don't leave things unattended ever! You will not get it back, I promise you! Always carry cards rather than cash, and try to limit the amount of possessions you do take out with you if you can. Don't let them ruin your trip!

- Do you research
In London there are thousands of food places, tourist shops, tourist attractions. Some great, some bad. 
When it comes to eating out in London, I'd advise downloading the Tripadvisor app beforehand. It's a very quick way of seeing what other people have said about the place before eating there. There are some very bad place in London and they are tourist traps. They are sometimes cheap for a reason. Tourist shops are the same, there are thousands of them selling that same 'I Love London' jumper, have a look around before buying things, you may save some money. 

- Never buy tickets for anything on the street
If you're planning a trip to the theatre whilst in London, nine times out of ten you will probably see people trying to sell you tickets at amazing prices dotted around Leicester Square. Never buy from them! It's worth paying a little bit more to assure the tickets are legit!

- Always keep left in tube stations
A simple rule that Londoners live by and get very annoyed at tourists for not doing. You will save yourself many sighs and angry looks by doing this. However, keep in mind that it is the right on escalators. Confusing I know! 

- Beware of 'homeless' people
I'm not by any means saying that all of the 'homeless' people are not homeless. But I can assure you that not all of them are. If you are prone to feeling guilty everytime you see a homeless person, then be prepared. They are everywhere in London, and if you give money to every single one you see, then prepare to be penniless by the end of your day.

-  Never leave baggage unattended
I briefly touched on this, but especially in Central London I cant express how important this is. Tube stations can sometimes have emergency evacuations because of this! 

- Check the weather
Kind of an obvious one I know. But London weather can be completely unpredictable. I know it's known to be cold, but it is also prone to completely changing throughout the day, one minute rain, the next minute sunny! Always carry an umbrella and take a coat just in case. 

And lastly, enjoy! It's a great city with a lot of history, it's crazy busy and tiring, but as long as you don't mind crowds and take some of these tips with you, you'll love it. 

London Feature | Dos & Donts

Planning a trip to somewhere you've never been can be difficult if you don't know how the city works. I've already touched on a few tips and tricks to keep in mind for your visit to London, but I always wanted to give you a little bit of advice to keep in mind of what to do and what not to do.

Enjoy!

DO

- Look for deals!

Use sites such as Groupon, Wowcher, LivingSocial, VoucherCloud, to look for deals, everything from restaurant deals to 2 for 1 attractions, you can always find cheaper alternatives if you take the time to do your research.

- Pack light

Even if you don't want to, you probably will shop whilst in London. It's impossible not to, even if you're here on more of an educational visit, you will come home with memorabilia, so make sure you save yourself some suitcase space. 

- Book in advance

This may seem like an obvious one, but even I mess up with this sometimes.

Sometimes its easy to underestimate how busy central London will be, and if you on a whim decide that your family of 5 fancies eating at a certain restaurant you may be faced with waiting an hour for a table. It's always worth it to book before the hunger pangs kick in!

- Carry change
This comes as a shock to many people that visit London, but if you're in a train/tube station or even sometimes just in public, you have to pay to use the toilet. It only costs around 30p but you're better safe than sorry to carry just a small amount of change with you.

DONT

- Travel during rush hour!

If you can avoid it, then do.

Don't travel between 8-9am and 6-7pm, not only will you massively regret it, but it will probably take double the amount of time to get to wherever you're going.

- Look for hotels in Central London

I know that the idea of staying in a hotel overlooking Oxford Street may be sound perfect, but trust me, it will be a bad idea. Not only will you pay probably 10x more, but travelling through heaps of people with luggage will not be worth it.

Do your research, look for hotels a little bit further out but still with easy access to tourist attractions. Not only will you save money, but only after you've witnessed a busy Oxford Street, will you know the pain!

- Be roped in by sales people

They are everywhere, whether they want to sell you cheap theatre tickets, sign you up to a charity or force you into their restaurant with a 10% voucher. 

Take the time to plan your day, where you will eat, what you will do, book everything in advance and you will be fine and not risk being scammed or being pressured to eat something you don't really fancy. 

London Feature | Tips for the Tube

The tube. Probably every London residents nemesis. 

The tube can be a horrible place 90% of the time, but if I've tried to make a small list of tips and tricks to make it slightly more bearable for you if you are planning a trip to the city any time soon. 

- Always have your oyster/ticket ready

There is nothing worse than if a tourist (or sometimes not a tourist) has got to the front of the queue for the tube and are having to rustle through their bag for their ticket. The amount of death stares and sighs you will receive from the queue behind you will not be worth it, I promise. If you know you're about to enter a tube station always have your oyster or travelcard in your hand ready for the barriers!

- Always carry sanitiser and tissue

If you ever did your research about how many people use the tube and how many germs there are on the tube, you probably wouldn't use it.

So just to rest your mind, always carry sanitiser, tissue is also a good one to keep in your bag, just in case!

- Don't use the tube map to judge distance

Something I had to learn early on, the tube map can be quite overwhelming, and tube stations that are next to eachother on the map, may well be half an hour apart. It can be a couple of minutes walk, but unless you know London quite well and know where you're going, I wouldn't advise walking between stations.

- Always have water

Quite soon after I first moved here, I almost passed out in the heat of the tube, there is very little ventilation and so many people crammed in to such a small place, that it can definitely take its toll. A shop might be 4 sets of escalators away, so be sure to have one in your bag at all time, just to be safe. 

- Never try to get on a tube if the doors are closing

Something everybody I know hates is when a person will try to run and jump on the tube as the doors are closing, not only is it highly dangerous, but it also delays everybody elses journey. The tubes run every few minutes so you're better off waiting for the next one.

- Be aware of other people

You may only be going one stop but always try to conscious of other passengers, don't play music outloud, don't let your children run around crazily, stand up if you see somebody less able to stand needing a seat. It may be common sense but I witness some of these things everyday and it just makes every bodies lives easier. 

- Check TFL

TFL stands for Transport for London, and it will be your best friend if you are travelling anywhere in London. It's a website and app that will plan your journey for you, using the quickest routes, and also tell you if any of the tubes are not running or are delayed. It will save you so much time, trust me.