London Travel – London Visitor Tips

The centre of London between attractions isn’t as large as you may think and a short walk, with the kids, a bus ride or tube journey is all that will eb needed. Moving further afield, the underground is generally the best and fastest way around and is child-friendly. Is It Easy to Travel with Kids in London? Although London is a busy place, travelling with kids on buses, the underground or by black cabs are the easiest and safest options. Many attractions are only a few minutes’ walk from each other or a short tube ride. Taking children to explore London is a great family day out and the abundance of public transport makes it easy to move from place to place. Let’s run through the options. 10 Ways to Travel Around in London with Children 1. By bus 2. By underground (the tube) 3. By the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) 4. By mainline train 5. By a black cab taxi 6. By minicab 7. By car 8. By bicycle 9. By river 10. On foot 1. London by Bus with Children London is famous for its bright red buses and you will not be disappointed - there are over 1,000 of them on the roads at any one time. The kids will want to climb the stairs and travel on the top deck, so they can see everything there is to see. Take care of the younger ones, as there is a good chance the bus will have started to move before you all reach the top. Buses in London run between 05:00 am and 12:30 am although can be less frequent on some routes during the evening. Overnight, there are night buses running on many routes, which shows the prefix N with their number. During the morning and afternoon peak times, buses can be both frequent and very busy. Peak times are 08:00 am to 09:30 am and again between 4:30 pm and 6.30pm. In some places, schools finish at around 3;00 pm and you can find yourself surrounded by noisy children on what is generally known as the ‘buses from hell’. Due to the volume of traffic, bus travel can be quite slow, although, with an increasing number of dedicated bus lanes, they are often faster than cars. You can only board and alight from a London Transport bus at a proper bus stop. At each stop, you will see a list of the bus numbers which stop there. Although there are two types of bus stops, compulsory and request, it is best to raise your hand as the bus approaches to make sure the driver sees you and stops. As you approach your destination stop, ring the bell once so the driver knows you want to alight. Travel cards or using an Oyster Card provide the best value. 2. London Underground (The Tube) with Children The London Underground is the fastest way to travel around the capital and the extensive network can take you close to most places you are likely to visit. First-time travel for children on the tube can be a bit daunting, yet very exciting. As well as hoards of people, there are very long escalators to contend with and people walking past them. The trains as they approach the platform can be quite noisy and may frighten young children the first few times. Others love the rush of air pushed in front of the train as it approaches. Trains run Monday to Saturday from around 5:00 am to 12:30 am, and between 07:30 am and 11:30 pm on Sunday. On Friday and Saturday nights, there are night trains on some lines. The network is closed on Christmas Day. There are 11 different colour-coded tube lines which make journey planning easy. Some routes go from end to end, but several have branch lines. The distinctive Underground map is displayed at every station and is available as a handy app for your phone, so do download that. There are ticket machines at each station where you can use cash or a card to purchase your ticket. There are limited members of staff to help you. Once you have your ticket, go through the barrier remembering to pick your ticket out of the machine. Go down the stairs, the escalator or lift to platform level. Follow the sign to the line you need, remembering that some stations have multiple lines. With the escalators, always stand on the right as you can expect the locals to rush past you on the left and if you are in the way, they can be quite vocal. Watch for the display boards to see which train is due next and its destination. It may be that you will have to wait for more than one train before the one you need arrives. Check the map boards so you know which destination train you need. On arrival at your destination, use the barrier machines to exit. This time, unless you have a return ticket, the machine will retain it. The London Underground is divided in to six separate charing zones, with zone one in the centre on zones six at distant ends. There are also zones seven, eight and nine which extend it to and beyond Greater London. If you in London for more than a day, then an Oyster card can save you money on the underground and on the buses. 3. Docklands Light Railway (DLR) The DLR. is an overland rail system which runs principally to the east of London. They link the City with the now developed Docklands area The trains are automated and driverless. This is great fun for children, who can sit right at the front and pretend to drive the train! There are several interlinked routes and you may have to change DLR trains to reach your destination. London City Airport, which is only nine miles from the centre of London is served by the DLR. DLR trains run from 05:30 am to 12:30 am Monday to Saturday and 06:30 am to 11.30pm on a Sunday and are closed on Christmas Day. Like the underground and buses, peak times for travel are 08:00 am to 9.30 m and 4:40 pm to 6.30 pm on weekdays. Oyster cards and travelcards can save you money. 4. London by Train with Children If you live outside London and are travelling in for the day, the mainline trains offer good connections from much of the country. The kids will be ready for their big day out and the train journey is the first part. Mainline stations feed into London from all directions and each reaches a terminus, such as Waterloo, Charing Cross, Paddington, King’s Cross and many more. All mainline station terminuses are attached to the London Underground, making it quick and simple to hit the attractions as quickly as possible. Rail fares can be expensive, but with a little planning, costs can come down. Family Railcards need to be bought in advance and can reduce the cost of travel by a good percentage. Depending on where you want to go in London, a combined Travelcard covering mainline rail and the underground inner zones will work well. Deals change frequently, so check your local rail company for details. 5. London Taxis and Children London’s distinctive black cabs are an icon around the world and no visit to London is complete without at least one trip. There is nothing quite like a first London taxi ride for youngsters. Remember to take a picture or two of them in the cab. London ‘cabbies’ have to pass a tough test know as ‘The Knowledge’ in order to hold a licence. This is not the case with any other public ire drivers. Your cab driver will know exactly where your destination is and can work out the shortest or fastest route in their heads. It is quite a skill. You can tell if a black cab is available, by the yellow ‘TAXI’ light on the roof when it is illuminated. Hail a taxi by raising your arm in the air. Black cabs can also be found at rail stations, airports, some hotels and other formal taxi ranks across the city. Does a black cab have to take you wherever you want to go? Well, yes and no. The yes is that when they have stopped, they are obliged to take you up to six miles from your pock-up point and inside the Metropolitan area. The no is that they can decline your fare if it falls outside this criterion. However, many will take you a greater distance if you ask, but they have the right to decline. The fare is shown on a meter which seats as you enter the cab. This is based on a. Combination of distance and time and you will see the cost increase as you had towards your destination. There are different tariff rates operating between 06:00 am and 08:00 pm on weekdays; 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm on weekdays and between 06:00 am and 10 pm on weekends. Expect to pay more outside these times and on bank holidays. Tipping a cab driver between 10% and 15% of the final fare is normal. 6. London Minicabs London has a myriad of minicab companies and individuals. Theoretically, these should be licenced, but there are some rogue drivers out there, so take care. The rise of Uber and Lyft has brought thousands of one-person operated cars on to London roads and these can be a blessing or a curse. The blessing being there is more choice and the curse id more traffic jams. Many minicab drivers don’t have anything close to the knowledge of London you will find with black cabs and may not drive the most efficient route. With a mini-cab, always agree on the fare before you enter the car. 7. London by Car Are you sure? Really sure? London is a very busy and congested city and best suited to public transport rather than driving by car. Central London in particular can be extremely slow, especially during morning and afternoon rush hour. Roads outside the centre can also be very busy with plenty of stop-start travel. In the centre, the Congestion Zone attracts a daily fee of £11.50 (07:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday) which has to be paid on the day. If you register online ahead of travel, the cost comes down to £10.50. The rate increases if you pay the following day and after that, a fine of £130 is due. The system uses ANPR (Automatic Number-Plate Recognition) technology for identification. If you hire a car and don’t pay, your hire company will change our card and may add an administration fee on top. Parking on London is generally in pay-and-display roadside bays or car parks. Payment can be by cards, telephone or increasingly phone apps only. If you park in the wrong place or overstay your welcome, you could find the vehicle is either clamped or towed away. This is where things start to become expensive. All that said, driving in London isn’t the end of the world and there are numerous car hire companies to help you with short term use of a car. Many hire companies offer delivery of a car to where to are staying and they can also be picked up from airports. 8. London by Bicycle Bringing children into the centre of London with bicycles isn’t recommended. The roads are very busy and congested in the centre and the pollution levels from cars and lorries is intense in places. The further out you go, the better it will be. Helmets are essential in London. Bicycle hire services operated from many spots across the city where you swipe a card, pick up a bike and you are on your way. These hire bikes, which are quite heavy and not designed for children, can be dropped at a different point. The whole service is automated. Whether you have your own bicycles or are hiring, make sure you always lock them to somewhere secure, to avoid theft. 9. London by River Bus What better way to see London, than from the River Thames? There are regular river bus services run by Transport for London, which runs four routes between Putney and the west and Woolwich Arsenal in the east. The timetable for river buses varies during the year depending on the season. As well as the TfL routes, there are other river tours and cruises available. 10. London on Foot You can stroll along the riverbanks, run in the parks or stroll around the streets. London is a big place, but many attractions are close together and a walk will often reveal some interesting buildings or places to explore. If you are keen walkers, there are numerous guided walking tours, covering anything from Jack the Ripper, to Harry Potter film locations. RELATED ARTICLES Talking of transport, the London Transport Museum is a great place to see vintage buses, trams, and underground engines and has plenty to keep the kids amused.