UK Spring 2025 - London transportation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The transportation in London is very convenient. We arrived in Heathrow T3 and the Underground station is about 5-10mins walk from the Arrival hall, it's not far but not exactly near either. Just follow the signs at the Arrival hall and head towards a ramp which will bring your all the way to the Underground station. 

You can buy the TfL Oyster cards from the machines before entering the turnstiles.

You have the choice of using: 

1. Buy a TfL Oyster card when you are in London
We used this method as it's the most convenient and safest way to travel. The Oyster card cost £7 and is non-refundable, you need to top-up upon purchase. We took the card home as a souvenir, plus there's no expiry on the card so you can use it again if/when you decided to visit London anytime in the future :)

2. Your own Debit/Credit card which supports contactless payment
If you have Debit/Credit cards which do not charge international transactions fees, this is also another option. We didn't use this though because we didn't want to flash either our credit card or Wise card in crowded areas, especially on the tube stations. The good thing is the transportation system is able to calculate the daily cap on buses or tube if you are using the same card, similar to the Oyster card.

3. Order a TfL Visitor Oyster card and get it posted to you 
We've read some bad experiences with this as the card is sold by 3rd party merchants, not directly by TfL. The visitor card cost the same as the Oyster card you buy from the machine and the courier charges are insane! In the event the card got  lost in the post, well... Good luck recovering that :(
Visitor Oyster Card

More details from TfL's official website:
Tfl tickets and Oyster card

 

Remember, for buses, you just need to tap once when you enter, you don't need to tap upon exit. Basically the daily cap on buses or tube is after 3 taps, you will not be charged on the 4th tap onward.

 

The TfL Go app is very useful as it lets you keep track of your credit on your Oyster card.

 

Refunds on unused credits in your Oyster card is also very simple and convenient and you can do it at the Heathrow Underground machines before heading to the airport's departure hall:

You only have the choice of getting the refund in cash.

UK Spring 2025 - Qantas Lounge Heathrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Qantas Lounge in London Heathrow is located in T3 Lounge B, just a short walk after airport security. You can check-in to your flight fairly early to enjoy a hot shower and some snacks prior to you long flight back home. We checked-in 4 hours before our flight. Entry can be bought at the entrance, as of 2025/5/14, adults are £65 and children are £40. Or if you have lounge pass invitations, you need to link the invitations to your QFF membership 48 hours prior to and print out/show the invitation email at the reception :)

Do note that, unlike the Lounge in Changi Airport in Singapore, there is no way you can purchase the London lounge passes in advance via QFF website or App. Entry passes can can only be purchased in person at the Lounge entrance. At the time of this posting, this information is unavailable anywhere on the internet, even Qantas customer service is unable to provide much info on this.

More details on the lounge and amenities on Qantas's official website:
Qantas International Lounge Heathrow Airport London 

 

On the usage of the shower facilities, they are on the upper level. There are staff manning the area, handling out towels and coordinating which bathrooms to use, etc. Everything from shampoo and shower gels are provided, you basically just need to bring some fresh clothes and some dental care products with you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most people would know about this already but we'll just put it here just in case. You can bring liquid pass airport security with the following conditions:
1. containers must be 100ml or less, i.e. you cannot bring a 150gm half used tooth paste or 50ml of shampoo in a 200ml container 
2. all 100ml (maximum) containers must fit into a 20cm x 20cm transparent zip lock/resealable bag 
3. only 1 of the above mentioned bag per person 

Anyway, after a refreshing shower, you can relax and enjoy some food/snacks and drinks and look at planes taking off. There's food there but don't expect a full-fledged buffet, drinks are pretty good however we wanted to get some sleep on the plane hence limiting our alcohol consumption before the flight.

Till next time and thanks for reading :)