Help Buying Travelcard for National Rail 2FOR1 Offers. Arriving at Heathrow early AM

If you want to use the 2for1 offers it is a reasonable plan, but buy your Heathrow Express tickets early online.

From Paddington take the District Line to West Brompton and the Overground to Imperial Wharf

Heathrow to Imperial Wharf 'direct' by underground/overground (Piccadilly to Earls Court. District to West Brompton and Overground to Imperial Wharf) only costs a maximum of £2.80 by contactless payment. Howevr, you would then need to go somewhere else to pick up the travelcard.

Note that despite the name, the 'DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London - Chelsea' isn't in Chelsea. It is in Sands End, built on a bit of the redundant site of the former Imperial Gasworks.

Are there two of you traveling? You keep saying "I" not "we". Assuming there are two, you will each need a Travelcard to use the 2-4-1 offers. Make sure you buy them from the National Rail agent at Paddington, not the Underground agent. You will need passport-size photos.

Yes, it's two of us (my wife and I). I say "I" cause I am doing the planning. Is there an underground train to Paddington? Heathrow Express is a little pricey.

You can take the underground from Heathrow to Paddington on the Piccadilly line.

Did you look at the 30+ days in advance pricing?

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/tickets-deals/prices-fares

If you are so fortunate as tomarrive on a weekend at it is only £8.80. Otherwise £14.60.

To make your life in London easier best to refer to the London Underground as the tube.

Trains as in "then catch a Train from Paddington Station to the Hotel." simply confuses.

Secondly the 2 for 1 offer does not include the tube. Thus you cannot buy it an an Underground Station. You must buy it at a Train station: Paddington, Victoria, Kings Cross, St Pancras.

The closest TRAIN station to your hotel is Victoria.

There are a number of different ways to get into London from Heathrow, from costly and quickest to slowest and cheapest.

Heathrow Express and the bit slower Heathrow Connect are the most expensive but the quickest. Express is a 15 minute ride. Both arrive at Paddington Station where you will find access to the Tube.

The cheapest and slowest route into London is on the Piccadilly tube line.

You can also take at National Express bus, arrange for a car hire or take a cab.

STOP using Google maps to find your best route option. Use this website instead. https://tfl.gov.uk

You've chosen a hotel that is not in the London center so it will not be a direct line from Heathrow anyway you look at it.

So look at the London Tube Map https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/widgets/tubemap/default-search.html

Ask you hotel what's the easiest route from Heathrow but if you wish to use the Underground as your means of transport to your hotel you will need to take the District Line (the green line) to Fulham Broadway Underground Station and then walk 12 minutes to the hotel. That way you can discover where the closest Starbucks, bank ATM and market are located.

Or take the District Line to West Brompton and get on the Overground toward Clapham Junction and take it to Imperial Wharf and then walk to the hotel.

What you will first need is an Oyster Card for the Underground and Overground and busses. GET THAT at Paddington.
There are machines. Easy Peasy.

Thank you all for the replies. Very informative.

If you were only going to Paddington to pick up travel cards and not because you wanted to use the Express, it would be easier to go to Victoria instead. Piccadilly line to Hammersmith, cross platform to District to Victoria. Cash fare though is £6.00 (contactless £5.10 peak, £3.10 off-peak).

You could take the coach but it is usually slower, and the coach station is way to the back of the railway station

After buying the travelcards, since you are already in the main line station, take any train from there stopping at Clapham Junction, change there for the Overground (or Southern) service to Imperial Wharf.

Be aware that many locals in Sands End / World's End / Walham Green refer to the District line as 'the train' if you ask for directions.

I'm not sure why Claudia referred to buying an Oyster card as well as your paper travelcard (presumably you are getting the 7-day Z1-2 version?) will cover paying for all bus, tube and Overground travel as well as National Rail within the zones purchased. Maybe I am misunderstanding the intended point there.

I am only going to Paddington to pickup the Travelcards. Since I now know that Victoria is closer to the Hotel then I'll to go to Victoria instead to pickup the Travelcards.

Claudia wasn’t paying attention.