Two London Travel Questions
 

Thanks to all of you, I am down to the final details for our October trip to London. First, we are going to use justairports for getting to our hotel and back; our flight leaves Heathrow at 1:05 p.m.--what time should we be picked up at our hotel (Rubens at the Palace)?; Secondly, I have to ask another question about Tube passes (sorry); we'll need a pass for four days (around the city for three and, then, on Sunday, we plan on going to Hampton Court). We are early risers and will definitely be ready to get on the Tube before 9:30 on some days, so I am presuming I want to buy the Peak 3-day Pass (my daughter will be an Accompanying Child)and buy tickets separately to go to Hampton Court. Correct? Other options? Also, do I just need a pass for Zones 1 & 2. Thanks for your patience with the latter--very confusing to me for some reason (and I live in a city with a subway system!)

Thanks again,

Mary

You will probably do much better buying a 7 day zone 1 or a 7 day zone 1 & 2 depending on whether you are going to both the zoo and Greenwich...if not going to both probably a zone 1 will do. There are reduced rates for the kid but I think you will need a photo card.

Also be aware tfl is changing some of its ticketing arrangements and you will probably have to get the passes on oyster cards which for the time being they are waiving the £3 deposit although I presume on the way out you can get your deposit back.

The day you go to Hampton Court you will need an extension which again with the new Oyster card set up I believe you buy from the booking office or the machine and touch it to the turnstiles; anyway I haven't used oyster cards yet so you'll be smarter than me and can tell of your experience.

Seems to make the most sense this way.

Don't worry about the pick up. I used just airports in July, they were informed about my schedule better than myself and they come at the perfect hour so they will tell you. I suppose it will be something round 10 AM.
About the transport thing, most tourist places to visit open at 10 am..so maybe it's of little use to use the tube before 9 : 30 and you can save a few pounds. I'm sorry but I cannot help more on that question, I have mobility problems so I'm not a tube user :)))

I have found 4 days is generally the cut off between daily passes and the 1 week pass..maybe it is a few pence cheaper to go with the daily pass but then there's the pain each morning of queuing at 0930 waiting for the restriction to be lifted...I found it easier to have the 7 day pass and not have to worry about that...I think the 3 day peak pass if I'm not mistaken runs £15 while the 7 day zone 1 is £18.20..like I said the new hang up might be the necessity of using the oyster card which tfl says will be the only way to get 7 day passes after 25/09...if it's a few pence cheaper to use the daily passes that is eaten up by the inconvenience of having to buy one every morning at 0930...

Seven-day (or monthly) Travelcards on paper will still be available from National rail stations, such as Charing Cross or Paddington.
For Hampton Court, you need to get a train rather than a tube, and you cannot get an extension on an Oyster card. When you get the train to Hampton Court (from Waterloo, Vauxhall, etc) you'll need to buy a day return ticket from the boundary of the zones on your travelcard (a paper travelcard or Oystercard) to Hampton Court, but you must do this before boarding the train.

thanks everybody--appreciate your help!

Mary

Sorry, I meant to post a question. OK, no zoo (we live in D.C.) or Greenwich so I can get away with Zone 1 (right?); also, we will want to get to the Tower (for example) when it opens at 9:00 so I don't want to wait around to use our cards, so I think we do the 7-day; thanks for the heads-up on Oyster (what a funny name!) and I'm now trying to figure that out on the website. Now, anybody know how to get the photo card for my daughter?

Thanks again,

Mary

Mary,
Just to make sure you are aware, the Tube does not go out to Hampton Court, the closest is gets is the end of the District line at Richmond and even that is quite far from Hampton Court, which is not really in London at all. To get to HC from London you will need to take a train (a surface train, not underground) from Waterloo train station. You can of course get to Waterloo by Tube, it's within Zone 1. At Hampton Court the train station is just across the river from the palace, a very short walk (I've done it twice).

Daisy54--thank you!

On my travelcard question, I think I need to buy the Visitors Card now and have it mailed to me--I know there was some question as to why people do that, but, if I am reading this correctly, one of the main reasons, is the child situation--I don't want to spend time going to a post office and applying for my daughter to have a card (with a photo) for 4 days.

Am I missing something?

thanks again,

Mary

Make sure you ask about tickets to the Hampton Court Palace when purchasing your train tickets. There are family promos but the tickets must be purchased in person at the train station. For instance my family of 4 was able to get 2 entrance tickets for free into Hampton Court through the rail ticketing.

Children under 14 get free travel on buses and pay child fare on tubes and trains. Children aged 14-15 need an id card to get these concessions, otherwise they have to pay the adult fare.
You don't need to bother about an Oystercard if you buy a Travelcard from a railway station - they will still sell weekly paper Travelcards which are valid on tubes, buses, trams and trains, and give a one-third discount on most Thames boat services.

thanks Geoff--we will be near Victoria which I assume is both a Tube and rail station, can I buy this there?

Also, thanks for the tip about Hampton Court

Mary

My parents were traveling with us, so in our case 4 adults traveling together paid for the price of 2, but again it had to be purchased in person at the rail station.

You're right...I was told once I had done a London Walk to Hampton Court to make sure I had a zone 1-6 travelcard but I didn't remember it wasn't the tube but the national railroad system.

Question, though, if you have a zone 1-2 or zone 1 travelcard, don't you just pay for the trip to Hampton Court outside zone 1 (i understand no extension ticket).

Thanks all, I understand the HC piece--from Waterloo, get the train and we'll buy tickets there (and ask about tickets for the castle). All good advice and I appreciate your time.

Anybody have any advice on the Travelcards?

Thanks!

Mary

xyz, that I don't know about, but in our case we took the underground to Waterloo Station and purchased the rail/HC tickets accordingly.

Travelcards are valid on trains as well as tubes and buses. A Travelcard for zones 1-6 will take you all the way on the train from London to Hampton Court; if you have any other Travelcard, show it when you buy the train ticket: if, say, you have a Travelcard for zones 1 and 2, you only need to pay for the journey through zones 3 to 6.
Note that trains to Hampton Court stop at Vauxhall (Victoria Line tube), Clapham Junction (frequent trains from Victoria) and Wimbledon (District Line tube), so if you're not staying near Waterloo, it may be easier to join the Hampton Court train at one of these.

Geoff--thanks; when I did the Tube's seach function, it sent me through Clapham Junction so that makes sense.

Any other thoughts on which card to buy?

Mary