Oyster vs. Travelcard??

You can actualy load a travel card onto an Oyster card. But I think you are referring to the paper travel cards that cna be purchased at National Rail Stations. The one advantage to those is the 2-for-1 admission deals they make you eligible for. Check out the 2-for-1 deals, and if you would make use of any of those, then buy the paper travel cards (again- be CERTAIN you get them at a National Rail office- NOT a tube station office).

Jane Ann, I have a 4-year degree and it has not helped me at all. ; ) I'm in a similar boat with you. My kids will be 16 & 18 and we will be in London for a week. Sorry to horn in on your thread but I do have a question that fits in here. We are planning on purchasing a 7day TC (with the logo for the 2-for-1 deal). I understand that it is issued onto an Oyster Card though. Can we use that for the deal then? Am I confusing things?? Oy.

Kristin
Thank you! Very pertinent questions! I think that perhaps the Travelcard will also be our best bet. I assume my 9 year old will not need a card as long as he accompanies his ticketed parent. I have read the TC gets loaded onto the Oyster Card (which seems very confusing) I also have read we need vouchers for the 2 for 1 deals. The London 2 for 1 website says you can print out vouchers but I am unsure if the vouchers can be printed here at home in the US before we arrive. Oy is right!

Kristen... (I spelled your name incorrectly above, sorry!) Toni, my first responder said we need 'paper travel cards' to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deals. Paper travel cards are apparently different from the Travelcard loaded onto the Oyster card. I am clearly very unclear of the whole process.

If you have your 7 day travel card put on your oyster card say with $30 extra on it...then when you use the transporation with the card how do you determine the money is applied toward the 7 day card and not the extra $30 you put on the Oyster? I would put the extra $30 on just to use when I traveled outside my travel card zones.

I'm going to try to make this more simple. What if I did not care about the 2 for 1 deals with the Travelcard? Would the Pay As You Go Oyster Card may be our best bet? Is this correct? 9 year old would travel for free and does 15 year old need an Oyster photocard? Oyster also requires a deposit of L5 on each card?

Okay, so getting a 'Zip' Oyster Photo card for non UK residents for kids under 15 years of age sounds like a pain. So I'm back to getting a Travelcard?

In was just about to take this flurry of worry and start answering the questions. Its really not so bad. And I don't have a 4 year degree (this is England). But yet more questions have just arrived. How about you all let all the questions and worries accumulate and I'll go to bed, its past my bedtime. Then in the morning I'll have a look at the whole lot and have a go. I don't have to go to work tomorrow. So chuck 'em in.

We were in London last week and purchased 7-day zone 1 and 2 Visitor Travelcards. These are still paper cards and you can't add money to them as you can to an Oyster card, so we had to purchase one time tickets to ride in from Heathrow. They are good on the Underground and the buses whenever they are running. Jonie

Thanks Jonie Did you travel with kids? Are the paper travelcards one for each day or just one paper ticket for all 7 days? I see that these Travelcards are approx 26 pounds for adults and 13 pounds for kids ages 11 to 15. Did you get the London 2 for 1 deals? If so, how did you obtain vouchers? I understand you have to present your paper travel card and a voucher to the site you want to get the deal at...

Nigel!! An Englishman to answer my questions, perfect! I just want to know what the easiest/most economical way to get around Central London in Zone 1 and/or 2 with 2 adults and 2 kids ages 15 and 9 for 8 full days at any time during the day. We are staying near Victoria Station so perhaps they can be purchased there. We will be taking 2 day trips to Windsor and Oxford but suppose that will be an extra cost for train rides outside of the city. I realize this is not rocket science but it seems like there are different options and I just want to make the right choice for our needs. Thank you!!

I'll try to explain some of the key points in layman's terms. 1) The Oyster card is just a vehicle for storing your tickets. You can store a travelcard, pay-as-you-go money, or both on an Oyster. You can buy an Oyster card at a tube station. 2) A travelcard covers a specific period of time and specific travel zones. Most tourists sights are with zone 1-2. There are one-day, seven-day, and longer period travelcards. 3) There are essentially two "agents" that sell travelcards that are valid on transportation within London - London Underground and the Railways. 4) The Railways participate in a 2 for 1 scheme where if you buy a ticket for train travel to London, you can take advantage of certain 2 for 1 discounts. The discount is intended to encourage people to travel by rail. There is a "loophole" in that if you buy a travelcard from the Railway, you are eligible to use the discounts. You can only buy a Rail Travelcard from a rail station (e.g. Victoria Station). These cards are only issued on paper and have the railway symbol on them. The discounts are listed here www.daysoutguide.co.uk 5) London Underground (aka "the tube" or "Transport for London") also sells travelcards, but these cards are not valid for the 2 for 1 discounts. One-day travelcards come on paper and can be bought at a machine or ticket office in a tube station. Seven-day travelcards are stored on your Oyster card. 6) If you have an Oyster Card with pay-as-you-go, the system will deduct the fare until you reach the daily cap (the amount you would have paid if you had bought an equivalent one-day travelcard). If you have an Oyster with a travelcard plus pay-as-you-go, the system will only charge the pay-as-you-go for travel not covered by the travelcard.

One more thing regarding the children ... There are a fairly elaborate set of rules depending on the age of the child and whether or not the child is travelling with an adult. However, in general: You can buy a child's one-day travelcard or single ticket without a photo id. If you want to use Child's pay-as-you-go rates or a seven day travel card, you need to get a child's photo id. Check tfl.gov.uk for all the details. Just noticed that Nigel said he'd look at this in the morning. I'm sure he will have additional clarification or details.

Thanks so much Laura. Great info. To reiterate: Children under 10 can travel with a ticketed parent for free. Kids 11 to 15 can get a 'Zip' Oystercard but requires a photo ID and costs 10 pounds in administration fees. Seems like a hassle to get one from the US and not really 'free'. I'm looking forward to Nigel's advise in the morning!

I'll have to plead ignorance on the "children for free" situation. I don't have kids. I just looked at the TFL site and it sure looks like under 10s are free when travelling with an adult. Here is a question for Nigel or someone with kids ... How do the kids get through the ticket barriers at the tube station? I never really paid attention to this when I was living in London.

Laura did a very good job explaining the Travelcard issue. Now regarding your children - yes, the 9 yr old travels free - you just go through one of the gates monitored by an attendant; the 15 yr old will need a photo ID Oystercard (allow at least a month plus £10) to purchase a reduced fare 7-day travelcard or pay child fare for pay-as-you-go. Since the difference between an Adult 7-day Travelcard for Zones 1 & 2 at £29.20 and a child's is only £14.60, IMO it's not worth the hassle to save £4.60 (about $7) after you pay the administrative fee. The 7-day travelcards are good everyday, all day. There is a £5 initial fee for each card, but you can get that refunded, as well as any pay-as-you-go money still on the card, when you leave London - but since we keep going back, we just hold on to our cards and use them the next trip. Jane Ann I'm assuming you're arriving at Heathrow, and will want to take the tube to your hotel. In your case, at the Heathrow Underground Station buy 3 adult 7-day travelcards for Zones 1 & 2 which will be loaded onto Oyster cards, and put an extra £15 pay-as-you-go on each card. That should cover your trip into the city from Heathrow (with an Oyster card £4.80 Mon - Fri from 6:30 - 9:30, £2.90 all other times) plus your 8th day, and any other trips outside Zones 1 & 2. Now if you want to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deals offered by the Railway system, you will have to pay £5.30 each for 3 of you (9 yr old is free) to take the tube into the city, then you can purchase your paper 7-day travelcards and separate 1-day travelcards for your 8th day at the Victoria Rail Station. I believe Laura listed the website where the deals are listed, and you can print out the vouchers before you leave for your trip. Hope this helps - Mary

Laura and Mary really have it. And in a pinch there's always the TfL website which is where I go for the esoteric stuff. Its really not too bad. Decide what's important in your travel media, what fits your budget and go for it. It does add up - I know every time I fill up either the car or the Oyster Card, and I do both far too frequently. But in the scheme of a whole holiday its pretty small potatoes. You may find, depending on where and when, that a taxi will sometimes be cheaper for all 4 of you.