Travelling around London
London is one of the most congested cities in the world and so getting around is one of the biggest concerns for tourists and residents alike. Fortunately there's a bewildering array of ways to find your way to your destination. For the tourist on a budget, it is probably best that you avoid the numerous black cabs and head for the underground or "tube". The London Underground is the most comprehensive underground train network in the world (even though most of it is actually above ground!). The chaos which ensures when the tube workers go on work is testament to the huge volumes of people who travel on the system every day. The best value ticket is the travel card, which will also allow you to travel on buses, trams and trains in London until 7 am the following day – so you don't even need to get a taxi home from your night out, you can just hop on a night bus.
One kind of bus that isn't covered by the travel card, though, is the iconic open-top bus. These buses run specialised tourist routes in the very centre of the city. While they don't really often a glimpse into the "real" London, they do offer a very convenient and efficient way to visit the most important sites. The thing to bear in mind is that much of the public transport network radiates out from the centre to the suburbs to transport workers into their jobs during the week, rather than offering an easy way to hop about the iconic spots which are dotted around central London.
London Transport Links
One area where the network does let the tourist down is the transport links to the major international airport at Heathrow. While the train links to the other airport at Gatwick are very quick and regular, the preferred option for many new arrivals is an hour-long tube ride into the centre before switching to another mode of transport to the hotel. At peak times, this can be plain uncomfortable as the line is also a popular commuter route. This is probably one area where it is worth splurging, either getting a pick up from the serviced apartment or maybe booking a taxi to avoid the pain of lugging your bags on a packed rush-hour train. Or if you're really well-off, you could get a helicopter transfer to your apartment, but then you probably wouldn't be reading this article!