From the time you land in London to the time you get back on the plane loaded with happy memories, you’re going to need a generous data allowance. Whether you’re navigating one of the world’s great cities or making friends back home jealous with posts, let’s find out how much data you’ll need to make the most of your London experience.
Note: We’ve made estimates based on the average itinerary of a first-time visitor.
Day 1: Keeping it local — Photos, planning, and pub grub
- Navigation: ~5MB
- Browsing: ~15MB
- Social media: ~45MB
- Streaming: ~4GB
- Video calls: ~60MB
- Total: ~4.125GB
You’ve landed in London, negotiated passport control, collected your luggage, looked up the best public transport route to your accommodation, checked in and called close friends and family so they know you’ve arrived safely. After the obligatory social-media post of the view from your room — whether it’s a back alley or a spectacular Thames vista — it’s time for a jetlag-busting walk around your temporary London neighbourhood.
If you’re tired, make life easy for the first night. Rather than overthinking it, just Google dinner recommendations near your accommodation. After finding an easy place that meets your culinary tastes and budget, and then pre-booking a few tickets for the week ahead over dinner, it might be time to go to bed with a streamed movie. The unlimited plan from SimLocal is coming into its own already. It’s connected to the best local networks, so you can be reassured that you’ll get the best connection no matter where you are in London.
Day 2: Royal London — Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and the Tower of London
- Navigation: ~10MB
- Browsing: ~25MB
- Social media: ~50MB
- Total: ~85MB
It’s fun to do touristy things in London. So, over breakfast, you’ve looked up the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace — it’s happening at 10:45am. Motivated, you work out whether you can walk or use public transport to get to the palace in time via the Transport for London journey planner or Citymapper app.
Once you’ve seen the changing of the guards, jump on the District or Circle Line at nearby Victoria Station and head to High Street Kensington for an early lunch and your pre-booked slot at Kensington Palace. Enjoy the magnificent gardens, learn about Queen Victoria’s early years, and admire the treasures in the Jewel Room.
Keeping things royal, get one more photo opportunity before dinner. Get back on the District or Circle Line to Tower Hill to capture the iconic Tower of London and Tower Bridge at sunset.
Day 3: The big three London museums — the V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum
- Navigation: ~10MB
- Browsing: ~50MB
- Social media: ~30MB
- Total: 90MB
Get the tube to South Kensington for three of the world’s best museums — the V&A, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Admission to all three museums is free, although a donation is appreciated. Pre-booking a time slot is required for the Science Museum. It’s a challenge to see absolutely everything in a day, but you can have fun trying. The museum websites all have downloadable maps to help you get around logically.
From the wonders of dinosaurs to interactive experiments to ancient treasures and theatrical costumes, you’re guaranteed to be amazed. All three museums have cafés and restaurants, so you don’t need to venture too far for sustenance. And the gift shops sell high quality merchandise that’s a cut above the bargain souvenir kiosks you’ve probably spotted all over town by now.
Once you’ve finally dragged yourself away from the museums, probably at closing time, ask yourself if you have the energy for a night out. If the answer is yes, jump back online and seek out your preferred night out — it’s bound to be on offer in London.
Day 4: Culinary and cultural London — Southbank and Borough Market
- Navigation: ~20MB
- Browsing: ~30MB
- Social media: ~30MB
- Total: ~80MB
Venture south of the River Thames for food and culture. Start at Waterloo, easily accessible by tube, train or bus from pretty much anywhere in London. A Southbank stroll offers unrivalled views of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, while a graffiti-covered undercroft is home to daily skateboarding spectacles.
For alternative cinema, the BFI Southbank is always screening something interesting, along with a chilled-out bar, café and shop. You can get lucky as a walk-in customer or buy stand-by tickets, which are released 30 minutes before screenings, but book online if there’s a film you really want to see. It’s hard to believe you’re already halfway through your trip, but it’s reassuring to be able to use your SimLocal plan to check data usage.
Take a meandering 25-minute walk or a 12-minute tube ride on the Jubilee Line from Waterloo to London Bridge for Borough Market. This is foodie heaven, with every cuisine you can think of available — and plenty of bars, too. Your day can easily turn into your night here. Just remember to book a Thames River Cruise online for tomorrow before you enjoy too much craft beer …
Day 5: In and out of town — Kew by day, theatre by night
- Navigation: ~20 MB
- Browsing: ~50MB
- Social media: ~20MB
- Total: ~90MB
Take a morning Thames River Boat to Kew from Westminster Pier. This scenic 90-minute boat ride sails under iconic bridges, past Battersea Power Station, stately homes and river islands, before docking at Kew Pier. Take a five-minute walk to the famous Kew Gardens. You’ll save a couple of pounds by booking a ticket online, which you can do during the river cruise.
At Kew Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site, there are diverse plants from across the world, tropical and desert plants in the Princess of Wales conservatory, a pagoda dating back to 1762, and there’s the option of a guided garden tour by land train. Make the most of your day by downloading the Kew Gardens app.
On the way back into town, by river boat or District Line tube from Kew, jump back online and grab a late deal on a West End theatre show. Ticket resale sites, last minute sites and ticket lotteries are great ways to nab the hottest tickets in town.
Day 6: Alternative London — Shoreditch and Hackney
- Navigation: ~20MB
- Browsing: ~20MB
- Social media: ~30MB
- Total: ~70MB
Whether you’re into vintage shopping, art, food, cultural experiences, or just a really good bagel, Shoreditch is a must. The best way to get there is by Overground, so check online for the best way to connect to this part of the public transport network from your accommodation.
Head to Beigel Bake in Brick Lane for great bagels 24 hours a day, enjoy authentic Bengali cuisine, and lose yourself in the shops and galleries. It is so easy to spend a day in this fascinating, historic end of London.
For your last night in town, check out what’s on at the Hackney Empire — it could be anything from comedy to live music to opera to pantomime — and book a ticket via the website. Check online to work out the best train or bus-train route to Hackney. Or round off your trip by hurling yourself into Hackey’s nightlife. There are banging clubs, old-school pubs, and intimate bars to check out before rolling into bed one last time.
Day 7: Final happy snaps — Zooming around central London
- Navigation: ~15MB
- Browsing: ~70MB
- Social media: ~60MB
- Total: ~145MB
Before farewelling London, seek out those final snaps. If you’re not too hungover, get to Leicester Square before it gets too crowded. There’s something weirdly meditative about a stroll in the middle of the busiest part of town when it’s quiet. Head to Trafalgar Square for the photos of Nelson’s Column, the famous lions, and the ever-changing plinth artworks.
If time allows, pop into the National Portrait Gallery. Admission to the permanent collection is free. If you’ve got cash and time to spare, go online before your visit and book tickets to an exhibition. Then it’s probably time to think about getting to the airport.
Check in online and save boarding passes to your phone, work out the best route to get to the airport, download some entertainment for the flight, and you’ll find yourself at the departure gate scrolling through your camera roll for one last social media photo dump, grateful that the SimLocal plan has removed data worries from your London itinerary.
Total eSIM data usage for a 7-day trip to London
Ok, so how much data did you use all up? Let’s break down what 7 days of eSIM data usage looks like on a trip to London. This is based on estimates for average to high daily data usage, but individual needs may differ if you’re a particularly heavy or light data user.
Total eSIM data usage for a 7-day trip to London: 4.69GB
Data for different trip lengths
For shorter trips, your data requirements probably won’t be quite as high. On a three-day trip to London, you might need around 2GB in total, while a longer trip, such as a 10-day itinerary, might use around 10-15GB.
With EE’s SimLocal plans, you’ll benefit from a 10% discount if you use the code CHEAPO10 — and you’ll get the same coverage you enjoy at home. SimLocal offers a variety of affordable plans to suit everyone’s data needs, so you can navigate more for a great price.
While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change.
