Travel Around Central London Oyster or travel card - Help??

pKaTz

Hi
Im going to London next week for my Wedding anniversary.
Im going to be there for 3 days and we are going sight seeing. Its the first time I've been and need advice on the best and most economical [read that as cheapest!] way to get around. using the bus, tram, tube or train.
I'm getting there from Birmingham by National Express. And need to get from Victoria Coach station to the Hoxton area. EC2A.
I also want to see the sights like the london eye and tussards etc.
Theres Me my wife and our 2 year old.

Thanks.
Help appreciated soon as we are going this sunday till tuesday.

dzug1

Travelcard and Oyster PAYG will work out exactly the same price. You'll need 3 one day travelcards. £5.60 a day each off peak

The travelcard will (if you buy it at Victoria TRAIN station* (not the underground or a ticket agent) give you 2 for 1 entry to some attractions (you need a form for each one which you should be able to get at Victoria). *For Hoxton Liverpool Street train station would do

The Oyster will attract a £3 deposit - refundable when you hand it back in

So - Oyster - only need to buy one ticket (each) for the 3 days, but fiddly

Travelcard - separate ticket for each day, but 2 for 1 entry offer

Your daughter is free regardless

If you can manage buses only that (with Oyster PAYG) is cheapest as there's a special cap for buses only of £3.90. But no 2 for 1 and for a stranger to London more difficult to navigate..

Quentin

Oyster cards are cheapest. Use them on bus/tube. (The daily cap on an oyster card is less than the cost of an off peak travel card)

Hit the reader once only on buses, and on the way in and out of the tube station.

You can keep the card till next time if you want (instead of reclaiming the deposit)

dzug1

Quentin wrote: »

Oyster cards are cheapest. Use them on bus/tube. (The daily cap on an oyster card is less than the cost of an off peak travel card)

Hit the reader once only on buses, and on the way in and out of the tube station.

You can keep the card till next time if you want (instead of reclaiming the deposit)

The cap on an Oyster card is now exactly the same as on a one day travelcard - it changed in January. So no difference in cost

Quentin

Didn't know they had done that!

But it's still cheaper to use an oyster card - as you only pay for journeys up to the cap limit (so if you only made eg. 2 journeys you would be better off).

pKaTz

is it better to buy online for the oyster or buy at the station when I get to london. Bear in mind i will be there this sunday.

Quentin

It's better to buy when you get there. (Saves worrying the post lets you down, and they do make you take a tube journey from your specified station first (as a security measure) when you buy online. Annoying if you really want a bus journey first!)

alanrowell

Quentin wrote: »

But it's still cheaper to use an oyster card - as you only pay for journeys up to the cap limit (so if you only made eg. 2 journeys you would be better off).

True enough - BUT and it's a big BUT - you can't use Oystercards for the 2-4-1 offers and the savings on them can easily cover the complete cost of your travel in a couple of visits. So Travelcards bought at a train station booking office will be the far superior option

pKaTz

i appreciate that I can get the 2 4 1 offers, but I have some of those with National Express.
Is there anywhere else that has london eye 2 4 1?
Am I right in thinking that the off peak times are different for the travel card and the oyster.
The oyster is peak before 9:30am and between 4 and 7pm
the travel card is peak only before 9:30.
is that right?
thanks for the advice guys

dzug1

Quentin wrote: »

Didn't know they had done that!

But it's still cheaper to use an oyster card - as you only pay for journeys up to the cap limit (so if you only made eg. 2 journeys you would be better off).

Well true - but 3 journeys you are almost at the cap and 4 you've passed it. I would guess most tourists make more trips than that, particularly if they know that they are free once the cap is reached.

hethmar

Ive just come back from a weekend in London and at the information office at the Station I was advised to buy the day travel tickets as opposed to the Oyster card - assured it would be cheaper/better for me

You may be in luck with the London Eye actually!

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/london-eye

We got fast track tickets (as a pressie from one of our kids) and even then we stood in the freezing cold for about 20 minutes waiting to get on. The poor devils herded like cattle on the normal price tickets must have been waiting nearly twice as long as that.