We'll be in London for about a week, with side trips to Greenwich, Cambridge, and Oxford. Should we get Visitor Oyster cards or regular Oyster cards when we arrive? Also, what zones does the Oyster card cover on the Underground?
Thanks
This is the transport for London website.
It can be a little confusing but will get you started with information.
You can use your own credit cards to tap in and out to pay...one for each traveler as you can only pay for one person at a time with a personal card.
I prefer an Oyster Card so that I'm not waving my credit card about each time I get on a bus or train and potentially losing it.
An Oyster card would be much less of a loss than a bank card.
I've never seen the point of a visitor oyster card, where you need to pay for postage and have to depend on the postal service for timely delivery. You can buy a regular Oyster card and add money to it in one minute at a machine at the airport. OR you can use a contactless payment (credit card or Apple/Google pay )to tap in and out of the tube or to tap on for the bus. Naturally the card is valid for all zones. Read up om the daily caps (which vary depending on zones travelled) on the tfl website
I got a regular Oyster card and have added to it each trip to London. It's like an old friend waiting for the next adventure. I don't understand why I'd want a disposable visitor card unless I really thought I'd never return.
CJean and Laurie Beth,
Thank you! The websites are very confusing!
G
Hi! We are american ex-pats living in London. We ditched our Oyster cards long ago. If you have a chip and pin (is that still the terminology?) card you can use it to tap in and out on the Underground, Overground, DLR, and buses (no need to tap out on the bus).
You won’t have to worry about zones at all because the TFL system takes care of that for you. You won’t be charged more than the daily cap, and it is no hassle.
If you are really worried about losing your card, then load it on your phone! That’s what we’ve done. We use that method to pay for virtually everything - from street food at most markets, to the tube, Tesco, pubs, restaurants, taxis, and more. I honestly don’t remember the last time I paid cash or used a physical plastic card.
To clarify what Volva said, not all chip and pin cards can be used for contactless payment. If your card has that wireless symbol on it, it can be used for contactless payment. If it doesn’t, ask the company for a new card. I believe most new cards can be used for contactless payment.
Paying contactless or getting an Oyster is a personal preference. Since you said we, if you choose the contactless route, each person needs their own card.
You may well not have even thought about using Oyster for the visits to Oxford and Cambridge but a quick warning just in case if you were as this isn't possible.
I have witnessed quite a few people being caught by ticket inspectors on the train going to Oxford having opened the barrier at Paddington with contactless payment of one kind or another; they have just got used to doing this around London. They generally get fairly lenient treatment if found out on the train at least from what I saw, ie sold a normal ticket not a penalty fare or given notice of prosecution but that might not always be the case.
Thanks, Marco. I think I knew this, but it's so easy to get nonchalant!
Hi, Marco. I think I can use Oyster for Greenwich but not for Cambridge. Is this correct?
Thanks
In a word, yes.