Husband and I will be in London from September 21 until the 25th. Our hotel is centrally located just north of Westminster Abbey and west of Trafalgar Square. Most of what we want to see is within walking distance of our hotel with the exception of Tower of London and British Museum and British Library. We also are thinking of Kew Gardens upstream of the Thames. We arrive in Paddington Station, so we'll tube from there to St James Park Tube and then walk to hotel. Is it worth it to purchase an Oyster card or are we ok with just daily paper tickets? Thanks.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5847 posts
I would get an Oyster Card and put pay-as-you-go money on it. You can get a refund of your deposit and balance when you leave. Oyster fares are significantly less than single ticket fares and you won't spend more than you would on a one-day ticket. Check the tfl.gov.uk site for prices. You will probably use it more than you think.
Posted by
OP
Guthrie, OK
251 posts
Thanks, Laura. I agree - the more I think about it - we will probably use it more than we think. After London, we are taking the train to Edinburgh, so will have to tube to Kings Cross station that morning. So that is about six round trips not counting other sites that we might go to. Should we purchase the Oyster card online before we go? Or does it matter?
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5847 posts
Buy it when you get there. You can get one at Paddington.
Posted by
Land of La
9221 posts
Absolutely buy the Oyster card. Kept the first one I purchased for subsequent visits. Alas turned it in when I had the option of purchasing one with a picture of William and Kate on it! Still have that one! Sounds like you've secured accommodations in a lovely area. Good for you.
Posted by
Tipton, Iowa
332 posts
If you are arriving at Paddington Station because that is where the Heathrow Express deposits you, you may want to take the tube instead. Transport for London figures 36 minutes using the Heathrow Express plus two tube lines to Green Park. In 46 minutes you can take the tube from Heathrow to Green Park on the Piccadilly Line with no changes. The Heathrow Express costs at least £17. For that much money, two or more of you could take a prearranged car service from Heathrow to your hotel.
Posted by
OP
Guthrie, OK
251 posts
We're actually arriving in Paddington from Oxford. Our first destination is the Cotswolds - picking up a car in Oxford and then on. So we'll return our car in Oxford and take the train on in. -- oh, by the way, we took the Heathrow Connect the last time we were in England. It was cheaper than the Express and still pretty fast.
Posted by
South Yorkshire, UK; formerly St. Louis, MO, USA
317 posts
I'll add my two cents to the pile here - Oyster card is definitely the way to go - just buy one when you get there. As others have mentioned, the fares are cheaper and in the end, you won't spend more than a 1 day ticket. You'll use it quite a lot, tapping in and out of tube and to get on a bus. Put some pay-as-you-go cash on it. Further, at the end of your stay, you can get any remaining balance back.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
One bit of 'contrary' advice. I'd check the "Days out" website for the 2-for-1 deals (http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london). If there are any you are interested in using, you might want to get paper travel cards from a National Rail Station (Paddington is good- but use the NRS not the underground/tube offices).Be certain you get the paper cards that have the National Rail logo! Some of the 2-4-1 deals are really good. You could just put some pay-as-you-go money on an Oyster and then buy and use daily travel cards on the days you want to use 2-4-1s, or you could buy paper cards for all of your full days in London and use paygo only on the partial days.