Travel essentials – our easy to follow guide to help you around the capital

Getting to the capital

London officially has 6 airports, but most internatioal visitors come into either Gatwick Airport or Heathrow. From the former, you can get the Gatwick Express non-stop train service into London victoria station in around 30 minutes.

Trains run up to four time an hour which is a great service and cost from £17.80 for a single and £33.70 for a return. Booking online saves around 10 per cent off the price at the train station and if you are travelling in a group of three to ten adults, booking together in advance will save you up to around 35 per cent off the normal price.

Southern trains also serve London victoria which is a busy station, as well as London Bridge and Clapham junction (Tickets around £12 single; journey time is 30 minutes to victoria).

Thameslink trains run to London Bridge, London Blackfriars, St Pancras international and Farringdon (From £11 single).

Heathrow express is a non-stop service from the airport to Paddington station and from the airport to Paddington station takes around 15 minutes, dependent on terminals your travelling from. This is a great service where trains run every 15 minutes every day. This costs around £22 single.

Alternatively you can travel for only £5.50 via TFL Rail trains which take around 30 minutes. (Oyster cards would be ideal when travelling back and forth).

Useful sites when travelling: www.gatwickexpress.com / www.heathrowexpress.com / www.tfl.gov.uk

London is BIG but most of the attractions are actually walking distance from one another. Sometimes taking a stroll from one tube station to another is advised. (Picadilly Circus to Leicester Square).

You can pick up a colour map of the tubes from any tube station – after all, its a great service. The most practical way to travel via tubes is via an oyster card or tap and travel. The smartcard is a quick and easy way to pay once you’re in the city, it reduces the cost of fares and can be used on the tube, buses, trams, the DLR, most train services, Thames Clippers river bus services and even the Emirates Air line.

www.tfl.go.uk

By Natasha Syed