Bowdoin

My family is traveling to Europe in several weeks and we will be staying in London for 7 days. We are a family of five (2 adults and 3 children ages 6, 4 & 2) and I am trying to figure out the best way to handle our day-to-day travel while we are in London. If I understand correctly, children under 10 travel for free on the tube and on buses as long as they are accompanied by a paying adult. I also understand that they do not need a ticket either. In this case, does it makes sense for the 2 adults to purchase Oyster Cards or 7-day London Travelcards. We will be staying in Notting Hill but expect to do a fair amount of traveling around London if that makes a difference. Finally, is there any advantage to obtaining the Oyster Card or the Travelcards in the States before arriving in London? Thanks very much in advance. Any suggestions about the above would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

jent103

It's not an either/or. You get an Oyster, and load whatever you like on it, whether it's a 7-day Travelcard or pay-as-you-go credit. The only reason not to only get an Oyster is if you want to take advantage of the 2-for-1 deals (see daysoutguide.co.uk), which require a paper travelcard purchased from a rail (not a Tube) station.

There is NO reason to get your Oysters before leaving the States. Zero. Just get them at the first Underground station you use (and leave a little extra time to do so). The ticket agents are always very helpful; tell them how long you'll be there and who all is traveling, and they'll tell you what suits your situation. No reason to worry about it beforehand at all, <i>unless</i> your kids need photos to travel free. The TFL site seems to suggest they might, but others are more experienced with that than I am.

yk

Like jent103 says, don't get the oyster or travelcards until you arrive.

All 3 of your kids can travel for free as long as they're with a paying adult.

If you guys want to visit several paid attractions in London, you should each get a PAPER 7-day travelcard issued at a Rail Station. Those paper travelcards can qualify you for the 2-for-1 discounts.
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/attrac...or1london.aspx

Since you will be in London for 7 full days, you definitely should get the 7-day travelcard. It comes in 2 forms:
1) Electronically-loaded onto an Oyster card; or
2) Paper form

As mentioned above, if you buy the PAPER form at a Rail station with the rail logo on it, it will allow you to use the 2-for-1 discounts.

Do NOT get the Oyster Pay-as-you-go (ie, stored value and fare gets deducted from the electronic card each time). The 7-day travelcard comes out cheaper per day than Oyster PAYG if you use the tube several times daily.

More info here:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefin...ard_oyster.htm

flanneruk

Up to 4 children under 10 may travel with an adult free, provided the adult's got a valid ticket or Don't Need to Pay Pass. They don't need any kind of ID.

Bowdoin

Thanks so much for all of the help. I really appreciate it.