Last trains leave central London at around 00:30 weekdays, 23:30 sundays. First trains leave the suburbs around 05:00. Check the TfL Journey Planner to establish if you can make the trip by Tube when travelling early or late. Finally, if you are travelling with a group of up to five and it's not rush hour, you might find that a taxi doesn't cost much more than the Tube would cost for the lot of you, and it can be much quicker, for short trips.

You can buy a Travelcard for 1, 3 or 7 consecutive days for any combination of travel zones. If you’re just sticking within Central London, pick up a Zone 1 & 2 pass.There’s no need for an All-Zone pass unless you plan on heading out to the more suburban areas of London. Fees for Travelcards start at £6.60 and are valid on the Underground, Docklands Light Railway. Bus system and National Rail (but not the Heathrow Express) for the entire day, depending on whether you bought a Peak or Off-Peak pass. They also give you a one-third discount off river services. Off-Peak passes start after 9:30 am. A Travelcard for 7-days covering Zones 1-6 will cost an adult £50.40 but can be worth purchasing if you will be using the transport system across a variety of Zones, hopping on and off a lot of trains each day that the Travelcard will be valid.

Unfortunately, for long-term gain this means short-term pain and some stations, station facilities (escalators/lifts etc) and sections of line may be out of service at various times, especially weekends and/or late evenings/early mornings.

Outside of the centre of London, Tube stations are farther apart, so buses help fill the gaps. Also, the budget-conscious will find that the bus offers a cheaper alternative, even if it is a slower journey.

A bus ticket costs £2.20 if paying with cash. It costs £1.30 if using an Oyster Card with a dail price cap of £4.00). You can top-up your Oyster from tube stations and newsagents. The One Day Pass is valid until 4:30 the following morning, so you don't need to worry about getting home after a late evening out. The bus is a nice alternative to the Tube as well because it offers more chances for sightseeing. Plus, it gets you out of the stuffy, un-air conditioned Underground stations, which is definitely a good thing to keep in mind during the hot summer months.

On regular buses, only board via the front door and either show your ticket or pass to the driver, touch your Oyster on the reader or hand him the stub of your Saver ticket. On bendy buses you may board any of the three doors, and there is no need to show your ticket to the driver. There are Oyster readers at each door. The exception is for those using Saver tickets - you must still board at the front and give the stub to the driver.

There are two types of bus stops; compulsory and request. Compulsory stops are white with a red roundel; request stops are red with a white roundel. The principle is that buses will always call at compulsory stops unless they are full but only at request stops if a passenger on board rings the bell once to signal that he/she wishes to get off or if an intending passenger at the bus stop hails the bus by holding his/her arm out parallell to the ground. In recent years, Londoners have taken to signalling their desire to get on or off a bus by ringing the bell/holding their arm out irrespective of whether the stop in question is compulsory or request. Visitors are advised to do likewise: there is now a risk that even at compulsory stops drivers will carry on regardless if no-one has indicated that they wish to get onor off. Two tips about ringing the bell: (i) if someone has already rung it there will be a STOPPING sign illuminated at the front, so there's no need to repeat the operation: and (ii) remember to signal in plenty of time - the driver won't brake hard if you suddenly signal as he/she passes the stop.

Night buses cover the whole of the London and generally run all through the night at frequencies ranging from hourly to 4 an hour, seven nights a week. The most densely trafficked routes are the radial ones from the centre out into the suburbs and vice versa. Those that follow exactly the same route as their daytime equivalents carry the same route numbers. However, some differ from the daytime routes: these can be recognised by the prefix ‘ N’ in front of the route number. Check the times and the route detail on notices at the bus stops. Also, remember that, as at night all stops are officially treated as request stops, you should always signal to the driver that you want to get on or off.

There are also a number of leisure cruises available. The length of time it takes on a number of routes means that you should consider them an attraction in their own right rather than as just a means to get from one place to another. The journey along the River Thames, once out of the City, gives you the chance to view a number of the Riverside towns and a chance to see a large variety of birds and other wildlife that live on the banks of the River Thames. Most leisure services will also have toilet facilities (important on a two hour plus trip) and light snacks and drink available (although these can be expensive so plan ahead and bring your own). A number of routes will only make a couple of round trips each day so it important to get hold of the timetable and plan your trip in advance. The timetable will also vary depending on tides, weather conditions, and season which is another good reason to plan ahead as much as possible.

You can think of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and the Tramlink as extensions of the Underground. Travelcards purchased at Tube Stations will be valid on the DLR and Tramlink.

The DLR is the easiest way to reach a number of attractions in East London. The DLR connects with a number of the other train services (including connections at Tower Hill or Bank Stations) and can be used to reach Greenwich, Canary Wharf, and Stratford.