London is a huge, bustling city with an incredible range of sights, activities, and transport options. For students new to the city, the idea of travel may sound slightly confusing at first, but luckily this isn’t the case. From its iconic red buses to the infamous London Underground and rentable bikes, the capital has a variety of travel options on-hand for you to choose from.
Here are just a few of the tips and travel methods we recommend when it comes to finding your way round this busy city:
Our London Travel Tips
1. 18+ Student Oyster Photocard
The cheapest way to travel in and around London is by making use of a student Oyster card. Students over 18 can use this card on the London Underground, red London buses, DLR trams, and a variety of other transport options.
An Osyter card is a smartcard you top up on a pay-as-you-go credit basis at any tube or overground station, as well as any shop with a blue Oyster card sign. Owning an Oyster card gets you 30% off adult-rate weekly, monthly, and annual travel cards, as well as bus & tram season tickets.
Find out more information about Oyster cards here.
2. 16-25 Rail Card
If you’re using National Rail services to travel between home and London, or even to get around London, a 16-25 Rail Card is for you.
Owning a Rail Card allows you to get 1/3 off prices of tickets and can result in a huge amount of money saved for regular travellers.
3. Travel Hours
When travelling round London, the difference between peak and off-peak hours can vastly affect your journey. Travelling in the peak hours of 6:30-9:30am and 4:00-7:00pm will usually result in your journey taking much longer than usual.
Not only is it less busy in off-peak hours, but services such as the London Underground have cheaper rates for those travelling on the tube in off-peak hours
4. Walk
Hear us out – while walking may sound like an obvious travel option it can be a sensible idea depending on where you’re going and what time. In peak times when tube stations are busiest and lines are long, we recommend loading up Google Maps and checking the walking time estimate.
Not only will walking also save you money, but it’ll give you a chance to take in London’s many sights!
5. Santander Cycles
For just £3 you can cycle round the city on a Santander bike!
Getting started is easy, all you have to do is use the Santander Cycles app or take a bank card to any docking station and you can get going.
5. Bus
When it comes to travelling around London as a student, we recommend making use of London’s big red buses.
While the tube can be more direct and can save time depending on your destination, London’s buses can make a relaxing change to the cramped environment of the underground.
By making use of the 18+ Student Oyster Photocards previously mentioned, you can also get 30% off all weekly, monthly, and annual bus passes
6. Hopper Fare
A new introduction to London’s public transport is the hopper fare. This allows students and the public to ‘hop on’ any London bus or tram for £1.75 and then swap to any other bus or tram for free within an hour of starting their journey.
To get the most out of discounted travel using the hopper fare we recommend planning your route in advance.
Apps to help you with London travel
Stuck for choice? Luckily, there are apps you can download to your smartphone that can help you out with your travel.
1. Citymapper
A free to download app, Citymapper can be a lifesaver when it comes to finding your way round the busy capital. Just type in your location and your destination and the app will work out the best routes for you to travel whether it’s by tube, bus, rail, walking or something else!
2. Tube Map
London’s network of tubes can be confusing, so you’ll likely find this app on many people’s smartphones around the city.
The Tube Map app helps you plan the route of your tube journey as well as helping you make sense of the various stations and lines.
3. TFL Go
TFL’s official map can be a big help when moving about the city, with live bus and train times for every station as well as live updates on all TFL network transport such as buses, tube, London overground, TFL trams and more.
Not only this, but the TFL Go app allows you to check accessibility at London stations such as information on toilets, lift statuses and platform access
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