Zones 1-2 cover the centre of London and most major attractions.

Zones 2-4 cover more suburban areas of central London, as well as places like Wimbledon Tennis Club and Wembley Stadium.

Zones 5-6 sits further out and includes sites like Heathrow Airport, Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens.

To check which zones you need, head to the London transport network map.

• The London Underground (the Tube)
• Overground and National Rail trains in London (except Heathrow Connect services between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow, and the Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express and Stansted Express)
• Southeastern high-speed rail services between St Pancras International and Stratford International
• London buses run by TfL (in any Zone, irrespective of the Zones shown on the ticket - but excluding Sightseeing buses)
• Trams in South London
• Docklands Light Railway (DLR)

Anytime Travelcards can be used at any time, while Off Peak Travelcards can only be used during Off Peak times.

Peak fares are in place from Monday to Friday, between 6:30 am–9:30 am and 4:00 pm–7:00 pm.

Off-peak fares are in place at all other times, and are also in place if you take a journey from a station outside Zone 1 to a station inside Zone 1 between 4:00 pm–7:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

The Visitor Oyster Card is a contactless smartcard that carries credit which you can use to pay for journeys on all public transport on the Transport for London (TfL) network. It is valid in all travel zones and automatically calculates the cheapest total fare for all the journeys you make in a single day.

The Travelcard is a paper ticket valid 24 hours that allows you unlimited travel on all London Transport services. It is available for certain combination of travel zones.

Whether you should get the Travelcard or Oyster card depends on how long you’re staying in London and how frequently you’ll be using public transport.

Whether you should get a London Day Travelcard or a Visitor Oyster card depends on how long you’re staying in London and how frequently you’ll be using public transport. Here’s a quick comparison:

Visitor Oyster Card:

• The most flexible option: pay as you go fares, with daily fare caps. No need to plan your zones, as you’ll only pay for what you use.
• Includes airport travel: you can use your Visitor Oyster card for airport transfers on the Gatwick Express and the Heathrow Express.
• Reusable: keep your Visitor Oyster card and top it up for future visits to London.

London Day Travelcard:

• Great for heavy use: the card covers unlimited travel in a set number of days and zones, so can be more cost effective than hitting the Oyster fare cap each day.
• No need to top up: the London Day Travelcard is a fixed, upfront price, so there’s no need to worry about topping it up with more credit.
• Great for groups: we offer a Group Day London Travelcard that offers the most cost-effective option for groups of 10+ travelling together.

Which one should you use?

• On a short visit, with occasional travel? Choose the Visitor Oyster card.
• Staying for a longer period and making many trips? Choose the London Day Travelcard.
• Travelling with a group of 10+? Choose the Group Day London Travelcard.

No, each person must have their own London Travelcard, except under 11s who travel free with a paying adult (four children per one paying adult).

Travelcard prices start at £16.60 for a central London 1 day Travelcard (zones 1-4).

Child Travelcards prices start at £8.30 (zones 1-4).

Travelcard refunds are handled by TfL. You can get a refund of the price paid, excluding delivery charges, if your Travelcards are unused, or if TfL strike action means you cannot travel on your travel date.

Post your Travelcards with your name, address, email, phone number and the reason for the refund to TfL Customer Services, 9th Floor, 5 Endeavour Square, London E20 1JN. See the TfL refunds page for details.

The travel date is printed on the ticket and cannot be changed. To travel on a different date, apply to TfL for a refund and place a new order.

Yes, so long as your Travelcard is valid on the day of travel and covers Zones 1-6.

Heathrow Airport is on the Piccadilly Line in London travel Zone 6, so Travelcards covering only Zones 1-2 will not be valid.

You can use Travelcards when travelling on the Elizabeth Line services.

The journey time between Heathrow Airport and central London is around 45 – 50 minutes.

• The Travelcards available on the TfL Visitor Shop are only valid to travel within zones 1-2 or zones 1-6, therefore they are not valid for trains to Gatwick Airport.
• You can use a Visitor Oyster card to travel to/from Gatwick Airport.
• You can also buy a Travelcard at the airport that includes a journey to/from the airport, but this ticket can’t be purchased online in advance.

The Travelcards available on the TfL Visitor Shop are only valid to travel within zones 1-2 or zones 1-6, therefore they are not valid for trains to Stansted Airport.

Stansted Express is the fastest way to travel to/from Stansted Airport to London. You can also buy a Travelcard at the airport that includes a journey to/from the airport, but these tickets can’t be purchased online in advance.

The Travelcards available on the TfL Visitor Shop are only valid to travel within zones 1-2 or zones 1-6, therefore they are not valid for trains to Luton Airport.

You can buy a Travelcard at the airport that includes a journey to/from the airport, but these tickets can’t be purchased online in advance.

The Travelcards available on the TfL Visitor Shop are only valid to travel within zones 1-2 or zones 1-6, including most National Rail services within the zones you have purchased it for. These tickets are not valid to travel on:

• Heathrow Connect services between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow
• Southeastern High-Speed services between St Pancras International and Stratford International

Children under 11 years of age may travel for free without their own Travelcard on London buses and tubes, but they need their own ticket to travel on any National Rail service.