London travel and attractions hints and tips pls

daveyjp

For short stays just buy a Travelcard, far easier and you can use them on the bus so no need for an expensive tour bus. Last October The Eye was about £50 for a family ticket. There were some small discounts if you bought tickets for two attractions such as Eye and Sealife or Eye and Mdm Tussauds.

mutley74

Thanks for the tips.
Will most likely use the bus to the nearest tube station compared to the train. Like the idea of using the buses rather than buying a specific tourist bus ticket!
Is this travelodge actually the old bingo hall?

Do apps like voucher cloud have many offers for the main attractions in london? As this would save printing out lots of vouchers in case we change plans or visit different attractions.

susancs

The information does not state that the hotel is the Bingo place converted, but the postcode in google brings up the Bingo place. It also seems there is a Tesco Express underneath the hotel according to TripAadvisor. Apparently Willesden Green Jubilee tube Station which is the stop before Kilburn is only 10 minutes walk away so if you want to walk, rather than getting the bus you might be better using this station instead (use googlemaps for the route from your hotel postcode to the tube station). Personally I still think that when not familar with the area the bus may be a better option.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186338-d2394659-r124960065-Travelodge_London_Cricklewood-London_England.html#REVIEWS

Edit
If you zoom in on the map on the TL Cricklewood site it looks as if the Beacon Bingo is still there and the TL is in what looks to be a Trading Estate that is near it which has Poundstretcher and B&Q stores in it (plus I expect the Tesco Express which is below the TL according to TripAdvisor reviews).

ellay864

Travelcard is definitely easy to use for the odd trip to London. And it lets you go on buses too. If you're in London over a weekend there's going to be some tube lines that aren't running and often it's quicker to get bus or even walk between tube stations.
Once you're in London there's lots of signs that show where you are, and tell you what's within 5/10/15 min walk away so it helps you get from one place to another. If you're in Regent Street area take your kids to Hamleys - you might need to have some willpower or tell them upfront you won't be buying loads, but my kids always just loved going in there.
Museums are great and free (though sometimes there's charges for exhibitions).
Covent Garden is a brilliant atmosphere and there's often great street entertainment
My kids also liked just seeing Buckingham Palace - they didn't relate it to royalty but were excited at seeing the place where the BFG had been!!

mutley74

susancs wrote: »

The information does not state that the hotel is the Bingo place converted, but the postcode in google brings up the Bingo place. It also seems there is a Tesco Express underneath the hotel according to TripAadvisor. Apparently Willesden Green Jubilee tube Station which is the stop before Kilburn is only 10 minutes walk away so if you want to walk, rather than getting the bus you might be better using this station instead (use googlemaps for the route from your hotel postcode to the tube station). Personally I still think that when not familar with the area the bus may be a better option.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186338-d2394659-r124960065-Travelodge_London_Cricklewood-London_England.html#REVIEWS

Edit
If you zoom in on the map on the TL Cricklewood site it looks as if the Beacon Bingo is still there and the TL is in what looks to be a Trading Estate that is near it which has Poundstretcher and B&Q stores in it (plus I expect the Tesco Express which is below the TL according to TripAdvisor reviews).

totally forgot about trip adviser! I thought from one of the photos it was a prison! bute guess only need a place for the night. Shame i have already prebooked breakfasts.

Thanks for all the tipshav a tesco express below certainly is a massive plus in allowing prebuying drinks/snacks before going into the city.

is the travelcard the same as the oyster card?

ellay864

No Oyster and Travelcard are different. I've never used Oyster myself but when I've done day/weekend trips to London I get the travelcard. It's something you can just buy when you get there and looks like a regular train ticket. You can buy them to cover different zones, depending on how far out you want to be travelling, and they cover the tube, bus, docklands railway. I don't know if you can still get travelcards that cover more than one day but you can buy a couple of days worth in advance anyway. That post from susancs earlier has more detail in it to help

s_b

ellay864 wrote: »

No Oyster and Travelcard are different. I've never used Oyster myself but when I've done day/weekend trips to London I get the travelcard. It's something you can just buy when you get there and looks like a regular train ticket. You can buy them to cover different zones, depending on how far out you want to be travelling, and they cover the tube, bus, docklands railway. I don't know if you can still get travelcards that cover more than one day but you can buy a couple of days worth in advance anyway. That post from susancs earlier has more detail in it to help

i concur
went up the smoke twice last year
once on the train
once on megabus
found the travelcard much better
(i am from the north)
this way you only buy what you need
we also did a lot of walking because its better than looking in

Stompa

Bear in mind that if you have a railcard you can get a discount on Oyster/Travelcard. Click on the 'Railcard' tab here:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14414.aspx

susancs

An Oyster card is a plastic card (store card, credit card size) that you pay £5 deposit for and top up as required. It is cheaper than cash fares and caps at the daily Travelcard rate. A Travelcard is a daily paper ticket that allows you unlimited travel during that day in certain London transport zones on buses, tubes, trains and the Dockland Light Railway. The advantage of Oyster is that often if you are just doing a return journey it is cheaper and as it caps at TC rate for the day you will pay the same amount as a TC for unlimited travel, so it gives you flexibility. The disadvantage of Oyster is that you have to queue up at the ticket office or sent off to get a refund of the deposit and credit if you are a London visitor. You also cannot use it for the 2for1 rail vouchers as you need a paper ticket with the British Rail Crows foot logo on it. A London Travel card bought from a train station like Cricklewood or St Pancras will have the logo on it ( TCs bought from underground tube stations will not have the BR logo on it and will not be eligible). However if you have return train tickets in and out of London you can use these to get these offers, so may not be necessary to purchase a TC for this reason. If doing a lot of journeys and only staying London for a couple of days, Travelcard is usually the easier option as no checking what your credit you have left and queueing at either the ticket office or machines to buy credit. A daily off peak TC for zones 1-3 £7.70 and that is also the oyster cap. A single off peak journey on the tube with Oyster is £2.60, single bus fare in all zones is £1.35 both peak and off peak. Adult through fare from St Pancras to Cricklewood with Oyster is £3.40.

mutley74

Thanks for your replies.

Been discussing the advice from here with the rest of my group.
Can you only buy the oyester card at Kings cross from a ticket office or are they available from machines? (just wondering how bad the queues could be) (as pre-ordering a Oyster has a £3 admin fee but no mention of £5 deposit).

On our return journey we are catching a late evening train out from Kings cross. Where is the best place to leave baggage for a few hours? (or is there any family museum nearby which we could visit with luggage storage facility).

Is there any MSE way to see a family theatre show? We have been looking at some show prices and put off paying anything more than £20pp.