skikat9

...heck are they? I was in London 11 years ago and I guess they didn't have these back then. I'm taking 2 teenagers over in June and we'll be traveling all over by tube, just seeing the usual sites. Is this Travelcard the best way to go? I've read that they're no good until 9:30 in the a.m. which probably won't be an issue with 2 teenagers in tow! Where can they be purchased and what's the deal with the zones? We'll be going from one end of town to another so I guess we'll need all zones. Hope these aren't stupid questions but last time I was there we just bought our tube tickets as we went along. Probably not the best way to go but I was a complete neophyte at the time! (Even tho I grew up in Preston, Lancashire before becoming a Yank!!)
Thanks for all your help on this. You Fodorites always come thru!!!

Robespierre

There is a wide range of fare options. Download the TfL fares brochure from

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2005/downloads/tfl-fares-2005.pdf</b>

If your kids are under 16, check out the Family Travelcards on page 31. The zone map is at

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colourmap.pdf</b>

Notice that Zone 2 extends all the way out to Greenwich - unless you're commuting to a far away precinct, cards for two zones will be plenty.

Also check out the Bus Pass on page 44. It covers all of Greater London (every zone), and at &pound;11 adult/&pound;4 child per week, it has to be the best transportation deal in the world.

See my &pound;3/&pound;1 bus tour at

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34535187

viking

You can get the 6 zone travelcard at heathrow which will not only cover your airport transportation but excursions to Hampton Court, etc. Sure, your plane arrives some moments before that, but relax and have breakfast at the airport mall. And on other days, wander your neighborhood before 9:30; no need to get mixed up in (and contribute to) the commuter crunch every early morning on a military schedule...

Robespierre

The variations are infinite (actually, as my Astronomy professor used to point out, they're <i>finite, but very very large</i.

If you go for Family Travelcards, a Zone 1-6 the way to get back and forth to Heathrow.

But if you have Zone 1-2 Weekly Travelcards and you're only going to Zone 6 a couple of times, buying a Zone 3-6 supplement for &pound;2.10 is the cheapest option.

Binkieloo

It's worth investigating a Visitor's travel card which you can only buy outside of the UK or at Heathrow. It's not a huge price difference to the regular ones that you get in London, but it gives quite a few discout coupons with it. My mom and I used the free McDonalds dessert twice (yes I know it's terrible - but we were on a really tight budget). But there are loads of other discounts.

I'd recommend a 1 - 4 zone and just pay the addittional for Heathrow to London. The Zone 4 covers most of London and the excess you pay for the few trips you might make outside is not a lot. The family card is a good deal too.

I hope this helps. I've been a visitor and a local to London so if you have any questions feel free to email me.

janis

Travel cards have been around for decades. I see absolutely NO reason for anyone to get a zone 1-4 travel card unless they are staying out in zone 4. 99% of the tourist attractions are in zone 1. A few, Greenwich and the London Zoo for example, are in zone 2. Hampton Court Palace and LHR are in zone 6.

How long will you be in London? If 5 days or more it pays to get a 7-day travel card. The weekly passes do not have the 9:30 a.m. restriction, plus they are also good on the night buses. If you need to go into any other zone(s) you can pay a small supplement on top of your zone 1 (or zone 1-2) pass, or use buses since buses everywhere are covered even if you only have a zone 1 travel card.

And I don't recommend getting the Visitor travel cards ahead of time because there are othere better deals available only after you are in London - Family travel cards, weekend travel cards, etc. If you have any questions about which ones are best for you - just talk to a ticket agent in any tube station.

marymarra

Janice, just so I'm clear; from one thread on this I got the impression you could only buy a Travelcard at the airport; we are going to take a car service from the airport and, jet-lagged, I'd rather not deal with buying this card. Can I buy the right one for my family (2 adults, one child) at &quot;our&quot; tube stop?

thanks!

Mary

Robespierre

You want the <u>Family</u> Travelcard, which can be bought at any Tube station.

janis

Yes - you can buy travel cards -- either daily or weekly or family varieties in any tube station.

Whether you want a faimily depends on what you are planning and how old the kids are. If you are all going to be together ALL the time - then a family travel card could make sense. For a family card to work all members have to travel together.

Just tell the ticket agent at any tube station how long you will be there, the ages of the kids, how many trips out of zone 1 you foresee, etc and they will tell you which is the best deal.

Robespierre

Having your 6-year old daughter along will make the decision easy:

Buy one Adult and one Child Family Travelcard. If you don't split up, buy a second Adult. If you do, the other parent can travel on a regular Travelcard (on- or off-peak).

KidsToLondon

point of order (given the confusing array of passes, tickets, etc. that Transport for London offers)

Where they can be purchased?

--Visitor Travelcard--can only be purchased outside of London (online or through some travel agencies)

--(other) Travelcards--can be purchased in London (Underground stations and a few other spots)

What are the time restrictions?

--Visitor Travelcard-3 days cards come in peak and off-peak versions; 7 day card has no time restriction
--Family Travelcard-after 9.30 a.m. weekdays; all time on weekends
Other Travelcards--both peak and off-peak versions sold

How long are they good for?

--Visitor Travelcard-3 or 7 days
--Family Travelcard-1 day
--Other Travelcards--1, 3 or 7 days (the 7 day version is shown as a &quot;seasonal&quot; pass; also comes in monthly, annual versions)

What &quot;zones&quot; do they cover:

--All cards-almost any combination; pick zone 1, 1-2, 1-3, etc.

Why do they make this SO confusing?

--Darn good question!

Robespierre

Would anyone be interested in a Tube/RATP calculator for the pocket PC? I might also do a Palm OS version if there's enough interest.

email robspierreatmbidsldotcom

marymarra

Confusing it is; thanks Janice, Dave and Robespierre for discussing this yet again; I think I've got it. . .

Mary

Worktowander

For what it's worth, the 7-day Visitor travel card we bought through a travel agent worked great for us. And the discount coupons a previous poster mentioned can be very useful, as well. It's been about 4 years ago, but ours at that time gave us a discount on the Tower, Madame Tussaud's (we didn't use that one, but some folks might), etc.

Happy travels.

Hagan

Can you London experts share a little more knowledge with this newbie to the city?
Will be traveling in Sept. with DH and my brother, arriving/departing at LGW, and staying 6 nights at Milennium Bailey's on Gloucester Rd., South Kensington.
We'd like to take several day trips outside the city, most likely to Bath area and/or Warwick Castle, and to Hampton Court Palace. Will definitely take train to Hampton Court, and are looking into train to Bath vs. coach tour. Other sightseeing will include the usuals, Tower of London, Westminster,etc.

My question is, would we benefit from a 7-day travelcard? I'm thinking of buying the 4-for-2 Gatwick Express return tickets to get to/from LGW, then take tube from Victoria Station to hotel. We'll probably do the Big Bus thing the first day to orient ourselves to the city, so won't need the tube anymore that day. I know we'll need to get to different stations to do out-of-town daytrips, but I can't see that we'll use the tube extensively. Of course, I could be totally wrong!

Any suggestions? Thanks so much.

Robespierre

How old is your brother?

Hagan

My brother is 53 years old, so no chance for a family card. What is the &quot;senior&quot; age? I'm 61, hubby is 63. Maybe our age could benefit us!

Robespierre

Sorry, no senior discounts that I know of. To answer your other question, I think you need to compare the daily cost of a Zones 1 Travelcard to the per-trip cost.

A 7-day Travelcard for Zone 1 costs &pound;18.50 - a carnet of 10 Tube tickets is &pound;17. Since you will almost certainly use the tube twice a day every day (even the day trip days), the Travelcard is undoubtedly the best bet. To see if your itinerary will require more zones than 1, refer to the Zone Guide at ticket-on-line.com

But the Tube is really optimal only for traversing long distances quickly. For just getting to your hotel and from sight to sight, you might want to consider a bus pass at &pound;11. You can even use it for that first-day overview tour (it's valid for all of Greater London). The map you need is at

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf
</b>

The bus pass also qualifies you for a discount on river trips down to Greenwich or up to Hampton Court.

janis

Hagan: in your case you probably will do better just getting daily travel cards for the days you stay in London.

Not in answer to your question - but just something you might want to think about: You are only going to be in London 6+ days, yet you want to leave town for three day trips. Your first day will be pretty much limited to maybe the Hop-on-hop-off bus tour and a nice dinner. So now you are down to 5 days.

Don't get me wrong - Bath and Warwick are wonderful places - but you are only leaving 2+ days to see anything in London. It takes most people that long their first visit just to begin to learn their way around.

I would strongly urge you to take ONE day trip -- if that.

Or think of it another way - London has the most expensive accomodations in the country - so staying in London and paying London prices for essentially a place to lay your head between trips out of the city really doesn't make much sense. If you want to spend most of your time outside of London -- stay outside of London.

Robespierre

Let's see: Travelcards for three days @ &pound;6 per day = &pound;18.

Plus single tickets to get to and from the train station for three days @ &pound;1.70 per trip = &pound;10.20

Plus getting from and to the Gatwick Express at the beginning and end of their stay = &pound;3.40

Total: &pound;31.60