I will finally be headed to London in a few weeks for 10 days and I think I have the oyster card figured out. Once I arrive at Heathrow I will purchase the oster card and load between 50 and 70 pounds to cover zone 1 and 2 with a little extra in case I enter another zone as I will primary be using the tube and the hoho busses during my stay. Later if necessary I can load more onto the card. At Heathrow I will take the Piccadilly line to Hammersmith station where I will than get on the District line heading east to Victoria Station. Now I have three questions first does this sound reasonable, secord do I swipe the oyster card everytime I get on or off. Finally can I also use the oyster card on regular busses. Now I am also leaving my cell phone at home since the one I have is just a prepaid phone I have for emergencies only. I heard you can buy a international phone card there which I intend to do so I can call home every few days to
let family know I'm fine. So where can I buy one of these cards? Thanks, Janis
Posted by
Seattle, Wa, USA
449 posts
Janis: Sounds like a plan. The oyster card worked on local buses; the driver told me what to do the first time I got on a bus. You tap the oyster card on the yellow disk as you enter and exit the tube station. A piece of advice: make your oyster deposit and all loads/reloads/recharges/topoff with cash. I made the mistake of doing my first reload with a credit card though all my other transactions were done with cash. Because of this I had to bring my balance to under 5 pounds in order to get my deposit and balance refunded at the end of my stay in London. I had to make an unneccessary charge on my card to bring the balance down - loss of about $5. Have a great trip.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
I'd suggest you load a 7 day travel pass on your oyster, along with 10-30 GBP for any extra zones and as Pay-as-you-go on your extra days. Then you can add more near the end of your trip if needed. You want to keep the amount that you'll get back at the end of your trip low. As in less than 10 GBP. The phone cards should be available at lots of places. I'm certain I've seen them in places like TESCO grocery stores and Boots pharmacies. certainly at news stands.
Posted by
Land of La
9221 posts
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14839.aspx You tap the card going into AND out of the tube stations. Tap it once to get on a bus. Others can advise about the phone cards. I travel without a smartphone. Use Skype on my iPod instead. If you like walking you'll find that many of THE sites are close to one another, saving usage of the card. Once you arrive at Heathrow go to an ATM and withdraw some cash. Find a Timeout Magazine and buy it. Then look for signage to the Underground (logo is a large red circle with thick blue rectangle thru it's middle with white letters saying UNDERGROUND), go to the staffed service window and use the cash to pay the 3 pound refundable deposit fee and load up your card. Catch the tube train and enjoy reading the Timeout Magazine on the nearly one hour ride into London.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5847 posts
I agree with Toni. Rather than load all pay-as-you-go money, I would load a one-week zone 1-2 travelcard on your Oyster plus some extra money pay-as-you-go (perhaps 20 GBP to start). The pay-as-you-go money will cover travels outside of zone 2 and the 3 days not covered by the weekly card. Your Oyster can store both. You should be able to buy a phonecard from any news stand or convenience store. I suspect the WHSmith Book store which is right in Victoria Station would have one. I also think it is a wise decision to take the tube from Heathrow. The Heathrow Express would not save much time given that your destination is Victoria Station.
Posted by
OP
Tipp City, Ohio, United States
21 posts
Thanks for all the great advise especially Lori and Laura. I'm will be visiting
all the tourist attractions that I can along with taking a few day trips. Janis
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
If you are considering some day trips, you might want to read an article I wrote. I originally wrote it for AAA Carolina's "Go!" magazine a few years ago and recently redid it and posted as a TripAdvisor article. Here is alink http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html It describes some of my favorite places in London and favorite 'do-it-yourself' day trips out of London by train.
Happy Travels!!!
Posted by
BC, Canada
345 posts
You may also want to consider just buying a cell phone. 20 pounds got me a phone and enough minutes to make a few hours of phone calls home. I just went into a Carphone Warehouse and asked for help, explained what I wanted it for... ended up with a cheap Nokia phone on Lebara, which had a very cheap international calling rate (6p per minute). Did have to pay for it with a credit card. I would start with 40-50 pounds, as you may find that you walk more than you expected, or being near Victoria, use buses more. It sounds like you're staying near Victoria - I was just there for a few weeks. Buses are fantastic from there - to Leicester Square, up to Hyde Park or Royal Albert Hall, to Waterloo, etc. Knowing the buses really helped me out. Other suggestions... grab a free Evening Standard each night from a Tube station. It's great for knowing what's happening and special events. There are often free giveaways at Victoria Station... I've gotten free drinks, granola bars, etc. There's a wonderful cheese store in Victoria Station, mmmm. Do explore the neighbourhood - there's a great street market, good charity shops, etc. And if it's late and you need a snack, one of the Marks and Spencer Simply Food is open until midnight most days. There's a big Sainsburys nearby, but their coolers were all broken as of Monday. Lots of cheap Olympic markdowns there, and at Tescos.