Brighton in 5 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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Five days is the 4-day plan plus Seven Sisters, the biggest transport and time commitment of any day trip here, but the coaster bus keeps it cheap. Days 1-2 stay in Brighton’s free core, Day 3 is Lewes, Day 4 is Devil’s Dyke. Want more Sussex? The 6-day and 7-day plans add another day trip on top.
Book these before you go
- A budget room for all five nights in one booking, since Brighton’s a huge London weekend-break market. Check rates on Booking.com .
- Royal Pavilion tickets online if you’re going inside, for the 5% discount.
- Your Lewes train ticket ahead of Day 3, cheaper booked the night before.
- Check the bus 77 timetable before Day 4: Devil’s Dyke only runs weekdays in summer, otherwise weekends and bank holidays.
| Day | Focus | Rough daily cost (GBP, £) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Pier, seafront, The Lanes, North Laine, Pavilion Garden | 77-139 |
| Day 2 | West Pier ruins, Undercliff Walk, Kemptown, beach | 75-121 |
| Day 3 | Lewes: castle grounds, high street, day trip | 85-130 |
| Day 4 | Devil’s Dyke and the South Downs Way | 81-121 |
| Day 5 | Seven Sisters and Birling Gap | 81-121 |
Day 1: the free spine, Pier to Pavilion Garden
Brighton Palace Pier is £2 per person, March through September 2026, free the rest of the year and free year-round on a BN1, BN2, BN3 or BN41 postcode. Walk it, then The Lanes’ narrow twittens into North Laine, 400-plus independent shops, free to browse both. The Royal Pavilion Garden is free without the £21.50 building ticket. Dinner at Terre à Terre, vegetarian since 1993, or a doughnut made fresh to order on the pier.
| Item | Cost (GBP, £) |
|---|---|
| Bed | 60-90 (budget guesthouse; a hostel dorm bed runs lower) |
| Food | 15-25 (Pompoko, Roti King, Brighton Open Market) |
| Transport | 0 (fully walkable from the station) |
| Sights | 2-23.50 (Pier admission; +£21.50 only if you go inside the Pavilion) |
| Total | 77-138.50 |
Day 2: West Pier ruins and the Undercliff Walk
The West Pier ruin costs nothing to look at, still Brighton’s most photographed sight. Kemptown’s St James’s Street is free to browse, then the Undercliff Walk toward Rottingdean and Saltdean, three flat paved miles under the chalk cliffs. Skip the Brighton i360 , £20.50 for a 25-minute flight, its name has been simply “Brighton i360” since British Airways’ sponsorship ended in 2022, and put that £20.50 toward Bardsley’s fish and chips on Baker Street instead.
| Item | Cost (GBP, £) |
|---|---|
| Bed | 60-90 |
| Food | 15-25 |
| Transport | 0-6 (citySAVER day bus ticket if you skip walking the Undercliff back) |
| Sights | 0 (everything on this route is free) |
| Total | 75-121 |
Day 3: Lewes, the cheapest day trip going
Direct trains to Lewes run frequently, roughly 17-20 minutes. A day return typically runs well under a London fare, book on nationalrail.co.uk the night before. Climb Lewes Castle for the view, or skip the entry fee for the free high street, antique shops and Anne of Cleves House grounds. Gotcha: Lewes hosts the world’s biggest Bonfire Night celebration on 5 November, and trains stop calling there from around 5pm that evening.
| Item | Cost (GBP, £) |
|---|---|
| Bed | 60-90 |
| Food | 15-25 |
| Transport | ~10-15 return train to Lewes |
| Sights | 0 (castle grounds, high street and Anne of Cleves House grounds are free) |
| Total | 85-130 |
Day 4: Devil’s Dyke and the South Downs Way
The Breeze 77 bus climbs from central Brighton to open downland in about 30 minutes, views over the Weald and the Channel, and nothing to pay for once you’re up there beyond the citySAVER ticket. The trap: bus 77 runs weekends and bank holidays year-round, plus weekdays in summer only, so check before building a weekday around it. The Devil’s Dyke pub sits at the terminus for a budget pint.
| Item | Cost (GBP, £) |
|---|---|
| Bed | 60-90 |
| Food | 15-25 |
| Transport | 5.90 (citySAVER day bus ticket) |
| Sights | 0 (the walk and the views cost nothing) |
| Total | 80.90-120.90 |
Day 5: Seven Sisters and Birling Gap
The Coaster buses (12, 12A, 12X) run from central Brighton to Birling Gap in 75-100 minutes, up to 14 buses an hour combined, and a citySAVER ticket covers the ride. The National Trust car park and café at Birling Gap are the base, with steps down to the beach and cliff-top views of the white chalk face for free. Walking any real stretch of the cliff path stretches this into a genuine full day, budget for it. Book a Seven Sisters day tour on GetYourGuide if you’d rather not plan the bus timings yourself.
| Item | Cost (GBP, £) |
|---|---|
| Bed | 60-90 |
| Food | 15-25 |
| Transport | 5.90 (citySAVER day bus ticket) |
| Sights | 0 (the cliffs, the beach steps and the walk are all free) |
| Total | 80.90-120.90 |
How many days do you actually need in Brighton?
Brighton’s walkable core fills about 1.5 to 2 days for free. Five days lets you add Lewes, Devil’s Dyke and Seven Sisters without rushing any of them, and none of the three costs much beyond a train or bus ticket once you’re there. Past five days, framing shifts from Brighton-only to Brighton-plus-Sussex, which our 7-day plan spells out.
Is Seven Sisters worth the transport time on a budget trip?
Yes, but treat it as the day you spend more time getting there than at any other stop on this plan. The 75-100 minute coaster ride each way is the trade-off for free cliff-top views that cost nothing once you arrive, no admission fee anywhere at Birling Gap.
Pack a packed lunch for Seven Sisters. There’s a café at Birling Gap, but it’s the one spot on this whole five-day plan with no cheap-eats alternative nearby if you skip it.