If I'm going to be in London for five days would it make the make most sense for me to buy a 7-day travelcard??

Also, do I need to buy a Zones 1 & 2 card, or is a Zone 1 card good enough??

I plan on doing a lot of traveling in a short period of time, but I plan on staying within the city my first time in London.

We haven't booked a hotel yet -- the trip is in June -- but our plan is to stay in S. Kensington.

A Zones 1 & 2 card is 17.60 GBP, which seems like a good deal to me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

you can determine which travel card you want by looking at this map

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colormap.pdf

the shading and large numbers refer to the ZONE.

Depends on where you wish to visit and if you intend to stray out of the Zonal Boundaries.

Steven

hi kelston,

We just got back from London. Stayed 10 days in october 2003 and had a wonderful time. (checkout my travel report by typing in erinb in search box)

We stayed in S. kensington at the Millennium gloucester and the area was great, right across from the gloucester tube stop (and I mean right across, less than 1/2 a block). In june, the weather will be similiar to our weather here in virginia/nc, and that hotel has air. I would recommend it or the Millennium Baileys for location. You can get a double for less than 100 pds on the net. (I have seen specials as low as 75).

As for the travelcard, there is going to probably be many posts on this. my recommendation is going to be what I did because it is the simplest and most convienent TO ME.

If you are going for more than 4 days, the 7 day card is more economical and much more convienent than day cards. If you are in the states, I would also recommend buying the London Vistor Travelcard online thru ticket-on-line.com, because they charge almost no shipping and handling and send you the card itself, not the voucher.

We did a discussion about this on the board about a month or so ago and the thread link is:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34433552

The London visitor travelcard costs about 19 pds online and covers zone 1&2, tube and buses. In my opinion it is the best buy you can make and the least trouble. (no photo needed, just open it and go).

There are a lot of different opinions on this, but I am a diehard on buying this card beforehand and not having to worry about transportation from the minute I get there. we used it extensively on buses and tube.

One thing you mentioned however that confuses me, in that thread I mention above, the cost of buying the card in london vs the travelcard online. you mention that the 7 day card in london costs 17.60 pds? where did you get this price. I researched this extensively and the price I found on that card is 19.60. this is only a 20 pence difference from the visitor travelcard which is 19.80.

have they dropped the price on the card you can purchase in london, or is that price for off peak travel only? if it is for off peak travel only, you don't want it.

hope this helps...if you need anymore info about the s.kensington area or our stay email me at [email protected]. I will be glad to help.

The cut off is usually 4 days..more than 4 days makes the 7 day pass the answer 4 days or less not but 4 days is sort of marginal. While it is cheaper to go the one day pass route, the 9:30 restriction might mean you prefer the 7 day pass.

As for zone 1 vs. zones 1 & 2, the 2 tourist attractions that are in zone 2 are the zoo and Greenwich. If you plan to go to both, you would be best off with the zones 1 & 2 given the price of having to buy 4 extension tickets at £1 each. If you are not planning to go to both the zoo and Greenwich (or take the Sunday afternoon East End London Walk which starts from a zone 2 station) then the zone 1 ticket is fine.

The zone 1 only is not available outside the UK, only the zones 1 & 2. The price for this visitor's card is almost identical (it is I believe 10p cheaper actually) to the same 7 day zone 1 & 2 pass bought in London. The zone 1 & 2 bought in London no longer requires a photo so I don't think it is so necessary to go and buy it here; just one more thing to forget to take with you when packing but there is no great hassle in buying it here or there in any event. If you opt for the zone 1, then wait for London.

IMHO, the 7-day Zone 1 card is "good enough," is not available in advance, costs £16, is available at any tube station, does not require a photo, and would be your best buy.

I returned from London 12 days ago ( sigh). I just checked my wallet and found the last Travelcard that I purchased in London. The price printed on that 7 day, Zone One Travelcard card is £16.50. This card has no time of day travel restriction.
I always buy my 7 day Travelcard the first time I want to use the Tube. I simply walk up to the ticket seller in the Tube station ..it's a simple transaction and now no photocard is required.
I don't need a multi-zone Travelcard ; all my Tube journeys are with-in Zone One.
If memory serves, a single day off peak Zone One card ( for travel beginning after 9:30 AM) cost £4.10.
A single day Travelcard with no time of day restrictions costs a bit more.

I absolutely agree with Anonymous. We bought the 7-day, Zone 1 card in the tube station the first day of our arrival with no delay and no trouble and it got us everywhere we went for 6 1/2 days. Great deal and easy purchase.

Unless this has changed in the last 19 months, the Zone 1 travel card is also good for the docklands train to Greenwich.

Keith

I'd be happy to be proven wrong; but since Greenwich is on the border between Zones 2 & 3, how can a Zone 1 card be good on the DLR all the way to Greenwich?

You can't use the DLR at all with a zone 1 only pass because only Bank & Tower Gateway are in zone 1 and they are at the end of the lines. You can however get a bus to Greenwich (or for that matter the zoo) because any travelcard is valid on the entire London Bus system.

Thanks to everyone that replied, especially erinb.

Looks like we'll probably go with the 7-day travelcard.

And you were correct erinb, the price is 19.60 GBP, not 17.60.

Thanks again!

Tims, Perhaps we are talking about different things.

I just looked it up to refresh my memory. The London Visitor Travelcard which I purchased before leaving the US (they sent me a voucher and I redeemed it at Victoria Station when I got off the Gatwick Express) for the Central Zone is not limited to zone 1, but to 1 & 2.

Keith

Keith, the Visitor Travelcard is good for Zone 1 and 2;there is no Visitors travelcard available for just Zone 1.

But the regular travelcard for Zone 1, bought in London, is strangely enough good only in Zone 1 and thus not good for travel to Greenwich, which is Zone 2.