Discount Card and itinerary for London for family of 4
 

We are travelling to London with our family of 4 in April. I have been to London (it has been a LONG time) but my family has not. We are traveling into Heathrow and only have 3 nights (all week days). We will be staying at an apartment on the River Thames by St Georges Wharf. Here is the current tentative plan:

DAY ONE
Hop on the Sightseeing bus to get an overview of the major sites that we won't have time for (Big Ben, House of Parliament)

DAY TWO
Take transportation to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey and ?

DAY THREE
Take transportation to St Pauls Cathedral and Tower of London (as I recall Tower of London is a big day) and ?

DAY FOUR
Depart for France by train

* What discount card would be appropriate for this itinerary (all weekdays) for sites and transportation so we don't have to stand in line all the time?
* Would the tube best the best form of transportation?*
We definitely want to utilize the fast track system so we don't wait in line. Do we need for these sites?
* If you have a different recommendation on itinerary I am all ears.

What is the best airport shuttle company from Heathrow? FYI...taking a train is not a possibility with our luggage (we have a special needs daughter that is not a big help).

Unless there are other sights you want to see on the hop-on, hop-off bus, you don't need to take those to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament - they're right next to Westminster Abbey.

For Westminster Abbey, take the verger's tour. You'll get to see some things that aren't on the regular self-guided walk.

Others will give you help with your other questions. Have a wonderful trip!

Lee Ann

<i>* What discount card would be appropriate for this itinerary (all weekdays) for sites and transportation so we don't have to stand in line all the time?
* Would the tube best the best form of transportation?* [*] We definitely want to utilize the fast track system so we don't wait in line. Do we need for these sites?
* If you have a different recommendation on itinerary I am all ears.</i>

Is your daughter ambulatory? If not, you should check out the TFL website for stair-free Tube stations so that you can ensure the Tube is useful. It is NOT universally accessible for people with physical impairments. If your daughter is fully or fairly capable of walking up and down stairs, then yes the Tube will be your best mode of transport because the trains don't have to deal with London traffic; buses do.

There is no need to do a hop-on hop-off. You can just take the Tube from your flat (near Vauxhall station) to Green Park and walk to and past the Palace en route to Westminster.

The HOHO bus is meaningless for seeing a certain clock. Big Ben is thisclose to Westminster Abbey; you'll only miss it if you don't look up.

The lines tend to move well. We're discussing the British, who know how to queue and how to move a queue.

If you're looking for a discount card that is actually a discount, go to www.daysoutguide.co.uk and get single day travelcards for your Tower day to get 2for1 admission deals. St. Paul's is often on offer there too. If you go to Windsor (unlikely with your schedule), you should see if you can buy a ticket voucher with your rail ticket (take the train from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside) - that IS a worthwhile line-skipper.

Considering you gave no info on your interests, how can we offer alternatives to your itinerary?

There are a ton of threads about airport car services from Heathrow on this site. The services are far less expensive than a taxi.

Just a quick comment right now. Your flat wont be that convenient. It is near a tube station on the south side of the river w/ only one line and you will have to make transfers to get most anywhere - sometimes multiple transfers.

I'd study the bus routes on the TFL website because if your daughter has mobility issues, buses will be MUCH easier.

OK - thanks for the tip...

My daughter doesn't have mobility issues. She has low muscle tone and Sensory Processing Disorder so we work around it.

The days out guide doesn't appear to have entrance fees for 2 for 1 for anything besides the Tower. Am I reading it wrong?

When I said if you have a different itinerary I meant different days and times to see sites to avoid lines. I have been getting good tips in Paris for sites. But I did realize I didn't give you the exact day of the week! Day 1 would be Wednesday.

There are tonnes of sites

http://m.daysoutguide.co.uk/offers.aspx

It doesn't look like the 2 for 1 will work for us...I emailed them...this what they have said...we are not buying a national rail ticket.

The 2FOR1 offer applies to the walk up entry price to all attractions, unless otherwise stated. It is also only valid in conjunction with a National Rail train ticket and not with underground / tube tickets. Please see our valid tickets page for full information here - http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ticket-types.aspx.
We do currently have 2FOR1 entry to St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London however the other attractions you mention are not on 2FOR1.

Paris has a museum pass. I am surprised London doesn't have something like this other than the London Pass?

ccarlson :. YES you can buy a national rail ticket. That is what BigRuss's post was about. If you buy a travel card at a train station instead of at a tube station, it will be a ''National Rail Card" but used for the tube and buses.

BTW a big difference between Paris and London, most museums in London are free, virtually none are in Paris. The 2for1's will save you most at the Tower of London, but also at lots of other sites.

Oh dear gosh.

First, there is a London Pass but it's useless because it's overpriced and so many London attractions have no entry fee (Imperial War Museum, the Tates, the National Galleries, V&A, Nat'l Maritime, British Museum, Museum of London, British Library . . . ).

Second, you can get a national rail ticket and the info you obtained is misleading. What you need to do is go to a National Rail ticket agent in one of the National Rail stations (e.g., Victoria, Waterloo, Euston, Kings X, Charing X, Paddington, Liverpool St., London Bridge, St Pancras - the ticket agent will be on the same level as the omnipresent Boots pharmacy and M&S Simply Food stores) and get a one-day travel card for zones 1-2 for all of you. You will receive a paper ticket that costs, whatever. Get an off-peak one if you're going to have Oyster cards anyway.

You present that ticket with the vouchers at the Tower and St Paul's and receive two admissions for one price. This saves 22 quid for the adults and 11 for the kids (if they're 5-15, 18.70 for the kids if they're 16-22 and students) at the Tower. The gate price at St Paul's is 16.50 for adults and 7.50 for kids - that's another 24 quid savings. Total, at least 57 quid and up to 64.70 (dunno your kids' ages).

Hit both on the day your travel card is active.

If the travel cards costs 28 for the four of you, you saved 29-36 quid or $43-58. Go eat at Minories pub near the Tower on your savings and get good fish and chips.

And stop fretting over the lines. It's London. There are always tourists. And there are always lines. But it's not Greece: the lines move and the Brits can queue. It's also not Disney World - you won't be waiting 3-6 bloody hours on line so your daughter can get her picture taken with the Elsa of the afternoon shift.

Plus except at the Tower of London or the Natural History Museum (and bloody Mme Tussaud's) there are seldom lines anywhere. Or if there are, they are short.

Most places you just walk in (often having to stop to have bags examined)

I would suggest skipping the bus tour on the first day as you have enough time to actually visit and view many of the major sights.

I would head to the Tower first thing in the morning (just before it opens, if possible) to avoid crowds and lines.

Visit the Heathrow website to see the various public transportation options. You might also consider a car service like www.justairports.com. I believe that is the service my daughter may have used when she was in London a few years ago but can't remember for certain.

You have not mentioned your family's interests. I notice you don't have any museums on your list. London has terrific museums and many are free. You might consider the British Museum or National Gallery, for example.

Have you checked out a guidebook? I would pick up one to see what places would interest your family most and then come back here for suggestions to fine tune your itinerary. I loved Churchill's War Rooms and the British Library, for example, but they might not appeal to you.

London has terrific theatre. Have you considered attending a play?

Yes - we only have 3 nights in London (I know not enough!) but this is just a taste for my family since they have never been. Would like to see a theatre but it depends on how tired we are on night. My doctor's daughter is playing in a play called Once.

Russ - good advice on the 2 for 1.

Thanks. Feel free to remit 10% of your savings to the BigRuss Wants To Retire Before 50 Fund.

;-)

FYI...you can't use the Oyster Card with the 2 for 1...per their website...

Can I use an Oyster card?
No, the 2FOR1 London attractions partners DO NOT recognise Oyster Cards as being valid accompanying rail tickets, unless it is an Oyster Annual Season ticket with its accompanying Gold Card record card.

That is what we've are trying to explain . . . No, you can't use an oyster for the 2for1's. but you CAN use a paper travel card bought from a TRAIN station to qualify for the discounts.

It will work like a rail ticket for the discounts, and like an oyster for travel on the tube/buses.

I only said that because of what Russ said in his email....

"You will receive a paper ticket that costs, whatever. Get an off-peak one if you're going to have Oyster cards anyway."

Ok - and? What he said is correct. IF you are going to have Oystercards anyway, then save money by just buying any old off peak paper travel card to avail yourselves of the discounts. If you won't have oysters, then you'll need to buy paper travel cards to cover every day.

Once is a great play.

2 for 1's from Tripadvisor:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-...p.By.Step.html