explore with juniper

My first solo trip was to London in July 2023. I had just turned 19 and gone through a breakup, so I felt like that gave me the push to finally take a solo trip. In addition to visiting London for 3 days, I also went to Portugal for a week, but I will talk about that experience in a different blog post. I booked the cheapest flight I could find, which only included a personal item.

I stayed in one of the worst hostels ever called Nx Hostel which is also known as New Cross Hostel. This hostel was hard to find on a street full of intoxicated homeless people and the bathrooms were DIGUSTING. Any bad review was meet with hostile paragraphs from the unprofessional owner. This was one of the cheapest hostels in the city, so I did not have high expectations. While I was there, I had my phone charger stolen by fellow dorm mates. This was the first hostel I ever stayed at, and I would never recommend it to anyone. If you are the hostel owner reading this blog for some reason, learn to control your anger issues before you type as guests are subject to their own opinions.

London has amazing public transportation. I utilized the tube, which I found to be confusing sometimes due to how many different lines there was, and the double decker buses. The city is also very walkable, and I spent my days walking over 10 miles. I visited sites such as the Buckingham Palace, Westminster (where the Big Ben is located), Kensington Gardens, and Notting Hill (known for it’s rainbow houses). In terms of safety, I would recommend basic safety precautions when visiting London. Do not walk alone late at night, keep your belongings in your accommodation or use a anti theft bag, and be aware of your surroundings.

I enjoyed my time in the city and I think 3 days is enough time for a visit to London. This allowed for enough time to see all the tourist sights and visit some of the neighborhoods. I think any additional time would have left me bored, as there’s no exciting day trips and the city is quite pricy. I did not keep track of mt expenses, but I would say I spent an estimate of $60/day and I kept to a tight budget. I do not see myself revisiting this city, but I would love to check out Scotland and Ireland.