helenrk

We are two adults and one 16 year old who will be spending 6 days in London in the Earls Court area and are confused as to whether to go with oyster card or travel card. We will mainly be sightseeing, but will be visiting family for two days - travelling in zones 4 and 6. If we get oyster cards, and we don't use up the amount on the card, is their an expiry date, since I'm likely to be travelling solo to London next year. Also we're flying into Gatwick - what would be best way to make our way to our hotel.

Thanks for any input anyone might have.

jamikins

A travel card is either paper, or put onto an oyster card. Its the same thing, just two different methods.

Will you be using 2for1 deals listed here www.daysoutguide.co.uk? Then you want a paper ticket for those days. You likely need to figure out the costs:

1. Get a travelcard on an oyster for 7 days zone 1-2 and then add extra PAYG money for your trips into zone 4-6. You can get refunded on any extra PAYG cash, but not for the travelcard. You wont be able to use the 2for1 deals though. What you can do is buy a train ticket for the cheapest train trip into London from a train station for those days though.

2. Get a paper travelcard for 7 days for zone 1-2 (you can then use this for the 2for1 deals). For the days you are in zone 4-6 buy extensions from the stations (tell the teller you have a zone 1-2 travelcard and your destination and they will sell you the right extension). These may be more than the PAYG as I think you will have to pay the cash fare (see tfl site below)

Use www.tfl.gov.uk (click on tickets link) and the days out link above and figure out what is the most cost effective. Personally I would do #2.

avalon

Oystercard money does not expire. For 3 people a car service is cheaper than the GatwickExpress/ I use justairports.com

PatrickLondon

Over 6 days, it's highly unlikely you would save any money by using Oyster pay-as-you-go rather than a 7-day travelcard (whether you hold that on an Oyster or as a paper ticket from a National Rail station). The only significant saving you might make is if you don't use public transport at all for at least one whole day, or travel only by bus and never use the Underground.

Even then the difference wouldn't be worth sweating over, in my view: any such variations could be dwarfed by potential savings on the 2for1 deals using the paper 7-day travelcard (depending on what you might want to see).

I <i>think</i> add-on fares for going outside zones 1-2 (which is all you'll normally need on your travelcard) are the same whichever format the card is held in - the only difference is that on the Oystercard you can put cash on in one lump, with the paper card you'd have to buy a specific add-on ticket. If your zone 4/6 trips are going to be on suburban National Rail services, I'm not sure if the station(s) you'd be going to would have reader machines for Oyster pay-as-you-go anyway, which would be another argument for the paper ticket.

Gatwick to Earl's Court: train to Victoria, then District or Circle line on the Underground to Earl's Court. I'm not sure if you can buy a 7-day London travelcard at Gatwick, but there's no harm asking at the ticket office. If you can't, then buy it at Victoria, <i>from the National Rail ticket office in the main line station NOT the Victoria tube ticket office</i> - you might be able to get one from the ticket machines in the National Rail station, which would save a bit of time.

alanRow

If they are flying into & out of Gatwick then the train tickets used to get to & from central London will allow them to use the 2-4-1 offers on daysoutguide.com. Just ensure you have both with you when you claim the offers. If you encounter an automatic barrier at Victoria when you arrive then don't put the ticket into it but find a manned gate instead.

You can then buy an Oystercard at the Tube station and load it with a 7 day Zone 1-2 Travelcard and add some additional money if you intend going outside those zones.

janisj

For three people -- the Gatwick Express is only slightly cheaper than a car service. The single adult fare is £15.95 and justairports charges £45 to Earls Court. And the Southern train is much cheaper. The train/tube option will take half as long.

Plus the R-T train ticket will get you the 2-for-1 DaysOut discounts the whole time you are in London,so no need to mess about w/ paper travelcards at all. Get your oyster at Victoria tube station on your way to earls court -- and be sure to retain your ticket as alanRow mentions..

janisj

oops That should have been >>For three people -- the Gatwick Express is only slightly more expensive than a car service<<

(I changed the sentence and forgot to change the adjective )

helenrk

Thanks for all your help. I think I'll go with the paper travelcard, as it looks like we would be going to some of the two-for-one attractions. One more question, it appears that I can buy this card on-line and have it sent to me --- but there was a mention in your replies that this card had to be purchased at a railroad station. Does anyone know if I have a card mailed to my home if it's still valid for the two-for-one attractions?

As far as the three of us getting to London from Gatwick, I heard somewhere that the drive takes much longer than the train, however since we will have travelled overnight and I'm a senior traveling with daughter and granddaughter, I'll probably end up taking a taxi from Victoria station to the hotel in Earls Court - and it seems the price of train versus car would be about the same, I'm just wondering how much longer that car ride would be? maybe the comfort of not hauling my luggage is worth the extra time?

janisj

"<i> One more question, it appears that I can buy this card on-line and have it sent to me --- but there was a mention in your replies that this card had to be purchased at a railroad station. Does anyone know if I have a card mailed to my home if it's still valid for the two-for-one attractions?</i>"

No - it has to be a ticket bought in a train station.

Me personally -- I'd hate sitting in a car for 90+ minutes after an overnight flight. And especially in from LGW which is definitely not a scenic route. But if you want door to door service - maybe that is worth the loooong car ride.

helenrk

Thanks janisj, now I think I've got it all together. You've convinced me that the train is the best way to go, and when I arrive at Victoria station I can probably buy the travelcard right there. When I went on the Gatwick website they have a special if you buy online - there's a really good deal - three people travel for the price of two - that is 35.80 for the express class or 52.00 first class for the three of us. Since it's such a short trip I think I should take the cheaper - though I wasn't sure if the "At seat refreshment service" (not sure what that meant - free coffee tea?) and more comfort was maybe worth the extra money.

PatrickLondon

>>I wasn't sure if the "At seat refreshment service" (not sure what that meant - free coffee tea?) and more comfort was maybe worth the extra money.<<

The journey takes half a hour, so you wouldn't get much value out of a tea and biscuits trolley, even if it's free. Depending on how many people want to take advantage of it, you might even find you're still waiting for the tea to cool down when you get to Victoria.