Travel Card vs Oyster

If you're only in London for 3 days I would recommend to buy a 1 Day Pass for each person for each day. This is the easiest way to get around for that period of time. You can buy them at most tube stations in London.

Your hotel should be able to tell you the nearest Tube station and how far they are away from the Tube. "North of Hyde Park" (if not too far North) sounds like you will probably be close to Paddington Railway and tube station (but you need to check with your hotel). You will probably arrive from Gatwick at Victoria rail and Tube station. Once you know what Tube station you are near we can suggest how to get there by Tube

The Gatwick Express (www.gatwickexpress.com) is the train that runs from Gatwick into central London, arriving at Victoria Station. By the way, Gatwick is about 25 miles south of London. When your hotel tells you which Tube stop to use, go to the Transport for London site (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/) and see how close it really is to the hotel. Google Maps also displays Tube stops, so that might be more convenient. For this short trip, each of you will presumably be using one carryon bag. That's manageable on the Tube. Hauling lots of serious luggage around in Tube stations is not a good idea.

Thanks so much for all the info so far! When I looked at the website for the hotel I saw two things. I'm not sure exactly what they mean. It said it's a couple minute walk from the Lancaster Gate Tube Station and that the Earls Court London Underground Station is about a two minute walk. What's the difference? We are each planning on taking only a small rolly bag. I just need to remind my daughters of that!

That sounds weird to me. The distance between Lancaster Gate and Earls Court is such that a hotel that was equal distances from both would be more than two minutes walk. I'd check on google maps or streetmap for the exact address. The two stations are on two different lines. Lancaster Gate is on the Central and Earl's Court on the District and Piccadilly. If the hotel is closest to Earl's Court, that makes it easier to get to from Gatwick - get a train to Victoria and change to the westbound District Line.

As Philip noted, Lancaster Gate and Earl's Court are a long way apart (4.5km according to viamichelin.com). Lancaster Gate is on the north edge of Hyde Park and Earl's Court is well south of the park. Take a Southern train rather than the Gatwick Express from Gatwick to Victoria. It's much cheaper and only a few minutes slower. Take the Victoria Line two stops to Oxford Circus. Transfer to the Central Line and take it three stops to Lancaster Gate. For a zoomable Tube map, go here. If you buy paper travelcards with the National Rail logo on them at a National Rail station rather than the ones you can get at a Tube station, you would qualify for some very good 2for1 discounts. For more information and to print vouchers for the sights that interest you, go here. If you buy zone 1-2 travelcards at the train station at Gatwick, you'll only have to buy tickets on a Southern train for the portion from the airport to the edge of zone 2.

Are you leaving by rail? If so, keep your inbound ticket (pass through a manned gate instead of a ticket eating turnstile) and use the tickets for the Days Out 2 for 1 offers. Note that the Heathrow Express and the Eurostar to Paris are not National Rail trains and will not qualify for the 2 for 1 offers. I do not know the ins and outs of ticketing for your 14 year old.

Thank you all so much for your help. I did contact the hotel and ask which station is closest to them. Still waiting on a response. It's looking like it's Earl's Court from the maps you all gave me to look at. Very excited about this trip. Reb