traveling in london

Deborah: The tube is only a subway or metro that runs underneath London. To get to Paris, you will need to take a mainline train (the Eurostar) running from St Pancras station in London to the Gare du Nord in paris. You can and should buy Eurostar tickets in advance from their website. Getting to London from the airport there are 3 possibilities...an express train, the fastest and most expensive; a slower but cheaper train; and the tube, slowest but cheapest of the three. Get Rick Steves book on London, which has full details on all these or just google Heathrow Airport to London. Search on this site for full details about the Oyster card, which you can use on the tube and on buses. If by daytrips you mean more distant places such as Bath or Cambridge, you will need to buy mainline train tickets.

The London Pass is definitely not a good deal. Most major museums are free. Buy regular admission tickets to places that charge (like the Tower of London). An Oyster card or a travelcard will serve you better than the London Pass tranportation package. If you tell us how many days you'll be in London (including days you'll be taking day trips), we can better advise you about whether an Oyster card or a travelcard will be cheaper for your rides within London.

I'm looking at spending 8 nights/9 days in London. Out of town trips will be to: Windsor Palace, Hampton Palace , Greenwich , Kew Gardens, Stonehenge/Bath/Lacock tour. The days on which I do these trips are flexible. Another thing to consider is that I don't want to waist a lot of time waiting in lines to get tickets.

It sounds like you will be traveling solo. If so, buy an Oyster card when you arrive at Heathrow. Load a seven day, zone 1-2 travelcard on it and also load about 20 GBP on it in pay-as-you-go funds to cover your Tube ride into London and any other rides you take beyond zone 2 during the seven days the travelcard is active (like taking South West trains to Hampton Court Palace which is in zone 6 and to return to London) and for all your rides on the two days after the travelcard expires. The Oyster computer will automatically give you the best fare. Add more PAYG pounds as needed. When you return to Heathrow you can get a refund on any unspent PAYG pounds that remain on the card. Windsor is beyond zone 6 so you'll need to buy a regular train ticket to get there.

Actually there will be 3 of us, if it makes any difference.

Yes, 3 adult. Mom and 2 daughters

3 adults?

On those days that you travel out of London by train, if you travel far enough, you may find that your best train fare is based on "Groupsave". Three adults travel for the price of 2. The same price is also available to groups of 4, so in that case 2 travel "for free". The fundamental premise is that the group must travel together on the train; if one wanders off the ticket becomes invalid for all. Also, special deals or advance tickets may save more money. Groupsave 3s or 4s are available on the day - no reservations.

Because there are three of you traveling together, you can benefit from some great 2for1 deals offered by National Rail. Two places on your list are included: Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace. The Tower of London is also included. To see all the offers and to print vouchers for the ones that interest you, go to www.daysoutguide.co.uk. To qualify for these deals you must either buy a train ticket for each day you use a voucher or have a travelcard issued by National Rail that is valid on the day you use a voucher. Those travelcards have the National Rail logo on them and are only sold at National Rail stations (not Tube stations). They cost the same as Tube travelcards and cover the same rides: Tube, bus, Docklands Light Railway, trams, and National Rail trains within the zones covered. I suggest that you buy Oyster cards when you arrive at Heathrow, load pay-as-you-go pounds on them, and use them to get into London and for any other rides you take that first day. Visit free museums that day. Buy seven day, zone 1-2 National Rail travelcards and start using them on day two. Buy regular tickets for Tube or train rides you take beyond zone 2 during the seven days your travelcards are valid. For your last two days buy one day, zone 1-2 National Rail travelcards for each day you will want to use 2for1 vouchers. If you won't use any, just use your Oyster cards. And use them to return to Heathrow.

Wow, thanks for all the info. I'll definitely be looking into all that you stated.

BTW, there is a spot elsewhere for all things Brit.