Although my husband and I mostly walk, we are thinking of purchasing either the Travel card or Oyster card. We need transportation from Heathrow Airport to Paddington Station. We plan to go to some of the museums when they are open late and would probably like to take the tube or bus back to our hotel near Hyde Park. What do you think is the best value? A 3 day Travel card would be around $41.00 (from their site). I think you load up an Oyster card with 10 or 20 GPB. I can't remember if it is good on the buses and the tube. The Travelcard is good for the tube from the airport to Paddington Station. What are your thoughts? Thanks.
Posted by
johnson city
100 posts
Hello Miss B. I would suggest the Oyster Card. My husband and I purchased one on our recent trip to London. We were staying at a friends house in Richmond and our trip into London only cost about 1 GPB, which was a great deal. I think you can also use it for the bus, but I'm not exactly for sure, once we were in the center of London, we walked. I hope that helped. Have a great trip!
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
They actually have at Travel card, which they load on an Oyster Card. The Travel card is a flat per day fee, and there's also no deposit on the card when they load it. The card itself is reusuable for your next visit.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The only travelcard that can be loaded on an Oyster card is the one for seven days. If you only want a three-day travelcard, you have two choices, both paper cards: (1) Buy one at any Tube station. (2) Buy one at any National Rail station.
One benefit of buying a travelcard at a National Rail station is that it qualifies you for 2for1 offers in London. See here.
If you're not interested in any of those offers, then simply buy an Oyster card and load it with £20. The Oyster computer will calculate the best fare for all your rides and each day it will top off at 50 pence less than the cost of a one-day travelcard.
Both travelcards and Oyster cards are good on the Tube and Docklands Light Railway in the zones covered and on the entire London bus system (all zones). An Oyster card is good on some National Rail trains within the zones covered. A paper travelcard is good on all National Rail trains within the zones covered.