durhamnc

Our family, with two teens, ages 13 and 18, will be in London for a week at the end of March. From my research, it seems that buying an Oystercard with a 7 day travel card, (for zones 1 and 2, adding additional money when needed) makes the most sense. However, the Oystercard site is really confusing, and I can't quite figure out if there are teen discounts, etc.
Can anyone help clarify this?!!!
Thanks so much!

alanRow

Your 13 year old can get a £1 daily travelcard - but AFAIK you have to buy it each day - ie you can't "stock up" in advance

Your 18 Year old needs an adult pass

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresa...kets/2908.aspx

mjs

The Oyster card is essentially a debit card for the London transportation system. It costs L1.50 for each trip within
zone 1 and L2.00 for each trip within zone 2 during peak
hours and L 1.50 for off peak hours. Need to be careful to log in and log out at the turnstiles. Cost capped per day at L6.30 Peak and L4.80 off peak use. The 7 day travel card gives you unlimited use without regard to time for 7 days. Cost is something like L23.50 for zone 1 and 2. Can put a travel card on a Oyster card. It depends on how much you will use the transportation system as to which is better for you. Your 13 yo I believe can get a 11-15 yo Oyster card which caps daily use to L1.00. Have never done this and it seems like a pain to apply for and get as it seems you have to do it 3+weeks in advance and you have to pick it up in London.
I would just get a 7 day adult Travelcard for each of you and not worry about it.

mrgrumpy

just buy at the first tube station you are at, use a pay as you go, you can put as much or little as you need and can add to it any time with any amount. You will see it says you have to add by increments of 10 or 20 pounds, Nonsense you can add it by £1 if you wish

azzure

With four people traveling, you should definitely look into the 2 for 1 deals available at www.daysoutguide.co.uk. I was able to take advantage of these by purchasing a seven-day travelcard, which I loaded on to an Oyster. Got it at the tube station at Heathrow.

durhamnc

Thanks so much for all your thoughtful advice. We fly into Gatwick, and I don't think the travelcards/oystercards are available there. But it sounds like it will be easy enough to get them at the first tube station we go to in London.
And thanks for the tip on the 2 for 1 deals; I've read about that on these forums, as well, and will definitely follow up. We have frequent flyer tickets to get there, and are trying to economize in other ways, when possible.
Again, much gratitude for the assistance!

alanRow

<<< We fly into Gatwick >>>

On the Gatwick Express up to 4 adults can travel for the cost of 2 - look under the tickets section of www.gatwickexpress.com

For other cost saving measures

www.londonfreelist.com/
www.timeout.com/london/features/2892.html
www.2for1entry.co.uk/
www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/oysteroffers/
www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop...n_England.html

TimS

If you book at least 14 days in advance, you can get DaySave tickets on Southern trains which will get all four of you from Gatwick to Victoria station for £20. See here: http://tinyurl.com/2h3ojz.

durhamnc

This is wonderfully helpful.
It's really fun to plan a trip, especially with so much assistance.
The 2 for 1 deal looks fantastic, especially to places my kids want to go, like Shakespeare's Globe.
And we've found out the schedule for the free daytime concerts at St Martin in the Fields.
Tkts booth will be great.
Museums, thrifting with the girls at charity shops and walking through the Portobello Saturday Market. Eating at Asian and Indian places, and going to the market to cook our own food in the flat we're renting. We'll go to a pub for lunch.
Just being in a new and different place, experiencing what life is like there, is really enough!
So, again, thank you.

SusanSDG

Your 13 year old travels free with an oyster photocard. It's super easy to do-you can upload a picture now and pick the card up at a number of places (we did at Heathrow, but you're landing in Gatwick).
On the tfl site, hit tickets, then child and student discounts. And make sure your 18 year old has some kind of student ID(like ISID)-it pays for itself in a day and in London, unlike some otehr places, every single venue asked to actually see it.

durhamnc

Susan, that's great, thanks.
My 18 year old does have a student Id from a trip she took to France last year, with school, that lucky girl.
In terms of the Oyster card for the 13 year old, I went on the website and requested that they send me an application. It looks like I can then pick up the oyster photocard for her when we get to London, perhaps if we take the Gatwick express in to Victoria station. There is a travel center there, and perhaps that will be a good place for us all to get our travel cards, as well.
I didn't realize that the day we arrive is a Bank Holiday (Easter Monday), but it looks like the Travel Information Centre is open that day.
Again, thank you. I really appreciate any tips from folks in the know!

mjs

I believe that your 18 yo can only get a student Oyster card if she is enrolled full time in one of the Universities which are registered with the London transport system.
Almost all of the Universities listed are in the UK.
I do not think your 13 yo travels free with the Oyster Photocard. I believe that the costs are capped at 1 pound per day. Have never used this option so I am not fully versed in the details.

Robespierre

Eschew speculation. The straight dope on children and young adults is here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...-discounts.pdf

The four of you can get from Gatwick to London for £21 on a Southern Railway DaySave card. southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=189

durhamnc

thanks, mjs and robespierre.
I know that my 18 year old will need her travelcard, as she's not enrolled in university in London.
And I know that the 13 year old will travel free on trams and buses, but not on the tube. However, if we can get her a photo oyster card it will be useful, as she looks older than 13 (she turns 14 on April 1).
But I have to admit, it's somewhat confusing!
I think that I have enough information now so that I can hopefully figure this out when we get there!

Again, thanks to all who have responded so graciously.

missmissy

I'm also confused by the oyster card. I was looking at the link for the 2 for 1 deals which would be great. But, where on that site do I purchase our oyster card??? Help!
Missy

azzure

Missy - you can't purchase an Oyster card at the 2 for 1 site. You use that site to print coupons for the various 2 for 1 deals you wish to make use of in London. When you visit the attraction, you give them the coupon, and show them the receipt for your 7-day travel card loaded on your Oyster (which you can purchase at Heathrow or any tube station). The receipt confirms the dates that you are eligible to use the 2 for 1 offers. I know this sounds complicated, but it's really not. I just dedicated one coat pocket to my Oyster, receipt and 2 for 1 coupons.

icithecat

Just to tack on another oyster question, what happens if you do not have enough credit to leave the station to which you have travelled? Are there machines to let you top up there, or do you have to backtrack to a station within the zone you entered?

xyz123

...look up an old song by the Kingston Trio called MTA...the chorus goes oh he'll never return no he'll never return and his fate is unlearned...he may ride forever neath the streets of Boston (London)...he's the man who never returned....actually I once read what it says but I forgot...either you'll get the infamous message seek assistance and one of the guards will assist you or else it will enable you to go into the red, but you will be unable to use it again to enter the tube till you refill it enough to get a positive balance (I think that's what happens)....but hopefully your wife won't have to come down and throw you your lunch as the train goes passing through.....

icithecat

xyz123
This sounds like a perfect 'out' for tourists to travel to Heathrow on a zone one travel card. Is there not more security than this (reguarding the payment system).

xyz123

1. There is no longer a zone 1 travel card......

2. On a 7 day zone 1 & 2 travelcard, the extension is only £1.80 weekdays from 0700 to 1900 and £1 other times, so it's no big deal.

3. I would suppose you would need at least £1.50 to enter the tube in zone 1....the zone 1-6 fare to LHR is £3.50 at the peak hours noted above....at other times it's £2 so we're not talking huge amounts you would be ripping off the system..Heathrow is a mad house anyway and lots of times I go through there and see the barriers are not even manned (or womanned) and where the oyster card reader is, there really is no barrier..yhou touch out but there is no gate...

I'm not advocating fare evasion but it's really not a big problem.