• At Heathrow, check the departure signs for the Elizabeth line, or for Heathrow Express services to London Paddington, or the Piccadilly line. Elizabeth line trains from Heathrow also call at the West End, the City, and Canary Wharf, in addition to connecting to many Tube lines
• At Gatwick, check the departure signs for the Gatwick Express, or standard trains to London Victoria
• The lines have different prices and journey times, so check before you travel.
• Tap your Visitor Oyster card on the yellow card readers at the turnstiles, and head to the relevant platform
• Board the train and travel to your destination. Remember, you’ll need to tap out your card again at the end of your journey

• Children under 11 travel free on buses and trams.
• Children under 11 travel free on Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and some National Rail services when accompanied by a fare-paying adult, with a maximum of four children per adult.

• Children aged 11–15 can enjoy half-price journeys with their Visitor Oyster Card.
• Once you’ve arrived in London, ask any member of TfL staff at our underground stations, or visit any Visitor Centre to add a Young Visitor discount to your card. Remember, your child will need half the credit you require as an adult.
• The child must be present when adding this discount.

• You can find information about London Transport accessibility in our Transport Accessibility guide.

• Visitor Oyster cards deduct credit every time you make a journey.
• After you make several journeys in one day, you will reach the daily cap, and the rest of the journeys you make on that day will be free.
• Different journeys cost different amounts depending on travel zone and time of travel. Daily caps also vary according to these factors.
• Peak times are more expensive than off-peak times. Peak times are Monday to Friday, 06:30 am – 09:30 am and 04:00 pm – 07:00 pm. All other times are off-peak.

• For a single journey on the Elizabeth line the recommended amount is £15.
• For a single journey on either the Gatwick Express or Heathrow Express, the recommended amount is £25.
• A day of unlimited travel in central London within zones 1-2 is currently capped at £8.90. A £30 card will cover 3 days of travel in zones 1-2, excluding travel to and from airports.

Unfortunately, Visitor Oyster cards cannot have Railcards or Travelcards applied to them.

• No, each person must have their own Visitor Oyster card, except under 11s who travel free with a paying adult on Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, and some National Rail services – up to 4 children per adult.
• However, children under 11 do not travel free on most National Rail services unless they have a 5-10 Oyster photocard.

You can use your Visitor Oyster card to travel to and from Heathrow Airport, London City Airport (using DLR) and Gatwick Airport.

• Visitor Oyster cards from us cost from £20.50 to £60.50.
• This price includes a £10.50 card fee, and the rest is credit that is pre-loaded onto your card. So if you buy a card for £60.50, for example, your card will have £50 credit on it.

If you run out of credit, you can top up your card at any station or at thousands of shops throughout London. You can also make one bus journey without any credit. The cost of the journey will be deducted when you next top up your Visitor Oyster card.

Unused cards can be returned to us within 1 month of purchase for a refund of the price paid, excluding delivery (see our terms and conditions). After that, refunds of remaining credit are handled by TfL:

• By phone: 0343 222 1234 (08:00–20:00, 7 days a week; charges may apply)
• By post: send your card with your name, address, email and phone number to TfL Customer Services, 9th Floor, 5 Endeavour Square, London E20 1JN
• In person: at Visitor Centres, including Heathrow Visitor Centre (Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Tube station) and Victoria Visitor Centre (Monday–Friday, 9:00am–4:30pm)

The £10.50 activation fee is not refundable. The card is cancelled once refunded. See the TfL refunds page for details.

As per Transport for London’s terms and conditions, the £10.50 activation fee is a non-refundable fee required to purchase a Visitor Oyster card.

• London Underground (the Tube)
• London Overground
• Most National Rail services in London
• London buses
• South London trams
• Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
• Elizabeth line
• IFS Cloud Cable Car
• Gatwick Express
• Heathrow Express
• Thames Clippers River Bus services