My husband and I are staying in London near Paddington Station for seven nights. What is the best form of transportation to purchase? Would you all recommend the Oyster 7-day Travelcard? Or pay-as-you-go? Or some other transportation? We are mainly touring in Zones 1 &2 with the exception of going to Windsor one day. This is our first time to England, so any advice would be appreciated!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17563 posts
You may be able to use the 2-4-1 offers on certain London sites if you get a 7-day paper Travelcard with the National Rail logo ( not an Oyster Travelcard). You should be able to buy the Travelcard at Paddington Station, but check carefully for the current requirements; they may have changed due to covid restrictions. The Days Out website does allow you to pre-book the 2-4-1 tickets as required.
Posted by
ATL, USA
540 posts
I was in London two weeks ago. I did pay-as-you-go on my Oystercard because I was only going to be there for three days. If you are going to be using public transport a lot, the seven day is probably more economical than pay-as-you-go, though there is a 'cap' system that maxes out how much you are charged per day.
You can go ahead and buy your Oystercard at Heathrow. Because I did pay-as-you-go, I was able to use my Oystercard to take the TFL (Transport for London) Rail to Paddington (and back to Heathrow again). I'm not sure how that works with a seven day Oystercard - you may need to buy an extension ticket to cover outside of zones 1 and 2.
As far as restrictions, there were few to none when I was there. You don't have even have to quarantine if you have a positive Covid test, though the government politely requests that you do so.
Posted by
258 posts
They all use contactless pay now. Use credit card and just tap every time. Cheapest too, although some trains are a lot cheaper if you buy in advance. Trains are not Underground (local subway).
There are those who spent their lives trying to get around London the absolute cheapest possible. Just use your credit card or bank card and enjoy yourself.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5467 posts
You may be able to use the 2-4-1 offers on certain London sites if you get a 7-day paper Travelcard with the National Rail logo ( not an Oyster Travelcard). You should be able to buy the Travelcard at Paddington Station, but check carefully for the current requirements; they may have changed due to covid restrictions
National Rail paper travelcards for journeys wholly within Zones 1-9 are being phased out. By default from Monday 4 April they will only be offered on Oyster or the smartcard of a train operating company, although the paper version will be issued if insistent! They will become completely unavailable for sale from 1 June.
Posted by
California
497 posts
Been using my Apple Pay on my Apple Watch and has worked flawlessly everywhere. Easy, even taxis, etc.