London travelcard
 

Is the price of a 7-day adult peak Travelcard the same whether I order it by mail ahead of my trip or buy it at the tube station when I get there?

It is...but you're much better off waiting till you get to London as if you do it in London you will get it on an oyster card which will save you about 3 or 4 seconds every time you get on the tube and is much much more flexible in terms of extension fares say in coming in from the airport to the city.

Trust me it is silly to get the 7 day card in advance.

IMO calling it "silly" to get one in advance, especially if you aren't going to use it anywhere out of the zones paid for and for getting to and from the airport might be a bit of an overstatement.

What might be "silly" is getting to London and having to waste all those "seconds" you are going to save by getting in line somewhere to buy an oyster card.

Perhaps six to one, etc.

If I were saving money, I might think buying it in advance was a good deal...it's just one more thing that can be forgotten when you pack...one more thing that could get lost in the mail and you have to wait once and it's done and there aren't always queues to buy the cards...

If you get the oyster card with a 7 day pass, they waive the £3 deposit and so you'll have the oyster card for when you return to London and might only need a couple of days of prepaid...

BTW, will you be using the card for 7 days? I used to think 5 days or more were the way to go but I found that unless I use it for 6 days I can usually do better with PAYG as suggested by somebody else on this board as there might be some days where I take only 1 or 2 bus rides and don't forget oyster caps at 50p below the price of one day travelcards if you use the tube or 50p below the price of a 1 day bus pass if you only use the buses....

Still think it's silly to get a paper 7 day pass instead of oyster IMHO.

linda_j,

The answer would depend on if you're planning to use the tube or Heathrow Express or car service from the airport. I don't see a particularly pressing erason to order in advance.

You might have a longer queue at Heathrow or Paddington stations, but the queues are not that long otherwise.

As for 7-day adult peak vs prepaid Oyster, there are several threads on this previously.

Just for some added info - on previous trips I've always used the tube and buses every day, many times a day with the travelcard that I ordered ahead of time. But I began to wonder if I was really saving myself that much money. And of course now that the oyster card is also an option I'm getting confused! Also, since I will be there for 10 days, would the oyster card make more sense. I like being able to use all the transport systems as often as I like as well as any time of day. This really wouldn't be such an issue if the US dollar wasn't so "bloomin' low".

The Oyster is not an alternative to a Travelcard - it's an alternative to using paper tickets and cash.

Capsule advice: get an Oyster with a 2-zone, 7-day Travelcard loaded on it plus a few £ for Pay As You Go. You can top up as needed at any Tube station.

If you'll use the Tube to get to or from Heathrow, make sure your Travelcard overlaps your arrival or departure date so you only have to pay for an extension from Zone 2 rather than a six-zone ticket.

Travelcards sold in U.S. i believe can be used anytime - cheaper ones in U.K. i believe only after 9:30am Mon-Fri - if that's true and it if makes a difference to you buy here - TravelCards i believe are currently a few bucks cheaper in the U.S. but S&H may negate that.

Thank you Robespierre, sounds like the oyster card is the smart way to go. By the way, I have already purchased a ticket for the Gatwick Express to and from the airport as part of my travel package so I won't need to add on for that. And...I'm assuming that if I want to go out of the 1 & 2 zones I can pay for an add on for that, right?

Yes - you just "touch in" and the zone extension is automatically deducted.

7-day Travelcards are not peak-time sensitive; 1- and 3-day are.

The valid dates are printed on the front and written magnetically on the strip.

Too bad you already paid for the GX. A round-trip on Southern is £10 cheaper.

PalQ...if you're going to give advice, make sure it is correct...

1. Seven day travelcards whether bought in advance in the US (and other overseas places) or in London are £22.20. However, when bought in London, you get it on an oyster card with the £3 deposit waived...if bought in the US you get a paper ticket.

2. One day travelcards for zones 1 & 2 are available in the UK for £4.90 per day..on weekdays they are only valid after 0930...for £5.80 you can get a one day travelcard which includes the peak hours.

3. You can pay as you go with oyster cards...you do not get a travelcard as such on it...as you touch in (and out on the tube) the proper fare is deducted from the pay as you go account but your outlay for the day will cap at a rate 50p less than the corresponding travelcard...thus if your first trip on a weekday is after 0930 and you use oyster for 4 or 5 trips, the most you pay is £4.40...if all you do is use buses on a particular day, the outlay for the day will cap at £3 50p less than the price of a one day bus pass which is £3.50. If you go outside the validity of your 7 day card, extension fares comes off the pay as you go account...an extension to Heathrow on a 7 day zone 1 & 2 travelcard is only £1.80 weekdays from 0700 to 1900 and a meagre £1 at other times.

As I've said, I used to use 5 days as my barometer for when it pays to get a 7 day travelcard as opposed to 1 day cards but I've changed my mind on this (thank you Robespierre) and on a couple of days I might only use the buses and so my outlay would ultimately be less using PAYG...probably 6 days would mean a better benefit with a 7 day pass.

Oyster card payg accounts can easily be refilled with the machines at any tube station and it takes about 30 seconds to do so. Oyster cards give you complete flexibility to allow you each day not to make a decision at the start of the day what kind of a pass you need...just touch in and out and the tfl computer will determine the best fare for you as you go along.

Visitor travelcards...I just don't see any convenience to have to order it, wait for it to arrive (things do get lost in the mail) remember to pack it as opposed to waiting on a queue once upon arrival...I can't believe the 5 minutes you might save by not having to wait on the queue to buy the card will make or break your holiday and once you have the oyster card, from there on you can refill it on the machines.

Robespierre,

I'm curious as to what the "Southern" is that you referred to.

Is it a train from Gatwick into London proper?

PalQ...if you're going to give advice, make sure it is correct...

1. <Seven day travelcards whether bought in advance in the US (and other overseas places) or in London are £22.20>

WRONG- 7-day Travelcards bought in U.S. are $44 - not 22.20 pounds at any exchange rate - and i believe currently cheaper thus in London so i retract that statement, which was correct some months ago when i last compared.
Right to school me for mistake - i did confuse 9:30am rule on 1 and 3 day Travelcards sold in U.S. with one-day sold locally.
One-day cards in U.S. cost $13 - more than one day in London -
3-day cards sold not in London i believe but in U.S. cost $30 a day.
So now i know as of today better to buy in London, especially with Oyster Card 3 quid angle.

It depends when you buy a visitor's travelcard who you buy it from and £22.20 is more or less $44 depending on who is doing the exchange so for all practical purposes, not that the difference is a deal buster, the 7 day pass bought in the USA and that bought in London are more or less priced the same..

Well the One-Day Travelcard at $13 in no way corresponds to 4.95 pounds does it. Prices may coincidentally be the same on the 7 day card but that's just coincidence - price is not always the same here or there - depends on currency exchange rates.

Some folks may find the coupon book giving a quid off many (mainly lesser) sights such as Mdm Tussauds and activities to be valuable as well - the discount book that comes with the Visitor Travelcards.

Just to add, virtually all London tourism is done within Zone 1-2. Generally the only reason any tourist goes beyond that is to get to/from Heathrow Airport.

Therefore for most people a zone 1-2 travelcard (or Oyster equivalent) is all they need.

Oh and a bus only card / oyster is a LOT cheaper and you REALLY get to see London

Yes, Southern Trains serves Gatwick from Victoria (there's an intermediate stop that adds 5 minutes to the Express time).

Other operators will get you to
Blackfriars
Charing Cross
City Thameslink
Farringdon
Kensington Olympia
King's Cross Thameslink
London Bridge
Waterloo East

"However, when bought in London, you get it on an oyster card with the £3 deposit waived...if bought in the US you get a paper ticket."

Actually, you can get either the Oyster OR a paper 7 day travel card ticket IN London, and that paper ticket is the exact same one you'd get if you ordered it in advance. I know, I did both just this past May - ordered a Travelcard from home, then bought another identical one in London when the first one expired. No £3 deposit required for the paper Travelcard. The cost was £22.20 for both, and the credit card company converted the £ to USD$ to charge me $44.40. There was a delivery fee for the card I ordered in advance, so if I go back I will just buy it there.

I don't see the point of buying a paper Travelcard in London. The Oyster costs the same, and qualifies for Oyster fares.

What am I missing?

<i>p.s.</i> $2 per &pound;1 is the worst exchange rate I've seen in years.