RoadtripDave

We're off to London for our second time and plan on doing day tours to Canterbury, Dover, Windsor Castle, etc....Is there any advantage to a travelpass for more than zones 1&2 for these types of day trips???

Kate

No, The zones system only operates within London. The places you're visiting are outside London. So unless you're planning on taking the tube to the end of the line and catching some regional train (highly unlikely), then you won't need to extend your travelcard beyond zones 1 & 2. Presuming you will be getting trains to these places, rather than driving, then all the trains you'll be getting will originate in zone 1.

Tallulah

Hi! No point at all I'm afraid as they all fall way outside even Zone 6 (the furthest zone that a travelcard covers). If you are planning to travel by train then I suggest you check out www.thetrainline.com.

If you're going to do both Canterbury and Dover then I'd recommend doing them on consecutive days and staying down there the night. I grew up in Canterbury and the surrounding area so could help you pick out somewhere to stay if you give me a bit more information. There are lovely places in Canterbury and some beautiful, quaint villages nearby that would make for a very pleasant overnight stay.

Tallulah

That's as in a bit more information with regard to what your likes/dislikes are; what you like to do; how important is food etc

GeoffHamer

Yes, there is an advantage to having a travelcard for all six zones. Travelcards cover trains as well as tubes and buses. If you have a travelcard and want to make a day trip to, say, Windsor, show the travelcard when you buy the train ticket and ask for a day return from zone 6 (or whichever zone you've paid for) to Windsor - the ticket will be significantly cheaper as you've already paid for part of the journey with the travelcard. You don't have to change trains in order to do this, even though you'll have two tickets to cover different parts of the journey from London to Windsor.
If you're buying a one-day off-peak travelcard, it's certainly worth getting one for six zones if you're making a day trip outside London (though not if you're going further afield to somewhere like York or Bath); if you're getting a weekly travelcard, it's probably not worth paying for extra zones.

flanneruk

To paraphrase a joke about Schleswig-Holstein, only two people have ever understood the complexity of the fare structure in SE England: one went mad thinking about it and the other died of shock the moment he realised he'd been paying too much.

If you're planning more than one of these journeys, your best bet might be to buy one of the discount cards. For trips near London, like Canterbury, the Network Railcard (£20) offers up to four adults per card 33% off the walk-up price for journeys within about 100 miles radius leaving London after 10 am weekdays or any time Sunday. There are less restrictive deals for families, the old, the young and the disabled, and you can buy the cards as you're buying your first ticket (just take some form of identity document and allow extra time)

Full details at http://www.railcard.co.uk

Whether it's possible, with a Z1-6 travel card, to bring the rail price down to zero, you need to check with the ticket office or an expert on this board. Incidentally, while ticket offices are brusque when they're busy, they generally love trying to find you the cheapest possible of travelling when they're not busy.

janis

I second GeoffHamer's comment -- for one-day travel cards. You will save over just buying train a r-t ticket to windsor. London. But a full week's travel card for 6 zones is very expensive, so I wouldn't do it that way if you are getting a weekly travelcard.

I also agree w/ Tallulah -- I don't see much advantage to got London > Dover > London, and then the next day doing London > Canterbury > London. It makes more sense to do a 2 day loop London > Dover > Canterbury > London. You could stay overnight in either town because each is worth a full day's visit.

besides making more sense logistically, it would also save you money because accomodations in Kent cost less than comparable places in London.

Tallulah

GeoffHamer: With respect, I'm not convinced that it is worth it, and it's certainly likely to be more hassle at the ticket offices whilst the dozy staff try to get their heads around an extension...

janis

flanneruk was posting while I was writing mine - as he says there are a lot of special excursion fares out of London that you should also look into.

ron

Tallullah, it won't be that difficult for the ticket office staff to deal with the request. You simply ask for a ticket from the edge of zone 2, if you have a zone 1&2 card or from the edge of zone 6, if you have a zone 1-6 card, and they will do it. What may be difficult is that you will have to go to the ticket office, which always seem to have long queues rather than just buying from a machine. And all to save perhaps 50p.

Tallulah

Ron, thanks, I do know how it works! Just that, the staff aren't always terribly helpful (or maybe I've always had terrible luck when choosing which window to go to?) and, certainly given the queues, I suspect that it's more hassle than it's worth!

GeoffHamer

I've checked fares to Windsor. A cheap day return is £6.70 from London Waterloo, £6.10 from Putney (zone 2) or £4.30 from Feltham (zone 6). Getting the ticket is not difficult. Many people have travelcards and ask for tickets from their zone boundary to somewhere outside London - just show your travelcard and ask clearly for, say, a day return from zone 6 to Windsor.