In total, I spent 10 days in London, Oxford, and Birmingham and I also took a day trip to Bath. I studied abroad in London over a decade ago and visited again last year, so this trip allowed me to focus a little less on touristy experiences and more on the must-eat, see, and do items that most visitors probably don't even think about. Here are some things I learned along the way, including some I wish I'd known sooner.
These sites are also available as free apps that you can download onto your phone, and if you're someone like me who always needs things planned ahead of time (or who's always nervous about potentially getting lost) then you'll find them to be a complete godsend.
Also, if you know you'll be traveling via trains or any other public transport where you'll need to purchase a seat ahead of time, make sure you do it as soon as possible. My train tickets would have cost $50 more if I'd bought them at the station the day off, rather than weeks in advance, so it definitely helps to plan things out.
This tip is a little more tedious and involves some trial and error, but it could potentially save you hundreds of dollars. Most sites let you change languages at the top of their webpage, but you can also try to manually change the country's domain page yourself (for example, trivago.com would change to trivago.co.uk if you wanted to search specifically for hotels in the UK).
In the photo above, I booked identical fake flights at the same exact time via a Peruvian airline. I kept one incognito tab in English using USD, and I changed the country selection to Peru in the other tab. This particular booking was over $50 cheaper in English, and in the past I've seen it where it's more expensive in English, so it always pays to check.
I've tried a few other conversion apps before, but I like this one because it also has a built-in calculator. That means it's especially helpful when traveling as a group because you can easily break down restaurant bills and figure out how much each person needs to pay or Venmo.
I also used this app when I visited Cadbury World in Birmingham. I bought all the chocolate bars we don't get in the US so I could do a taste-test and rank them. I ended up getting over 20 different bars, so I used this app while roaming the gift shop to make sure I didn't go over budget in US dollars. If you're someone who's always extra attentive about how much they spend while traveling (or if you just hate doing math), then I highly recommend it.
I obviously didn't need to use Google Translate on my trip through England, but I did use it nonstop on a trip to Paris over the summer, and my jaw genuinely dropped at how immediate and accurate the results were. I spent six months trying to learn French on Duolingo, but this translation app helped me so much more than I thought I'd need it.
Similarly, the Google Maps app prevented me from getting lost every time I left my hotel. It also helped me find a nearby park to run in while staying at The Randolph in Oxford, which made me feel like a local. Essentially, the app uses a satellite to pinpoint your exact location (again, even if you're in airplane mode!). I'd just add in each new location ahead of time, and whenever I opened the app it'd highlight where I was, where my destination was, and exactly which direction I needed to walk in to get there. I'm one of the most anxious people I know, and this app completely calmed my nerves while solo traveling, which I didn't think would be possible.
My friends and I took a day trip to Bath, and I just know we would have been absolutely miserable if it was too cold or rainy outside (especially since we had a walking tour set up). Bad weather is enough to make anyone want to cancel their original plans and replace them with something new, so if there's something you really have your eye on while abroad you should always do it immediately. Luckily the weather was good, and we walked around Bath until we discovered my now-favorite afternoon tea in England (at The Roseate Villa). I'll be dreaming about their homemade scones for a longggg time.
Nora Ephron's I Remember Nothing has completely changed the way I travel. In her collection of essays, she talks about the things she will (and will not) miss in life, one of them being "dinners with friends in cities where none of us lives." I always found this so poetic and sobering, especially since she was secretly battling a rare form of leukemia at the time and was quickly facing her own mortality. So, to honor Nora and to celebrate myself, I save my money to splurge on meals instead of overcrowded tourist traps that I'd otherwise feel obligated to visit.
In fact, my favorite night in London had nothing to do with old monuments or sightseeing. Instead, my friends and I got dressed up and ordered suuuuper strong martinis at DUKES (aka where Ian Fleming got the inspiration for James Bond's famous drink order). We then walked down the street to 45 Jermyn St. for dinner, got even more tipsy, and shared a bunch of plates. The lobster pasta was pure heaven, and I couldn't stop thinking about how fortunate I was to be sharing a great meal in a foreign country with friends. Experiences like this will always be more memorable and valuable to me than seeing any famous painting or statue.
Airlines have unfortunately decided to cram as many seats as possible onto planes, which means they don't actually have enough overhead storage when flights are full. If you're not in an early boarding zone then you're pretty much screwed, and they'll often ask you to check your bag for free. Well, not anymore. I was able to pre-board all of my flights thanks to this tip from my new favorite gate agent.
Sometimes I think the key to life is to just play dumb (which isn't always a stretch for me). Basically, after saying hi and asking the gate agent how their day is going, I always say some version of, "I don't know how this works, but I've never flown in business class before, and I was just wondering if there's any possibility of a free upgrade." I'm not an outgoing person and normally hate talking to strangers, but I'll do just about anything for the chance to sit in luxury instead of in the back of a crammed flight.
The agents have always been more than happy to walk me through everything and turn their screens around to show me the flight's seating map, and together we figure out the best seating options that are available.
The goal of a vacation is to relax, but I personally can't do that until I actually arrive at my destination. So, aside from having the PDF with all my documents (and printing out a physical copy, just in case [hey, maybe your phone will die or get stolen or something! You never know!), I also email everything to myself in a single thread. This way I won't have to search through my entire inbox for 10 separate emails of random bookings that were made days, weeks, or even months ago.
Nothing is worse than needing a specific piece of info ASAP but not being able to find it, so having a copy of everything in your Notes or Books app is truly next-level. Doing this has saved me from soooo many unnecessary headaches.
I think this is super helpful for people who know they want to travel somewhere but don't necessarily have a destination in mind. I've used this method for solo travel in the past, but I also think it's really helpful for both budget and group travel. Like, maybe you have group of friends who all have different destinations in mind – using this "anywhere" method lets you see the cheapest options and dates, and it'll help you plan the best, most affordable trips possible.
Hopper is a great app for discounted flights and hotels in general, but if you're ever booking a trip during the end of the year then I'd absolutely wait until November 28th. Last year, this specific day saw more flight deals than Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday combined, so, like, you'll definitely find something.
A lot of these hotel and travel companies offer membership discounts simply for creating a free account. Others even include referral rewards, so if your friend or family member books a stay using your referral link then you'll both get extra discounts. Basically, there are a million ways to save, so always look at all of your options!
I love traveling because it gives me the opportunity to try new cuisines and dishes that I've never even heard of before, and balti was definitely that new experience for me on this trip. Only, like, three authentic balti restaurants are left in Birmingham (my friends and I went to Shababs, and their "table naan" was, in fact, the size of our entire table), so I felt like I got a taste of history.
If you don't know, balti is basically a curry that's cooked in a super thin, steel bowl (aka a balti bowl), and it's some of the most flavorful food you'll ever have. I'm someone who prides myself in being able to handle a LOT of spice, and I was able to hold my own, but the restaurant makes each dish as spicy as you want, so consider this your warning. Again, tourism sites can be so helpful when planning a vacation, but I feel like they're often overlooked, so don't count them out completely.
Smartphones are a lifesaver while abroad, but if you're like me and travel in airplane mode because you don't want to pay for an international plan or roaming fees then you need to be clever. Pre-saving a hi-res pic of London's subway system to my phone made everything so convenient, and it kept me from going the wrong way so many times. I'm the kind of traveler who wants to know how many stops I have until I arrive at my destination, so being able to confirm with my handy map really calmed my nerves.
Also, in terms of saving space in your suitcase, you should never pack more than three pairs of shoes (and that includes the one you're wearing!). I stole this tip from Samantha Brown, who's hosted sooooo many shows on the Travel Channel for a reason. According to her, when you're packing you should always start with comfort first. This will help you figure out whether or not you really need your stylish-but-bulky shoes that, let's face it, you WANT to wear on vacation but never will.
Your first shoe should be designed for comfort because of how much walking you'll be doing, the second shoe is location-specific (so, like, if it's going to be snowing or raining a lot wherever you're going), and the third shoe should be a little nicer for evenings out. Flat shoes and sandals are always a bonus because they make for easy storage and barely take up any room. Just remember that the goal is to be practical!
Insulated water bottles are obviously great at keeping cold liquids cold – I was so thankful I had one during my day trip to Bath – but if you're someone who likes to savor their morning coffee then I'd highly recommend filling one up before spending several hours at a museum or on a walking tour. This will keep it hot throughout your entire morning, instead of just the first 15 minutes.
As for the compact umbrella, I'd recommend getting one that also has a vent flap at the top (mine was, like, $18 on Amazon and has lasted over a year already). That flap makes them way more wind-resistant and will help prevent the umbrella from breaking or turning inside out.
Also, this may be obvious, but you should always let your credit card company know when you'll be traveling abroad (you can quickly do this over the phone or by logging into their site online). I spent a week in Paris last year, and my card randomly stopped working at a restaurant in quartier chinois. I thought it was flagged as fraud, but for some reason it just didn't work at ~that~ particular restaurant. They obviously wouldn't accept American dollars as payment (though you should always carry some with you, just in case!), but luckily I brought a debit card and could withdraw money from a nearby ATM. Basically, always be prepared with a backup...and then have a backup for your backup.
Do you really want to wheel a massive suitcase across the cobblestones of Rome while searching for your hotel? What about lugging it up and down the stairs of a subway station in Paris or New York City? I don't think so. Most international flights allow you one bookbag + one carry-on before having to check a bag, so sticking to this personal limit may save you a lot of time, money, and headaches. I was especially thankful for my light packing after landing from a redeye at Heathrow and then still having several hours of travel ahead of me. It also made traveling home and unpacking that much more convenient and easy. Your future self will thank you for the smaller suitcase and lighter packing, I promise.