London is a fabulous place for a holiday - it’s a world capital brimming with everything from the world’s best museum to some of the most exciting rock venues. Unfortunately it’s also one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Visiting the British capital is guaranteed to take a chunk of change out of any travel budget. With the Euro at a record high, it’s never been better value for Europeans and Australians too are enjoying historically favourable exchange rates. But it’s still expensive.

Since the US dollar is currently worth about half the value of the pound, a trip to London must be particularly painful for Americans right now. There’s a reason why so many Brits headed to New York armed with a spare suitcase for some half-price Christmas shopping last year.

Don’t let that put you off. Whether you’re in to fashion or food, London is a seriously exciting place right now and there’s never been a better time to visit. Instead, take some tips from a local on how to make your dough stretch further.

In part one of a five-part series, I look at how to save money on transport costs.

1. Get Connected
If, like most visitors, you are flying into Heathrow, don’t blow 15 quid on the Heathrow Express to Paddington. Instead get the Heathrow Connect - it takes half an hour rather than 15 minutes but it costs a third of the price. If you really need to get there quickly, then go with the Heathrow Express but book online. It’s still more expensive than the Connect but you’ll save £1 off the cash price.

If you are getting off a long flight, don’t be tempted to get a taxi all the way from Heathrow. It’s hideously expensive but it’s also very easy and very fast to get the Connect or Express trains. If you need to, you can fall into a cab once you get to Paddington. Of course, the frugal option is to use public transport and from Paddington you can get the Underground (London’s subway system, usually known as the Tube) almost anywhere and it’s also a hub for trains out of London.

There is a Tube service from Heathrow Airport but don’t bother if you are going to central London - it costs the same as the Connect service but it’s much slower and it can often be very crowded. It’s only worth using the Tube if you are headed somewhere in west London on the Piccadilly Line.

2. Get an Oyster
Okay, so the Thames isn’t known for its shellfish, but an Oyster is also the name for the pre-paid card you can use across the London transport network, including the Tube, overground trains and buses. The cheapest cash ticket for a single Tube journey costs an eye-watering £4 but with an Oyster the equivalent trip is just £1.50. If you are there for more than a couple of days and plan to use the public transport network extensively then it’s worth buying a three-day or weekly ticket.

You don’t need a car in central London and if you insist on having one, it’s going to set you back £8 a day on top of car hire and fuel. This is because the central part of London is subject to the Congestion Charge. Parking is also limited and parking inspectors are very diligent in fining and even clamping wrongly parked cars. You have been warned!

3. Travelling on from London
If you are planning to travel elsewhere in the UK or Europe by train, then book ahead for the cheapest fares. You can check train timetables and fares for Britain on the National Rail website and book directly with the train company or with ticketing sites such as Trainline. The best prices are when you book at least two weeks in advance and avoid travelling on a Friday. The trains are not as good as on the Continent (they are more crowded, less technologically advanced and the tracks are not so well maintained) but they are still usually faster than driving.

Trains to France or Belgium are definitely faster and more comfortable than flying. It’s just two hours by train from the centre of London to the centre of Paris or Brussels with Eurostar. Again, it’s cheaper if you book ahead and the booking window is 120 days.

For more information on train travel in Europe (and around the world), check out The Man in Seat 61.

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Please come back tomorrow for the second part in the series, looking at what’s free to see and do in London. Or subscribe via RSS so you don’t miss a thing!