a question about travelcard extensions
 

My husband and myself will be traveling with our 13 year old for a six day visit to London next June. We will be using buses primarily. I had thought we would get two oyster cards to load pay as you go for the adults. Our daughter, I understand, will be able to ride the buses free. But, we will need to get to central London from Heathrow on arrival and we'd like to take a train to Hampton Court. Would it be less expensive to get a travelcard and load it on the oyster so that we can just purchase extensions or will pay as you go work out just as well? Should we get our daughter an oyster card at all?

Oops! - "My husband and I (not myself)" - poor English on the UK board, not good...

It depends. If you think it's worth the effort, you can list the transport you think you will use and compare the two ways of buying it.

We have not used a Travelcard for several trips, and our outlay for a week has been between £15 and £18. But we use mostly buses and walking. If you use a lot of Tube, it adds up faster.

Assuming you travel from and to Heathrow between 7AM and 7PM on a weekday, the trip to Zone 1 will cost £3.50 if you're PAYG, or £1.80 extension if you have a 2-zone Travelcard.

But your usage pattern should be the final arbiter.

Thank you, Robespierre. I've read most of the posts and articles you've written regarding the Oyster Card and I'm about to get the information into my thick head...LOL! I was thinking transportation from Heathrow would be much more than 3.50. Since we'll be walking and using the buses the most, I think PAYG would be best for us. I was just concerned about not having the benefit of zone "extensions" like you get with a travelcard. We will be arriving at Heathrow after 7 pm though - probably about 10 or 11 pm.

Now I see. I was looking at the cost of the Heathrow Express vs. the Picadilly Line tube. Quite a difference in cost!

Just to be clear, there is a reason for the price difference between the Tube/Underground and the Heathrow Express.

The Tube is a subway train: no luggage areas, typical subway seating/standing, lots of stops, crowded during rush hours, connections to almost any area of the city, many stations with stairs where you must lift and carry your bags, inexpensive.

The Heathrow Express is a dedicated railway service: luggage storage in each car, nonstop, no crowds, requires other transport connection to/from Paddington station, no stairs at the stations, relatively expensive.

There is also the Heathrow Connect train which runs from Heathrow to Paddington, with stops at five intermediate stations, including Ealing Broadway where you can change to the tube. Heathrow Connect is cheaper than the Heathrow Express, but takes a few minutes longer.