London for less: Here's how to save some pounds in the British capital

I timed it wrong, landing in London recently just as the U.S. dollar slumped to a near-record low against the pound.

That made the British capital more dizzyingly expensive than ever. How bad? Try $8 for a short subway ride, almost $200 a night for a "budget" hotel room, $4 for a basic Big Mac (no fries, no drink). Even a bunk in a youth hostel can cost $40 a night.

Once I stopped sputtering at the prices, I began figuring out how to avoid bankrupting myself during my late-winter visit. For those heading to London — which remains a top overseas destination for Americans despite the high costs — here are some ways to save:

Airfares

To get cheaper airline tickets, don't go in summer. It will be tough to find a Seattle-London roundtrip in July and August for less than $1,200. Fly in the off-season, especially from late October into February (except Christmas), when prices can drop by half or a third. But all airfares are surging because of high fuel prices.

One way to save: Get a mileage-award seat. That can be tough to find in summer unless you book many months ahead, but keep trying. I easily got mileage seats on British Airways just a month ahead of my late-February trip using Alaska Airlines partner miles.

Tips

• Northwest Airlines begins a Seattle-London nonstop flight on June 1 and is giving bonus mileage for June and July flights. Many other airlines will start flying between the U.S. and Europe now that the international "Open Skies" accord on airline routes has opened up competition, so shop around.

• The Web site FareCompare.com can be a useful way to get an idea of airfares to London over weeks or months (but be aware that it doesn't show some hefty taxes and surcharges up front). Also check fares through Web sites such as Kayak.com and individual airlines' sites.

• London's Heathrow Airport opened its new Terminal 5, where British Airways is based, in late March. The glass-walled terminal looks great, but its opening days have been disastrous, with computer and baggage-handling breakdowns causing hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of lost bags. Once fixed, Terminal 5 will be far more pleasant than Heathrow's other aged terminals and ease the airport's notorious overcrowding.

Cheaper sleeps

Avoid London's sky-high hotel prices by staying with a relative, a friend, a friend-of-friends. Can't get anybody's spare bedroom or couch? Try these money-saving options:

Back to the dorms: Some London universities rent dorm rooms to travelers in summer (and at Easter). Rooms are bare and simple, bathrooms are often shared, but the price is right, sometimes as low as $65 for a private room in the heart of London. You can get rooms with kitchenettes and private bathrooms (the British call them en suite), and some residences offer free breakfast. Among those to check:

• The London School of Economics has some of the best residences in the heart of London: www.lse.ac.uk/collections/vacations/ Its Passfield Hall, Grosvenor House Studios and Northumberland House all have excellent locations near the British Museum or the theater district.

• Other dorms to check: King's College Residences, www.kcl.ac.uk (search for "summer accommodation"), and University College London: www.ucl.ac.uk/residences/.

Hostels, budget hotels: Youth hostels offer very basic, bunk-bed dorms, but some have private rooms for couples and families; most also have communal kitchens. London has dozens of hostels, including those run by Hostelling International, www.hihostels.com/. Its new London Central hostel opened in February and costs about $40 a night per person. Be sure to read guests' online ratings of each hostel to learn the good, bad and ugly.

For other low-cost lodgings, check the official British tourism site, www.visitbritain.us (click on "accommodation," then "budget and student"), or phone its U.S. office at 800-462-2748. You also can search for B&Bs on its Web site; they're generally more economical than hotels, plus you get breakfast.

A reasonably priced hotel (by London standards) that's popular with American travelers is the Penn Club, a Quaker outpost near the British Museum, www.pennclub.co.uk/. A simple room for two is about $200 a night, less for rooms with shared bathrooms or one-person rooms. However, such a price induced me to contact old friends in London and stay with them, saving a bundle.

When searching for lodgings, get other travelers' reviews at TripAdvisor, www.tripadvisor.com, where guests post comments on hotels, or at the similar European travel site Venere, www.venere.com.

Tips

• If you're in London for more than a few nights, consider a vacation-rental apartment. You'll get more space and a kitchen and save lots by eating in. Get rental-company listings at www.visitbritain.us (click on "accommodation" then "short-term rental") or see individuals' rentals at Vacation Rentals by Owner, www.vrbo.com.

Cheap eats

Once upon a time, cheap food in London meant awful meals of baked beans, bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes). Now there are good and relatively low-priced ethnic restaurants everywhere. Street markets also sell excellent prepared foods and fresh produce.

Some other budget options:

• Get a sandwich, soup or salad at Pret or EAT, two casual cafe/take-out chains with sandwiches, salads, soups and even sushi. You can get a tasty meal for about $10, and dozens of their cafes are scattered through central London.

• The Simply Food shops offer take-out and groceries, including a branch across from St. Paul's Cathedral in the heart of the city. Get picnic food and lounge with office workers around St. Paul's or by the nearby Thames River.

• Pubs can be a cheap way to eat; some offer high-quality hot meals, while others have basic pub grub. One of my favorites is The Flask in North London's village-like Highgate neighborhood. The 15th-century pub, with a warren of low-ceilinged rooms and outdoor tables, is jammed on weekends. Better to go on weekdays, then walk off beer and lunch at the nearby Hampstead Heath park. Traveling with kids? They're allowed at many pubs if with an adult.

• Some street markets have excellent food, especially Borough Market near Southwark Cathedral and the restored 19th-century Leadenhall and Spitalfields covered markets near the financial district, where office workers flock at lunchtime. Get food from a stall or one of the surrounding cafes.

Tips

• At many restaurants, a service charge often is automatically included in the bill. Be sure to check so you don't double-tip, a mistake American tourists often make.

• At pubs, don't expect table service; order your drinks and food at the bar unless it's an upscale pub with waiters.

Transit deals

Don't even think about renting a car in London. Gas is about double U.S. prices, parking is impossible and drivers must pay a weekday congestion-pricing fee of about $16 a day to enter central London. Instead, take the Tube, London's vast subway that snakes underneath the city and carries a staggering 3 million people a day.

• Do like London commuters and buy an Oyster card, a smartcard with money for fares loaded onto it. It cuts the price of Tube journeys by half or more — a single, short Tube ride paid in cash can cost $8 vs. $4 or $2 with an Oyster card. Card-holders also can bypass ticket lines; just swipe it at station machines. I loaded my Oyster card with what's called a seven-day Travelcard. For a flat fee of about $48, it covered my week's Tube and bus travel in central London and gave discounts at some museum exhibits, stores and trains.

Before arriving, tourists can buy a special Visitor Oyster card online through London's tourist office, www.visitlondonoffers.com/oyster-card/. Or buy an Oyster card at almost any Tube station, including Heathrow Airport, which is served by the Tube. Get details on all London transit at www.tfl.gov.uk/.

One museum worth paying for is the Courtauld Gallery, a small museum with a remarkable collection from medieval carvings to Renaissance and Impressionist paintings, www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/. Admission is $10 for the museum in the 16th-century Somerset House.

Free fun

London brims with low-cost or free entertainment. Or just take a walk in one of its glorious parks. Among the places to go:

Covent Garden: Street entertainers cluster around what was once London's major produce market, its covered arcades now home to trendy shops and cafes. Enjoy everything from street musicians to a guy juggling flaming torches on a unicycle.

Street markets: Camden Lock Market in North London is a maze of passages packed with craft and clothes stalls (a recent fire spared its historic heart). Portobello Road market has antiques and clothes stalls, both cutting-edge fashion and secondhand. Brick Lane has trendy cafes and vintage shops and blocks of street stalls. Find more on street markets at www.londontown.com/London/Top_Street_Markets.

A little lunch music: Looking for classical music? St. Martins-in-the-Fields church, on Trafalgar Square, offers free lunchtime classical concerts, www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/. The nearby St. Paul's Covent Garden (the church of "My Fair Lady" fame) also offers free lunchtime concerts, www.actorschurch.org/ (click on events calendar). Get more info on concerts and other free fun from the weekly magazine Time Out, www.timeout.com/london.

Take a walk: London's urban parks are lovely, from the manicured St. James and Green parks to the wilder Hampstead Heath. Or take a walk along the South Bank, on the riverfront promenade that follows the Thames (start from near the London Eye, the massive Ferris wheel), and stroll about 1 ½ miles to Tower Bridge.

Changing the guard: One of the most popular — and free — London attractions is the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, when soldiers in ceremonial dress exchange duties. For times, see www.royal.gov.uk.