We are a family of 4 (kids 18 and 15) who will be in London for 5 days in June. We are staying near Victoria Station and plan to spend all the days actively sightseeing in London except for 1 day where we are thinking of taking the London Walks excursion to Avebury/Lacock. We were planning to buy a 7-day Travelcard (zone 1-2) for each of us. Looks like that would cost about 117 pounds (plus whatever the extra fee from Heathrow costs). I read in one of Rick's books that if you have 4 people it might be cheaper to just catch a cab rather than use public transportation. What do people think about that? Are we better off to just pay cabs as we go? I'm pretty used to using public transportation when we travel so this seems a little counterintuitive to me, but I don't know London. Also, if anyone has taken the London Walks trip to Avebury/Lacock we'd love to hear your opinion of it. Thanks!
Posted by
Boston, MA
119 posts
I went with London Walks on the Avebury & Lacock day trip in August and I loved it! The guide we had was Richard, who talked some on the bus driving from the train station to Avebury, then we did a walking tour around all the standing stones with more than enough free to spend finding food and wandering around the village and the stones at your leisure. Lacock was my favorite part of the day - it was like stepping back in time walking through the village, plus I loved seeing all the sights where Harry Potter had filmed! Again a nice walking tour through the village and the abbey and then free time to explore on your own. I do highly recommend it along with the day trip they do to the Cotswolds! I can't really help much with the Travelcard, because I was travelling solo and felt it was a great value for the money with all the sightseeing I did using the Tube and the buses.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5848 posts
Most of the time I just prefer to take the tube or bus over a taxi. The price might end up being comparable for 4, but you have to find the taxi and sometimes sit in traffic. Also, if you get the travelcard from the national rail station, you will be able to take advantage of the 2 for 1 offers which will save you some money and definitely make the travelcard cheaper than the taxi.
www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1london
Posted by
Land of La
9221 posts
I'm in London often. Here's my take on this great city. Very walkable. You'll be surprised and pleased to see how close many of the "must see" sites are to one another. Secondly, traffic in London is horrific. As great as Black cabs and their knowledgable cabbies are it makes so much more sense to use the tube to augment your foot travel. Look at London via Google maps. Type in Parliament Square, London, United Kingdom. When the map appears click on satellite view. You'll note that Big Ben, Parliament, (Palace of Westminster) The Eye, Horse Guards and Westminster Abbey are within blocks of one another. Zoom out a little and follow Birdcage Walk, past St. James Park on up to Buckingham Palace. You said your staying next to Victoria Station. The Palace is a simple stroll from your accommodations. When not exploring the city on foot use pubic transportation. Just remember like here in the states 7am-9am and 5pm to 7pm are peak commuter times. The tube and the buses will be crowded. I always use an Oyster card but you'll need to weigh the pros, cons, and costs for a family of 4. I believe the 15 year old gets a discount but double check. The 2 for 1 deals are NOT tied into the Oyster Cards. The 2 for 1 deals are available only with Travel Cards with National Rail logo on them. Sold at either St. Pancras and Kings Cross RAIL stations. Remember, cross streets only with the lights (DON'T jaywalk), Mind The Gap, and have a wonderful visit!!!
Posted by
Southern California
443 posts
I think you'd probably be better off with the Travelcards, unless you only have a few short trips. I injured my hip at the end of our trip this past fall and we ended up taking a cab from Victoria to our hotel in Kensington one evening and then from the hotel to Paddington the next day. Not very long trips and they were each about 10 pounds plus tip. And there are those 2 for 1 deals with the Travelcards. We used only two, but saved enough money to cover those cab rides. :-)
Posted by
OP
Austin, TX, USA
60 posts
Thanks very much, everyonegoing to definitely plan on using public transportation. I've been looking into the TravelCard as that seems to be the best way for us to go since we'd like to use the 2 for 1 vouchers. I understand I need to buy the TravelCard at a rail station (Victoria will be close to where we are staying). What I can't figure out is when/where to print the 2 for 1 vouchers. I tried from the website, but get an error message. Do you have to buy the TravelCard first? Or maybe the website is just cranky today. Thanks!
Posted by
Southern California
443 posts
Dawn,
The site may just be cranky. I think I had to try at least twice to get my offers printed, but I did it before we left the US--you don't have to buy the cards first. When we purchased our cards at Victoria, we were given a booklet with all the offers in it, but we were there in mid-September. I know people traveling last summer recommended printing the offers out ahead of time because sometimes the rail stations ran out of booklets during busier times.
Posted by
OP
Austin, TX, USA
60 posts
Thanks Leslie! I'll plan to print them before we go.