5 London Travel Tips

Having visited London many times, I thought I'd share my top travel tips for those who might be first or second-time goers to this amazing town. Before you think about dropping a lot of money on a black cab or think you absolutely must fly into London Heathrow, take a pause and read on, because you might not necessarily need to do either for a great trip, but you should probably still bring an umbrella.

1. Look At Other Airports For Arriving

London Heathrow is decidedly the main airport as London goes, but it might actually be cheaper to fly into some of the city's other airports, like Gatwick. Use tools like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Hopper to check out your options, as a lot of the lower-cost carriers opt to fly through Gatwick. Gatwick isn't too much further out either, it’s only 28 miles away from the city. If you take the Gatwick Express, it's about 35 minutes, although it's a pricy option at just shy of £22. Southern Trains is another option; most of the time it only takes 15 minutes longer and is cheaper at around £17. Thirdly is Thameslink, which is a similar journey time of 35-50 minutes and around £19. The other benefit of taking the Southern trains or Thameslink is more connection options, whereas Gatwick Express only stops at Victoria Station.

Another nice thing about Gatwick is it's not quite as busy as Heathrow, which can mean faster times through Border Control and other queues, and it has many of the same shops and amenities as Heathrow.

If you’re coming in from other parts of the UK or Europe, London City Airport and Stanstead Airport can make better sense, especially on smaller and low-cost carriers. Best of all, London City is the closest to central London.

2. Get App-y

TripIt aside, which is great to have in general for travel planning, the apps I found the most useful in London were Google Maps and Citymapper. Both are lifelines for using the Tube, bus, and other public transportation. Citymapper goes in even further and looks at which is the best section of a train to get on, what will be the most efficient way to travel, real-time line updates, and other neat features, including listing your favorite places right under the map, making it more user-friendly at times versus Google Maps.

Given the frequency of strikes, delays, or other issues with public transportation at any given time, it’s worthwhile having both apps so there are no surprises as you get around, and you can plan ahead in case of detours or you just want to avoid the perpetually oven-like temperatures of the Central Line trains.

If you’re looking to visit outside of London by rail, Trainline is my go-to for booking rail tickets. I’ve had no bad experience using it in the UK and Europe, and it makes it easy to book by consolidating all the rail lines and scheduled routes in one place and letting you buy tickets on the app as well. This is especially great if you’re doing a few multi-stop journeys that may be on separate rail lines, and all your tickets are neatly in one tab.

3. To Oyster, Visitor Oyster, or Travelcard?

London is divided into Zones, and what Zones you'll travel through will reflect how much you pay for your transport options. Zones 1-2 will always be the most affordable on public transit, and almost all the sights/attractions in Central London are within these Zones. If you're going to Richmond Park or Kew Gardens, be advised these are in Zone 4 area, and the travel cost is slightly more the further out in Zones you go.

There are also a few different ways to pay for public transport fares:

  • Oyster card, which is the Transport for London everyday card locals use via either physical card or Oyster app

  • Contactless credit or debit cards

  • For travelers, there is the Visitor Oyster card, a temporary Oyster card that comes with discounts

  • Travelcard, also for tourists, and you can put multi-day Railcards like the 7-Day Railcard that lets you access many 2-for-1 attraction offers

As for which option to choose, if you are in a group of at least two people and there for a week, the 7-Day Railcard is the best option if you plan on visiting many attractions. It lets you get 2-for-1 tickets on almost all major attractions and makes the cost of the cards a wash. The railcards also let you use all major public transportation as well. Visit London Toolkit for more info on how the 2-for-1 offers work.

If it’s just you, but you still want some discounts, then look at the Visitor Oyster as an option. Be advised: you have to order it before your journey as you cannot buy it in London, and most of the discounts are on restaurants and 10-20% off lesser visited attractions so your mileage may vary on if this is the option for you.

And lastly, if you don’t really care for many attractions and need to get around, you can use your contactless card and take advantage of the daily cap rates per zone, as long as you use the same contactless card. What this means is that once you hit the daily cap in fare costs, you will not be charged for any further rides within that day. A daily cap is calculated over 24 hours for pay-as-you-go journeys that start at 04:30 am and end at 04:29 am the next day.

4. Rent a Bike!

With bicycles for hire all over the city, like Santander Cycles, it's worth taking a spin on the weekend or during less busy hours, and it’s super affordable. It's a neat alternative to the bus or Tube and great for rides through the many parks. The cost also isn’t bad either; for a normal bike, it’s £1.65 for up to 30 minutes, and then £1.65 for each additional 30 minutes. For electric bikes, it’s £3.30 for the first 30 minutes and then for each additional 30 minutes.

5. For Cheap Eats, Head To the Streets

Street markets, that is. Borough Market is the most well-known and my favorite. It’s home to tasty, affordable gastronomical delights such as Pieminister, La Tua Pasta (the gnocchi of my dreams), and so many other mouth-watering eats that will leave you full without an empty wallet.

There are also other markets, like the iconic Portobello Road Market (which gets quite crowded in peak hours, FYI!), the eclectic, edgy Camden Market (Cheese Wheel UK is a fave of mine there), Maltby Street near one of my favorite neighborhoods (Bermondsey), and Southbank Centre to name a few. 

Outside of markets is the infamous Meal Deal offered by grocery stores like Tesco and Sainsbury or chemists like Boots. The idea is you get a sandwich, a snack (usually crisps), and a drink for a set cost between £3.50-5.50 depending on the shop. Personally, I’m a sucker for the Boots meal deal and having a little park picnic, but whichever Meal Deal you choose, this is a great way to save money on lunch.

So Now That You Saved…

You can use that money you saved with these tips on fun things like a West End show, or cool exhibit, or walking in the footsteps of royalty at one of the many palaces nearby and in London. There’s so much to do in London, and hopefully, these tips will help you feel like a trip to the Big Smoke is possible in your budget.