Had an additional question regarding catching tube or train to Hamtpon Court Palace. If I have a weekly Zone 1-2 travelcard, how do I add the Zone 6 supplement to the card the day that I go to Hampton Court? Is there a machine in the London station that I would insert it and the cash? Or do I wait until I reach Hampton Court and pay there?

You pay the supplement before you get on the train. You can use ticket machines at Waterloo - but there are also ticket windows. So if the machines seem confusing - just go up to the window and the agent will sort things out for you.

If you are staying at Victoria, there is no sense in going to Hampton Court via Waterloo - there is no direct tube from Victoria to Waterloo. The train from Waterloo to Hampton Court stops at Vauxhall (on the Victoria Line), Clapham Junction (frequent main line trains from Victoria) and Wimbledon (on the District Line from Victoria). Another option is the District Line from Victoria to Richmond, then the R68 bus, but that will take longer (there's no problem getting a seat on the R68 bus). If you have a Travelcard for zones 1-2, show that when you buy the ticket to Hampton Court at Vauxhall or Victoria, and you will be sold a ticket from the boundary of zone 2 to Hampton Court (you cannot get this sort of ticket from a ticket machine). If you go via Richmond, buy a tube ticket from Zone 2 to Richmond (this is called an extension ticket). Your Travelcard covers the buses in all zones so can be used on the bus from Richmond to Hampton Court.
By boat, the journey time depends on the tide which changes every day. It can take between 2 hrs 15 mins and 4 hours. If you get the boat between Richmond and Hampton Court, it takes about an hour. Details of the boat service are on www.thamesriverboats.co.uk.

Thank you, janis and Geoff for the information. Since I'm not sure yet which route I'll take it's good to have the info you both supplied.

Thank you for this discussion. I think I have figured out how to do HC on my own and without too much fuss. I'll be there in July and will try to boat back to London after I wear my feet out tramping the palace!! Thanks again all for the tips!

Hi,
I'm back from my London trip and wanted to say that the Hampton Court excursion went off without a hitch. Bought the supplement at Vauxhall and caught the 9:10 a.m. train to Hampton COurt and enjoyed the palace very much. Thanks.