5.25 days in London - Travelcard or Oyster or what?? 2for1 deal???
 

I know there are many posts about this, but it is so confusing, so I wanted to get your opinion on my specific plans.

We will arrive in London (Heathrow) around 8:30am from the United States on Friday, June 13. We will be heading to the County Hall Marriott.

We will be in London until about 11am on Wednesday, June 18th when we will be taking the Eurostar to Paris.

So my question is since we will be in London on a Friday, then the weekend (off peak time), then a Monday and Tuesday and just a little bit on a Wednesday morning as we head to the Eurostar station....what makes the most sense for us to purchase? An oystercard or just a travelcard or what? I would love to take advantage of the 2for1 offers if possible, so I will need a rail ticket though right? However, we would like to do the following 2for1 deals: Hampton Court Palace, City River Cruise, maybe a walking tour, The Original London Sightseeing Bus Tour, Tower Bridge Exhibition, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, British Museum.

BUT - the catch is....you only get 2for1 access on the day you have a train ticket right? And we won't have a train ticket for several days since it would not be needed. We would need several days to see this many 2for1 attractions.

Thoughts?

You can use a PAPER travelcard for the 2 for 1 offers

The main problem is that 7 day travelcards can only come on paper if you buy them at a main train station - all the Tube stations only sell 7 day travelcards on an Oystercard

Shorter period travelcards do come as paper

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx

We used a Gatwick Express ticket for 2for1 at the Tower, and our date of travel was NOT the same day we went to the Tower. Based on my own experience and from what I've read from other posters, I really don't think the people at the ticket booths are that stringent about this same date of travel business.

The British Museum is free, I'm not sure why it would be included in 2for1 unless that's for a special exhibit?

If you really want to get to all those 2for1 sights (Tower, Westminister Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, etc.) then buying 2 weekly travel card would probably be a good idea. There is alot of talk here about getting the PAPER travelcard as opposed to loading a travelcard on an Oyster card, in order to qualify for the 2for1 deals. I think I just read someone said they got a paper travelcard at Gatwick...maybe look into whether you can buy them at Heathrow.

My understanding is that the travelcard 2 for 1 offers only apply to rail off peak travelcards (ie paper cards that include a rail ticket with the rail logo on them). These can only be bought at railway ticket offices. Technically, you would need a rail travelcard for every day that you want one of these 2 for 1 offers.

Oystercards also attract some 2 for 1 offers, but they are not as good as the railcard offers. See:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/oysteroffers/

I would buy pay as you go oystercards for travel from the airport, to Eurostar and for going around town. You could start by putting no more than £10 on and see how it goes. It will automatically adjust to give you discounts for off peak and one day fares. When you go to Hampton Court, you could buy a 1 day rail travelcard at Waterloo Station. That travelcard can also be used on any tube/bus journeys that you take during the same day and if you do an evening walking tour.

An addition to my previous post.

On returning from Hampton Court, you could also use the rail travelcard to buy discounted 24 hour tickets for the Original London Sightseeing Bus Tour (and I understand they include 24 hour Thames River Cruise passes). The bus tour visitor centre is at Cockspur St, by Trafalgar Square and it's open until 7pm.

You might not want to start using the ticket until the next day, but you bought it when your rail tickets qualify for the discount.

A seven-day travelcard is good for all time periods, including peak hours. Buy a seven-day, zone 1-2 PAPER travelcard at Waterloo station which is very close to your hotel.

The ticket suggested by TimS would cost £24.20, and you would need to buy additional tickets from Heathrow and to Hampton Court.

are you sure a 7-day paper travelcard is valid for the 2 for 1 deals? the website http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk says only a monthly or yearly travelcard is valid.

The daysoutguide says that the only OYSTER cards that are good for 2for1 offers are the monthly or yearly ones--and they must be accompanied by a record card showing the National Rail logo. However, any PAPER travelcard is good. Here is a quote from the site:

"2for1 and special offers/admission vouchers are available with almost ANY type of train ticket issued to London on normal 'paper' ticket stock (i.e. not electronic or 'smartcard' but for exceptions see below) and valid on the day you wish to the visit the attraction, theatre, or restaurant, e.g. rail tickets include Day Travelcards, Family Travelcards, Cheap Day Returns, Savers, SuperSavers, Advance Purchase Tickets, Apex, Open tickets, Season Tickets, various promotional travel tickets that may be issued from time to time, etc..."

thanks for clearing that up Tim

Correct me if I am wrong....

The tube fares are MUCH cheaper if you use an oyster card versus pay as you go or paper travelcard....right?

If that is the case, then you would have to make sure that the extra money you spend in fares using a paper travelcard would be less than what you would save with the 2-for-1 offers. Otherwise, just use an Oyster card which has lower fares.

Am I completely wrong in my thought? Please let me know.

I want to get the cheapest possible fares for using the tubes, but I also want the 2-for-1 deals.

We will be arriving to Heathrow from the United States around 8:25am on a Friday morning. We will leave via the Eurostar to Paris on Wednesday morning. So what would make the most sense for me?

a bit of confusion I'm afraid.

An Oyster card is just a plastic card that stores an amount of money for your transit. A weekly travel card is one amount of money you could load on an Oyster. Or you can load a lump sum "pay as you go" amount.

So it isn't Oyster vs. PAYG . . . . . .

i guess I should have said paper vs oyster then??

Or are paper travelcards and oysters the same price/fare for the tube?

I know one way is more expensive than Oyster....

Travelcards cost the same whether you get one on paper or on Oyster.

The real differential in price is between paying cash for each trip as you go, rather than buying a travelcard for a specified time period, or using Oyster to pay for each trip as you go.

Whatever you do, don't pay cash for each trip: prices are set deliberately high to discourage you from doing so.

My understanding of the Oyster PAYG is that the CAP for each day will be 50 pence cheaper than the DAY travelcard - if you take that many transportation.

Let's say you plan to take 5 tube rides in 1 day. If you buy a

PEAK paper day travelcard - you'll pay £6.80

OFF PEAK paper day travelcard - £5.30

However, if you use Oyster PAYG, your whole day price will be capped at
£6.30 if you travel peak
£4.80 if you travel off-peak

So, the only reason you would want to get PAPER day travelcard is if you want to use it for 2-for-1 offers. On days you don't need the PAPER travelcard, just use Oyster PAYG.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...s-08-01-02.pdf

yk,

A seven-day travelcard is a lot cheaper than the total of seven "capping" days, either peak or off-peak, using PAYG on an Oystercard. A seven-day card for zones 1-2 costs £24.20 and includes travel during peak times.

TimS - I don't disagree with you. But the OP here is going to be in London for exactly 5.25 days, so the 7-day travelcard may not give him the best deal.

If you read his other posts, he's arriving from LHR on Day 1 and plan on taking a car service from the airport and then do HOHO bus for the rest of the day. He also is thinking of going to Hampton Court Palace for one day (where he can take the train from Waterloo station).

Since the OP is trying te be as economical as possible for this trip (again, see his other posts), he may be better off just getting Oyster PAYG.

Just another query about travelcards particularly a 3 day card. Does it work on calendar days or hours ie if I dont validate it til say 3pm on day one can I use it up to 3pm on day 4 or only say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday regardless of the time we start using it on Monday. IS this confusing sorry. We arrive early Monday but probably won't use trains til late in the day, but need to get to St Pancreas on Thursday morning so will I be covered by a 3 day travelcard?
Thanks everyone

mariebut - I'm 99.9% sure that the Travelcard goes by the calendar day, not 24 or 72 hours. The day you buy it is the day the clock starts ticking. No "validation" needed.

Some of the 2 for 1 offers I read are only good till May 31. Are there other 2/1 for June?

If they operate as in past years - in a month or so, the new 2 for 1 offers from June 1 onwards will be published.

thanks janis. I am going around first of June. Hope the 2 for 1 comes out in time for me to print before I go.

mariebut: >> Does it work on calendar days or hours <<

Calendar days, a day being defined as lasting until 0430 the following morning (if by any chance you're a night owl).

Only you know how much use you're likely to make of public transport during your stay, but for a Monday arrival and a Thursday departure, it would probably be worth going for Oyster pay-as-you-go rather than a 3-day travelcard, since that would get you reduced fares on your extra day. Your fares on any one day would be capped at 50p less than the cost of a 1-day travelcard - start after 0930, and it works out cheaper than a 3-day travelcard even without the difference between cash and Oyster PAYG fares for the extra day.

Concerning 2for1--we're going in July and I already printed out the 2for1 vouchers for a few places (Tower, West. Abbey, e.g.) and I can't see a date on the voucher. I plan to revisit the 2for1 site and print out newer ones before I go, but unless the voucher's appearance (color or something) changes, I can't see why the voucher printed now wouldn't work, unless the deal is cancelled with the particular place. So--you could print out now and then check again right before you leave, maybe?

texasbookworm-

Under Terms & Conditions below the voucher:

Offers valid until 31st May 2008 unless offer states otherwise.

yk (not trying to hijack your thread, jonmck)
Yes, on the terms and conditions page that printed I saw that--but on the actual blue voucher there's no date. I plan to print out new ones, but then do I need to take whole kit and kaboodle, voucher and all else that prints out? Do you know the answer to this minor question? Just don't want to cart around more paperwork than need be; don't want to arrive without necessary paperwork, either. THANKS!--A

And I thought the Carte Orange was complicated! We will be flying into Heathrow and staying a week in London. Can the 7 day paper Travelcard be purchased at the airport or do we need to get to a railway station? I believe that card is for unlimited peak and off peak and costs 24 pounds and change. If we do manage to get a paper Travelcard is it good for 2/1 all week?

Hello travel experts! I am not one at all, and I am finding this all very confusing also.

We are traveling to London - arriving May 20th and leaving May 29th. The travelcard vs oyster but best to buy the travel card so you can get the 2 for 1???
I am SO confused !

We are arriving at Heathrow and staying in Bloomsbury. I don't know which to buy or where?? The 2 for 1 sounds great, what do you recommend? I read another thread that recommended buying the family pass/for the year/ that gets you into the tower of london,hampton court, kew, etc..at a reduced rate...but I know we will want to ride the HOHO bus . What is the best for travel for our time frame but also to get the best discount on sightseeing. Hampton Court, Tower of London & Greenwich & a day trip maybe to Bath?? our on our list of wants though we have no itinerary yet just lodging is complete. I am very behind I am afraid on my planning!!

InMiami,

Paper travelcards are only sold at mainline train stations so you cannot buy one at Heathrow. Whatever travelcard you buy (one-day, three-day, or seven-day, the 2-for-1 offers are good for the validity period covered by the card.

However, there also are 2-for-1 offers associated with the Oyster card. See here: http://tinyurl.com/6q6lba. At Heathrow you can load a seven-day travelcard on an Oyster card.

hendrenl,

For information on how to get to Hampton Court, go here: http://tinyurl.com/2xcmbd and also here: http://tinyurl.com/5n2tnu.

A travelcard will not be of any use for getting to Bath. You'll need to either take a National Express coach or a Great Western train. See www.nationalexpress.com and www.nationalrail.co.uk.

You people who live in London and so kindly help us figure out these travelcards and 2 for 1s must get so tired of explaining this! I have tried to understand, read a heap of threads and still I'm unclear. They couldn't have made this more confusing to the uninitiated!

4 of us (3 adults, one 12 yr old) will be in London for 6 nights staying near Sloane Sq. We are probably getting a car to take us from the airport, but intend to use public transport the rest of the time.

We want to go to the Tower, probably the day following our arrival. We also want to go to Hampton Court but not sure which day. These are the main 2 for 1 deals we probably want.

What card or ticket or paper ticket should we buy and when and where?

LynAK,

How many days will you be in London? Your answer will help people to give you the best travelcard recommendation.

LynAk- you are so right, I am sure they are so tired of explaining but it is very confusing - I am glad I am not the only one asking for repeats and additional explainations!!

A kind fodorite in another thread suggested that I buy the oyster card but buy the paper travelcard when I know I want to use the 2 for 1 deals. I haven't gotten a map of the city yet but intend to try to get one from a local bookstore so I can attempt to figure out the area a bit better. Maybe then I can put together an outline of where we are wanting to visit and figure out when I need to buy the paper travelcard for the days I want the 2 for 1 -& If it is cheaper to buy a multiple day travelcard then maybe I can use the 2 for 1 back to back on visits to Hampton Court and the Tower of London???and I know we will want to do the Hop on Hop off bus. ----I am still confused.

I will be looking to your thread here for additional answers! Thanks.

We are staying in Bloomsbury- Can anyone tell me the closest place to buy a paper travelcard ? I am guessing I could use the oyster card with a stop on the way to get a paper travelcard for the 2 for 1 deal.
I also read that you can get a family membership for entry into Tower of London, Kew etc.. Has anyone done this- I think it would be a savings??

hendrenl,

Euston is just north of Bloomsbury and would be your closest mainline station. Charing Cross is south of Bloomsbury.

Hi TimS...buried in my post is the info that we'll be there for 6 nights....arrive on a Thursday mid-a.m. at Heathrow- Depart on the following Wed. very early in the morning from Gatwick...so we'll be there 5 full days and about a half day on our arrival day.

LynAK,

Sure enough! The reference is there "in plain sight."

My quick look at the 2-for-1 Oyster card offers shows no reference to the Tower of London. Therefore I suggest that you buy a seven-day zone 1-2 paper travelcard at a mainline train station. Both the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace will be included.

Hi..thanks very much. So two last questions on this I hope!

Is Victoria a Mainline stations and is it the closest mainline station to Sloane Sq.?

We'll be getting there by car from the airport midday on a Thursday and want to go to the Tower on Friday morning, weather willing.

I suppose we could send one person on Thursday afternoon to get to a mainline station to buy the travelcards for everybody, paying the one time, one way tube fare from Sloane Sq. Is that the best idea?

thanks so much for your advice TimS!

Yes - there is a mainline station at Victoria - also a tube station. You'd have to go to the ground level train station to buy the paper travelcards - not the Underground station.

Sloane Sq is an easy walk from Victoria - and an easy walk is good thing to clear out the cobwebs/jet lag. Maybe 1/2 a mile.

Victoria is a mainline station and it is one Tube stop away from Sloane Square. You would have to pay £4 for a two-minute ride. It would be cheaper to take a bus (11, 211, or C1). Or just walk (less than 20 minutes). Here is a <A HREF="http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichel...;map<A/>.

Obviously my attempt to give you an imbedded link to a walking route map didn't work. You can find it for yourself by using www.viamichelin.com.