London Transportation Tips – London on a Budget Series –

Here are 9 Transportation Tips to help you get around London! The tips can be applied elsewhere as well. The tips are based on my own experiences traveling in London, and tips I learned along the way from other travelers. Enjoy!

1. Affordable Flights to London.

There are several transportation options, depending on where you are from. If you are flying into London, there are a few airports you can fly into. I flew into London-Gatwick airport the first time and took the train from the airport straight to the city center. The second time I went to London, I flew in/out of London Heathrow airport and London Luton airport. The airport you fly into will likely be determined by the airline you choose to fly with. A lot of airports can be more than 20-40 minutes from the city center (even by train or bus)—so that is also something to keep in mind.

I flew with Norwegian Air and found a one-way ticket to London from the US for under $200. I bought my ticket towards the end of winter, and my flight was scheduled for the end of April. I would keep an eye on Google Flights and just watch the prices for a while (you can read about this more on my How to plan your dream trip to Europe blog post). I looked at prices for several weeks before purchasing my ticket. My goal was to get a ticket under $500, and when I saw $200 I was shocked and booked the ticket! The round-trip price was on the affordable side as well, I just chose a one-way so that I could fly back to the US from another country—Iceland. If you are deciding between a one-way ticket vs a round-trip, check the regulations, and make sure you have a flight out of the country you will be visiting.

There are a lot of other airlines, but Norwegian Air offered a great price and is the one I went with. The flight was comfortable and had everything I needed. Everyone has their own budget, needs, timeframe, and preferences, so just keep your eye out on prices, and see which flight is the best for you.

2. Trains

You will probably need transportation from the airport to your accommodation. I thought the train system was very user-friendly in London—especially since I didn’t have much experience with trains before going to London. If you happen to be somewhere where you can ride a train to get to London without having to book a flight (perhaps from another city in England, or Scotland, Whales, even France), I would recommend using LINR to book your tickets (https://www.lner.co.uk/). This was the only service I used online/app to buy train tickets from while in England, besides ticket offices at the train station or airport. If you book ahead of time, it will probably be cheaper—sometimes by a large sum—and you might lose seats for the time you want if you wait too long. I purchased my tickets on my phone, then pick it up at a Kiosk/ticket machine at the train station. I was initially nervous that I wouldn’t be able to find the Kiosks, but it was pretty easy to find at the train stations. If you can’t find it, you can ask the train station staff. I would also make sure that the train station will have one of those kiosks if you need to pick up your LINR ticket before booking. Read the fine print and search online if the Kiosks will be at the train station you are going to (it has been accurate the times I used it, but you can verify if you are unsure).

Usually, airports will have signs around for busses and train deals to the city center. In my experience, the busses have been cheaper than trains at airports. However, I did not know this when I first went on my trip and ended up buying a train ticket from the airport to Central London. I heard stories of how expensive Taxis could get and I avoided it at all costs. Trains are a great option too.

If you are going to be traveling all over England or going to multiple countries, the Eurail Pass might be a great option for you. The Eurail Pass is a train-ticket pass that covers many countries in Europe and makes it easy to plan your routes. I purchased the 1 month 7-day Eurail Pass–there are many options. You have to order this if you are a non-EU citizen before your trip and get it mailed to you. Here is the link: https://www.eurail.com/en. I was in Europe for two months but planned my trip so that I was in England, Scotland, Ireland, and France for the first month. I decided I did not need to use the Eurail Pass for that first month since I would just get budget flights or one-way train tickets. In the second month, I went to 11 more countries, and the Eurail Pass was great for that and made it pretty fun! You might want to read a bit on the Eurail Pass before purchasing it, to see if it is right for you. Sometimes it is cheaper, and other times it might be the same or more expensive than buying individual tickets. It was worth the price for me, because I got to visit a lot of places over a long distance in those days I activated my pass, and it was pretty easy once getting the hang of it. It felt like an adventure :). And, although some countries included city trains and transportation as part of the Eurail Pass, not every country did. Also, there are some trains you will need to purchase a reservation for even with the Eurail Pass. So, even if you get your Eurail Pass, you might still have to pay for the city trains. Also, if you want to reserve a seat using your Eurail Pass, you need to pay for a reservation. All in all, I loved having a Eurail Pass, and I found that the budget flights and trains worked great for the first month.

I also used Omio (https://www.omio.com/) and the Trainline (https://www.thetrainline.com/) to view tickets. Some travelers I met also booked tickets/booked reservations straight from the train companies online.

Bus from airport to London Bridget :)!

3. City Bus: Consider the Oyster Card

Once you get to the City Center, or wherever your nearest public transportation is to your accommodation, you will need to find the nearest train station or bus stop to your destination. Unless you booked an accommodation somewhere far from the City Center, far from train/bus stations, or somewhere rural, you should be able to get around okay. I thought trains were easier to get a hang of in London than busses. I had a hard time understanding the bus maps when I first got there. However, the bus might save you time (if you don’t go on the wrong side of the street and end up on the wrong side of town 40 minutes the opposite direction!—speaking from experience). Also, keep in mind the bus does stop quite a few times (so maybe you won’t be saving that much time?). It all depends, but either way, it is a fun experience and a nice way to see the city. London is a big city, so busses will be your friend especially if your feet can’t take any more of walking (more on this below).

The Oyster Card..

There is a Visitor Oyster Card for the public transport system. It might help you save money in the long-run, but this version you will need to order before your arrival (like the Eurail Visitor Pass). You can read more about it here: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card.

City busses!

4. The “Tube”: Oyster Card again

I didn’t understand this until later, but the “tube” is the train system in the city. Then there are the trains outside of the city. The zones are indicated pretty clearly on the maps and there are train stations near most of the main attractions. If you are used to trains, maybe this isn’t a surprise. If you are coming from an area with basically no trains–like me, or you’ve only ridden a train a few times in your life, it can be intimidating. But you will figure it out!

After purchasing your ticket, usually there is a large screen that has a list of train times and platform numbers. This is where you look to get to the right train. I would still double-check with the workers that the train you are boarding is the one you bought the ticket for. Sometimes trains come too early, or a little late, and it could be taking you to the wrong destination if it’s not the train you are supposed to be on. I just got in a habit of triple-checking my destinations and if I was ever confused, I would ask multiple people (I would suggest not trusting one person to know the answer, they might be just as confused as you, or give you the wrong information).

Some steep escalators at the train station!

5. Walking:

This is always an option if you are up for it, it’s free, feels great, and it is a nice way to see the city at your own pace. I did quite a few walking tours as well (there are free ones, just don’t forget to tip them :)). Walking for hours doesn’t feel like it when you are going at your own pace and exploring a new city. One girl I met while traveling told me this was the best way to see a new city. After 15 countries and exploring the cities in different ways, I see what she meant. I would walk 7-12 miles a day when I was in London. This was my main form of transportation in London unless my feet started blistering, then of course, I’d take it easy and use public transportation or something.

Another idea: you could set up your accommodations in different parts of the city if you are going to be there for a while. I stayed for about a week near the London Bridge, which was within walking distance to South London and City of London. Then the 2nd week, I stayed in West London and walked around the fancy neighborhoods and walked and journaled in the parks next to the royal palaces. This way, you don’t burn yourself out from walking to opposite sides of the city. You can spend a few days exploring one area you are interested in and then another. Or, just use public transportation—that’s the beauty of traveling, it can be personalized to suit your wants and needs!

A little coffee break while walking in the City my first day in London 🙂

6. Ask multiple people, 3 or more.

As mentioned previously, when you need directions, can’t find your train “platform,” or have no idea where the train signs are, just ask. If you are nervous to ask people questions, being sure that you are going where you need to go and on time probably outweighs the temporary discomfort. It’s not that bad, especially once you realize you are not the only tourist and many people get lost or don’t know where to go. Ask the staff, at many London Train stations I saw information desks too. Also, ask a few different people. I would make sure multiple people tell you the same thing.

Screen with platform numbers and train times :).

7. Stay calm.

It’s best to not schedule things that are too close in timing, like a layover, a train switch, etc. You never know if it’ll be on opposite sides of the train station, or if the train is delayed, or if there’s something else that pops up that’s totally beyond your control. Give yourself some time to figure it out :). Staying calm will help you to be more focused and aware of your surroundings. It will be important to have a “just go with the flow” attitude, be flexible, and resilient. This will help you a lot in your travels.

8. Don’t get scammed or pick-pocketed

Never pull out your cash, wallet, cards, etc. The kindest “looking” people can take advantage of you. You don’t need to be paranoid, but you should be smart and be alert. Don’t display valuables especially in crowded areas and train stations (even phones). Just try to blend in and try not to stand out. If someone asks for money, it’s probably a red flag. Another way to look like a tourist is looking completely lost. If you are lost, still walk like you know exactly where you are going and have a plan for times like these. For example, I would walk to the nearest store then look at directions, instead of whipping my phone out in the middle of a train station, staring at my screen and looking lost.

9. Helpful apps/ resources

I used a lot of offline apps (it doesn’t use data) while traveling abroad. Some especially useful ones while traveling were Maps.Me (you can download maps of different regions on WiFi/with data, then have access to it when you are offline). I also used the Google Language app, where I downloaded different languages of regions I was visiting while on WiFi, then had access to it later as well. Different train ticket apps are useful as well like LINR, Rail Planner for the Eurail Pass (I used this one a lot, shows train times and worked offline), Omnio, and Trainline.

I also thought the flight apps were useful so that I could check-in to flights on my phone, and use it as my ticket. I used Norwegian Air, Iceland Air, Ryan Air, Vueling, and Whizz Air. Just read the fine print on rules especially for the budget flights (some require print outs of certain documents).

You might want a physical map as a backup. Most accommodations have brochures or maps of the city. You could also have a print out of your maps, copies of train/plane tickets, etc. It might be handy!

I hope this list gave you some helpful tips towards figuring the transportation in London. Feel free to email us if you have any questions, and best of luck on your adventure!

Live wonder freely,

Megan