The London Travelcard is the original pass for public transport in London.
It is very simple to understand. You pay up front for a ticket which gives you unlimited rides for a stated number of calendar days. These days are consecutive, the pass ends 7 days after the first journey.
You can currently buy Travelcards for periods of 1 day, 7 days, 1 month or 1 year.
Unless you are going to make just one single journey on public transport in London then you should really be looking to either purchase an Oyster card, contactless payment card or a London Travelcard transport pass, and not pay for single tickets.
For example, paying cash for a single Underground journey in central London is more than double the price of the same journey with an Oyster Card.
The Travelcard pass covers:
You cannot use your Travelcard on the Heathrow Express train as the group are not part of the Transport for London network.
You can use your Travelcard on the London Underground, TFL Rail Heathrow and London red bus services from Heathrow.
Gatwick, Southend, Stansted and Luton airports are outside London beyond the scope of London public transport. Therefore, Travelcard does not cover buses and trains from these airports. Although you can use Oyster cards on the Gatwick and Heathrow Express.
City Airport is serviced by the Docklands Light railway (DLR) and is also covered.
London organizes the public transportation network into zones that extend outward from the city centre. Zone 1 features most hotels and popular attractions.
Heathrow Airport is situated in Zone 6, while they designate Zone 9 as the outermost zone.
For most travellers, the journey will typically be confined to the two central zones, 1 and 2. The London Underground map, clearly indicates the stations along with their respective zones.
Certain stations, such as Turnham Green, span two zones, allowing you to choose the zone that offers the best fare calculation for your trip.
Although with a Travelcard you have unlimited journeys for a flat fee, the fare zones you want to travel in determine the price you pay for your Travelcard.
The more fare zones you want covered, the more expensive the Travelcard.
London’s red buses do not have zones. In fact if you have a Travelcard for zones 1 and 2 you can travel in all the other zones as well using London’s red buses.
Use our links below to see the London price zone maps for both the Underground and Rail network. You will be able to clearly see the zones marked across the map and then look where your station of interest sits within which zone.
This is an easy way to work out the potential price of travel in London, by looking at the places you want to visit and seeing which London zone they sit within.
Many of the key attractions are located in zones 1 and 2, but there are also some interesting places to explore a bit further from central London. For instance, you might consider visiting Hampton Court, which is in zone 6, or Wimbledon, which falls in zone 3.
Underground Map Tube & Rail Map
A 1 day Travelcard comes in a choice of peak and off peak variants, the price differential is substantial.
The peak travel period is if you travel between 4.30am and 9.29am Monday to Friday.
For a 1 day Travelcard only, if you want to travel during this time you need to purchase the ‘Peak’ period 1 day Travelcard product, otherwise the much cheaper off peak Travelcard will do.
For a single day of travel, an Oyster card is usually a lot more affordable than a Travelcard and is never pricier.
Travelcards for 7 days or longer are valid at all times.
Travelcards are valid for calendar days, not 24 hours from when you first use. However you can use your Travelcard the day after the last day if your journey departs before 4.30am.
The most convenient place to buy Travelcards for visitors are Underground stations, including Heathrow Airport. You can pay cash or credit card.
However, Underground and DLR stations no longer have manned ticket offices. You have to buy from a ticket machine.
If you prefer a person to serve you there are also many Oyster Ticket Stops all over London in neighbourhood stores, newsagents etc that display a sign in their window or stations run by the railways (not the London Overground, Underground or TFL Rail Stations).
If you feel nervous purchasing a public transport pass from a ticket machine after entering a strange country, you can buy Travelcards online from TfL (see link below) and have them delivered to your home address internationally.
| Zone(s) | One Day Peak* | One Day Off-peak | 7 Day | 1 Month | 1 Year |
| Zone 1 only | £16.60 | £16.60 | £44.70 | £171.70 | £1,788 |
| Zone 1 to 2 | £16.60 | £16.60 | £44.70 | £171.70 | £1,788 |
| Zone 1 to 3 | £16.60 | £16.60 | £52.50 | £201.60 | £2,100 |
| Zone 1 to 4 | £16.60 | £16.60 | £64.20 | £246.60 | £2,568 |
| Zone 1 to 5 | £23.60 | £16.60 | £76.40 | £293.40 | £3,056 |
| Zone 1 to 6 | £23.60 | £16.60 | £81.60 | £313.40 | £3,264 |
*Peak fares apply for any travel made Monday to Friday before 9:30am. All other travel is off-peak.
Children under 11 can travel free on the Underground, DLR and buses. For those aged 11 to 15, having an Oyster 11-15 Photocard allows them to travel free on buses.
Children’s Travelcards cost 50% less than the adult fares listed above. To access these child rates, children must have an Oyster 11-15 Photocard. Children under 11 can travel for free on buses, the Underground, DLR, and Overground.
Individuals who are 16 or 17 years old can apply for an Oyster 16+ Photocard to access child fares on 7 Day, 1 Month, and Annual Travelcards.
Travelcards are a flat rate travel pass where you have unlimited rides in the selected zones for the time period purchased. You can use your travelcard across the London Network (with a few exceptions), so the travelcard covers your complete travel for a set time period and for a set fee paid up front.
Oyster/Contactless payment cards are charged on a per journey basis but there is a daily maximum you can be charged. This is called the price cap. Once you hit this ‘price cap’ through all the individual fares adding up, you are no longer charged for any subsequent journeys made that day.
A good example is the daily Oyster/Contactless payment cards price cap is less than the cost of a 1 day Travelcard, so travel over one day is cheaper. Over longer periods Travelcards can work out cheaper depending on your travel. For instance a 7 Day Travelcard is less expensive than an Oyster or Contactless payment card if you travel 3 or more times each day for 6 days or more in a 7 day calendar period.
This is a detailed area and can be confusing, so we created a dedicated page Comparing Travelcards and Oystercards, this page looks in detail at the difference between a travelcard, Oystercard and contactless payment cards to help you find the best fit for your visit.
Most visitors will just travel in the central zones 1 and 2. If you are staying more than 5 days in Central London then a 7 day Travelcard zone 1-2 is probably going to be cheaper than just an Oyster card. However a Travelcard on its own with fixed travel zones is not very flexible for the occasional trip outside these zones.
You can load 7 day Travelcards onto your Oyster card and use them in combination with Oyster on a Pay As You Go basis for a single journey.
Note this flexibility is not available on Visitors Oyster cards or contactless payment cards and is not available for Travelcards purchased from railway stations and online.
A typical example is someone arriving and departing at Heathrow Airport in zone 6 and spending say 6 days in the centre of London (zones 1-2) before flying out.
By purchasing an Oyster card at Heathrow Airport Underground Station and buying a 7 day Travelcard zone 1-2 (electronically loaded onto the Oyster by the ticket machine) plus a minimal amount of Oyster cash both Oyster card and Travelcard will will work seamlessly together.
The 7 day Travelcard zone 1-2 will cover all travel in the central zones 1 and 2. Then on the Underground airport transfer journeys the Travelcard still covers the section of the journey in zones 1 and 2 but the Oyster will kick in automatically to cover the section of the journey in zones 3 to 6 at the lowest cost using the cash on the Oyster. You do not physically have to do anything it is all automatic.
Similarly, if you are staying in London for 9 days you might buy an Oyster card and use it on a PAYG basis for 2 days and have a 7 day Travelcard loaded and use that for the remaining 7 days.
Visitors to London do not have access to senior fares.
If you live in London and are of pensionable age, you can obtain a Freedom Pass for free travel. Additionally, if you’re 60 or older and reside in London, you can get a Seniors Oyster ID Card, which allows for free bus travel. You can apply for these online or pick up a form at your nearest Post Office.
Anybody with an English National Concessionary bus pass can use that on London’s red buses too, and travel free of charge.
If you have a railways Seniors Railcard you can get your 1/3 discount on off-peak Oyster fares. You have to ask a member of staff to load the concession onto a standard Oyster card (note, not a Visitors Oysters card) at an Underground station after showing your Seniors Card.
If you have a Senior Railcard you can also buy a 1 day off-peak zone 1-6 Travelcard at the discount applied.
This is a very complex subject and is covered in detail below.
Generally, a child is defined as under 16 years old, but in the last couple of years it has been possible to get child fares after jumping through a few hoops up to the age of 17.
Children under 11 can travel free on the London Underground, DLR and buses without a ticket. If a child is between 11 and 15 years old, you require an Oyster 11-15 Photocard (which has a fee, see below). This allows 11 to 15 year olds to travel at child fares on the Underground, DLR, Overground and some trains, free on the buses.
If you are a short-term visitor (in London for up to 14 days) with kids between 11-15 you can take advantage of the Young Visitor Discount. This means you can get half price fares on an Oyster card on a temporary basis for your child without going through the hoops and expense of getting an Oyster ID card. You do need to read carefully the rules of this scheme though.
Children under five can travel free at any time on the Tube, DLR, buses and trams as long as they are accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. You do not need a ticket for free travel. Children in this category do not need Oyster ID Cards*.
Under-11s can travel free at any time on buses and trams without the need for a Oyster ID Card*. You do not need a ticket for free travel.
They can also travel free at any time on the Tube, DLR , Overground and any TfL train service when they are travelling with an adult who has a valid ticket. Up to 4 children under 11 years old accompanied by a paying adult travel free.
Travel on the national railways which operate suburban commuter trains in London only have free travel for those under 5. In the last year or so many train routes in London have switched from the railways to TfL Rail.
Confusingly a few national railways routes where both rail and TfL rail operate on the same tracks children under 11 can travel free on the railways trains – this includes the popular route for visitors between Euston and Watford Junction (for Warner Bros Studio Tour London – the Making of Harry Potter).
Unaccompanied children between 5 and 10 must have a valid Oyster ID Card*.
Children aged 11 to 15 years must get an 11-15 Oyster ID Card* to travel free on buses and trams and at child-rate on Tube, DLR and London Overground services. You do not need a ticket for free travel, just the ID Card.
You cannot get a standard child rate Oyster card without an Oyster ID Card.
Young Visitor Discount (for visitors to London staying up to 2 weeks)
If you are a short-term visitor to London you can get child fares on a special child Oyster card that expires after 14 days. There are restrictions. You can only get these Oyster cards credited with a Young Persons Discount at Underground stations, TfL Rail stations, Visitor or Travel Information Centres and Victoria National Rail station ticket office. For full details of this scheme click through on the Child Fares banner to the right.
Alternatives to Oyster cards for children
You can get around the Oyster ID card requirement by purchasing a 1 day Travelcard for the child (longer length Travelcards do require an Oyster ID Card), paying the cash fare or purchasing your Child Travelcard online in advance from the TfL Visitor Shop.
You can buy 7 day child Travelcards at railway stations (not Underground or Overground) with a railway ticket office. The railways will issue a railways photocard free of charge if you bring along a passport size photo of your child. You can only use this for buying tickets from the railways which in practise for visitors means Travelcards.
All 16 to 17-year-olds can travel at child-rate on bus, Tube, tram, DLR and London Overground services with a 16+ Oyster ID Card*.
However, you can only use this concession on Oyster cards and 7 Day Travelcards or longer, not 1 day Travelcards.
If you are 18 or over and enrolled with a participating education establishment registered on the TfL scheme and are resident in London while studying there is an Oyster ID card that gives a 30% discount on adult-rate Travelcards and Bus & Tram Pass season tickets.
Apply for a child’s Oyster ID card
Advance application for Child Oyster ID Card
*Oyster ID Cards
Visitors to London from overseas can order an Oyster Photocard in advance for their children and collect on arrival at a travel centre. There is a Travel Centre at Heathrow Airport as well as in Central London. If you are resident in the UK but live outside London you can again order online but the Oyster ID Card is sent to your home address.
Note you need to apply (online) at least 4 weeks prior to arrival.
Note: There is a non-refundable £10-£20 administration fee for each Oyster ID Card
This ticket is for groups of 10 or more travelling together.
This in scope is the same as a 1-day off-peak Travelcard for zones 1-6 and 1-9 providing unlimited travel on all services after 9.30am Monday to Friday and all day Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
The pricing is particularly attractive if you have kids in the group and those staying in one of the outer zones, however if you are staying in the centre of London zones 1 to 3 it will be cheaper to purchase individual Oyster cards.
If you are a group of 10 or more then do check out this product.
Manned ticket offices are no longer available at Underground and DLR stations. Instead, you can find ticket machines in the ticket hall that dispense all tickets. Typically, there’s a staff member nearby to assist you if needed.
The same machines will allow you to top up your Oyster cards or see what the balance is on your Oyster card and they will also allow you to cancel your Oyster card and get your deposit and any cash left on the Oyster refunded.
If you prefer to talk with someone when purchasing tickets, you can find Oyster ticket stops. There are plenty of these, usually located in convenience stores or newsstands that offer public transport tickets as an additional service. You’ll spot these places by the sign in their front window.
The cost of your ticket is determined by the zones of your starting and ending stations. Your trip begins as you pass through the ticket barrier at your departure station and concludes when you exit through the barrier at your destination.
It’s important to note that you cannot make any stops during a single fare journey; once you go through the exit barrier at any station, your journey is considered complete.
To enter the platforms and leave a station, you need to go through automatic barriers, as shown in the image. There is always a spacious ticket barrier available for those using wheelchairs, pushing strollers, or carrying large suitcases.
If you have a single ticket, the barrier at your destination will not return your ticket. There is a manned side gate by the barriers. If you have a Travelcard you insert the Travelcard into the same slot as for the single tickets, the barrier will check that your Travelcard is valid for both date and zones travelled.
If you have an Oyster card or Contactless payment card you swipe the card over a bright yellow pad, the barrier will check validity and will record the station you have started your journey before opening the barrier. The barrier may display the balance on your Oyster too.
At your destination station, exiting through the barrier in effect tells the system you have ended your journey and it works out the fare to be deducted from your card.