A beginner's guide to the London Underground

An iconic city like London deserves an equally iconic train system, and there’s probably none more so than the London Underground, with its ubiquitous red, circular logo plastered at stations all over the city. Also fondly known as the Tube, it is the easiest way to get around London. However, its seemingly complicated web of train services can prove to be quite the headache for the uninitiated. This is where our guide comes in handy, giving you all the tips you need to travel the Tube like a seasoned local.

The London Underground is to London what the New York Subway is to New York City. First opened in 1863, it spans a total of 250 miles across London with 272 stations. It is the oldest metro system in the world, and one of the busiest. During its peak hours, up to 500 trains run concurrently, so you can imagine the sheer scale of its operations. Although it looks complicated, the Tube is relatively easy to figure out. Tube maps are easily available with stations, lines, and zones clearly indicated. All you need to do is trace your journey from one station to another.

The Tube is arguably the most popular means of transportation amongst Londoners and visitors alike. This is largely because it bypasses London’s busy traffic without a hitch. Apart from the occasional line closures, the London Underground runs seamlessly, and you’re never too far away from a station.

2010 called: they want their tickets back. Okay, so maybe single fare tickets can still be purchased, but you need to be familiar with the different stations and zones in order to calculate the cost of your journey correctly. For a more convenient commute, you can try using an Oyster Card, a Travelcard, or even your very own contactless bank card—each has their pros and cons.

An Oyster Card is a contactless card that you can store credits in, so you can easily pay for your trip as you go. There are two types of Oyster Cards—standard and Visitor. A standard Oyster Card can be purchased all over the city, including airports, but you will need to have an address registered in the U.K. to get it. Visitor Oyster Cards, however, are available for non-U.K. residents. While they’re not sold in physical shops, they can be bought online and delivered straight to your doorstep. With both cards, you’ll have the option of pre-loading them with a fixed amount of credits, ranging from 10–50 pounds ($13.50–$20.30). It’s a fairly convenient arrangement as your Oyster Card will be ready to go the moment you’re in London. Otherwise, you can also easily top up your card at top-up machines found in Tube stations, or at any of the 4,000 Oyster Ticket Stop Shops located around the city.

The good thing about Oyster Cards is that they charge pay-as-you-go fares, which are cheaper than buying a single fare ticket or a Day Travelcard. For instance, traveling from King’s Cross to Piccadilly will only cost 2.40 pounds with an Oyster Card, but 5.50 pounds with a ticket. There is also a fare cap, which means that no matter how far you travel, a single fare will not exceed a set limit. At the end of your travels, you can arrange for a refund for unused credits in your card; or you can simply keep it for your next trip to London—your Oyster Card remains valid as long as you use it once every 24 months.

Visitor Oyster Cards are a good option if you do not want the hassle of having to buy an Oyster Card only when you’ve arrived in London. If you’re willing to wait, regular Oyster Cards do come with more perks—you’ll be able to load Travelcards, refund the purchase fee of 5 pounds as well as register your card so that you can terminate credit reloading should you lose it.

Travelcards are paper travel passes that give you unlimited access to the Tube and other public transportation systems for a set period of time, depending on what you’ve purchased. You can get a pass for a day, a week, a month, a year, or any length between 1½ and 10½ months. The longer the period, the more discounts you will get. For instance, buying a 7 Day Travelcard that covers Zones 1 and 2 will only cost 37 pounds, as compared to the one-day equivalent that costs 7.40 pounds.

While Travelcards can be purchased at any Tube station, tourist information stands, and National Rail stations, buying a 7 Day Travelcard from the Tube comes in the form of a pre-charged Oyster Card along with the 5-pound non-refundable deposit. Thankfully, paper Travelcards can be bought in advance online and mailed directly to your accommodation, ready to use once you arrive in London.

Travelcards offer quite a few options—including a Group Day Travelcard for groups of more than 10—however they might be more expensive than pay-as-you-go cards if you’re not planning on getting around much in London on a particular day.

Contactless cards are by far the most convenient option—basically, if you have a bank card that has the contactless payment symbol, it can be used to pay the fare at the gantry right away. Generally, cards like American Express, Mastercard, and Visa are accepted, but check with your bank to be sure.

You can also use mobile payment apps that function just like a contactless card—accepted apps include Apple Pay, Barclaycard Contactless, BPAY, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

While contactless cards also charge pay-as-you-go fares, you’ll be paying adult fees regardless of age, and you need to take overseas transaction fees and exchange rate adjustments into consideration as well, so your overall fare might be higher.

For general travel purposes, especially if you’re planning on traveling far, we would recommend getting a Visitor Oyster Card because it’s just more convenient, flexible, and cheaper overall thanks to its fare caps. However, if you’re on a mission to hop on and off different stations all around London, consider a day Travelcard instead for its unlimited rides.

Different stations have different first and last Tube times, but as a general rule of thumb, trains start from around 5:30 a.m. (an hour later on Sundays), and end around 12:30 a.m. You can also check with the staff at your nearest station for a more accurate schedule.

On Fridays and Saturdays, however, some London Underground lines, along with the London Overground, run 24-hour services to cater to the large number of late-night events that are normally held during those two days. Also known as the Night Tube, these lines are Victoria, Central, Jubilee, Northern, and Piccadilly. Check your London Underground map to find out if the station you’re headed towards is along one of those lines before planning a late night out. Standard off-peak fares will be charged for these rides.

Being new to the London Underground can be daunting initially, but bear these general tips in mind and you’ll feel more at ease and even grow to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

If you’re familiar with the imagery of a train in Tokyo during peak hours, then the London Underground isn’t too far off either during its rush hours. Trains and stations are usually packed to the brim between 7:30–9 a.m. and 5–7 p.m. Avoid taking the Tube during these hours if you don’t want to be part of the sardine tin! Besides, there are more incentives to travel off-peak—namely, cheaper fares.

With a train network that is historically rich, you can be sure that many of the London Underground stations are culturally significant as well— there’s the 120-year-old Oxford Circus station and of course, for Harry Potter fans, King’s Cross Station, where Platform 9 ¾ can be found (no, you can’t actually go through the wall).

Nevertheless, if you’d like to know more about the Tube’s storied past from an experienced guide, you can embark on guided tours like the London Underground 2-Hour Tube Tour, in which you will get to hop between various stations whilst taking in both their history and impressive architecture; although some stations have been refurbished, elements of their original structure have been preserved. It’s a great way to get to know the London Underground in a more intimate way and learn how it has grown to become one of the most beloved modes of transportation for Londoners and visitors all over the world.

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