boobaby

We're flying into Terminal 3 LHR on May 7th and need to get to Northolt where we're staying with friends. We're in London for about 7 days and will return to London for 2 more days later.

The initial plan was to get an Oyster card and load a zone 1-2 7 day Travel card on it which would allow us to use the 2-4-1 entries. We would have to travel from Northolt to London on a daily basis, and we intend a trip to HCP and Greenwich and maybe a day trip to Salisbury.

Now, I've just realised that 7 day travel cards are no longer loaded on Oyster cards and are also not valid for 2-4-1 unless they are paper.

So my questions are:

Do I just get a 7 day zones 1-6 travel card to use for the first week? And maybe get an Oyster card for the remaining days? Or do I get an Oyster card PLUS a zone 1-2 7 day paper travel which would allow me to use the 2-4-1 coupons?

Also, depending on which card/s I get, what is the best way to get from the airport to Northolt? The london transport website says the quickest way is taking the bus. We are traveling very light, so luggage will not be an issue.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I've tried searching but the more I read, the more confused I get...

PatrickLondon

Yes, 7-day travelcards are put on Oyster, and there are 2-for-1 deals relating to them:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/oysteroffers/

There is a separate scheme run by the mainline and suburban train companies, who issue paper versions of the travelcard for use both with their services and TfL services within the relevant zones. This is to encourage people to use their services outside just the commuter rush hours.

The first question is, which service will be most convenient for you to use near where you're staying? The friends who live there are likely to be more expert, but it looks to me as though you would have the choice of the Central Line on the tube from Northolt, or the Chiltern Railways suburban service to Marylebone from Northolt Park (the service is only every half hour but is much shorter - abotu 20 minutes). Both are in Zone 5, so if you're planning to travel into central London every day, you would need a travelcard for zones 1-5. Chiltern Railways say Oystercards can be used on this line.

As for getting from the airport, there's a single long bus ride, or some complex faffing around changing trains:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...rvices-map.pdf

I'd ask your friends what they do.

flanneruk

If you're trying to avoid asking your friends because you're worried they'll take the question as a hint you want collecting from thge airport, input their postcode into the journey planner at http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/use...T2?language=en

Follow it through, and the "map" option at the result will show you their house with all local bus/tube routes and stops. You can then work out how far their house is from the stop.

The direct bus wins hands down on getting to Northolt from the airport, by the way. Any train or tube option will probably take longer and will be a real mess with changes.

doonhamer

I live in Northolt, and always take the 140 bus to LHR (It's a 24 hour service btw). Tube to LHR is very messy.
Remember that Northolt is in Zone 5, though, when you come to buy your tickets.

PatrickLondon

And your travelcard covers buses anywhere within Greater London, so a bus ride from Heathrow doesn't cost you any extra once you've bought your travelcard for zones 1-5.

Londonres

Heathrow is in zone 6, so you will need to top up your oystercard to cover the bus fare to zone 5. For each journey it costs £1.80 between 07.00 and 19.00 Mon-Fri and £1 at other times.

PatrickLondon

No you don't need to top up for a bus fare if you have a travelcard: it covers buses in all zones within Greater London, so this bus route would be included.

Londonres

Whoops! Even locals get confused.

boobaby

Thanks for all the responses. It is starting to make more sense now. So, the best thing would be to get a 7 day travelcard (zones 1-6)at LHR and use that to get to Northolt from LHR by bus and also to make trips into the city the first week. So this is the paper one, right? I also get to use this for the 2-for-1 entries. So I don't need to get an Oyster card then. Thats seems easy enough.

After 6 nights in Scotland, we are then back in London for 3 more nights. So should we just get a 3 day travelcard then?

GeoffHamer

I never go to Heathrow, so I may be wrong, but everywhere else in London, paper travelcards can only be bought from national rail stations. Transport for London outlets (tube stations and shops with TfL machines) only sell Oyster cards.
From Heathrow, the 140 bus goes at least every ten minutes to Northolt via Hayes & Harlington station. The journey takes about 40 minutes and you'll pass through some of the drearier of London's suburbs (I know as I live that way).

Cholmondley_Warner

Nah - all the little paper shops and sweet shops that sell tickets can sell you a paper one.

In any case,don't get hung up about paper v oyster. they're just different ways to carry the same thing.

PatrickLondon

No, your travelcard need only cover zones 1-5 - that also covers your bus rides to and from Heathrow.

It will almost certainly come on an Oystercard, the 2 for 1 offers for which are outlined in the link I gave earlier:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/oysteroffers/

You would need to go out of your way to get a paper travelcard. I doubt if you could get one at Heathrow and I doubt if it would offer you any additional benefit as compared with the Oyster version.

GeoffHamer

The TfL outlets, such as newspaper shops, can sell one-day paper travelcards, but weekly travelcards are only sold on Oystercards. You need to go to a railway station to get a paper weekly travelcard. I'm sure any special offers available with paper travelcards will also be available with Oystercards.

janisj

Forget that Heathrow is in zone 6 - that just confuses everything. Buses are covered no matter what zone they are in. So you do not need a zone 1-6 travel card -- just zone 1-5. It will be good for buses anywhere and tubes/trains in the 5 zones.

Hampton Court Palace is in zone 6 - but don't get a 1-6 travel card just because of that. You can buy an extension to cover that one journey.

boobaby

So basically, I should get a zone 1-5 7-day travelcard loaded on an Oyster at Heathrow, which would be valid for the bus that takes us to Northolt. This should also enable us to get back and forth from the city center for the first week.

From what I understand, according to:
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx
I can't use an Oyster card (which is an electronic/smartcard) for the promotions unless its got a monthly or yearly travelcard loaded on it.

Is this correct? Or should I just use the offers that come with the Oyster, as pointed out by PatrickLondon at:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/oysteroffers/

Any thoughts? I'm sorry, looks like I'm still confused.

PatrickLondon

Up to you which 2for1 deal is the most attractive.

I don't know if you can find somewhere at Heathrow selling paper travelcards. Otherwise you might have to pay cash to take your bus to Northolt (£2), and then go to Northolt Park station on the Chiltern line.