Our family of 5 will be traveling to London in 2 weeks. We'll be there for 4 days. (1 member of the family is 15.)
I'm trying to decide which makes the most sense: Oyster PAYG, Travelcard (for the 2 for 1 deals) With 5 people paying for an Oyster card, each trip will be costing around $15, or $35 max per day. Would Uber be cheaper?
On one of the days we'll be doing the Hop on Hop off so no tube travel that day. We're also planning on 1 day at Hampton Court.
Also, we're arriving at Heathrow, and leaving from Gatwick. Is it best to just get an UberXL? Since there are 5 of us, Would it end up being cheaper? (Are the UberXLs easy to get?)
If we pay 5 pounds a piece for the Oyster deposit, and we can't get a refund at Gatwick it seems like sort of a hassle.
Advice please.
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
I've taken plenty of UberXL rides in Europe when I've traveled with larger groups. Never waited more than 5-6 minutes tops to get one in the city, often far less. And it's so much easier to get a group that size from place to place via UberXL vs. the Tube. Traveling with a group of 5 on public transit, especially during any peak rush hours, is really a pain, especially if 2 out of 4 days you really aren't going to be using the Tube.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for your input!
Posted by
Hampshire, England.
1075 posts
The road trip to Gatwick is often described as purgatory (unless it's very early in the morning), train would be better.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Both Heathrow and Gatwick are best reached by rail rather than road which can be severely delayed. Depending on where you are staying the usual best route from Heathrow is by the Underground Piccadilly Line - the train to Paddington is more expensive and only saves time if you are staying close to Paddington.
For Gatwick your choices are Gatwick Express from Victoria (fast but expensive), normal Southern Rail train from Victoria (slightly slower but quite a bit cheaper) or Thameslink from St Pancras or Blackfriars (a bit slower but cheaper and more convenient if you are staying near Kings Cross or somewhere near the City).
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks so much. We're staying in Earls Court so Piccadilly line is easy. Any thoughts on tube vs Uber in town? I know tube is easier but paying for 5 people, Uber might be cheaper.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
Going to Gatwick you will qualify for GroupSave, which gets you 35% off for the adults travelling together. You'd turn the Oysters in if you must at Victoria. You don't need them at all if you have an appropriate contactless credit / debit card/ Apple Pay etc.
You haven't given enough detail as to your whole itinerary to suggest whether public transport is better than some kind of a minicab (ie Uber or whatever). My advice would be to forgo the HoHo altogether though as a waste of a day and money.