All our properties are within a five minute walk
of a tube station so you can easily access London’s extensive
and efficient public transport system. We will send you a
tube map so that you can see how to get to everywhere you want to
go from your flat.
London has a travel smartcard called
an Oyster
card which you can use on the tube, buses, Docklands Light Railway
(DLR), the tram (from Wimbledon to Croydon), London Overground trains
and some National Rail Services.
You can order an Oyster card before
you travel from Visit
Britain and it will be posted to your home. Once you are in London,
you get an Oyster card from any tube station.
You load up your Oyster card with £10, £20
or more credit and your fares are automatically deducted
when you use the yellow touch pads at stations and on the buses. You
will be charged the lowest fare or have the difference refunded.
You will need one Oyster card for every person aged
11 years or older. Younger children travel free as
long as they are with an adult.
If you are tired or it is late, you might want to
use a London Taxi which can carry five people. You
can hail them in the street by waving your arm at the driver. Make
sure you look to see if the yellow “taxi” light above
the driver is on. If it is off, then the taxi already has a passenger.
There are also taxi ranks at mainline stations and many other places
in Central London. (We strongly recommend that you do not use minicabs
as they can be dangerous, especially for lone women.)
Walking is one of the best ways
of getting about London. Equip yourself with an AtoZ
street directory book and you will be able to find your way around
easily. You can even get an AtoZ
app if you have an iPhone.
London is not car-friendly. Traffic
is heavy and there is a congestion
charge of £8/day in Central London. Parking meters are scare
and can cost £2.40/hour. Carparks can cost up to £7/hour.
If you want to rent a car to travel
outside London, we recommend Hertz
Car Hire. They have an office on Edgware Road, near Oxford Street,
which is easy to get to from all our flats. If you want to treat yourself
to a prestige car, we recommend CityInterrent
in Bayswater.
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