You may think it's expensive to find accommodation in London and if you stay in a hotel or even a poxy Travel Lodge, it will be; but there are many cheaper alternatives-you can even camp in Central London!
Smart Russel Square
This is the hostel I stayed in when I visited London. I shared a room with 7 other people for £13.00 a night. It has really good showers, communal kitchen and lounge area, Internet and a gym which is free to use! Overall it was a good place to stay as breakfast was included (which is unusual for a hostel) and it's in an ideal location just seconds from Russel Square tube station.If you book online there is no booking fee; shared rooms start at £7.99.
Smart Back Packers (.com) has hostels all over London:
- Hyde Park
- Kensington
- Camden
There are hundreds of hostels in London, all of them offering great prices. Their main benefit is that they all have communal kitchen's which saves you having to eat out for breakfast, lunch and tea, which can be expensive. Here's a list of some of the most central hostels:
Journey's London Eye
Situated close to the Thames, its ideal location leaves you a short walk away from many of London's attractions. Rooms start at £9.00 and they have a bar, kitchen and a communal area with pool and fussball. Journey have other hostels in Kings Cross, Waterloo, Greenwich and London Bridge.
Piccadilly Backpackers
This hostel looks right onto Piccadilly Circus so you can't get more central than that, and it's party ethos really appeals to students, as they organise group outings to all the best clubs. Their rooms are really cool, with 100% privacy pods and intricate illustrations covering every wall, starting at £12.00.
http://www.piccadillyhotel.net/
St Christopher's Inn
They have hostels in Shepards Bush, Hammersmith, London Bridge, Camden and Greenwich but if you like the party atmosphere The Village, London Bridge is the place to go. They have a belushi bar open till 4am on weekends, cheap drinks, live DJ's, roof terrace and wide screen TV with free DVD hire. They also have events on every night:
- Sundays are quiz night - with acoustic bands in the bar too.
- Mondays are karaoke!
- Tuesdays are fun filled, stand up comedy nights.
- Wednesdays are another karaoke night!
- Thursdays are Latin lovers night in the bar.
- Fridays are pub crawls!
- Saturdays is our very own Shiny Disco Balls - where you can party in the club all night long!
http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/
Camping
Suprisingly there are many campsites in the outskirts of London and with great transport facilities it only takes half and hour to get to the Centre. Bring a tent or hire a caravan - a trip to London can cost you next to nothing!
Crystal Palace Caravan Club
This five star campsite offers pitches for tents and caravans and is open all year round with prices starting at just £4.90 a night! The number 3 bus takes you straight to Piccadilly Circus and you can buy travel card from the camp site. It has good facilities with showers, toilets, running water and a laundrette.
Accommodation for FREE!
Couch Surfing
Couch surfing is an organisation that enables people from all around the world offer their couch to host travellers - totally free. It works by using a rating system (like ebay) so you know what your getting. Arrangements are made between the traveller and the host before you arrive, mostly by email, to make it convenient for both parties.