How To Use The London Tube For The First Time
If you’re looking for how to use the London Tube for your upcoming trip, you’re in the right place!
Traveling to a new place can be a scary experience, especially when you’re not sure how you’re going to get around. Using the London Tube shouldn’t cause you any worry though!
I was lucky in New York since I could walk to most places from my Airbnb rental, and when my feet became too exhausted I was able to take a taxi the rest of the way without spending an arm and a leg.
I had originally thought I could implement this method when I ventured to London alone, but things are very spread out in London, and the price of staying central was too much for me at the time. I realized then I would have to learn to use the London Tube!
The thought of having to learn this gave me a lot of anxiety, but it was all for nothing! I had a wonderful experience using the Tube and it was one thousand times easier than I had anticipated.
One thing that I found SO HELPFUL was purchasing an Oyster Card ahead of time. You can choose the amount you would like and they will send it straight to your house. Be sure you have enough time to do this before your trip, otherwise you can buy one from Heathrow Airport. (Note: Prices are higher during higher traffic times, so try to travel during off peak hours to try and save a bit of money).
Another thing I did to make life easier, is I chose an Airbnb rental within a two minute walk of a stop on the Picadilly line. This way I only had to worry about was getting on the Tube on one end, and hopping off at my stop. No switching. Now that I know how the Tube works I wouldn’t hesitate to step outside of the Picadilly line, but it was comforting the first time around (also was helpful as I ended up with a stomach bug on the plane so I wasn’t feeling my best).
No need to worry about getting lost when you first arrive. There are helpful signs everywhere directing you to the Tube in Heathrow.
When exploring through London, don’t worry about keeping track of what station you’re getting off at.Unlike cities such as Toronto, London is covered in Tube stops! You can get off at one station, then when you’ve finished your exploring, you can head to the nearest station to where you’ve ended up.Just check to see what station connects with the line you need to get where you need to go next. Easy peasy!
It’s easy to check how to get where you need to go. Large maps are in every station and on the train cars themselves.
They also have free handy maps to bring along with you. I accidentally grabbed too many..
Hopefully this has been helpful in calming any nerves you may have about how to get around London.If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section and I’ll do my best to answer!
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