toptiplondon header image

  • Places to Visit
  • Sightseeing
  • Practical Tips
  • Where to Stay

London Underground Tickets & Travelcards

The Travelcard is a transport pass for London that gives you unlimited travel in London within certain zones . The prices vary according to the number of zones you need to travel through. Central London is in zone 1.

Travelcards are valid for 1 day, 7 days, 1 month or 1 year.

The passes are valid for travel on all types of transport in London including:

  • the Underground (the tube)
  • the local suburban trains within London
  • the Elizabeth Line (not west of West Drayton)
  • the Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
  • the London Overground
  • the buses all over London. A Travelcard for any zone allows you to use the buses in all zones (zones 1-6)

The 3 Day Travelcard, weekend Travelcard, Zone 1-2 & 2-6 One Day Travelcards are no longer available.

Visiting London for 1-7 days? See our guide to London’s transport tickets & passes . The Travelcard may not be the best ticket for your stay.

Single Underground Tickets

Single paper tickets on the London underground are expensive if you buy them from a tube station ticket machine:

  • £6.70 for one journey in zone 1 (central London) and between zone 1 and zones 2 to 6
  • See single ticket prices for all zones .

One Day Travelcards: 2024 prices

Using a Pay as you go Oyster card or a contactless card are the cheapest ways to pay for travel if you’re in London for 1-5 days. The daily cap is £8.50 per day for zones 1-2

If you really don’t want to use an Oyster card or don’t have a contactless card, the One Day Travelcard is the next best money-saving pass.

The paper Off peak One Day Travelcard for zone 1-6 is  £15.90. This is expensive, but still cheaper than paying the full cash fare for 3 underground trips in central London (3 x £6.70 = £20.10 ).

One Day Travelcard fares from 3 March 2024

Peak v anytime travelcards.

One Day Travelcard prices are different if you travel during peak or off-peak times:

Anytime Travelcard Valid for travel at anytime. Off-Peak Travelcard For travel after 9.30am Monday–Friday and all day Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

Top Tip: An Off-Peak One Day Travelcard for zones 1–6 costs  £10.40 with a Railcard .

Weekly Travelcards: 2024 prices

If you stay in London for 6–7 days and use the underground, trains, and buses every day, the weekly Travelcard is the most cost-effective travel pass.

The one-week pass including central London (zones 1-2) is  £42.70.

  • It can start on any day of the week
  • It’s valid for travel at anytime; there is no peak or off-peak rate.

Most places sell weekly Travelcards loaded onto a plastic Oyster card. There’s a £7 fee for the Oyster card.

Your fare on an Oyster card will automatically cap at the weekly Travelcard fare (this is already available on contactless cards). The cap starts on Monday and ends Sunday, so it mainly benefits Londoners or those working in London.

Weekly Travelcard fares from 3 March 2024

  • See weekly Travelcards prices for all other zones (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)

Monthly Travelcards: 2024 prices

For longer stays in London, monthly Travelcards are available. You won’t save much compared to buying 4 x weekly Travelcards – but you’ll save time renewing it. Like the weekly Travelcard, it can start on any day of the week and is valid for travel at any time. See monthly Travelcard prices for all other zones (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)

Monthly Travelcards from 3 March 2024

Where to buy travelcards.

One day, weekly and monthly Travelcards are available from:

Underground stations

Travelcards are available from all underground station ticket machines (there are no longer any underground tickets offices). The busier stations in central London have staff to help you use the machines.

Local shops and newsagents

Travelcards are also available from Oyster ticket stops . These are newsagents and local shops licensed to sell London transport tickets and Oyster cards. One Day Travelcards are not available from Oyster ticket stops.

London train stations

One Day Travelcards are available from all London train station ticket offices and ticket macines. Paper weekly and monthly Travelcards are no longer available from train stations . They are available to buy, but they are loaded onto an Oyster card and may only be available from ticket machines, not ticket offices.

London Transport Visitor Centres

TfL Visitor Centres at Victoria train station, Kings Cross/St Pancras International station, Heathrow Terminal 2 & 3 tube staion, Liverpool St station & Piccadilly Circus tube station.

How to use a Travelcard

On the underground.

If you have a paper One Day Travelcard or single ticket from a ticket machine, insert the card into the slot on the front of the ticket barrier. The barrier opens when you take the ticket from behind the yellow reader, on the top.

If you have a paper One Day Travelcard, just show it to the driver when boarding the bus.

See How to use an Oyster card if you have a weekly Travelcard on an Oyster card.

Top Tip: Do you want a cheaper way to travel around central London? If you only travel by bus , it costs £5.25 per day or £24.70 per week.

Related pages

  • Guide to London’s transport tickets
  • Weekly and monthly Travelcards for zones 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
  • Oyster card
  • How to use a contactless card to pay for transport
  • Bus tickets & passes
  • London Transport zones

Last updated: 22 February 2024

Transport tickets & passes

  • Guide to London's transport tickets
  • One day & weekly Travelcards
  • Zone 2–6 weekly Travelcards
  • Bus tickets & passes
  • Oyster single tickets
  • Oyster card refunds
  • Contactless cards
  • Child tickets & passes
  • Local train tickets

Useful information

  • Plan your journey
  • London transport zones

Popular pages

  • Left luggage offices
  • Congestion Charge
  • 2 for 1 discounts at London attractions
  • Oyster cards
  • Top free museums & galleries
  • Cheap eating tips
  • Heathrow to London by underground

Copyright 2010-2024 toptiplondon.com. All rights reserved. Contact us | Disclaimer | Privacy

IMAGES

  1. How do I buy a London Underground ticket?

    day travel card london underground

  2. Get Unlimited Travel With A London Travel Card (Zones, Prices and More

    day travel card london underground

  3. London Day Travelcard

    day travel card london underground

  4. London Travelcard: How it works, When do you need one

    day travel card london underground

  5. London Underground one day travel card

    day travel card london underground

  6. Why the London Underground travelcard is called an Oyster card

    day travel card london underground

VIDEO

  1. The London Underground: Revealing the Do's and Don'ts You HAVE to Know!

  2. Paper ticket, oyster or contactless card London Underground #shortvideo #shorts #uk

  3. London tourist ? How using the underground ! Day travel card or Oyster card

  4. TRANSPORT FOR LONDON I LONDON I PUBLIC TRANSPORT I BUSES I UNDERGROUND I OYSTER CARD I UK I TOURISM

  5. London Underground June 2014

  6. WHAT IS #LONDON #OYSTER CARD? How to use and #topup? What are the alternatives? What #Routes to use?

COMMENTS

  1. Travelcards

    Top Tip: An Off-Peak One Day Travelcard for zones 1–6 costs £10.40 with a Railcard. Weekly Travelcards: 2024 prices. If you stay in London for 6–7 days and use the underground, trains, and buses every day, the weekly Travelcard is the most cost-effective travel pass. The one-week pass including central London (zones 1-2) is £42.70.