Hi-
My family and I are traveling to London this summer. It is me, my husband, and 3 sons ages 17, 14, and 11. We will actually be in London twice - once for a 1-day stop-over and then for 5 days straight.
On the one-day stopover, we are arriving at Stansted airport and are going to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Leavesden. We will be taking an overnight train out of Watford Junction that night to go to Scotland for a week.
On the rest of the trip ( a week later), we plan to stay 5 straight days in London.
I need some help figuring out what option to buy for travel around London - obviously looking for the most economical route.
1) We are planning to get The London Pass for our visit - most likely the 3-day pass. There is an option to get an Oyster Travelcard with this that matches the days your pass is - so we would have credit for 3 days of travel on the card. My two youngest sons are between 11 – 15 would receive a Paper Travelcard, not an Oyster Card. Since we are staying for 5 days, we would need additional travel days for them so not sure if it would be worth it since we need to get an Oyster card for them after this expires. So maybe I should just wait and get the Oyster cards in person once in London? The price to add on the Oyster to the London Pass is ~28lb/adult and ~18lb./child. If you add the travel to the London Pass, you have to order it in advance to be mailed to you instead of getting it delivered to your phone via their mobile app. So there is a ~8-lb. shipping fee per order for that.
2) Not sure if I should buy the Oyster Visitors card ahead of time (separate from the London Pass)? Looks like they charge 3-lb. activation fee per card and about a 5-lb. fee total for my order. Then I would need to go to the ticket counter and get the two youngests' cards to be set for a child rate when we get there.
3) There is also a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard that I can apply for my oldest so but it needs to be ordered in advance with his picture and a 20lb. admin fee. Then we need to pick it up at a Visitors Center when we get to London. By getting it, he would pay half the adult fare and get buses and trams for free or buy a 7-day Travelcard at the child rate - otherwise without it, he will pay the full adult fare for everything. But with 20 pounds fee and 5 days, is it worth it?
4) There is also a 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard for my youngest two that I can also apply for but it needs to be ordered in advance with his picture and a 15lb. admin fee. This would allow them to travel free on buses and trams and at child rate on Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail, Emirates Air Line and most National Rail services in London. Plus half adult rate on Thames Clipper River Bus services. But with 15 pounds fee each and 5 days, is it worth it?
5) I can order 7-day paper Travelcards (zones 1 and 2 only) for all of us for 33-lb/adult (and teen) and 16.50-lb./child. I am worried that since we will have the London Pass, some attractions may be out of those zones that we may want to see (Wimbledon, soccer stadiums, etc.). Plus this may not help me when I need that 1-day to Watford Junction from Stansted.
6) We were also planning on buying a Friends & Family Railcard for 30-lb. because our whole family will be traveling together and my husband, teen, and I would get 1/3 off of train travel and the 2 youngest would get 60% off of train travel. We will be using this more in Scotland but it doesn't sound like this will help us in London except maybe our Stansted airport to Watford Junction trip?
I am soooo confused and need to hear what other families did about all of this. I hate to throw money away so want to make sure I don't buy something I regret later or miss some option that could have saved me money. Any other options that I am missing for a family???
Any tips appreciated!