First time in London: the practical guide for 2026
Nobody tells you that one card tap can save you twenty pounds, that the cheapest train from Heathrow is also the slowest, or that standing on the wrong side of an escalator will earn you sighs from a whole queue. This is the guide we wish we had on our first trip: what to sort out before you fly, what it really costs, and how London works.
Key facts
- Permission to travel: a visa, or an ETA (£20) if your nationality does not need a visa; required for everyone except British and Irish citizens and people with UK residence status
- Tube fare: £3.10 peak, £3.00 off-peak within Zone 1, with contactless or Oyster
- Daily cap: £8.90 in Zones 1–2 and £16.30 in Zones 1–6, frozen until March 2027
- Bus: £1.85 per journey from 1 November 2026, with free changes within an hour; bus-only daily cap £5.55
- Plugs: three square pins (type G), 230 volts; bring an adapter
- Emergencies: 999; non-emergency medical advice 111
Before you fly
Visa or ETA
Since 25 February 2026, almost everyone travelling to the UK needs permission to travel before boarding a plane, train or ferry. Nationals of countries that need a visa must get a visitor visa. Nationals of visa-free countries, including the EU, the USA, Canada and Australia, need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which has cost £20 since 8 April 2026. It is valid for two years and for visits of up to six months. Apply only through the official GOV.UK site or app: other websites charge more. Every traveller, including babies, needs their own. Details for every nationality are in our UK visa and entry rules guide, and you can apply at GOV.UK: get an ETA.
Flights
Choose your airport by where you are staying, not just by price: a cheap flight into Stansted or Luton can cost an extra hour and £20 or more to reach central London. Our flights to the UK guide compares routes. For flights from Ghana and the rest of Africa, our partner site GhanaFlights.info covers airlines, airports and routes in detail.
Insurance and phone
Take travel insurance with medical cover: visitors from outside the UK can be charged for NHS hospital treatment. Check your phone's roaming costs, or buy an eSIM or a UK SIM card on arrival. Free Wi-Fi is common in cafés, museums and stations.
Arriving: from Heathrow to the centre
Heathrow has three train options, and the right one depends on your budget and where you are going:
- Piccadilly line (Tube): the cheapest, about £5.90 to Zone 1 with contactless, but the slowest at around 50–60 minutes. It stops at Earl's Court, South Kensington, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus and King's Cross. Runs all night on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Elizabeth line: £15.50 to Zone 1 since March 2026, about 30–35 minutes, and it runs right through central London to Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf. The best choice for most people.
- Heathrow Express: 15 minutes to Paddington only. Expensive if you buy on the day, much cheaper if you book weeks ahead. Worth it only if you are staying near Paddington.
A black cab to central London often costs £60 to £100 or more. From Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, trains and coaches run to the centre; see the UK airports guide and the Heathrow guide.
Fares and caps: how not to overpay
London's transport runs on pay as you go. Tap a contactless bank card, phone or Oyster card on the yellow reader at the gate when you start and again when you finish a Tube, Elizabeth line, DLR or Overground journey. On buses and trams, tap only when you get on.
- Daily caps: once you reach the cap, every further journey that day is free. £8.90 for Zones 1–2, £16.30 for Zones 1–6 including Heathrow on the Tube. Caps and Travelcard prices are frozen until March 2027.
- Peak hours are Monday to Friday, 06:30–09:30 and 16:00–19:00. Outside those hours and at weekends, fares are slightly cheaper.
- One card, one person: use the same card or phone all day so the cap works, and each traveller needs their own card. Do not let your phone and your watch fight over the reader: pick one.
- Always tap out. If you forget, you are charged the maximum fare.
- Buses: £1.85 per ride from 1 November 2026. The Hopper fare lets you change buses free within an hour.
- Children under 11 travel free with an adult on the Tube and buses.
Money and tipping
The currency is the pound sterling. London is close to cashless: cards and phone payments are accepted in shops, pubs, markets and taxis, and some places take no cash at all. A little cash is still useful for small market stalls and tips. Use a card without foreign transaction fees, and when a card machine asks, always pay in pounds, not your home currency: the machine's exchange rate is usually poor.
Tipping is modest. Restaurants often add a service charge of around 12.5 per cent to the bill; if they do, you do not need to tip again, and the charge is optional. Without it, about 10 per cent is normal for good service. Nobody tips at the bar in a pub. Rounding up a taxi fare is common. Tour guides appreciate a tip at the end.
Health and safety
Call 999 for police, ambulance or fire in an emergency, and 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk for urgent medical advice that is not an emergency. Pharmacies (chemists) can advise on minor problems without an appointment. Hospital treatment can be charged to visitors from abroad, so carry your insurance details.
London is generally safe, but pickpocketing and phone snatching are common around busy sights, on crowded Tube trains and outside stations, often by thieves on bicycles or scooters. Keep your phone away from the kerb, your bag closed and in front of you, and never leave it on a café table. Only use licensed black cabs or minicabs booked through an app or office; never get into an unbooked minicab that approaches you in the street.
The unwritten rules
- Stand on the right on Tube escalators; the left side is for people walking.
- Queue. For buses, shops, the bar, everything. Pushing in is the one thing Londoners will not forgive.
- Let people off first before you board a train, and move down inside the carriage.
- Look right when crossing: traffic drives on the left. The words "LOOK RIGHT" are painted at many crossings for a reason.
- Keep your voice down on public transport, and do not block the gates while you search for your card.
- "Sorry" and "cheers" are used constantly. Say them.
Tours and experiences in London
A guided tour on your first day is the fastest way to find your feet. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but are always welcome.
Read next
Where to stay, free museums and London's hidden history.
Visa or ETA, for every nationality.
Terminals and transport in detail.
Routes from Africa and worldwide.
The African side of the story
Britain Adventures is an independent partner website. Our partner sites on Africa and its history are where the stories on this page continue:
- Pan-African: African Independence · Uganda · Egypt · Sierra Leone · All African Radio Stations
- Ghana: Ghana-Net · Cape Coast Castle · Elmina Castle · James Fort, Accra · They Made Ghana · War Cemetery Cape Coast
- Across Africa: Kenya Web News · Explore Nigeria · Gambia Vibes · Zambia Vibes
- European history: V2 Rocket and Peenemünde · Tannenberg Memorial
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