London Travelcard vs oyster card
 

We will be travelling to London for Christmas. We are 2 adults and 3 teenagers. I've been going through old postings and can't figure out if it's better to purchase a Travelcard or an oyster card. Please help!
Thanks,
Claudina

Definitions are in order here. It isn't a Travelcard OR an Oyster. It is if the travelcard should be the paper variety or loaded onto an Oyster.

A Travelcard is simply a travel fare.

So how long are you in London? That makes some difference re what type (length) of travelcards you need.

If you intend to use some of the Days out 2for1 discounts, you'll need paper travelcards purchased at a train station. https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london

Oh -- also figuring into you calculation -- there is no public transport on Christmas Day and many sites are closed the 24th through the 26th. So that may affect how many things you can visit using the 2for1's . . .

Bear in mind there will be no public transport on Christmas Day - Sunday service on Boxing Day, and back to normal thereafter. There has been free transport on New Year's Eve in the late evening, but I haven't seen any announcements for this year.

we will be there for 8 days

<i>Which</i> 8 days? Are you there ON Christmas and ON New Years Day? Most (nearly all) sites are close Dec 24-26 and on Jan 1. So if you are there those four days you will only have 4 days for typical sightseeing. (or more likely 3 or 3.5 days if you are counting your arrival day)

And where are you staying - In which zone? Assuming you are staying in the general center of the city, and depending on your actual dates what you'll likely need are 7-day zone 1-2 paper travelcards (for the 2for1's) and Oysters w/ some Pay-As-You-Go ££ to cover the extra day plus travel in from LHR and back on the tube.

Only 4 of you would need the paper travelcards since you have an 'odd man out' for the 2for1's but as long as you need to hit a train station anyway to buy them you might as well get 5. But how old are the kids -- if one or more are under 16 you can get half priced Oyster travelcards w/o faffing about w/ an application or photos https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payment...-with-children O am not sure if this also applies to paper travel cards???

But w/ no sites open several days during the period you could also just go w/ PAYG Oysters and buy one day paper travelcards for the few days you can use the 2for1's.

I have to say we have been very happy using "public transit" in London and have been doing so since the 1960's.

I am kind of amazed, however, that there will be no public transit on Christmas Day. None? At all? I assume you either walk or take a taxi, right?

>>I assume you either walk or take a taxi, right?<<

Yep -- and relatively few taxis.

Is London the only major metropolitan area with a transport system that does this?

Gee, didn't realize this was such an embarrassing question.

Christmas day is a great day for using the rental bikes, as there is not much traffic. The absence of busses and vans make cycling much safer.

I have not compared all metropolitan transport systems, so do not know which ones close down on Christmas day, Dukey.

Some attractions are open on December 24 and 26 - all of them are closed on the 25th.

Claudina; if you want to take advandtage of 2for1 offers you need a travel card from a train station, look at the link in Janisj's post.

If you don't want to bother with that (and keep in mind that many museums and galleries are free), then just get an Oyster Card with a 7-day travel pass for zone 1 and 2 added onto the Oyster Card + some extra money to cover the additional day, and to cover any trips you make outside of zone 2.

Of course this depends on where you are located in London. Most people stay in Zone 1 or 2, and travel mostly in that area.

"Gee, didn't realize this was such an embarrassing question."

Embarrassing.......??

Hooameye, look at the time differential between the two posts. Perhaps dukey was expecting an impassioned debate about it.

It's just a fact that generally speaking people in the UK stay at home and/or for a couple of days with family over Christmas, and for decades London Transport staff have been no exception: Christmas Day at home, Boxing Day for getting out and about. Public transport isn't considered as quite as essential as the emergency services. The world doesn't end.

We will be staying close to the Aldgate/Whitehall tube station. Which zone would that be?

Also, can I buy the Oyster card when I get to Heathrow?

Aldgate and Whitehall are on opposite sides of central London and there is no station called Whitehall.

Aldgate is in zone 1.

You buy the Oyster card at Heathrow tube station.

>>Aldgate/Whitehall tube station<<

Where did you get that info? Is it a hotel or a flat? What is the actual post code? There is no such place as Whithall/Aldgate (As jamikins says - there IS an Aldgate station but is it nowhere near Whitehall)

Whitechapel??

Oh Yes, #-O Whitechapel would make sense. But there isn't a Whitechapel tube station so do give us the post code and we can give you better advice.

There is a Whitechapel tube station, but it's quite a way from Aldgate and Aldgate East stations. You may well need a bus ride to get to a tube station in the first place. You'd be on the zones 1/2 boundary.

A lot depends on precisely where you're staying. There are two main traffic arteries in the area, which don't exactly ooze charm, but do have one or two of the chain hotels and some new apartment developments that buy-to-let landlords may well be putting on the vacation market.

It's traditionally a working-class area with a great deal of public housing, and small businesses strongly reflecting the area's traditional association with the wholesale clothing trade, and it will look distinctly scruffy in places. However, there are areas of gentrification, with new developments of rather expensive flats spreading along the main roads, and what remains of old Victorian terraces being spruced up, some pocket parks and street trees and so on. Over the centuries, different waves of immigration have passed through the area, nowadays with a strong and visible Bangladeshi community.