Oyster card
 

I will arrive in London March 12 11:00 am- Heathrow. I will be with two teens. Will leave on March 16 12:30pm.

I am thinking 7 day Oyster card would be the way to go.

am i correct that we will still need to buy 1 day travelcard for 12 and 16 to get to and from Heathrow???

If that is the case - is a single day travel card - being peak time - the cheapest way to go??

would it be crazy to use the 7 day travelcard to take tube as close to Heathrow as possible and then take black cab??

would leaving the hotel (Travelodge London City Rd) at 8:00 am to return to Heathrow be too early ? too late??

how much will the single day travelcards be or the black cab???

I am budgeting $50 for the 7 day Oyster - is that correct??

again thanks so much!!!

Your 12yr old can get a day travelcard for £1 that covers all of London - but will need one per day of trip

Your 16yr is an adult, therefore will need an adult travelcard

Given that your best option is to buy 7 day PAPER travelcards, but these can only be bought at train stations. These will allow you to use the 2-for-1 offers that can cut the cost of paying attractions substantially

For LHR to central London, either take the hit and buy a one way ticket (£4 per adult) or get a car service to take you to your hotel

http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard.htm

http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefin...ard_oyster.htm

Black cab to Heathrow will cost more than 4 train fares - they are painfully expensive and should be avoided for anything other than emergency short hops!

12 and 16 are the dates I am arriving and leaving.

I will be with a 17 and 18 year old.

PAPER travelcard NOT plastic Oyster??

i will still need single day for getting to and from LHR - correct??

how much should that be??

The cheapest way to get back and forth to Heathrow is with a 2-zone Travelcard on Oyster valid for the day plus an extension to get from Zone 2 to Zone 6.

Your supplement fare will get you as far as Hammersmith, where the Travelcard takes over. £1.80 M-F 7AM-7PM, £1 all other times.

This method doesn't pertain to paper Travelcards, only on Oyster. Your total cost might be cheaper with a paper TC and twofers - do the math.

Options:

Paper travelcards from National Rail stations come with various 2for1 offers (www.daysout.co.uk). You would need to buy separate tube tickets from Heathrow into central London: the single cash fare is £4.

Travelcard on Oyster doesn't have 2for1 offers; the add-on fare to get into central London is (I think) either £1 or £1.80.

As alanRow said, the fare for a single ticket at any time of day on the Tube from Heathrow to central London costs £4. (FYI, a single ticket to go only one stop within central London also costs £4.)

I plan to do the 3 day Travelcard 17.40 pounds -one day travelcard 5.30 pounds off peak for day of arrival so we can use it for the rest of day ( this will get me from LHR and let me travel rest of day - correct) and then 4 pounds on the day we depart - from hotel to LHR.

to take advantage of the 2for1 offers I have to buy it at a train station. Is there a train station at Heathrow??

I want to get from Heathrow to Kings Cross for the harry potter platform 9 3/4

can i print the vouchers now or do i need to wait until we get there??

there are three in our goup - is it possible to share this offer with other odd number groups - would it be out of line??

will this allow me to use the 2 for 2 offers??

Thu 12 Mar
Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3 (HXX) to London Paddington (PAD)

Journey Summary Details - Option 1 Departs Arrives Duration
12:48 13:05 0:17

Journey Details Calling Points:
Travel By: Train (Retail Service ID: HX056400)
Train Company: Heathrow Express service from Heathrow Terminal 5 to London Paddington

Leg 2 of 2 Underground
Get London Underground Map Thu 12 Mar
London Paddington (PAD) to London Kings Cross (KGX)
Journey Summary Details - Option 2 Departs Arrives Duration
13:05 13:35 0:30
From London Paddington take the Circle Line (Eastbound, Platfrom 2) which is direct a service to Kings Cross St Pancras Underground Station.

4 pounds

<b>The itinerary above uses the Heathrow Express. The Tube would be far cheaper, and goes straight to King's X.</b>

I plan to do the 3 day Travelcard 17.40 pounds -one day travelcard 5.30 pounds off peak for day of arrival so we can use it for the rest of day ( this will get me from LHR and let me travel rest of day - correct) and then 4 pounds on the day we depart - from hotel to LHR. <b>Oyster fares are much cheaper than singles for between LHR and town. I'd go with Oyster, 3-day, Oyster.</b>

to take advantage of the 2for1 offers I have to buy it at a train station. Is there a train station at Heathrow?? <b>Unfortunately, not where you can buy Travelcards.</b>

can i print the vouchers now or do i need to wait until we get there?? <b>Now is good.</b>

there are three in our goup - is it possible to share this offer with other odd number groups - would it be out of line?? <b>I don't <i>think</i> it's expressly forbidden.</b>

where are the train stations where i can buy the travelcard to use the 2for1???

i had planned to take tube from LHR to kings crossing - one day??? so i can use for the rest of day???

leaving we will only need to take the tube from hotel to LHR - 4 pounds?? is that correct???

i have looked at the 2for 1 offers and really only thought tower of london would be where we would use it.

if its a pain to get to the trainstation to buy the travelcard to get the 2for1 should we even mess with it??

we can get travelcard before hand or when we arrive at LHR - right??

Heathrow Airport Terminal 3
Walk to Heathrow Terminals 1-2-3
Transfer time: 10 mins




Heathrow Airport Terminal 3

12:13

Heathrow Terminals 1-2-3 Underground Station
Take the Piccadilly Line towards Cockfosters


Zone(s): 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Average journey time: 56 mins
Zone(s): 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Heathrow Terminals 1-2-3 Underground Station

13:09 King's Cross St.Pancras Underground Station ( is this the correct location for HP platform 9 3/4?)

will this be 4 pounds?? and then three day travelcard for 18.40 pounds???

and 4 pounds to LHR when we leave

I am very confused by all of this. If you are NOT going to make use of the 2 for 1, then you don't need the multi-day travel card (?). Wouldn't a Pay-as-you-go Oyster card work? Buy them at Heathrow when you arrive, put as much money on them as you want, plus pay a 3 pound deposit. Use them all 5 days, including back and forth to Heathrow. Each day, there is a cap on the amount you'll use. At the end of your stay, turn them in at Heathrow and get back the deposit and the balance on the card. Maybe that adds up to more than you'll spend otherwise?

With an Oyster card, the most you will pay for the first day is &pound;7 (<i>i.e.</i>, the cap for 6 zones). If you could even buy a Travelcard at Heathrow, you'd spend &pound;7.50, period. But you can't, so you'd have to buy a &pound;4 single cash fare.

To get two &pound;16.50 twofers for the Tower, only two of you need day Travelcards - and only for 2 zones. The third person can use Oyster PAYG on that day, and the other two days all of you can. Even if you all cap out (&pound;5.10) - and you probably won't- Oyster will still cost far less than three 3-day Travelcards.

The ride back to the airport will cost &pound;2.20 on Oyster, or &pound;4 on a single cash fare.

I'd go for the Oyster PAYG for everything except the twofer buying.

Oh, I forgot - Platform 9¾ is indeed at King's <u>Cross</u> (not Crossing), and since it's a National Rail station, you can buy paper Travelcards there. Make sure you get them dated for your Tower day.

crypto.com/photos/misc/platform9.75.html

If you want to do all the calculating and hoop jumping - yes, get a combo of oyster(s) ands paper travel cards. You will save approx $20 total

The Tower of London costs &pound;9 for the 12 yo and &pound;15.50 for the other two (if you buy tickets ahead of time on-line w/o the 2 for 1 offer). Total = &pound;40.

On the day, the tickets cost &pound;9.50 and &pound;16.50 = &pound;42.50. The 2 for 1 will get you one discount of one entry @ &pound;16.50 = &pound;26 total for the three of you.

A difference of &pound;14 which today equals $20.50. That is the grand total of savings you'll realize.

If it was me -- I'd just get oysters and be done w/ it.

I think I am making this way too hard. I just dont want to be thoroughly confused when I arrive.

Please let me know IF I can do this AND IF it is cost effective -

arrive at LHR at 11:00 buy one day zone 1 -6 off peak ticket for 7.50 pounds - to cover tube to Kings Cross and for the rest of the day.

While at Kings Cross - I can buy the three day travelcard dates 13, 14, 15) to take advantage of the 2for1 offers - take pic at platform 9 3/4. Then cab to City road for 12 pounds OR to russell square to hotel. will i need to come to train station on Friday to get the three day travelcard OR can i buy them for the following day?????

finally 4 pounds for tube back to LHR on 16 march


I will not be with 12 and 16 year old - those are the dates - I will be with 17 and 18 year old - adult tickets.

I went through some of the same mental contortions when there this last summer--whether to make the effort to get a one day card to get 2 for 1 deals.

We got 2 Oyster cards and kept them loaded; got all our money, including deposit, back at Heathrow Tube office as we departed.

We got 1 day travel cards only once, and that was the day we went to both the Tower and the Tower Bridge and so we ended up saving about $30 I think. And we'd been at a train station the day before and so it was convenient to buy 1-day tickets.

My economic contortions figured out that for the Oyster was cheaper than 7 day cards (we rode to and from Heathrow and rode the Tube every day) and only the day that had two 2for1 offers was worth any effort to buy the day card.

My 2 cents worth!

Oops hit post instead of preview--meant to add that the Tower Bridge, with a 2for1 deal, was a good use of our time, if for nothing else than cool views of the Thames but engineer husband also enjoyed seeing the engine room and such. Don't know how your days have stacked up, but I liked the Tower Bridge Experience which we did after the Tower.

thank you texasbookworm!

where are the train stations to buy the tickets so i can use the 2for1????? at kings cross where i will get off at tube???

will oyster cards work for 2for1 or just travel??

saving 16 pounds would be nice -

when buying the three or seven day can i buy them ahead - purchase on 12 to use for 13, 14, 15???

thanks so much for all the help!!

Oyster cards do not work for 2-for-1; you have to have the PAPER travel card for that offer.

From my experience and what's actually officially said, you must have a paper card for 2for1--Oyster will not be accepted. (I've read reports where ticket wasn't asked for when person presented 2for1 coupon, but we didn't risk that)

Sorry, I can't remember exactly about train stations and ticket offices but I think you can buy Tube travel cards at any station. It's probably listed on something out here in cyber land--or maybe someone else will say here for you.

And the paper card has to be valid for day you use the 2for1 and you can only buy 1 day card 1 day ahead. Which is what we did; we didn't want to start out our day by having to travel to a train station just for the travel card first thing so we got it the day before when we were actually already at a station (we were at Waterloo).

oh2doula - King's Cross is a train station.

<i>Author: oh2doula
Date: 01/01/2009, 11:19 pm

Please let me know IF I can do this AND IF it is cost effective -</i>

Yes, you can do it. No, it's not cost-effective.

Buy Oyster cards at LHR and load them with &pound;25.

Ride to King's Cross, buy a one-day Travelcard for one adult - for the day you want twofers.

When you get back to Heathrow, get your Oyster deposit and any remaining value refunded.

OK _ KIngs Cross IS a train station where I can buy a three paper travel card - correct??


Can i ride the tube from LHR TO Kings Cross Train Station or are they two different places???


is buying one day 7.50 pounds ticket for arrival day the way to go?

Author: oh2doula
Date: 01/02/2009, 09:22 am

OK _ KIngs Cross IS a train station where I can buy a three paper travel card - correct?? <b>Yes, King's Cross is a train station. No, you want ONE paper Travelcard for ONE day.</b>

Can i ride the tube from LHR TO Kings Cross Train Station or are they two different places??? <b>King's Cross Tube station and King's Cross National Rail station are connected by a short pedestrian tunnel.</b>

is buying one day 7.50 pounds ticket for arrival day the way to go? <b>NO. Buy Oyster cards, and use them for transport every day except on twofer day, when ONE Travelcard will be used by ONE person instead.</b>

I've used my Gatwick and Heathrow Express return tickets for 2 for 1 entries. They are valid for the whole month.

THANK YOU Robespierre!!!

I must have missed one of your postings.

Oyster card with 25 pounds at LHR - tube to Kings Cross - Walk Kings Cross Train station - buy ONE single day travelcard (paper) for day we will use 2for1

4 pounds back to LHR day we leave.

is this correct????

Almost. Your ride back to LHR will be the Oyster fare of &pound;3.80 (or &pound;2.20 after 9:30AM, but that's probably too late for you).

Remember - the Travelcard needs only to cover Zones 1&amp;2.

Hint: on twofer day, leave one Oyster at the hotel and carry only the Travelcard instead. This will preclude the possibility of charging on the Oyster by mistake.

oh2doula, just claryfying what Robespierre said:

Since there will be three adults, when you arrive at Heathrow, buy three Oyster cards and load each of them with 25 pounds (you'll pay 28 pounds, including the 3 pound deposit for each). Each person uses their own Oyster card for all travel every day you're there (including from Heathrow into London and from London back to Heathrow), <b>EXCEPT</b> on one day only, one person will get a 1-day <b>paper</b> travel card in order to use the 2-for-1 offers <b>that day</b> (that person will NOT use their Oyster card on the day they have the travel card). Then, when you get back to Heathrow to leave the country, you will go to the ticket booth and turn in all the cards, where they will refund the balances on the cards and the 3 pound deposits.

By doing this, you will get to use the 2-for-1, AND you will get the discounted and capped fares by using the Oyster card.

oh - sheesh - I though the kids were 12 and 16. Now I see they are older.

The savings is still not enormous but a bit more than my calculation.

I think sf7307's post most clearly explains how to maximize the savings using Oysters and one 1-day paper travel card. It really isn't as complicated as we sometimes try to make it.

And I think mine does, princess. Three lines, well spaced. Extraneous explanation expurgated.

Buy Oyster cards at LHR and load them with &pound;25.

Ride to King's Cross, buy a one-day Travelcard for one adult - for the day you want twofers.

When you get back to Heathrow, get your Oyster deposit and any remaining value refunded.

the Oyster card with 25 pounds on it will cover the tube from LHR to hotel and from hotel to LHr when we leave??

total for transportation will be 25 pounds for each of the oyster and then ONE one day travelcard (zone 1 and 2 )for the one day we use 2for1.

Robespierre, really, I was trying to help. You did say everything I said (and first), but I thought (still do) the OP needed more words, not fewer :-)

oh2doula - everything you <u>need</u> to know is:

Buy Oysters at LHR and load &pound;25
Get 1-day 2-zone TC for twofers*
Refund Oyster residual exiting LHR

* Person traveling on TC, leave Oyster at hotel that day

Yes, 25 pounds is plenty for each Oyster for your 5 days there, and there should be leftover which you can get back when you turn in your Oyster at the airport.

I just guessed at the 25. If they cap out every day, it will be 7.00+(3*5.10)+3.80 = 26.10

oh2doula - load &pound;26.10 on your Oyster cards, so you'll never have to top up. The TC user can load &pound;21.

And keep in mind that you can't travel during peak period (before 09:30 on the 12th &amp; 13th) without paying more.

March 14 &amp; 15 are weekends, so the cap is 5.10 no matter what time they travel.

To reach the cap, they'll have to take the tube 4 times or more each day.

One can easily &quot;top up&quot; the Oyster at any tube station using the machines. If you want to be on the safe side, then just put get 30 pounds worth of Oyster (which will give you 27 pounds for travel + 3 pound refundable fee).

As I said - peak period is before 9:30 on Thursday and Friday.

Monday's fare already accounts for the fact that they have to leave town during peak.