If you are visiting London from the US, seeing an escort here works differently from anything you would find at home, and mostly in your favour. It is legal. London escorts are listed openly, with photos, rates and the areas they cover. And you book privately, by phone or WhatsApp, with the woman herself or her agency. This guide covers what is different: the law, money, tipping, calling a UK number, the time difference and your hotel.
In short
- Paying a consenting adult in private is legal in England, unlike most of the US.
- You book ahead by phone or WhatsApp and pay in pounds, in cash, when you meet. Never a deposit.
- Tipping is not expected. The agreed rate is the whole price.
- London is five hours ahead of New York and eight ahead of Los Angeles for most of the year.
The law is different from home
Across almost all of the US, paying for sex is a crime. The exception is a handful of rural counties in Nevada with licensed brothels. England works the other way round: paying a consenting adult for her time, and whatever the two of you choose to do in private, is legal. What the law goes after is everything around it: soliciting in the street, kerb crawling, running a brothel, controlling someone’s sex work, and paying for sex with anyone who is being exploited.
The same law applies to you as a visitor as to anyone living here. Northern Ireland is the exception within the UK, because paying for sex is an offence there. Our guide to whether prostitution is legal in the UK sets it out properly, and it also explains why London has no red light district to walk around.
How London escorts work
Everything happens by appointment. You find her profile on a directory like this one, check her rates and areas, then call or message her or her agency with the day, the time and how long you would like. There are two ways to meet. An incall is at her flat, and an outcall is when she comes to you, which for most visitors means your hotel. Our guide to incall and outcall compares them.
Rates are by the hour, with longer bookings such as a dinner date or an overnight priced on their own. How to hire an escort in London walks through a first booking from the first call to the goodbye.
Money: pounds, cash and no deposits
Rates are in pounds sterling, and most London escorts are paid in cash when you meet, unless her profile or her agency says otherwise. Take pounds out of a bank ATM, which the British call a cash machine, rather than changing dollars at an airport kiosk, and check whether your card charges a foreign transaction fee before you fly. The London escort rates page shows what an hour usually costs.
Never pay anything in advance: no deposit, no gift card, no bank transfer, to anyone. It is the most common scam there is, and it targets visitors in particular because they are in a hurry and do not know how things work here. Our guide to escort scams shows how they go.
Tipping
At home you might tip for almost any service. In London the agreed rate is the whole price, nobody expects more, and nobody will think less of you for not adding to it. If you would like to show you enjoyed her company, booking her again properly says it better than cash on top.
Calling a London number
UK mobile numbers start with 07. From a US phone, drop the first 0 and add +44, so 07700 900123 becomes +44 7700 900123. WhatsApp works the same way and costs nothing on hotel wifi, and many London escorts and agencies use it.
Keep the first message short and polite: where you found her, the day and time you have in mind, how long, and whether you would like to come to her or have her come to your hotel. Leave explicit questions out. Our guide to what an escort will ask before she confirms explains why she might ask for your hotel and room number.
Time difference and jet lag
London is five hours ahead of New York and eight ahead of Los Angeles for most of the year. The clocks change on different dates in the US and the UK, so for a few weeks in March and around the start of November the gap is an hour shorter. Allow for it when you message from home before you fly.
If you are landing on an overnight flight, book for your second evening rather than the night you arrive. You will enjoy it more, and so will she.
Where you are staying
Most visitors stay in central London, and that is where most escorts are too. A hotel in Mayfair, Marylebone, Paddington, Kensington or Knightsbridge is within easy reach of dozens of incalls, and escorts will happily come to you there. From an airport hotel it is usually easier to go to her. Our guide to hotel escorts in London goes through each hotel area with how close the nearest escorts are and the quickest way to them.
A few words you will see
Profiles use a shorthand that can look strange at first. Incall and outcall are her place and yours. GFE means the girlfriend experience, warm and unhurried. A duo is two escorts booked together. Our guide to escort terms covers the rest.
Company for the whole trip
If you would like a companion for more than an evening, perhaps for the rest of your trip or a few days somewhere else in Europe, Cleopatra Escorts arranges travel bookings. Our guide to travel escorts explains how that works and what it costs.
Ready to look? Browse London escorts by area, or see who is available today.
