ann

If I am staying ten minutes from Victoria Station in London, is that my major source of transporation? If so, should a buy a 5 day pass or should I use the bus? Is a tour better than sight-seeing by foot? Please help! Thanks

Don

I would probably recommend using the tube. It is fast and convenient. The drawback is that there are no windows to look out of, like a bus.

When I as in London, I has specific places I wanted to to. We used the tube to get us to the right area and walked from there. We only took a bus twice in 9 days, although we did take a taxi once.

As for the "tour vs on your own" question, it depends on your personal preferences and budget. We took a one day tour of London as well as a day trip to Leeds-Cantebury-Dover. We also took a one day trip to Paris via the "Chunnel" train. However, when we wanted to see Warwick Castle, we just hopped on a train on our own.

I think that if you value convenience and like having a guide, tours are worth the money. You want to have fun on vacation, not sweat the details. However, the best bet is to mix and match. Take a day trip or two and do the rest on your own.

ann

Don, good advise... I've been told taxis are expensive. Do you know if you purchase passes for the tube or do you just pay each time you use the tube?
Thanks for the info!

paul

http://www.jackdaw.u-net.com/ukfaq/trcard.html but I would(did) take a taxi at some point just for the experience.

sonney

Ann -
You can buy a tube pass good for several days (5 or 7 I think) it is a paper credit card with a mag. strip. You just insert in the turnstile and the card pops up when you take it out the gate opens and you are on your way. It is neat & cheaper than single or one day passes. You can buy them at almost any of the tube stations. You will see a service booth before you get into the train area. All routes are well marked and easy to find your way. Enjoy.

janis

ann: There is no such thing as a "tube" pass. Transport passes are valid for the tube, buses, and even trains within the zones you choose. So if you want to take a bus one time and a tube the next the same pass is good for both.

If you are going to use any type of public transport (other than taxis) more than once a day you are better off buying a daily pass.

But if you plan on taking some public transport all 5 days, then a weekly pass is the way to go. It would be cheaper than 5 daily passes and it lets you travel at any time (the daily passes are only good after 9:30 AM)

xxx

The so-called passes mentioned above are actually called Travelcards. They can be purchased at any Underground ( tube) station.
The daily Travelcards, weekend Travelcards, or weekly Travelcards are the ones that would suit your needs.
The weekly Travelcard requires you to provide a passport sized photo which is then laminated onto a Photocard.
The weekly Travelcard is a bargin, it will give you unlimited travel on the tube and on the bus routes . A weekly Travelcard for Zone One, in which your hotel near Victoria will be situated and in which most of the major London points of interest are in ,will cost £16.20.

Walter

There is no tube pass like the above post said, but there is a bus only pass.

Check the search engine for London Transport website (?www.londontransport.co.uk or .com). It's #1 or #2 if you use Yahoo's search engine.

Many tourists don't take the bus too much because the tube maps are so good. Do what you think is best.

A guided tour is good for the 1) lazy, 2) first time visitor that is short on time, 3) business traveller that is short on time, 4) those that don't like guidebooks and prefer to see things before deciding on what to go back to visit.

Bring a small picture if you want a photocard which is needed for some passes.

marciab

I got the weekly travelcard, the magnetic one you put in the turnstiles, and it was great. If you are ten minutes from Victoria Station and don't want to walk or it is raining, or your feet hurt, you can take a bus to get yourself to the tube. As mentioned above, the travelcard is good for buses, tube, and some trains.

I would highly recommend the travelcard. You do need a photograph, but NOT passport sized. That is way too big, more like 3/4 inch. Cut your head out from a snapshot. That will do.

PatrickW

There are also special Visitor Travelcards, that look like a better deal than buying them when you're in London - see

www.ticket-on-line.com

xxx

You can also buy some travelcards at many newsagents, they generally have a sign in the window. For some of the longer term travelcards, you may need to provide a photo to make up an i.d. card, but there are photobooths in almost every tube station. Check on the London transport site. It is really handy to have a travel card as they are good on both the tube and buses. There are also good bus maps you can pick up at the tube stations, and as a tourist it is really nice to ride the buses instead of the tube as you can see (especially if you ride on the top!).

VWagner

The passport size photo IS what's suggested by the London Underground and if you don't happen to have an extra passport photo you can use one of the photo making booths in many of the tube stations.
The ticket agent trims the photo to fit onto the photocard.
However, they will also accept a head view that you have cut out of a snapshot.
How's that for confusion?

AA

Another alternative is the Tourist buses. They have stops at just about any major attraction and in many cases near many major hotels in London. A 24 hour ticket allows one to hop off/on at any of the many stops. The advantage is that you will have a guide telling you what's what when approaching the next stop, so you could make a decision if you just want to look at it ot actually get off and explore it. The buses run about every 15 minutes so there is never a long wait. They also run in circle so no fear of getting lost as eventually you will get back to your starting point.
Tube is a great way to get around town, but it does get crowded in the mornings and afternoon when people are traveling to/from work.
Enjoy your trip!

curiousgeorge

Well, I got curious after a poster said a 3/4" photo was the right size for a photocard. LOL
So I got out my photocard and a ruler and the space lined out on the card for the photo is a fraction larger than a 1 3/4"x 1 3/4" square. More like passport size.

Karen

I bought my visitor pass on line a few days ago.
You do not need a picture- and they send you coupons.
I am now checking the London Pass to see if it something I would want.

You can also buy a London Pass that includes travel. I wish I had heard of that before...but I am going to check it out. I may not get money's worth out of the pass- I mainly want o to go to the museums- and I hear they are free anyways. My hotel is also giving me a pass to the Royal Academy's latest showing..

Debbie

Depending on where you are going to , from Victoria, it is often nicer taking the Bus. Victoria is the main hub for buses, so the one you want most likely leaves from there.

When I was in London - we only took the tube a handful of times, but used the bus quite a bit. Especially in the middle of the day- often they are less croweded.

For sightseeing - do a Hop-on-Hop-off tour - kind of self directed, but gets you where you want to go, with some background info. We went on one that was a double decker , and got to see London from the top!.

Karen

http://www.londonpass.com/index2.asp

• FREE entry to over 60 attractions
• Includes public transport
• Over £350 worth of entrance fees
• Cut to front of lines at attractions
• FREE 132 page guidebook
• Many special offers and benefits
• From just £12 a day




Here is what the London Pass will get you into.

Free entrance attractions

Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum
Bankside Gallery
The Banqueting House
Battersea Park Children’s Zoo
Buckingham Palace*
Catamaran Cruisers
Courtauld Institute Gallery
Chislehurst Caves
Chiswick House
Curzon Mayfair Cinema
Curzon Soho Cinema
Cutty Sark
Eltham Palace
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
Fan Museum
FirePower
Firstbowl Queensway
Florence Nightingale Museum
Guards Museum
Hampton Court Palace
HMS Belfast
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Jason's Canal Boat Trip
Jewel Tower
Jewish Museum (Camden)
Jewish Museum (Finchley)
Kensington Palace & The Orangery
Kew Bridge Steam Museum
London Aquarium
London Bicycle Tour Company
London Canal Museum
London Wetland Centre
London Zoo
London’s Transport Museum
Marble Hill House
Old Operating Theatre,
Museum and Herb Garret
Pollock’s Toy Museum
Richmond Filmhouse
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Mews
Shree Swaminarayan Mandir
Southwark Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral
Stepping Out Walks
Thames Barrier Information &
Learning Centre
The London Dungeon
The Tower of London
The Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House
Wellington Arch
The Chapter House
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
Wimbledon Tour Experience
Windsor Castle

justalittle

The rest of the story for the London Pass mentioned above.
Adult Passes Price (inc. transport for zone 1-6)

1-Day £30.00
2-Day £52.00
3-Day £68.00
6-Day £107.00
If one could actually wanted to see all the attractions that were free with the London pass , it might be a good buy.
But if it is your first trip to London, then most off the attractions you would want to see are in Zone One so you do not need the extra 2-6 zone transport costs.

Karen

Well- I just bought my London Pass!
It is still a good deal- even though I already bought my transportation pass(16 pounds-4 day).
Here are the prices for just the pass-
1-Day £25.00
2-Day £39.00
3-Day £49.00
6-Day £69.00

I bought the 3 day pass. I will go to the museums and the london eye on my "off" days.
I figured out if you went to the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Hampton Place, Buckingham Palace, and Windsor Palace (all places I would like to see)
it would cost 56. Pounds alone.
So anything else is gravy!
BTW- Sorry for the post being so long above- I should have formatted it...

Jen

Karen, are you saying that you think you can get to the Tower of London and the 4 palaces in 3 days?!