My 22 and 15 year old daughters and I will be traveling to London in late March for 8 days. What exactly is an Oyster card and if we need one, should we or can we, get it prior to our arrival? If so, how? We do plan on using the tube in London and we plan to go to Windsor and Hampton Court.

Also, any restaurant recommendations for either before or following the theatre? We are seeing "Billy Elliott" and "The Moustrap" and close by restaurants would be great!

Close to Billy Elliott theatre is About Thyme on Wilton Road, up Vauxhall Bridge Rd from Victoria station to Wilton street.

http://www.aboutthyme.co.uk/

You can get an Oyster card at any tube station and load it with either a 7 day travel card or pounds for Paygo. I don't think either will work for Windsor or Hampton Court. I did read that some of the rail lines were going to use the paygo as an option but don't know if all stations will have a reader yet. All the oyster is is a prepaid plastic card that you touch to a reader and it deducts the amount. I buy a 7 day even if I am only going to be there 5 days as I use buses and tube a lot!

My wife and I were in London for the first time last fall and we purchased oyster cards before the trip and I would recommend that you do the same. We went through Visit Britain Direct http://www.visitbritaindirect.com/en...ductCode=TV105 and bought cards with 20 pounds on each. When we arrived, we took the Gatwick Express (can't use the oyster card, but you can board and buy your ticket on board), then took the tube to our apartment. The card gives you a discount, is very easy to use, and has a maximum per day charge.

I think the delivery to us in FL took about a week.

Have fun!

Racer 042

I wasn;t sure what theatre The Mousetrap was in and it's location. It is quite near Covent Garden and Leicester Square. Loads of restaurants around. I'm planning on trying Cote on Tavistock St after a play. Heven't been yet but it's getting good reviews.

All railways inside London, except for National Rail services to Heathrow and High Speed services to Stratford East, can be done on an Oystercard.

Hampton Court is inside London: Windsor isn't.Just buy a return train ticket from Paddington or Waterloo stations (whichever's handier for you) for Windsor

It's hard to think of any point in buying an Oystercard before arriving here. Apart from anything else, the easiest way of getting to grips with the complexities of the zoning system, and how it affects journeys involving Hampton Court and Heathrow, is to ask the ticket seller.

Thanks for the info, flanneruk. I knew it was coming but didn't know it was already in effect.

If you buy the Oyster Card to be delivered to your house in the States, isn't there a postage charge tacked on, too? So what is the advantage over buying the Oyster Card upon arrival (like we did and are planning to at Heathrow)other than perhaps saving a few minutes? It took me about 10-15 minutes to wait in (short) line and get our Oyster Cards at LHR. (We also turned them in at LHR upon leaving and got back all the money left on them, plus the deposits.)I am the world's worst/best at planning as much as possible way ahead but I'm not going to buy the Oyster Cards until we get there.

I don't really see an advantage to buying an Oyster ahead of time. Just one more thing you'd have to remember to bring.

Plus there are postage fees.

The Mousetrap is at St Martins - which is smack bang next to the Ivy. You'll need to book but it's jolly good.

Yes, the postage charge for <i>VisitBritainDirect</i> Oyster cards is a hefty $11, plus the cost for the Oyster includes a rather mysterious "$2 activation fee."

An Oyster with &pound;20 loaded thus costs $36.50 plus $11 = $47.50. And I bet the activation fee is not refundable, as would be the &pound;3 deposit on an Oyster purchased in the UK.