London Transport: Which ticket do I need?

London Travelcard  A paper ticket for unlimited travel for 1 or 7 days

Visitor Oyster card  A pay-as-you-go smartcard that you top up with credit

Find the cheapest pass and ticket type to buy for your trip to London with our three step decision guide.

What is a zone?
A zone is a part of London's tube network. Every stop on the tube is in a specific zone, and to travel there you need a ticket covering that zone. For example, Baker Street station is in Zone 1; Victoria station is in Zone 1; Wimbledon station is in Zone 3.

How to check which zones you need a ticket for

First, check which zone you are staying in

• To do this, you need the postcode of the hotel or place where you'll be staying. This is at the end of the address and is a code made up of 5-6 letters and numbers. You can usually find the address and postcode on your hotel's website
• Once you have the postcode look it up on a map, such as Google maps. On the map, look for the nearest  symbol. This is the nearest tube station
• Now you know the nearest tube station, look it up on our London tube map to see which zone it is in. Find the name of the station in the index on Page 2; the zone number is listed beside it

Now you know which zone you're staying in, consider the other places you want to travel to, such as attractions

• Most major attractions in London are in zones 1 and 2, including: The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and The Shard
• There are also some major attractions beyond zones 1 and 2. To visit them, you need a ticket covering the zone they're in as well as the zone your hotel is in. Major attractions which are outside of zones 1 and 2 include Kew Gardens (Kew Gardens tube station, Zone 4), Hampton Court Palace (Hampton Court rail station, Zone 6), Wembley Stadium (Wembley Park tube station, Zone 4), and Wimbledon (Wimbledon tube station, Zone 3)
• Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6, so you need a ticket that covers Zone 6 to travel to or from Heathrow by tube

Step 2: Decide how many days you need a ticket for

• If you are travelling around London for more than 4 consecutive days, you may be able to save money with a weekly ticket. Our decision tables will tell you if this is the case

Step 3: Decide whether you need to travel before 9.30am Monday to Friday

• It can cost more to travel on London transport before 9.30am on Monday to Friday, so if you don't need to travel during this time you may be able to buy a cheaper ticket. Our decision tables will tell you if this is the case

Once you have followed these steps, click the relevant link to find the right ticket for you:

Cheapest ticket for adults (ages 16+) travelling before 9.30am 

How to use the table: Choose the number of days you are staying and the zones you will be travelling in to find the cheapest ticket. For example, if you are staying in London for 4 days and need to travel in zones 1 and 2, you should buy a 7 Day Zones 1-2 Travelcard for £34.10.