My wife and I are going to London in May. We will be arriving at Heathrow Airport, traveling to London and staying there for sight seeing for three days. We then travel to Southampton for a cruise, returning for another day in Windsor before heading home. Which travel discount card/cards should we get to have the most flexibilty and greatest cost savings throughout the trip? Thanks much!
Posted by
London
291 posts
Very few people can make the London Pass pay financially. Just map out your ideal itinerary in London, then work it out for yourself.
There is no definitive answer for the Travelcard or Oyster conundrum. If you're doing lots of sightseeing, chances are the Travelcard will turn out cheapest using it with 2 for 1 admission vouchers. On transport only, Oyster is normally cheaper.
Read the url below of Travelcard v Oyster and you should work out which is best for you.
www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard_oyster.htm
Posted by
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
98 posts
John - I agree with Bob. We've just returned from London and we utilized the National Rail Travel Card which allowed us 2for1 entries into many of the sights that were on our agenda. This did save us quite a bit of money. However, if you're not going to visit places like the Tower of London, Churchill Cabinet War Rooms, Tower Bridge Exhibition, Kensington Palace, Special exhibits at the British Museum, etc., then just get the Oyster Card. You can purchase that at the underground station from Terminal 3 at Heathrow. Have a great trip!
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
I also agree with the others... the London Pass looks like its cost effective, but you'll run yourself ragged to "break even". I did that my first time 5 years ago, and ran like a headless chicken from one venue to anohter. There's simply not enough hours in the day to cover the places.
If you decide on the London Pass, skip the travel option and get it a la carte.
The Oyster card is great for transportation. You've got access to the tube and bus, and the amount "tops off" if you hit the max.
The travel card "can" be added to the oyster card.
If you get the "travel card", there's a paper version which gives you discounts. I'm sure theres a lot if posts here that talks about it.
Posted by
Rockledge, FL, USA
3 posts
I've got a follow-up Q: I see that there's an overseas visitors Oyster card that can be purchased from 2 locations in the US. Is there an advantage to this visitors card? And is it worth it to purchase it before we make our trip in May?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Gary,
There is no advantage to buying the Vistors Oyster card. You will pay a non-refundable £2 fee. You cannot load a 7-day travelcard on it. You can only use it as a pay-as-you-go card. If you buy the regular Oyster card in London, you will pay a £5 deposit; but when you're ready to leave London you can get your deposit back. If you load a 7-day travelcard on it, you won't pay any deposit.
Buying paper travelcards at a National Rail station (not sold at Tube stations) qualifies you for some great 2-for-1 offers. See here. Print the vouchers and take them with you. Buy 1-day paper travelcards for each day you want to visit a place that has a 2-for-1 deal. On the other days use Oyster cards for PAYG. The Oyster computer will automatically give you the best fare and on any given day you will not pay more that 50 pence less than the cost of a 1-day travelcard for the zones in which you travel, no matter how many rides you take.