killagigi

I am also going a bit barmy over the 2 for 1 offers

I arrive at gatwick , if i purchase my return gatwick express tickets online can i use this for the 2 for one offers?


alternatively if i get easy bus from Gatwick to Earls court and then travel to victoria and buy a rail travel card with a passport photo i can alos take advantage of the two for one offers am i right?

alanRow

The Gatwick Express tickets will count - as will the cheaper Southern Trains tickets to Victoria or the even cheaper FCC trains to London Bridge & St Pancras.

Just don't put them into exit barriers but used a manned barrier.

But you keep referring to "I", you can't claim the offers if you are travelling solo

ssander

killigigi...

As alanRow says, hold onto your train ticket...you may be asked to show it when you present your 2-for-1 coupons.

For the best deal, buy a Gatwick-Victoria ticket on Southern Railways. It's cheaper and only 5-7 minutes slower than the Express. The people at the rail ticket counter at Gatwick are very helpful and will explain how everything works. Trains run about every 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: If you have 3 or 4 people in your party, I think the "Group Save" bargain is till available with Southern: Up to 4 adults and 2 children travel for the price of 2 adults. We used it in 2008...so check the Southern website to see if it still is available.

Last year I started a thread just on the 2-for-1 coupons. I suppose most of the info is still valid:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...pon-thread.cfm

SS

killagigi

thanks for that..and yes I am travelling with my partner!

I have decided to get the easy-bus from Gatwick to Earls court..it is 8 pounds return for both of us ..def cheapest option.

then we will get the train to victoria , where we will each buy a seven day travel rail card with a passport photo , which should cover the 2 for 1 vouchers!

Jenking

Im coming from Heathrow to Southwark by train. Should I take the line that goes to Paddington. Then buy a return ticket from Paddington to Waterloo east (as that it is also national rail and the closest to my hotel). Im not actually returning that way. But if I make the return ticket for 8 days later. Can I then use 2 for 1's the entire time im there without having to buy any other special train tickets. ( I understand about buying the travel cards). Just not so sure on the train tickets. Or my other question would be can I just buy those tickets but not actually use them at all and buy another ticket from Paddington to the southwark station which is closer to my hotel? Thanks, its hard to find the exact info being in New Zealand!

PatrickLondon

There is no train service between Paddington and Waterloo East, and going to Paddington to get to Southwark is a rather roundabout (and expensive, if you use Heathrow Express) route, though I suppose you could go to the National Rail ticket office at Paddington to get a 7-day travelcard from them that would cover you for the 2for1s as well as all your tube and bus travel. Travelling from there to Southwark by tube isn't particularly difficult or time-consuming either (just change at Baker St - it's just a few steps on the level between the two lines): but it is a bit roundabout. You might just as well put a fiver each on Oyster pay-as-you-go at Heathrow and go by tube to Southwark (change at Hammersmith to the District Line eastbound - a few steps across the platform - and then to the Jubilee Line at Westminster (escalators all the way); and once you're settled in, get a 7-day National Rail travelcard from Waterloo. You could then use the Oyster (topped up as necessary) on any days not covered by your travelcard.

janisj

Jenking: welcome to Fodors. Patrick has given you good info/advice. But to help you use the site better . . . When you have a question it is usually best to start a new thread of your own rather than tagging on to a two year old one.many will not see your post and try to answer the original questions.

And definitely don't go via Paddington --expensive and very out of your way.

Jenking

Thanks for the replys, I will start a new thread in the future. I still don't understand one thing. I just want to buy some return train tickets at the start of my 5 days from somewhere so I can use the 2 4 1's for my entire stay not having to worry about getting other tickets as im also going to use the hop on hop off bus for 48hours so wont be training to some of the 2 for 1 places. So what route should I buy these train tickets for? As that was the only reason to go from PAD to WAT east.Hope this isn't sounding too confusing! Thanks

ssander

Not sure why you are using the HOHO bus when a 7-day travel card (purchased at Waterloo Station as recommended by Patrick) does more for less.

With it you can use bus, train or tube anywhere and anytime in the purchased zones for 7 straight days...plus (since purchased at the train ticket office) it covers the 2-for-1 deals all 7 days.

Then save the 8th day for sights not covered by 2-for-1.

NOTE: I've never used the HOHO bus, but it doesn't look like my cup of tea...prefer the flexibility of London's astoundingly great tube and bus system.

SS

ssander

...in addition...

It looks like the HOHO comes every 15-20 min (10 min for some of the stops).

Tubes are every 3-5 min. Buses on the most commonly-used routes come about every 5 min...and often less between the most visited sights (since more than one bus route may work.

HOHO has a very limited coverage area, compared to the buses -- you're never more than a few blocks away from a bus stop.

SS

PatrickLondon

If you buy a 7-day travelcard for zones 1 and 2 from a National Rail station (not an Underground station), that will get you the 2for1s AND ALL tube, bus and train travel within those zones (which cover the central area of London that you will be visiting).

You wouldn't need extra train tickets; nor, in my opinion, the hop-on hop-off buses, which are a very expensive way to just get about. With a travelcard, ALL the regular buses are "hop on, hop off": the only downside (if this counts as a downside) is that they don't have a commentary/guide - and, of course, that you'll need to decide which bus you need to take next. But the combination of the visitor bus map I linked to above and the signage at each bus stop will make that fairly easy for you: as a for instance, here's what you would see at bus stops around Southwark:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/...-a4-231112.pdf