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Thameslink/Oyster from Gatwick to London + national for London to Salisbury?

Posted by (San Diego, CA) on

We are 2 adults + 2 seventeen year olds (4 adults) traveling from Gatwick to Holborn tube station. Arriving on 22 December at 9:30 a.m. Planned to take Thameslink to St. Pancras, then tube to Holborn tube station. From what I can see, it looks like this will be 20 GBP x 4 = 80 GBP one way for the Thameslink portion. ( we will need roundtrip but for now this is 1 way info).

  1. I'm frugal and I'm wondering if this is the best option...or if someone has another suggestion?

  2. If this is the best option, can someone explain...and I dread asking this....confirming I buy one ticket for the Thameslink and then an Oyster card upon arrival at St Pancras (we plan to make good use of the Oyster card via tube/bus during our time in London). Is it cheaper to buy the Thameslink ticket in advance?

  3. And, while I'm aggravating people with train ticket questions that seem so obvious when you know the answer....when I take the train from London to Salisbury for a day trip....I use national trains, which is a totally separate line/ticket, right?

Thanks to the experts for sharing their knowledge.

Posted by
14507 posts

Hi,

Do not get a ticket for the Thameslink from St Pancras to Gatwick, if you get an Oyster card.

The Oyster card is valid for that connection. I did that on 24 Oct. With the Oyster card as payment for the Thameslink St Pancras to Gatwick, it's about 8 and something GBP. A ticket costs ten plus GBP, ie if you don't have the Oyster card. Since I already had an Oyster card with enough funds to cover the ride, I used it to get to Gatwick...very convenient. The ride takes one hour as scheduled. The Oyster card covers going to Gatwick but not Luton airport.

Posted by
2506 posts

Four adult one-way tickets from Gatwick to St Pancras on a Thameslink train cost from £27.40.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Do you know about the 2for1 offers with a train ticket/paper travelcard for visiting attractions and travelling around London rather than using Oyster cards?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c195600/London:United-Kingdom:2.4.1.Travelcards.Step.By.Step.html

From London Waterloo to Salisbury you take a train operated by South Western trains.

https://www.southwesternrailway.com/

Posted by
5326 posts

Four adult one-way tickets from Gatwick to St Pancras on a Thameslink train cost from £27.40.

Worthwhile mentioning in passing maybe that this is because there are four of you so you qualify for a Groupsave discount of 34%

You don't specify when you are returning and this could be important detail for working out the best fare.

Posted by
16241 posts

We need more details on your trip to provide the best and most budget-friendly advice. For example, how long will you be in London and which attractions do you wish to see? As noted above, four of you might well benefit from the 2-4-1 offers that come with rail travel into and out of London. You need to show National Rail logo paper tickets for a round trip journey (including a train journey on the Gatwick Express or other National Rail service) and you would be entitled to the benefits of the 2-4-1 offers during the period of your stay in London.

You can buy the tickets in advance and also take advantage of the group discounts mentioned above, as long as the tickets you choose have the National Rail logo.

https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/travel-by-train/is-my-ticket-valid-for-2for1

Posted by
4684 posts

Depending on where you are in relation to Holborn Station, it may be easier to get off the Thameslink train at City Thameslink and go to your lodgings from there instead of changing onto the tube at St Pancras.

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