"Visitor Travel Card" for London?
 

Hi, We will be spending 4 full days in London touring around the entire area. Has anyone purchased the "Visitor Travelcard" which allows unlimited transport within all 6 zones of Greater London's Underground and bus network(must be purchased in North America)? 4 consecutive day pass is around $40 dollars. Or, should be just pay as we go once in London. Thanks for your help.
Shelley

Do you really think you'll be going to any other zones besides 1 or 2?
I believe there is a 3 or 4 day travelcard for zones 1 and 2 and you can buy a supplement for Heathrow (if you need to get there by Tube) for cheaper. Most all major tourist sites are located within 1 and 2...but if you need the other zones then buy them otherwise you probably could get a better travelcard.
IMHO I would not "pay as you go". London is easy to navigate with public transport and once you get the hang of it you'll use it constantly (which could add up).

PS - you can buy regular travelcards at any tube station in London when you arrive.

This constantly comes up and you could probably search to get all sorts of answers but here goes..

Personally I am not a particular fan of the Visitor's Travelcard. There is no advantage to it and it is just one more thing you have to deal with and remember to pack with you in the last minute rush the day you leave. In addition, for the most part, it confers no particular advantage for you.

It is better to buy the travelcards in London. However, there is no 3 or 4 day travelcard available in London. For 5 days or more, you buy the 7 day card. 4 days is sort of an in between. Actually if you are there over a weekend, your best bet is probably the one day cards for the weekdays and the weekend card for the weekend. If you are say arriving in London on a Thursday and staying through Sunday and tubing in from Heathrow, if you are arriving after 9:30 AM, you buy the one day all zone card for Thursday, a zone 1-2 card for Friday and the weekend all zone card for the weekend. Everything is covered. If you are coming in from Gatwick via Victoria, you buy the one day zones 1 & 2 for Thursday and Friday and the zone 1 & 2 weekend card and again you're covered.

Then just to complicate matters further, there are family travelcards available on a daily basis which cost for the kis 85p each and discounted rates for the adults. The only problem is the family has to travel as a group together.

You have to do a little homework to figure out what's best for you. Go to www.thetube.com and look at the fares.

Incidentally, you can use your cc to buy all the cards through the machines now and not have to queue for the most part.

London's tube system is arranged in concentric zones; as 4totravel pointed out, zone 1 includes almost all hotels and tourist attractions; the most popular destinations in Zone 2 are Greenwich and the zoo, and the Visitor Travelcard is available in a cheaper version that includes only Zone 1 and 2.

Regular travelcards for unlimited tube and bus rides are also available in London for one day (cheaper after 9:30 AM on weekdays) or weekend. The 7-day regular travelcard is probably cheaper than buying 4 daily travelcards, and is available in Zone 1-only for cheaper than the Zone 1&2 Visitors Travelcard.

Here are the overview web sites for Visitors travelcards and regular ones. If you haev kids under 16, pay atetntion to hte Famly Travelcards, they're a good value.

http://www.ticket-on-line.com/cgi-bi...te=info_prices

http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk...velcards.shtml

Don't buy an all-zone pass. You will probably not venture out of Zone 1 and don't need to spend the extra money on the additional zones.

If you want the 3 or 4 day travelcard, you will need to order them ahead of time at www.ticket-on-line.com. If you will just be buying a 1-day or a 7-day travelcard, you can buy them at any tube station in London.

You can also use the travelcards on the city buses.

I'm only in London for 3 days in the summer, so im planning on just using the public buses to go around - mainly to keep my mum happy (she's afraid of attacks on the tube when its busy) but also so im not staring at a concrete wall all day but rather the sites for a couple of pounds each day. is this a good idea? and should i just buy a one-day bus travelcard for 2.50pounds each day? Cheers!

<<...and should i just buy a one-day bus travelcard for £2.50 each day?>>

Yes, if you plan to ride just the buses, you won't need a tube Travelcard. We prefer the buses to the tube. As you mentioned, you'll see much more of London. And the buses generally will get you closer to your destination than the tube.

Wow, Kattyfever, I'm doing the exact same thing as you - 3 days in July. And my mum is saying the EXACT same thing. (I'm an adult and all but I guess I'm still her little girl and just to apease her, I'm trying to lessen my time in the tube)

I usually take the tube cos at least its easier to find my destination. Less difficult to get lost. Is there a bus route book I can get when I'm in London?

Hi Tigerlily - thats so cool! What dates are you there? I hook onto a Contiki tour on the 8th...I have a bus route map in a little guide i was mailed from STA travel: its claled London Map and Guide and it looks like its done by www.visitbritain.com - hopefully u can track something like that down. It looks like the best bus to get is the Number 11 in terms of sights :) r u from the US? I'm from Oz.

The buses are great and a wonderful way to see the city and yes there are very inexepensive all day bus passes and the #11 is a great line (as are the #15 and #12) which pass the same sites and follow the same routes as the overpriced tourist buses (without commentary of course) but...

do remember London traffic is horrific even with the new congestion charge and it has taken me as much as an hour on more than one ocassion to travel from Picadilly to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus when the tube take no more than 10 minutes with a change of trains! OTOH at night, the same trip can take as little as 10 minutes on the bus.

If you are just going for a leisurly sightseeing jaunt, it is fine.

Here's a couple of good bus map sites:

http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk...cs/tourist.pdf

www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/bus_maps.shtml

You can also pick up a bus map at the tube stations. The simplified spider maps are availble where the brochures are located. You have to ask for the detailed brochure.

The buses are great, but if you have to be somewhere at a particular time, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get there. We missed an appointment at the Dennis Sever House because we got stuck on a bus during evening rush hour.

I'll prob pick up a map at the first tube I reach. Thanks Kayb and xyz.

I've prob only have, give or take, 2 whole days in London. Going to spend 1 day visiting the splendid musuems. Would you recommend taking the tube or the buses. I'm in no mega hurry.

And is there a 1 or 2 day unlimited bus and tube pass?

The last time I was in London, I bought carnets. Should I do the same this time round?

Katty, I'm only going to be there in mid July after a stint in Paris so we're going to miss each other. Have fun with Contiki, gal =)

Here's another recommendation for the buses! Download and print http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk...cs/tourist.pdf to fold up and carry in your pocket. Not only are the routes and stops more convenient to all the sights and attractions, there's all that scenery all about!

We purchased a carnet of tube tickets (we just returned from a ten-day trip) and used the tube only twice.

All-day bus passes (£2.50) are valid in all zones, too.

Regardless of how much traveling around the city I plan to do, I always get an all-zone Travelcard for my days of arrival and departure.

Why? Because in addition to getting me all around the city, they also include the trip to/from the airport. In fact, once you've figured in the cost of the airport-city route, the rest of your travel is free for that day.

The rest of the days, we usually get the Family Travelcard for Zones 1-2, which will get you as far out as Greenwich (WAY downriver!).

Robespierre, this sounds like what I'll do: Family Travel card for all zones on day of arrival; then daily family travel cards on the next 3 days.
Only question: My son is 14 but looks older. Any problems with the 5-15 restrictions?

Thanks for the bus tip, djk...
Many posters seem to advocate taking the bus as a primary mode of transport while in London. Going to give it a try when I'm there this summer. =)

14-year old: see the notes at the bottom of the chart on this page: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...s-family.shtml