How much does it cost to travel to London? (2026)
Budget, mid-range and luxury daily estimates for London, in USD and GBP.
Daily and weekly costs
| Tier | Per day (USD) | Per day (GBP) | 7 days (USD) | 7 days (GBP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BudgetHostel bed, cheap meals, public transport | $105 | £80 | $735 | £560 |
| Mid-rangeThree-star hotel, restaurants, some taxis | $245 | £190 | $1,715 | £1,300 |
| LuxuryFour- or five-star hotel, dining out | $520 | £390 | $3,640 | £2,800 |
Every amount in this table is an estimateestimate, derived from the World Bank price level for United Kingdom rather than quoted by any seller.
How this is calculated
A US baseline of 90, 210 and 450 USD a day for the three tiers is multiplied by the price level of United Kingdom (0.8915815920441145, World Bank 2025) and by a city-size factor of 1.3, then rounded to the nearest 5 dollars. Local amounts use the World Bank exchange rate of 0.759473957338608 GBP to the dollar, rounded to two significant digits.
These are modeled estimates, not quoted prices. Read the full formula on the methodology page.
Sample prices in London
Typical prices, every one an estimateestimate rather than a quoted price.
Hostel dorm bed
estimate for a shared room in a budget hostel
$38
Budget hotel double room
estimate for a no-frills private room, per night
$150
Cheap meal
estimate for a casual lunch or takeaway meal
$15
Mid-range restaurant meal
estimate for two courses with a drink
$35
Local transport day pass
estimate for unlimited bus and subway travel for one day
$10
Coffee
estimate for a standard espresso-based drink at a café
$5
Attraction ticket
estimate for entry to a typical museum or landmark
$28
Prepaid SIM card
estimate for a tourist SIM with about a week of data
$25
Where the money goes
The three daily tiers reflect very different ways of spending time in the city. At $105 a day, a traveler is mostly paying for a hostel bed, cheap meals, and local transport, with little left for extras. At $245, the mid-range tier allows for a private room, restaurant meals, and an occasional paid attraction, while the $520 luxury tier covers upgraded lodging, dining, and more frequent paid activities, adding up to $3,640 over a full week.
The cheapest stretch of the year falls in January, February, and December, when the city is quieter and travelers may find lower prices on lodging in particular. All figures here, including the daily and weekly totals and the individual cost items, are estimates meant to guide planning rather than fixed prices, since actual costs vary by neighborhood, season, and personal spending habits.
Cheapest months by climate demand: Jan, Feb and Dec.
Keep reading
More on London
Sources
- GeoNames city database — CC BY 4.0, fetched September 14, 2026
- World Bank price level and exchange rate — CC BY 4.0, data year 2025
AI-written interpretation reviewed against the data above — claude-sonnet-5, generated September 21, 2026. Every number on this page comes from a dataset named here; the formulas are public.