Looking for advice on best public transit options for our family of three (me, my husband and our 9-year-old son). We arrive at LHR on a Monday, plan to take the Tube to our hotel near the Waterloo station, which we have for one night before transferring to our Airbnb in Islington, where we'll stay until the following Monday. We don't plan to travel outside London aside from a likely afternoon trip to Greenwich. I believe my son is free on London transport as long as he's traveling with us as two paying adults. From what I've read on other threads in this forum, it doesn't sound like the Oyster card is a great option. The better option is that we just tap in and out on the Tube and busses with our phone or (different) credit cards. But do we need to purchase or establish some sort of travel plan before our first trip on the Tube? What do we do for our son? Anything? Thank you for any insights you have!
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1565 posts
No you just turn up, tap your card and off you go.
Your son is free. Go to the larger gates marked as being for luggage and people with children. These are at the end of the rows. They stay open for longer so you can both get through together.
Posted by
Cornwall
572 posts
Btw Greenwich is in London.
Posted by
OP
Milwaukee
198 posts
re: Greenwich is in London - yes, I know. But it's outside the main "zones" of London public transport, isn't it? I might be wrong on that and am also realizing I had the sentence written a bit differently originally and then edited it.
Posted by
OP
Milwaukee
198 posts
Thanks, Helen. This all sounds too easy!
Posted by
London
187 posts
One suggestion I would like to make is using the Elizabeth line rather than the tube to get to your hotel- the trains are bigger so there is more room for luggage etc. You can get the Elizabeth line from Heathrow to Tottenham Court Road in about half an hour and then change to the Northern line to go a few stops down to Waterloo. I personally find it a nicer and easier journey than the Piccadilly line (tho it is slightly more expensive). Good luck with the planning- and consider taking a boat down to Greenwich if you're not in a hurry.
Also re: zones- Greenwich is still within the normal Transport for London zones (zone 2/3)- so no need to do anything differently in regards to payment.
Posted by
back in the Americas
754 posts
Hi Nicole, there is a wonderful online tool to help you use London's public transportation and see all the different options, ( bus, tube, rail) to get you to where you want to go. I have a son that lives in London and I visit yearly for a few weeks and always use public transportation and this site is very helpful to me. I always consult it for routes and times. It shows you your fastest options and lots of other info too. Take a look at the Transport for London Journey Planner. I do not use ApplePay and I personally don't like getting my credit card out to make small charges. I have an Oyster card that I got about 15 years ago. As soon as I get to London I put about 25£ on it and then top up as needed and use it for all my travels in London on public transport.
Posted by
Washington DC
28852 posts
I believe you only tap in on buses, not out. But definitely tap both in and out on the Tube. I managed to exit one station (maybe Waterloo) without walking through a fare gate. That's a potentially costly error, so I now try to really focus on that tap at the end of the ride.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
9092 posts
CityMapper is my favorite app for navigating London.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4976 posts
Mass transit in London is easy, yes. As Nike used to say, just do it - tap and go. But as my dentist noted the other day, he purposely didn't take the Tube on his first trip because he wanted to see the sights, so he was all about the buses.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34621 posts
some tube and DLR stations are marked as, for example, 2/3. That is because they are on the border and it allows people only using inner London prices, Zones 1 and 2 to benefit, and allows people only using mid-outer London prices, Zones 3 and 4, to benefit too.
If you look at all the DLR stations heading down to Greenwich most are Zones 2/3 for that reason... If you get a train further east in and around Greenwich you will see that they are in Zone 3 proper. If you want to save a few pence stay in 1 and 2 for the daily cap.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34621 posts
the DLR can be a bit tricksy - it not only has yellow touch pads (don't forget to beth tap in and tap out on the DLR) it also has pink touch pads at some stations for transfers. Be sure to use the right ones.