London Travel Tips

Visiting a new – and such a huge city – like London can be daunting for anyone. However, by reading my London travel tips you’ll be ahead of the curve and have a better travel experience in London.

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Public Transportation

Even though I used public transportation in many big cities in Europe, using public transportation in London {especially the Central Line} is something very different. Especially from Monday to Friday between 6:30am and 9:30am as well as from 4pm to 7pm.

If you use public transport to travel outside of these times, that’s considered as off-peak and off-peak rates apply and will be cheaper.

Oyster Card

When visiting London, an Oyster Card is something you might want to take with you. You can save up to 50% when compared to a single ticket. The daily cost is usually £4.50 per day if you’re only using the same card for payment each time for buses and trams.

You can also use a contactless debit or credit card, but do read the guidelines from your card provider to ensure that your card qualifies and check if its free to use it in a foreign country.

Oh, and don’t make the same mistake as I did. When using the underground you usually ‚check-in‘ with your card and then ‚check-out‘. Don’t do this when using a bus though. You only need your card once then.

Flights & Airport transfers

London apparently has more than one airport. You can fly into London City Airport, London Heathrow, London Stansted and London Gatwick. Depending on your budget, you might want to check what’s the whole price for you. Hence, search for airport transfers beforehand to have an idea about how much a ticket will be.

Depending on your budget, you can get from the airport to central London in a number of different ways, but the cheapest usually is to go via Tube, train or bus.

For example: The Heathrow Express is about £22 and the Stansted Express will cost you around £20 for one way.

Apps

Without reading about London tube and some research on this, I wouldn’t have downloaded Apps like ‚Traffic for London‚ or the London Tube App. Especially when you’re not from Europe, offline maps like Citymapper can safe your day!

Citymapper can be used to figure out the quickest route for your journey and even works offline. You can set the app to alert you when to get off the bus or train at a specific stop.

Visit London Markets

London is especially known for its amazing markets, including the ones on Camden Lock, Portobello Road, Brick Lane and – my favorite – Borough Market. Do not miss them!

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You’ll be able to get your hands on a variety of different antique valuables, trinkets, jewellery pieces, fashion items, household goods, foods and fresh produce at a low cost.

For cheap food, Borough Market and Brick Lane is supposed to be one of the absolute best!

Do not hire a car in London

Unless you want to face the London Congestion Charge and incredibly high parking fees literally everywhere you go, I wouldn’t advise driving inside of London. Besides being really expansive, it is also super stressful.

You can also walk around pretty much everywhere, take the bus or the tube. Much more convenient and less stressful!

Purchase a power adaptor beforehand

These types of things always cost more when you buy them at the airport. Either purchase one before you arrive in London or purchase one from a local shop once you’ve got to where you’re staying.

The British power plug is “Type G” and has 3 pins. Voltage is 220-240V.

Check your bill for the service charge & tipping in London

Usually, tipping in London is around 10%. But sometimes, a 10% service charge is already included in the bill. Of course, you can still tip if you want but they won’t make you feel bad if you don’t.

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Related: London Instagram Spots.

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