Using 7 days travelcards in a family of 2 adults, 4 kids 11-15 and 1 kid <11

rrodrigues · 15 May 2017 at 8:33PM

Hi!
I intend to go with my family to London this summer for 14 days. We are 2 adults, 4 kids 11-15 and 1 kid with 10.
We will be staying in East Ham and my first thought was to buy 7 days travelcards (twice) for all, except my yongest (who is 10 and I think he can ride almost everything - except trains- freely, right?).
That still means that I will have to pay 310 pounds.
Is there a better solution or a way to buy the travelcards with any discount?
Thanks

flea72 · 15 May 2017 at 8:56PM

A friends and family railcard gives you 1/3 off a travelcard

rrodrigues · 16 May 2017 at 8:51AM

Thanks. :-)
I read that it would be only for travelcards of zones 1-6 not zones 1-3...
Is this information correct?

peachyprice · 16 May 2017 at 9:23AM

You can apply for a Zip oyster card for the 11-15 yo's, this will entitle them to free bus and tram travel and child rate tube, but you have to apply online before your trip

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/travel-for-under-18s/zip-oyster-photocards?intcmp=25258

Oyster or contactless for the adults will probably work out cheaper than paper travel cards.

As long as your 10 year old looks his/her age they can just hop on and off with you, if you feel they might be challenged about their age you can get them a zip too

rrodrigues · 16 May 2017 at 3:07PM

Thanks. ;-)

If I apply for the zip oyster card for the 11-15 yo's I would have to pay 15£ each.
The 7 days travelcard will cost 19,40£x2= 38,80£ (for the 14 days).
If I take the 15£ from the 38,80£ I'll have left 23,80£... that is only equivalent to 2 trips each day...
I guess it's a bit risky.

About the 10 years old (I don't know if others will give him his age or not...lol)... there's no problem because I'll be always with him.

p00hsticks · 16 May 2017 at 6:20PM

rrodrigues wrote: »

If I take the 15£ from the 38,80£ I'll have left 23,80£... that is only equivalent to 2 trips each day...
I guess it's a bit risky.

Assuming that you're going to be doing all the usual touristy things, then in my experience, if you plan your time, once you are in central London you don't usually need to use public transport, as many of the attractions are within walking distance of each other.

Bexidecimal · 16 May 2017 at 7:16PM

The 10 year old will travel free on buses and underground the others will pay a half fair, all of your children will pay half fair on national rail.

I will say that there is a benefit to paper tickets over oyster cards/contactless. A lot of attractions offer "2 for 1" if you can show a valid national rail ticket (the orange kind bought at a train station not underground. The ticket can be a travelcard) and a voucher. You can pick up leaflets with vouchers and lists of attractions that offer this at most train stations. Most of the major attractions offer these discounts and even a lot of restaurants and theatres offer some sort of deal in there. If you are planning on doing anything touristy then this is a massive advantage.

The 2 for 1 usually only applies to adult ticket prices however it should still work out cheaper to buy 3 adult tickets and a child ticket with the offer rather than 2 adults and 4 children.

Other than that I can't really think of any other ways to save. Zip cards and railcards all cost money to buy and may not actually save you any money in the long run. Though if you travel as a family regularly then a family and friends railcard is a good investment.

I'll have a think though... I work for the railway in London

rrodrigues · 16 May 2017 at 8:43PM

Thanks.
I believe I won't need to use often public transport in central London but is kind of risky, right?
If I only travel with my family to one place I'll need to use one trip and after to return home I'll use another... with this I'll pay the same as the travelcard... If I need another trip while in central London I'll be paying more with the oyster card :-(

rrodrigues · 16 May 2017 at 8:51PM

Bexidecimal wrote: »

The 10 year old will travel free on buses and underground the others will pay a half fair, all of your children will pay half fair on national rail.

I will say that there is a benefit to paper tickets over oyster cards/contactless. A lot of attractions offer "2 for 1" if you can show a valid national rail ticket (the orange kind bought at a train station not underground. The ticket can be a travelcard) and a voucher. You can pick up leaflets with vouchers and lists of attractions that offer this at most train stations. Most of the major attractions offer these discounts and even a lot of restaurants and theatres offer some sort of deal in there. If you are planning on doing anything touristy then this is a massive advantage.

The 2 for 1 usually only applies to adult ticket prices however it should still work out cheaper to buy 3 adult tickets and a child ticket with the offer rather than 2 adults and 4 children.

Other than that I can't really think of any other ways to save. Zip cards and railcards all cost money to buy and may not actually save you any money in the long run. Though if you travel as a family regularly then a family and friends railcard is a good investment.

I'll have a think though... I work for the railway in London

Thanks.
I already have a family and friends railcard but I can't use it to buy 7 days travelcard for zones 1-3 :-(

I tried to see if I could save some money with vouchers or something while buying the travelcards (I would have to buy twice, 7 days travelcards for 2 adults and 4 kids 11-15) but I had no lucky yet...

All ideas are welcome! :-)

Bexidecimal · 16 May 2017 at 9:08PM

There isn't really a cheaper way to buy tickets. Unless you buy zip oyster cards for the children 11 and over.

If you do more than 2 journeys a day then the travel card is the best option. An oyster card has a capping system in place so you won't be charged any more than a paper ticket. The oyster would cap after 7 days at the same price as a weekly paper ticket. You will need the underground to travel to and from east ham in to central London at least even if you don't use it the rest of the day. That alone makes a travelcard worth it.

The only benefit to having a paper ticket is the 2 tickets for the price of 1 offer at most London attractions. The offer doesn't work with an oyster card.

It won't save you money on a ticket but it would save you money if you plan to visit any London attractions (which are insanely priced).

I can't post a link but search 2for1 London and it should show you the offers available.

Have you checked the price of a 7 day 1-6 travel card with the family and friends discount?

rrodrigues · 16 May 2017 at 9:46PM

Bexidecimal wrote: »

There isn't really a cheaper way to buy tickets. Unless you buy zip oyster cards for the children 11 and over.

If you do more than 2 journeys a day then the travel card is the best option. An oyster card has a capping system in place so you won't be charged any more than a paper ticket. The oyster would cap after 7 days at the same price as a weekly paper ticket. You will need the underground to travel to and from east ham in to central London at least even if you don't use it the rest of the day. That alone makes a travelcard worth it.

The only benefit to having a paper ticket is the 2 tickets for the price of 1 offer at most London attractions. The offer doesn't work with an oyster card.

It won't save you money on a ticket but it would save you money if you plan to visit any London attractions (which are insanely priced).

I can't post a link but search 2for1 London and it should show you the offers available.

Have you checked the price of a 7 day 1-6 travel card with the family and friends discount?

Thanks.

I've already seen the 2 for 1 London :-)

I can't quite understand the price using the F&F discount...
it says: "Anytime Day Travelcard Zones 1-6 when bought as part of ticket to London from outside the London Zones area (Subject to minimum fare of £17.50)"... it seams price per day and forces me to get a ticket from outside London...

Using 7 days travelcards in a family of 2 adults, 4 kids 11-15 and 1 kid <11

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