London Pass & Oyster Card?

All we ever get on each trip is the oyster card for about 30 GBP each for a week's travel on all modes of transportation and recharge when necessary. We've never considered the London pass to be of value to us since the museums are free. We pay for other things we want to see like the crown jewels or the ceremony of the keys.

Seems a bit expensive to me. But the answer is depending on what you are actually planning to see, because many attractions in London, including main ones, are free of charge.

It's been suggested

Did somebody here make that suggestion, Jean?

I've never heard (except once from somebody trying to sell it here several years ago) anybody say that it is good value for money.

Jean, I agree with the other posts here. The London pass is generally over priced since many sites are already free. However, it really just comes down to doing the math. Is the cost of the Oyster card with the sites that have to be paid going to be more or less expensive than the London pass? Most likely not but you could make up the cost of the pass IF you do enough siteseeing. Again, do the math.

https://www.londonpass.com/how-it-works/what-you-get-with-the-london-pass.html

I hope this helps

No one on here made this suggestion so I'll go with the ones here? 117GBP for 3 days is ridiculous! Should I get one Oyster Card for 30GBP & an off peak travel card for one day just to get us from LHR to town?
Thanks all you're all very informative.
Jean

I suggest you just get a plain oyster card, load it with some money and pay as you go. Skip any passes. Then you are set right from Heathrow. You could parse the math on the value of a daily or multiday pass but unless you are sightseeing at breakneck speed the savings are likely either small or a loss.

Can you use one Oyster card for two people or do you need one each?
Thanks all,
J

Note that if you have Apple pay or some other contactless payment card / system you may be able to use this directly and not need Oyster at all. Test it out first as there are still some non-UK cards that are incompatible.

To make the London Pass even remotely worth it you have to move fast...and I mean FAST. You would have to move from sight to sight very quickly. Unless you are simply wanting to check places off your list it really isn't worth it. Pick the sights you want to see, see them right (read at a reasonable pace), and don't worry about a pass.
The Travelcard is great! It's convenient and well worth it. You don't ever have to worry about topping up your card - you just go wherever you want, whenever you want. It might cost a little more than topping up but, to me, the convenience is worth it.

We have been to London five times. We have always just bought the Oyster Card, as everybody else recommends. Even if you end up going beyond zone 2, you just add on to your Oyster card for your return trip. It is very convenient. There is always somebody to help you at all the TUBE stations also.

I am a CPA and I urge you to do the math. My favorite answer at work is always "It depends" and it really does in this case. For the trip we are taking in November, I went with London Pass and Travel Card. For this trip we have set up an itinerary to visit attractions that are included. Other trips we have taken were focused on museums or we were "budget" travelers not "budget conscious" travelers. On those trips it would not have been worth the cost of the card.

The key for me has been to sign up for "informational" emails. The discounts on Heathrow Express, London Pass, Travel Card, HOHO bus and shows started to flow. I did not pay "list" price for anything except the airline tickets. I even received discount coupons for some restaurants that were freely offered, not purchased.

Like the experienced gurus suggest (this means you Emma and Nigel :-)) we have planned for two locations per day including museums. After all, anyone who schedules an hour for the British Museum is not thinking clearly. Anything more than two sites per day can be overwhelming or you rush through something you should savor. That's why the London Pass won't make sense for most people.

Great advice was given above. Run the numbers for your travel, then decide what is a good value for you.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Jean

If you have the Oyster card that is all you need to get anywhere London buses or the Tube goes. No extra travel cards needed. The Oyster keeps track of where you go and will max out at what you would have spent on a travel card for the day or week. No worries about buying the right daily or weekly card to cover the areas you visit. And the ride from LHR to anywhere in London is only 5.10 on the Oyster (or was last time I was there earlier this year). And you can buy the Oyster by itself at any Tube station that has ticket machines as well as get a refund of the amount left before you leave the country if you want (less than 10 GBP left on the card can be refunded at the LHR Tube station through the ticket machine, just make sure you use the exact same form of payment every time you add funds to the card during your stay [I use cash]).

Can't comment on the value of the pass other than it sounds too expensive to me.

As susanclose said, it depends. I did the math and found a pass will be worthwhile for us. We have 4 days with perhaps 7 sites planned and we will save a few pounds on those entries alone. Plus we get some "skip the line" privileges AND London Walks says we will get 3 GBP off on each of the 4 walks we plan to take with them. So a pass noodles out for us. My question is whether to include the travel pass since that is useless two days we will be there, Dec 25 & 26. But the London Pass, 6-day version, looks like a win for us.

When you are finished with your Oyster card, you can get a complete refund for any leftover amount and the 5gbp deposit at "Visit London Tourist Information Centres:" http://www.visitlondon.com/tag/tourist-information-centre

Notice that the centre at Heathrow is in the 1, 2, 3 Underground Station, not at Terminal 5. You need to make a quick stop there before you go to Terminal 5 if you're leaving on British Airways.

I just did this last week at the Kings Cross St. Pancras office before heading off to Paris, after I wasn't able to do the refund at the Tube station machines. I bought the Oyster card on my credit card and they refunded the balance back to the same card.

I've just returned from London. Mostly everyone in my group pre-purchased 6-day London Passes when they went on sale. Some bundled it with a Visitor Oyster Card and the rest bought paper Travelcards. The paper Travelcards need to be purchased on-site at a designated railway station. Paper Travelcards allowed us to take advantage of some 2-for-1 offers through Days Out

As others have said, you have to do the math and you need a plan. We spent ten days in London, allowing us enough time to visit all the high-priced venues offered on the LP within six days, as well as visiting the free venues and other places that offered a 2-for-1 with the Travelcard. We lucked out and came out ahead on the LP. Since your time is shorter, it may not be your best option.

The London Toolkit, a resource site, explains the differences.

Too expensive. There are cheaper options.

My question is should I pre-order the oyster card and pay to have it shipped to me in the U.S. prior to leaving for London or do I just wait until I get there to purchase it?

If I should wait then what is the procedure for getting one after I arrive at Heathrow?

Thanks, Steve

Hi Steve, pre-purchasing the Oyster Card is not necessary but if you want the convenience of not having to purchase when you arrive you can pre-order. The Oyster Card is available to purchase at Heathrow. Just follow the signs for the Underground and you'll see the ticket kiosks. Buying before you go will be more expensive. I usually top off the Oyster Card upon arrival at Heathrow with zero problems. Have a wonderful time in London!

The cards bought in advance do not have a refundable deposit, but do have a fee attached. The price differential if you don't turn it in is marginally in your favour for buying in advance but it really is small.

A couple of years ago we did a 3-day blitz of London and we got our money's worth, but just barely, out of the London Pass. If you don't like to stick to a structured schedule then a London Pass is probably not right for you. By the way, one intangible benefit of the pass is the "skip the line" feature... If you don't want to spend a lot of time in queues or worry about whether or not you have the cash in hand, get the London Pass for convenience - just don't expect it to save you a whole bunch of money.

Also, the above comment that many main attractions are free is a little misleading. The government owned museums in London are free (except for special exhibits). All other main attractions (major churches, palaces, etc.) charge an entrance fee.

I have always pre-ordered paper travel cards - also for convenience. But, starting with my next trip to London, I will purchase Oyster cards because the paper cards de-magnetize so easily. Even though the de-magnetized paper cards were always honored, it was a hassle finding someone to let us in and out of the gates.

Do the math. But just to help you on your way, the following big sights are not free but are covered by the London Card: Tower of London (22), Buckingham Palace (19); Churchill Rooms (17), St. Pauls (15), West Minster Abby (20), Shakespeare's Globe (15.00), Hampton Court (16.50), Windsor Castle (20.00), Cutty Shark (12.15), Royal Observatory (9.50). If your plan is heavy on these sights, the card might be a good idea. But it will work better if you are in London longer than a day. It's hard to spend 55 pounds well on London sights in a day, easier to spend 75 pounds in two days, and very easy to spend 80 pounds in three days. By the time you get to 120 pounds for 6 days you will save money.

We used the 6 day version a few years ago and saved both time and money. I ran the numbers before and afterwords. On our coming trip we will be in London just two days plus a day trip and given that the only fee charging sight we want to see for sure are St. Pauls plus possibly Westminster Abby and/or the Royal Observatory, we would lose about 5 to 35 pounds each on it this time. That's a pretty steep fee to skip lines.