No worries, Apres. I didn't take it that way! I don't want to plan it all for them but we are enjoying looking at all the options together. I am one jealous mom!

Janisj, I will have to ask my sister. She travels extensively throughout Europe so she may be using this for other areas. I would assume she knows what she is doing but since I am the smarter sister, maybe she doesn't! LOL j/k

Agree with Janisj, what they need is a single ticket from Gatwick to London Bridge and then they need to go to the ticket booth and buy a 7 day zone 1-3 travel pass.

A zone 1-6 is ALOT more expensive and most everything they want to see will be in zone 1-2. If they do want to see something in zone 4-6 then they can just pay for the extra at the ticket booth. No point in wasting ALOT on a zone 1-6 and rarely use the zone 4-6 part. Heathrow is in zone 6, but Gatwick is not.

For example:

7 day zone 1-3 = £34.20 each
7 day zone 1-6 = £53.40 each

You can even tell them to ask at Gatwick for a 7 day card for zone 1-3 and an extension to get them into London. That will be the cheapest, but I am not sure if the ticket booth at Gatwick sells London travel cards for zone 1-3.

For the additional days they can buy a 1 day travel card for zone 1-3 for £10.60 a day or £7.70 a day if they leave after 9:30

Prices are here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx

Jamikins, thanks! That is great info. I think a 7 day will be enough anyway because it sounds like they will be doing some stuff with my nephew and family on the weekend that won't require passes. Like you said, if they don't have enough, they can always buy another day.

Is it worth buying the pass from a rail station ticket office to get the 2 for 1 offers:


If you purchase a Travelcard from a railway station, (not DLR or London Underground) you qualify for a wide range of 2 for 1 offers including many of the main tourist attractions in London. Offers include 2 for 1 admission to the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral and London Zoo for example.

It's not a "pass" they would need. It's the same "travel card" they need, no matter how it's actually "packaged."
They need a "card" to use the Tube. There are 4 ways this is possible, I think:
1.A PLASTIC Oyster card on which some amount of cash is deposited. This is referred to as PAYG (pay as you go) and can be "topped up" at numerous places. The fares per day on this type of device are "capped" at a maximum fare per day.
2. A PLASTIC Oyster card on which a 7-day-travel-card-credit is deposited. I think if you jump through all the hoops and math, there is some way that using this method might come out a tad cheaper than traveling basically the same amounts on same routes as using PAYG, but not much.
3.A PAPER 7-day-travel card--purchased only at stations that are also RAIL stations. This costs the same amount as if you "load" it on an Oyster card. (except there is a refundable deposit required for purchase of Oyster card)
4.1-day-travel-cards which are paper like the above.

Advantages to Oyster PAYG--You are only charged for what you use. Oyster cards can be kept and used on future travel. They are not consecutive so if you don't travel, no charge. You are not limited to knowing ahead of time what zones or what times you will travel.

Disadvantages to Oyster PAYG--You can't use them for 2for1 discounts. The "cap" on a day's fare might be a little more than the pro=rated amount for a day's worth of paper-card fare.

Disadvantages of 7-day-cards, whether paper or payg--You use it or lose it. If you don't travel that day, you don't get any funds back. If you don't travel and don't reach what would have been the cap, too bad. It's pre-paid.

What we did was we loaded up Oyster cards and topped them as needed. We didn't bother with trying to avoid peak times of travel. On the day before we wanted to use 2for1 vouchers at two sites, we went to a rail station and bought 1-day paper cards for the next day.

What I would do in your case is first have girls decide what sites they want to see, then see if any of them use those vouchers. Then sketch out a tentative schedule. And then decide about what combination of travel-cards they need.

If they are really directionally challenged the best thing you can do is to guide them to getting a really goo map of London as well as the tube system. Then they should mark where they will be staying and what they want to see on the maps. If they go to the web site of any major sight it willlist the closest tbue stations. (Unless you have ADHD learing to read a map properly is just an esily learned skill - like any other - if you put in the time.)

I would vote against the trip to Paris - since the cost will be high and the time to see much is limited. Also - how is their French. We let our teens wander around Paris on their own - but they both had decent French.

Following up nytraveler's suggestion, just point them in the direction of
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...itor-guide.pdf