Transport for weekend in London

bap98189

Myself and OH are going for a weekend in London in the middle of March. We are staying in the Travelodge at London City Airport (3 nights@£10 each not bad I thought).

I need some advice about how to get around. I've been looking on the TFL website for some time now and am becoming very confused by the myriad of ticket options.

So far we are planning to go to Kew Gardens, some of the more traditional sights such as Parliament, and probably take in a show one night. As the underground seems to cost £4 per journey this could get a little expensive. What we really want is a ticket for 2 or 3 days for the tube to get us around central London to see the sights.

However, I notice that City Airport is not on the underground, but is served by the Docklands Light Railway. Is there any kind of ticket that will allow us to use both?

Any advice most welcome.
Thanks.

richardw

Have a browse http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/one-day/travelcard-day.asp

Day or 3 day travelcards could be the answer.

saintstreaky

Best bet, I think, is to get day travelcards (a three day travelcard probably isn't the best deal, if you're there over the weekend).

Whichever one you get will have to include up to Zone 3, as that's where City Airport is (and Kew Gardens). The travelcard includes unlimited use of Tube, buses, and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) within the Zones you by it for.

At the weekend, then, you'll need a 1 Day Travelcard for Zones 1-4 at £5.70. On a weekday you can get the same if you're not travelling before 9:30, or else a Peak Travelcard for Zones 1-3 for £7.80.

All these cards can be bought from automated machines at any station.

This assumes you're arriving by car, or by bus/train in central London. If you're coming in from an airport that might mean a different arrangement.

Hope this helps a bit - it is confusing!

black-saturn

London is expensive though I'm afraid. Be prepared to shell out more than you originally planned for.

jfdi

The DLR closest to London City Airport has a very infrequent service. Unless you coincidentally want to go in/out at the same time you'll need to walk across the dock to Prince Regent - which looks miles on the DLR map, but is probably about third mile from the Travelodge - takes about 10 minutes.Wouldn't advise it after dark, though!
Enjoy your stay - it's a nice hotel.

A

bap98189

Thanks saintstreaky. It's all starting to make sense now. Looks like a day pass is going to be the answer, and they're not too expensive either.

Jfdi thanks for the information - looking forward to the trip. According to the timetable there are 9 trains an hour in each direction ( 6 later in the evening) passing through the DLR station, so that should be OK.

richardw

jfdi wrote:

The DLR closest to London City Airport has a very infrequent service.

BTW There is a DLR station at the airport, it is called London City Airport DLR

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/dlr/pdf/network/zones.pdf

No need to go to Prince Regent.