We (2 of us) will be in London from Aug 30 until Sept 5 and are thinking of purchasing the 7-day 2-for-1 Travelcard for our transportation in London as well as sights such as Westminster Abby, Churchill War Rooms, St. Pauls, a riverboat cruise to Greenwich and other attractions. Does anyone have a feel for best time of the day to visit major attractions to possibly avoid the long lines at the ticket booth, if there even is such a time?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16264 posts
Just remember that the 7-day Travelcard does not provide 2-4-1 transport. You each need your own paper Travelcard ( which will have your photo so bring passport-size photos). You then show both cards and the appropriate voucher from the Days Out website ( or a book of vouchers picked up at a London train station) to get 2 for 1 admission.
As for time of day, you might avoid school-group hours, which seem to be late morning in our experience.
Generally we found the lines for Churchill War Rooms and St. Paul's in September to be 10 minutes or less---almost zero for St. Paul's.. We have not yet been to Westminster Cathedral so cannot speak to that).
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
The 7-day travel card that I bought ten days ago did not require photos, but I also bought the Oyster card for after the 7-day pass expired. There are discounts on the Greenwich boat tour, for example, 1/3 off.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16264 posts
Zoe---was that a 7-day Travelcard purchased from a National Rail station? Those are the onlyones that qualify for 2-for-1 offers. And according to London Toolkit, this type of Travelcard ( issued by a rail station) still requires a photo ( it is printed on a separate card that you keep in a folder with the actual Travelcard):
https://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1_discussion.html
I see the 7-day Travelcard without a photo ( green on on this page) which can be purchased online from the TFL ticket shop:
https://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/london-travelcard/
This one is apparently not valid for the 2-4-1 offers because it was not purchased at a National Rail station.
We're you able to use it for the 2-4-1 offers anyway?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16264 posts
Here you can see the green TFL-issued 7-day Travelcard ( no photo required) shown under "NO"! meaning it is not valid for the 2-4-1 offers.
https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/travel-by-train/is-my-ticket-valid-for-2for1
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Thank you all for your input. I will keep the suggestions in mind during my trip.