Travel Card vs Oyster Card
 

Need some help with this--We are 3 U.S. adults arriving LHR on 7/19 (Thurs) @ 6:55a and departing LHR on 7/22 (Sun) @ 11:30a. We are staying at a hotel on the east side between Aldgate and Liverpool Street tube stations. We plan to do typical touristy stuff staying in zones 1-2, using tube approx. 1-3 times/day, buses 1-2 times/day. Was going to buy 3 day off peak travel card for zones 1-2 and single trip to departing/arriving LHR on the Underground website, but I want to make sure I am getting the best deal. Read about 7-day passes, and PAYG oyster card here (50p less per day than day travel cards?), too. Just need some help with which will be cheaper/best value.

My best advice is to talk to one of the ticket agents at your first tube station (sounds like at LHR). I was there for three days a couple weeks ago, and our agent was infinitely helpful in helping us decide what to do.

That said: What we did is just got Oysters and loaded £10 on each (plus the £3 deposit). I had to add £5 to mine towards the end of our stay, but if you allow enough time, you can get back any extra plus your deposit if you turn in your Oyster at your last tube station. So it wound up costing me about £12 - much cheaper than the £23 I'm seeing on the TFL web site.

Also, I just saw your other post - yes, travelcards (and Oysters) are valid on busses.

Good plan - but there is no 3-day off-peak Travelcard.

Buy an Oyster Card and pay the £3 deposit. Load £20 on the card. Don't think about it again until you get back to the airport. Refund the deposit and any residual value on the card.

The Great Big Oyster Computer In The Sky will cap your daily outlay at 50p less than a one-day Travelcard, and your Heathrow transfers will be charged at Oyster rates (peak for Thursday, off-peak for Sunday).

If you are highly mobile (light luggage) and don't mind spending a little more time getting from A to B, using only buses will cap your Oyster at £3 per day. Bus passes have no zone or peak limitations.

If you want to use the www.2for1entry.co.uk offers then buy a one day travelcard for each day you intend to use them.

If fact for 3 days I'd just get 1 day passes as the 3 day pass is only useful if you are travelling weekdays before 9:30am - ie a waste of money for Saturdays & Ssundays

I just looked at the Transport for London website under Tickets and there is a 3 day off-peak travel card.

Got a URL for that? This one says Peak only: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresa...kets/2911.aspx

This one does, too: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...7.pdf#page%616

No such thing as a 3 day off peak card - despite what Londonnet says

For a simplified view of travelcards

www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard.htm

What is an Oyster? (Apart, that is, from a tasty seafood delicacy).

Oyster is a stored-value method of payment that is replacing cash and paper in the London Transport system. They can be "loaded" with passes (Travelcards) and/or cash for Pay-As-You-Go fares. Using Oyster for PAYG fares is considerably cheaper than forking over your £ & p each time.

Instead of paying for tube and bus trips, one swipes the card past a reader at the beginning of the trip (and at the end except on buses). For PAYG, the cost of each ride is automatically deducted from a running balance, and "capped" each day at 50p less than the price of a one-day Travelcard for the appropriate zones.