London Underground - before you start
Get yourself a Visitor Oyster Card before you leave home. Use it as a smartcard on any journey within London. It's a quick and easy way to pay for the bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and most National Rail services in the capital.
Put money on your Visitor Oyster card and use it to pay as you go. When the card is nearly out of credit, you can top it up at any station, Visitor Centres or local Oyster ticket shops (newsagents near the pension, for instance).
There are lots of money saving offers simply by presenting your Visitor Oyster Card at participating venues across London. Best of all, the card never expires and you can pass it on to a friend.
How much credit do you need buy?
If you’re visiting London for 3 to 4 days, we recommend buying a £30 card. You can always add more credit if you run out. Visitor Oyster Cards are valid across all travel zones and automatically calculate the best value fare for all the journeys you make in a single day - as long as you have touched in and out.
Typically, a single adult fare within zone 1-2 at any time will cost you £4.90. Now if you can travel after 9:30 am, with an Oyster card, you’ll only pay £2.40.
Travelling with children
Children under 11 years travel FREE when accompanied by an adult. You need to touch in and out as normal with your Visitor Oyster Card but ask a member of staff to let your group through the side gate. Children aged between 11 and 16 should buy a Visitor Oyster Card but ask at the station or visitor centre to apply a Young Visitor discount on the card. They will only pay half the adult fare.
Using your Visitor Oyster Card
At the start of the journey, you must touch the card on the yellow card reader. So that you pay the correct fare, remember to touch the yellow card reader when you exit any station otherwise you might be charged a maximum or penalty fare. However, when you travel by bus, you only need to touch in at the start of the journey. The video below shows you how.
New! Hopper fare
You can now take two bus or tram journeys for the price of one within an hour. Find out more.
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
- St Augustine
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