The Oyster Card
The Oyster Card is key to getting around London cheaply. A smart card valid on buses, the underground (the tube), trams, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and on trains, it is both more convenient and cheaper than a conventional ticket bought with cash. You can put travelcards, passes and railcards on it, as well as credit which you use up as you travel (known as “pay as you go”).
It is possible to buy your Oyster card online via the Transport for London website, or at train and tube stations in the capital.
Typical Oyster fares are half the price of cash fares. A journey across central London by tube costs £1.80 using the Oyster card, whereas the same journey will cost £4.00 if you pay for your ticket by cash.
London’s Public Transport
Once you have your ticket or Oyster card, London’s extensive public transport system 
covers pretty much wherever you want to go. Due to the size of the city and the complexity of the tube and bus networks it can sometimes take a while to get to grips with the system. Study the tube map, an impressive simplification of what is a sprawling underground system, and listen for announcements when you are in the station. There are maps on each platform, and the front of the trains usually display their destinations. Be aware that, due to the age of London’s tube system (it began operation in 1863) some tube lines are periodically closed for engineering works, in an ongoing drive to modernise the network. Line closures are more likely to occur at weekends to avoid disrupting the working week.
Buses are plentiful, with many of them going to places far from a tube station. Transport for London has an interactive bus map to help bus users find the right bus. You can truly be said to know a city when you’ve got to grips with its bus system! The bus is obviously the cheapest option for getting around London, but bear in mind that it is at the mercy of the traffic.
London has a large number of train stations which connect the city with its suburbs and the rest of the country, as well as Europe, via the Eurostar, which has its main London terminus at St Pancras Station.
Getting to London from the Airport
Heathrow Airport: London’s busiest airport can be reached by train, tube and coach, as well as by taxi and car.
The Heathrow Express train into Paddington Station in central London is by far the fastest method to get into town. The nonstop trip takes around 15 minutes. A single ticket booked online costs £16.50 (buying a ticket from a ticket machine or on board a flight is more expensive).
Heathrow Connect is a stopping train that connects the airport with Paddington Station and takes around 25 minutes. A single ticket costs £7.90.
The tube is a much cheaper option, although it does take longer. The Piccadilly Line connects the airport with central London and the rest of the underground network. From the airport to Piccadilly Circus takes around 50 minutes and a tickets costs £4.50.
Gatwick Airport: Gatwick Airport lies 28 miles to the south of London and can be reached by train and coach. It is not on the tube network.
The Gatwick Express is the fastest way between the airport and London’s Victoria Station. The journey takes 30 minutes and the standard single fare is £15.20. As with Heathrow, there are also cheaper stopping trains which run between Gatwick Airport and London Bridge and Victoria Stations.
National Express runs frequent services from both airports to Victoria Coach Station which run approximately hourly. Journey time varies according to route, most are about 1 hour 20 minutes. Standard fares are £7.30 single or £11.40 return.
Stansted Airport: Home to a great number of budget airlines, Stansted Airport lies to the north-east of London.
The Stansted Express train to Liverpool Street Station is the fastest way into central London. The journey takes about 45 minutes and a standard single fare is £18.80.
In addition to National Express and easyBus (see below), Terravision offer a low cost coach service into central London from Stansted Airport.
Luton Airport: Luton Airport, to the north-west of London, is a major base for budget airlines. It does not have a railway station, but it does provide a shuttle bus to the nearby Luton Airport Parkway train station, which takes about eight minutes. There are regular rail services into London which take about 25 minutes. A standard single fare costs £11.90.
The Green Line 757 coach service goes to Victoria Coach Station with stops at Brent Cross, Finchley Road Station, Baker Street, Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch. The journey takes 1 hour 15 minutes. A standard one-way ticket costs £14.
easyBus also offers a high-frequency, low-cost express bus service between central London and the three London airports at Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. The easyBus service runs throughout the day and night, direct with no stops. Fares start at £2 one-way (online price).
