Going to London. Really scared. No clue.

[london101asap]

Hi so we are staying near London Excel.

I'm so scared of getting the tube.

I see there is a cable car we can walk (25 min)

Once off the other end though the nearest bus stop to a 48 hop on bus (London Bridge) is a 3 hour walk.

How do we get to from the cable car to the bus?

Dh is used to travelling all over the world and the uk but not around London only the outskirts.

Tween daughters want you to see the sights. Do you get off at every sight then wait for another bus?

I'm so scared as we are relying on dh who has adhd and I have severe anxiety but our 12 and 13 year olds really want to go.

Any advice please?

Or how about you grow up and learn how to have a polite discussion with someone? Rather than still acting like a school yard bully.

Tween daughters want you to see the sights. Do you get off at every sight then wait for another bus?

You might enjoy a hop on hop off bus. Avoid the tube and a relaxed way to see everything.

Also a boat trip on the Thames.

city-sightseeing.com/en/95/london

Hi OP. As a hardened Londoner I rolled my eyes a t this one but then remembered that when I’d been out of London for a couple of years I had to book myself into a Police “ safety for women “ course before I could face the tube again. Now it’s like walking across the road. As others have no doubt said use any contactless card. If it makes you feel more secure use TFLs journey planner in advance and if there’s a ticket office open you can get a little tube map to help you prepare mentally for future tube journeys. Don’t stand near the edge. Carry a bottle of water or two with you it gets hot down there (especially the Victoria line). Good luck!

Stay at home then

I visit London once a year. Plexie sums up the fare paying system perfectly. If you use your debit card the charge doesn’t show on your banking app till the following day. If you follow the tap in/tap out system as she describes you will be pleasantly surprised by how reasonable your previous day’s travel was.

London is a nice city in a first world country.

You don’t have to. I’m a Londoner and I never take the tube.
there are plenty of other options… taxis, Uber, overground (sort of the tube but doesn’t go underground), driving, walking, bus…

Walking and buses is the best way to see London.
In the 80s (no phone!) I DID lose friend on the tube ( I got off too early)... but she just got off at the next stop and waited for me to catch up. Maybe have that arrangement in place?

I’m assuming you live nowhere near any city, so this is a big deal for you.

Nonetheless, your anxiety is really not normal. I hope you get some help with it, but more importantly, you can conceal it from your children.

Enjoy London!

I love the tube. I tend to stick to the same three lines as I don't like the circle line. however most of the sights are walkable. Walk along the Thames path. You will see a fair bit that way.

For sights, the number 11 bus is good you can take it from Chelsea to Waterloo it goes past the Houses of Parliament. Or no 15 from Aldwych to the City past St Paul’s and the Tower of London. These are public transport buses BTW not tour buses. Again, use your contactless card.

If you don't mind walking, lots of tube stations are only 10 min walk from each other.
You'll need to use some public transport to get from Excel into the centre, but in central London you can walk to lots of places quite easily.

Paying is contactless just like you would in a shop. The tube stations usually have barriers with yellow circles to tap.

As a pp says the Elizabeth line and most of jubilee line have clear barriers with doors that line up with the tube doors so it's impossible to fall on the track. If there isn't delays and it's not rush hour there will be plenty of space on other lines too.

@london101asap some people are being unnecessarily bitchy on this thread.
Please ignore them.
The tube is easy once you get the hang of it but it's not compulsory to use.
Take your time and enjoy the trip 🙂

No need for that. This person is anxious and asking for help. You can just scroll on by you know, rather than making OP feel even worse than she already does.

Lots of advice here but I would add, I'm not keen on the tube and there are lots of buses around and beyond central London. I was wondering if we should do a river bus outing, as although I've lived in London for 29 years I've not done that, nor most of the touristy stuff.

The tube is faster over distances but it's not always the fastest way to get around in central London, by the time you add in all the getting down to and up from the platforms. And on the bus you can look out at the city rather than tunnels.

Paying for transport: look up the Transport for London website www.tfl.gov.uk - you can pay with contactless cards but you'll need one each - and with your teenagers you might be better getting Oystercards
tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card
and a young visitor discount each for your kids to get half fares

You can use your debit card to tap in and out of the stations. It gets capped at 13.60 a day. Ask in the station the assistants will be glad to help get tickets for your girls. It's very safe

If you're going for fun rather than needing to be somewhere specific then just relax and take things at your own pace. Rather than stress about getting from A to B, see the whole thing as the experience. You can get on and off the tube where you like. What does it matter if its the wrong stop? You're not going to find yourself whisked off to another planet and as long as you've got money you'll be able to order an Uber to get you back to base if necessary. If I want to go somewhere specific I tend just to Google 'how to get from docklands to Brick Lane' for example, and you get the options. Involve your kids. Make it an adventure.

I can understand you’re especially anxious because you’re not familiar with London. We don’t live anywhere near London and my son had to go into it and use the tubes for the first time and on his own, when he was about 18. He was really nervous so I looked it up and sent him details of the lines and stops. Because it was all clearly plotted out for him he sailed through it.

Can you do the same, have the journeys clearly mapped out first? There’s no reason to miss the stops if you know what each one will be.

No I live in a major city but as I have anxiety I don't go out much.

Tube (including the Elizabeth Line which you can get to Excel) - you have to tap in and out at the barriers. About 95% of the time the barriers will be closed so you won’t miss

DLR - the red driverless trains. May be the same as tube depending where you get on/off (eg the DLR at Bank is inside the tube station) but most are stand alone with big yellow circles that you need to tap

Bus - you get on at the front of the bus and tap in. You get off either middle or back and don’t tap out when getting off

Worse case scenario if you forget to tap you will get charged the maximum daily charge for all your journeys which these days is about £15 I think

As pp’s said Citymapper is brilliant. You put in where you are/want to start your journey and where you want to get to and it will tell you multiple options both on public transport and foot on how to get there

Hop on/Hop off stop many places but good places to join one is either Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Sq just near the M&M shop or just at the Ritz on Piccadilly

When I am in a new city I also go all the way round once without getting off to get my bearings and then get on and off depending what I want to see. You will get a map on the bus or you can look it up online

Dont be scared. It’s an amazing city and if you need help then just ask in a shop, tube station or a tour guide at the hop on hop off stops. People are not scary and ai am sure will be happy to help

Just ignore the vile comments, they don’t know what it’s like to live with anxiety.

If you message me I’m happy to give you a step by step walk through of how to navigate London it can be overwhelming but it’s actually a lovely city and the people are so friendly too. I went there for our wedding anniversary

You really don't need the faff. Just use a debit or credit card - one per person.
Please don't worry, people in London can be helpful and TFL staff always are

This was on the Victoria line at 11.30am (ish) 2 weeks ago. The scribbled out people we're my 7 and 3 year old and my husband.

We are from Yorkshire. I used the city mapper app for hopping on and off the tubes which was easy, told me which line i needed and if we needed t be N, S, E or W. Its all well signposted. You don't need to go near the edge until you get on the train.

We saw all the sites as my sons request.

Tapped in and out of the tube with our debit cards and were charged at the end of the day or the next day, I cant remember but it was a total charge of £8.20 which is the cap I think.

Did some walking between Westminster, Buckingham Palace and Oxford circus.

First time we have done it with kids and it was completely fine. None of us lost each other and even if we had we had responsibility of a child each and we both have a phone.

If that’s true you must literally never leave the house.

Op I know that part of London well and I have a tube free plan for you.

If you're staying near excel, you'll be on the dlr. It's all overground and a pleasant journey. You can get to Tower gateway Station on the dlr. Don't forget to tap out, I don't think there's a gate thetr.

From there, you're a couple of mins walk from two big tourist places- Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

From tower gateway dlr, you can get bus from there over the river, to London Bridge. Only takes a few mins. London dungeon is very close to there. There's also Borough Market which is fun to wonder round.

From where you're staying, you may be close to Royal wharf, you can take the uber boat into Central London. Or to greenwich, with the lovely Greenwich Market, Greenwich Park and various museums. You can also take the dlr to Greenwich from where you're staying, but you'll need to change lines. Get off at cutty sark Station. The dlr goes briefly underground just before cutty sark as it goes under the river.

If your kids like shopping, you can take the dlr to Stratford Westfield.