I'm trying to figure out the 2 4 1 vs the Oyster card. My Sister and I will be taking the train into London from Liverpool. We will then be flying out of Heathrow for home one week later. This is our first time in London so we're thinking the 2 4 1 would save us a great deal... are we correct? Can we get a 2 4 1 travel card if we only have a one way train ticket into London? And, must I print all the 2 4 1 coupon offers before I leave for London or are there plenty of places to pick up the pre-printed coupons that we might need? As always, thanks for your help!

there isn't a "2 for 1 travelcard" - it is just a paper travelcard (or train ticket) that you can use w/ 2for1 vouchers for sightseeing discounts.

Your train tickets from Liverpool will only qualify for 2for1's on the same date.

You can just buy a weekly paper travel card in the station when you arrive in London. But during the rest of the week, how many for-pay sites are you actually planning on visiting? If you are only going to a few, you can get Oyster cards loaded w/ pay as you go ££ and then buy a paper travel card on the day(s) you want to use vouchers.

They aren't coupons you pick up -- You must pre-print the vouchers.

There are leaflets at train stations with all the coupons in, but I wouldn't rely on them being in stock, my local station sometimes has them, and sometimes doesn't. So print those you are interested in, you can always pick up a leaflet as well as it's more convenient than lots of loose sheets.

Sighhhhh, I'm confused! However, I believe I'm getting there The 2 4 1 offer used with my train ticket is only good on the date of train travel. Yet, I can purchase a paper travel card - at a train station - and then use the 2 4 1 offers correct??? Now I just need to figure out if it's worth our time to go to the train station to get the paper travel cards during the week. Can you buy them in advance for specific days? So if we arrive on Friday we can pre-buy the cards for say Monday and Tuesday?

A train ticket is only good for 2for1's the day of travel IF it is a single (one way) ticket. If it is a return (round trip) ticket, then it would be valid for the entire time between the two dates. A weekly travel card is essentially a round trip ticket good from its beginning to end dates. A one day travelcard is just good that day.

"<i>Can you buy them in advance for specific days? </i>" Yes.

Oh for G-d's sake, this has been rehashed a bunch before. Let's explain like this:

(1) Go to daysoutguide.co.uk and print every gawdang voucher you would conceive of using. Just keep them in a little folder or something. It's not that hard.
(2) When you arrive at Euston (I'm guessing) from Liverpool, go to the ticket booth AT THE EUSTON NATIONAL RAIL STATION and purchase 7-day London travelcards from a manned booth. Do not go into the Underground (Tube) station and ask for the travelcard. Do it on the level where your train arrives (where the ubiquitous Boots, M&S Simply Food and 15-20 other shops will be). You will receive a credit card sized paper ticket (with plastic coating) with orange top and bottom borders.
(3) Go to whatever attraction you want. Present your travelcards both of you) and the voucher and you will pay one price for the two of you.

Why go "during the week"? This is not a hardship. Stop p---ing and moaning. The transaction takes mere minutes and you can do it upon arrival from Liverpool. And the savings is HUGE.

You're looking at saving 13 GBP on Hampton Court Palace (that's nearly lunch), 17 at the Tower (that is lunch, and there's a good pub under the DLR tracks about two blocks from the Tower Hill Tube station), another pile at the Cabinet War Rooms, a nice snack from your savings at Courtald Gallery, ditto from a Fat Tire tour, etc. Count it up -- the savings from two-fers only at the Tower, Hampton Ct. Palace, and Cabinet War Rooms is 44.95 GBP. That's nearly $68. Is that worth your ten minutes?

The simple fact is that if you buy the 7-day travelcard upon arrival at Euston station, you DO NOT NEED AN OYSTER CARD. They serve the same function for you.

And if you're going to Windsor Castle -- buy a ticket at the manned booth at Paddington/Waterloo (depending upon which Windsor station you go to) and they may have a discount offer for ticket entry. Windsor is not on the 2-for-1 offer list.

Took Big Russ's advice above last August. Worked perfectly for us.

Thanks everyone for your help. BigRuss, while you do seem somewhat aggravated with me, your response was very helpful and I thank you. We are looking forward to our trip and getting all these little items out of the way before we go makes it that much better!

ok big russ= I have a 1 way tgv from paris arriving at st. Pancras so
the 2 for 1 is only good the day of arrvival?

Just a note--I printed and used vouchers for a couple of attractions and was not asked to show my train ticket/receipt. Could be mistaken, but I think I read somewhere on this forum that tickets were not always necessary and it was true in our case--back in 2008.

frenchwow, you do NOT have a TGV ticket from Paris to London, you have a Eurostar ticket, and AFAIK you don't qualify for the 2 4 1s you'll need a UK train ticket to qualify.

I have use 2 4 1 vouchers and never been asked to show train tickets, I've also used 2 4 1 vouchers and been asked to fill in all the details on the back (ie, name, telephone #, address, etc). It does vary depending on the staff at the attractions.