janisj

I have seen the booklets -- but I'd be afraid they'd be missing or out of stock when I got to a station.

40 does seem like a bit of overkill. I'd print out the 15 or 20 (max) you might have a chance to hit.

zoobiechick

We won't have pounds upon arriving at St Pancras. Willthere be bank atms readily available to get money to purchase a travelcard, or do the rail stations accept a credit card? I know these questions are simplistic to those of you who have been to or who live in London, but for those of us who haven't...

janisj

yes and yes. There are ATMs, and both the ticket windows and ticket machines take credit cards.

jamikins

Dart ford is not on oyster so just go to the ticket booth and tell them that you have a travel card and ask for a ticket to dartford.

Map of rail and tube us here http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...rvices-map.pdf

Just curious...why dartford?

You may or may not find the vouchers at the train stations...sometimes they run out.

zoobiechick

Thanks, janisj, you've been so helpful throghout my whole planning process the past few months. Jamikins, Dartford for personal purposes. How's that for vague?

One more question--is there any reason NOT to order a travelcard online, right now? I do want the 2-for-1 offers, so I don't know if the photo issue is relevant with an online order, but I would love to get this out of the way and hit the ground running, or "railing" as the case may be.

jamikins

You can't buy the 2for1 travel card in advance from national rail unfortunately.

The travel card you can buy online is an oyster from tfl, not national rail and is not eligible for 2for1 deals.

More info on national rail passes can be found here

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_...pes/46575.aspx

You will need a photo to purchase these.

Just curious if there was something of interest in dartford as inlive in SE London and would check it out.

Enjoy your trip.

jamikins

I should clarify...you can buy them in advance, but only once you are in London as they require a photo and can only be purchased in the SE UK at national rail stations. But you can buy them once here to start at any date but not online.

zoobiechick

Thanks Jamikins, you gave me enough info to decide to get them when we arrive.

There are some things of historical interest to me in Dartford, such as Martyrs Memorial, erected to honor three who died during Queen Mary's reign in 1555. I think one may have been an ancestor of mine and I'm doing some family research while there.

And, Mick Jagger is from Dartford...woot woot. Anyone who knows Dartford, please tell me it's a safe area, no slum I hope.

jamikins

I have been through in a taxi as that us where my pugs go to a farm kennel. The town centre appears pleasant enough. It's a very large interchange for the train and also the last crossing of the Thames going east. So it seems to have lots of amenities for that kind of town - large grocery stores etc. nothing special but not a slum that I saw

jamikins

The family history sounds interesting...would love to read the trip report!

zoobiechick

I've looked at pics and done a little "touring" on Google and it looks okay--like you said, nothing special. But glad to hear firsthand there are no apparent reasons to fear landing in a sketchy area.

zoobiechick

If anyone is still looking at this thread, if I purchased Travelcards for zones 1-2 and wanted to go to Hampton Court or somewhere else outside zones 1-2, how would that work? Would I just pay extra? Thanks.

jamikins

Yes, just go to the ticket booth at the train station, show them you travel pass and they will sell you the correct ticket for the extra zones. Easy peasy!