My parents are going to London for one week. A quick search on this board indicated that it was just as easy--and rather cheaper--to buy the regular 7-day travel card once they get there. They will land in Gatwick. I imagine their only distant excursions will be to Greenwich and Windsor.<BR><BR>Here are my questions:<BR><BR>Do you recommend getting only zone 1? Zones 1 and 2? Zones 1, 2 and 3? (I'm comparing this to Paris where it makes no sense to buy a pass that includes Versailles when you can just buy a cheap roundtrip)<BR><BR>Is there any possible advantage of the Visitor Travelcard (other than not having to have the photocard) over the Regular Travelcard that you can think of?<BR><BR>FYI, when they went to Paris, I had to do everything in my powers to keep them from buying the Paris Visite pass ahead of time--and they were going to buy extra zones, too. Please give me your best arguments!<BR><BR>

If you do a search on this board, the travel card issues has been discussed many times. <BR><BR>People feel both ways, but, really, all you need is a Zone 1 and 2 travel card, bring a picture, and get it there. You don't need to get it in advance. You can buy add-ons if you need to get to a different zone, but most tourists don't need to.<BR><BR>Karen

Oops, sorry, you said you did a search. Well, you won't get different answers, since it's been covered so thoroughly.<BR><BR>Here's my argument: Why buy something ahead of time and have to keep track of it? The less paper you have to remember to bring the better! <BR><BR>And remember, it doesn't have to be a passport photo, a cut up snapshot is fine.

The '7 day travel'card is for use on London's Tube (Underground) and bus systems. The Tube does not run from Gatwick to London, they will need to take the Gatwick Express ( a round trip costs &pound;21 ) or a taxi( expensive!) or arrange for a car service to pick them up. <BR>For their excursion to Windsor they can buy an inexpensive train ticket on the day they wish to travel.<BR>Most of the other things they will want to see in London are in Zone 1 and a 7 day travel card will cost them each &pound;16.20 for unlimited travel. They would need a photocard but that is easily taken care of at the Tube station,, they can bring an extra passport photo or can use the photobooth at the station.<BR>All the London museums are free so the advantages of a Visitor Travel card are almost nil.

I bought the visitor's travelcard because it's one less thing to do while I'm on vacation. (It's also one more thing to remember to take with me, but I keep it with my airline tickets; if I forget those, I have bigger problems than a missing travelcard.) <BR><BR>Aside from that, I don't see much difference. The cost differenctial is negligible, since shipping is free and I don't have to buy passport-sized photos. The visitor travelcard also comes with a few discounts that should save me 5-10GBP altogether. (For a list go to &quot;http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk...nt.shtml&quot;). This will make up for the fact that while a visitor travelcard is valid for Zones 1&amp;2, regular travelcards can be purchased (at 3GBP cheaper) for only Zone 1.<BR><BR>Assuming your parents will be sleeping in zone 1, get the fewest zones possible for the option you choose. When buying tickets for further afield, such as Windsor, show the transit pass and ask if there is a discount. For Hampton Court, I was only required to pay a supplement, not the entire fare.<BR><BR>If your parents decide to purchase a visitor travelcard in advance from the Transport for London website, be sure to do so as far in advance as is allowed, to protect agains shipping delays. <BR><BR>Finally, keep in mind that a Zone 1 travelcard is valid on buses IN ALL ZONES.

I often visit London and always get a 7 day pass. I find that it's quite enough to get one just for Zones 1 and 2. If you need to go further afield you just pay a supplement, you can get it from the machine or from the ticket office.<BR>To get your pass you need a photo small enough to go into the ticket folder and you can just go to the ticket counter at the first tube station you come to. You can keep the little folder with your photograph for future trips and you'll then only need to buy the ticket.

Amy<BR><BR>Here's what I would do .......<BR><BR>When I get to Gatwick I would use the Gatwick Express into London - I think it's &pound;11 for a single ticket and slightly less than double for a return. They can buy the tickets on the train, it's very easy and hassle free. The walk from Gatwick's South terminal (which is probably the terminal they will land at) to the train station isn't very far at all. I find Gatwick a lot easier to use than Heathrow.<BR><BR>At Victoria station they can purchase a 7 day travelcard. However, if they are taking a cab to their hotel they can always leave this until later as Victoria is a very busy station and the tube is over the other side of the station from the platforms where the Gatwick Express arrive into. There is a taxi rank only a flight of stairs/lift ride away from the Express platforms.<BR><BR>They can wait to buy their travelcard at the first station they use. Apart from needing a passport sized picture it's quick and easy to buy the travelcard, and saves losing it or forgetting it on the journey over. Plus the photocard can be used on subsequent trips (I've had mine for 13 years now).<BR><BR>The prices for the 7 day travelcards are: <BR><BR>&pound;16.20 - zone 1<BR>&pound;19.30 - zones 1&amp;2<BR><BR>If your parents are definitely going to Greenwich then I would get the zones 1&amp;2 travelcard. The extra ticket they would need to get to Greenwich if they got just the zone 1 card is probably only about &pound;2 return, so they might as well pay the extra &pound;1 and save the hassle. <BR><BR>Windsor is outside the zones so they would need a cheap day return ticket for that. When they buy it at the rail station they should show their travelcard and they might get a tiny amount off the price (basically the ticket will be priced from the end of zone 2 rather than from zone 1). That, plus a trip to Greenwich, would probably make up the difference of paying the &pound;3.10 extra for zones 1&amp;2.<BR><BR>Sorry, if this all sounds confusing! <BR><BR>

OK, everyone else beat me to it, but the discounts that Dave mentions are the same kind that you can usually pick up leaflets for once in London. Both the tube/train stations and the tourist information centres have lots of leaflets offering money off admission prices. <BR>Whenever you are in a mainline station always check out the racks of leaflets, as they often advertise admission discounts when you have either a travelcard or cheap day return ticket.

Thank you to all of you, but Karen, you answered my &quot;hidden&quot; question. I was just looking up the visitor travelcard discounts and was just wondering to myself, &quot;Surely there are little discount coupons around for these.&quot; <BR><BR>I think what new information I've garnered from this most recent posting is not that there's some huge saving difference between the visitor travelcard and the regular one for zones 1 and 2, but that if one isn't going to Greenwich, then zone 1 is sufficient. I made a list of what they'd probably be seeing, and 99.9% is in zone 1. <BR><BR>Dave, I need to clarify something. Did I understand you correctly that a regular (non-vistor) travelcard for zone 1 only would allow you to ride a bus out to zone 2?<BR><BR>Also, Dave, I have been looking at the website address you gave me, and it does not look as though I can buy the visitor travelcard through the London site. Seems I have to go through overseas broker (eurail, ticketsto, etc.) where the shipping/handling fee is around $12. Any clarification? Appreciate any details...my parents are at the age where they become upset over small, small things.<BR><BR>Again, thank you for the clarification of small points. Th

Re buses, my understanding is that any travelcard (regular or visitor) is valid for all regular buses, regardless of the number of tube zones for which it applies. This seems to be what is stated on the TfL website.<BR><BR>So you can take a bus to the outer zones even if your tube travel is limited to zones 1 or 1&amp;2.

I purchased my travelcard directly through the Transport for London website. Shipping was FREE, and took about 10 days.<BR><BR>The link is www.ticket-on-line.com. I know we're not supposed to cut and paste, but for precision, here is the exact wording shown during the purchasing process: <BR>&quot;All Visitor Travelcards are delivered free of charge and prices displayed above will be the total cost to you&quot; (cost displayed is 19.50GBP.)<BR><BR>This website may only be valid for purchases made from North America (and perhaps AUS/NZ?). If you live elsewhere you probably would have to purchase from a vendor and pay shipping.

Thanks, Dave. I tried getting through the on-line store but it wouldn't work for me. After doing the rest of the reading, I assumed that perhaps I was supposed to use one of their overseas brokers, which, as you may suppose, includes at least $12 in shipping. I'm going to check it out a bit later today to see if I have any better luck.<BR><BR>Again, thanks Dave.<BR><BR>