How to use transport in London

I am going to try to explain in the quickest and easiest way how to use public transport in London. The main difficulty is that you cannot buy a voucher with X number of trips. The price changes depending on the area you move through. But everything touristy is in zone 1 and 2. The system is circular so if you go to zone 3, 4, 5, 6 the price will increase.

Transport London metro

It is no longer necessary to buy an Oyster card to use the tube. You can pay with your bank card, whether debit or credit and the price will be the same. Banks apply different commissions or charges for currency exchanges or for paying abroad. To avoid scares you can use a prepaid card that will give you the cheapest change. There are many options although the one I usually use is revolut.

If you are afraid that the bank will play tricks on you and you were not able to reserve these cards, you can buy an oystercard at any of the machines that you will find in the metro or train stations. The price of the Oyster card is £7 and you don’t get your money back when you leave. ⚠️ Very important You will find information on many sites saying that it costs 5 pounds and they will refund it but this changed at the beginning of the year and they no longer refund the deposit or whatever is left on the card..

Each tube journey will cost you between £3.2 and £2.6 (depending on the time you travel). This money will be deducted from your Oyster or charged to your bank until you spend £8.10, which is the daily limit. We could say that A daily tube pass in London costs £8.10 what you can’t buy a ticket. To give you an idea, you pay for the first 3 trips you make on the metro and then all the trips you make will be free.

⚠️Very important because we are used to different transportation systems where trips are purchased. In London, each zone has a price (although for tourism you will not leave zone 1) and you have to touch the card to enter and exit. Everyone has to carry their card, it is not worth one to touch for the whole family. You will have to knock when entering the subway and when leaving. If you do something different, the system considers that you have snuck in and charges you a penalty.

London bus transport

London’s public transport has a large number of bus lines that will help you get to know the city from one of the iconic double-decker buses.

You can only pay for the bus with the Oyster card or with a bank card. You cannot pay in cash nor will you find any machine that sells a bus ticket. The bus price is £1.75 It doesn’t matter what area you go to. He daily maximum What you will pay if you only use the bus is 5,25£.

Transport cards for children

To use transport in London with children will depend on their age.

Children under 11 years old travel free on both the metro and the bus

Between 11 and 15 years old, it is best to buy an Oyster card for them and ask one of the metro workers to apply the Young Visitor discount. In this way, each trip as well as the daily limit will be half.

Those over 15 years of age pay the same as adults.

Now you are ready to explore the city, you can complement it with one of our walking tours to learn much better about the history and culture of this beautiful city.