My Top 5 Tips for a First Time London Traveler

I just recently came home from my very first solo trip to London. This was my very first trip internationally by myself and I was excited but absolutely TERRIFIED. There is a big difference in getting lost or navigating your own city and navigating somewhere completely different. And in a whole new country no less. Here are a few things I've been able to reflect on now that I have arrived home safely. Hopefully, these 5 tips will help quell some nerves of other first time travelers!

1. The tube is easier to navigate than you think.

I was so worried I was going to get lost on the Tube. (The London Underground for those who may not know). Honestly, this took up about 90 percent of my worrying. Oh my Gosh what if I get lost, I have never been anywhere with such an expansive train system. Believe me, the Tube looks a lot more complicated than it is. For one thing, there is very helpful signage everywhere. If you know what trains you need, it's very hard to get lost. Citymapper is an awesome app that I recommend you get. It's like Google Maps but it will tell you exactly what train you need, what direction to get on, where to get off and what platform and train you need next. It will tell you how much your trip will cost so you can top up your OysterCard if needed. The app even tells you what train car to sit in to make your journey easier!

2. People are willing to give you help and directions.

The people of London are pretty nice. I ended up getting lost trying to get to the other building for my Hostel. I left the main building and turned the exact wrong direction. This lovely doorman at the hotel next door saw me walk by twice and stopped me to ask if I was alright and knew where I was going. The same thing happened on the way to one of the Theaters when I was seeing a musical. Also don't be afraid to ask the people working at the Tube stations! They will help you. They are very kind and made me feel a lot better about taking the tube.

3. You can walk a lot of places instead of taking the tube.

Over the course of my trip, I think I ended up doing about 100, 000 steps. Of course, you can take buses and the tube and rent bikes but walking is a good option too! My Hostel was right by the British Museum and from there I was able to walk to a lot of different places. The longest walk I think I did was to Westminster Abbey which was about 45 minutes. The scenery is so beautiful though so sometimes it's really nice to just take a stroll down to wherever you're going.

4. Take advantage of the free things you can do!

There are a lot of free things you can do if you don't really want to splurge on some of the more expensive activities. The museums are all free to go in and are really cool. Westminster Abbey is also free if you are going to go to service there. (Even if you're not religious, I recommend this. The service was lovely.) There are also a lot of free walking tours you can do. You can find them online or there are free tours that start at 11 AM in Green Park.

5. Get a UK sim card - even if you're only there for a week.

Seriously guys. This is an absolute LIVESAVER. I was only in the UK for six days, but when I was at the airport I bought myself a sim card for my phone. You can find some pretty good deals, but I would say get something with a lot of data (at least three gigs for a short trip). You don't really need to be able to text nowadays with Whatsapp and everything so data is the most important for mapping your journeys. I got a card for about 20 pounds that came with 10 free gigs of data. (This was waaaaaaaaay too much data, but it was a pretty good deal.) You can find these in the convenience stores in the airport so you can find your way easily to where you're going!

I hope these tips help you out fellow new traveler! Remember London is a beautiful city with nice people and lots of things to do. Have an amazing trip!!