Oyster Card VS London Travel Card

[artnbarb]

It looks like it'll be hard to know which card will be better for our 5 full days in London this summer. We're arriving at Gatwick, so no benefit with either card. Here are the benefits and differences as I see them:

OYSTER CARD -

• a pre-loaded debit card, able to add additional money as needed - but how do you know how much to add???
• Good in all zones, all the time. Peak fares are higher, but.....
• gives a 50% discount on Tube fares
• caps your daily fare total at £6.40 - for our 5 days in London we would need £44.80

LONDON TRAVEL CARD -

• 7 days, zones 1 & 2 only costs £32.10 - unlimited transport
• except no travel before 9:30 a.m. - and I'm not sure how important that is.
• We'd need to pay extra to go to Kew Gardens and to Hampton Court Palace with the Travel Card

Is it just too close too call? And does the disadvantage of having to refill the Oyster Card make the Travel Card more attractive? I think trying to do Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace in one day is too much, but welcome your thoughts.

Here is the comparison chart listed online.

Yes, I know, I'm over-thinking this, as usual, but thanks for listening anyway!

 

[JustTravel]

I have looked into this as well since we will be in London for fifteen days in July. I still do not know which option will be cheaper but decided to go for an Oyster card and load it with the seven-day travel card for each of the week plus a bit extra to cover supplemental fare to places like Kew Gardens. We are staying close to the Borough tube station.

Also thinking of taking the boat to Kew gardens and the tube back.

 

[artnbarb]

I think for us the main question is whether seeing Kew Gardens and Hampstead court Palace is realistic. If not, we'd have to make 2 separate trips outside zones 1-2 covered by the Travel Card, which would make the Oyster Card a better deal, unless I miscalculate and need to add money! I think if I calculate the daily maximum of £6.40 for 5 days (£44.80) we should be safe!

 

[JustTravel]

We went to Kew Gardens ten or so years ago. It's a big place, so we will make a day of it. But then, I love gardens. We are also thinking of going to Hampton Court but on a different day.

Are our dates overlapping in London? We will be there the middle two weeks of July.

 

[artnbarb]

I agree - we only have 5 days there, but either location could take up the entire day, at least for me - Kew Gardens probably multiple days! We'll be in London beginning July 11, leaving for Bath on July 16, so a slight overlap!

 

[JustTravel]

We will be in London at the same time. We arrive on the eighth.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

We have always used Oyster cards and find them very convenient for public transport. All the Londoners have an Oyster card. We keep them and still good years later. All you need to do is load them up at any tube station.

I don't remember a charge for KEW gardens. Don't you just wander around? There are so many gardens and parks in London that are free.

 

[artnbarb]

Great! What are your plans for London? I know we want to see Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, the V&A, go up in the Shard (we've been on the Eye), maybe see the Wallace Collection - any feedback on that? We'd also like to do a walking tour or two - I've downloaded some Rick Steves guides to my phone. I think for 5 full days that's more than enough!

Any thoughts about when/where we could gtg? We could meet at a site we both want to see, or we could meet for a meal. The trouble with meeting for a meal is that you have to be at a specific place at a specific time, so I'd like to meet at a site...and I forgot to mention that a visit to the Tower just goes without saying.....

 

[jonathan]

There's always been an entrance charge for Kew Gardens - they're botanical gardens, rather than a public park. More info at the Kew site. The Royal Parks in London (Hyde, Regent's, St James's, etc etc) have been public parks since 1851: see here.

 

[JustTravel]

Lisa, we love parks and gardens. And London is great for that. We have been to many of them, several times for most of them but only once to Kew. Kew charges entrance - 15 pounds (14 for over 60). But I want to see it again especially the water lilies.

Barb, I haven't thought about when/where we could gtg. I have some ideas of what we want to see but no concrete plans. I am still focusing on Paris, then Sevilla (completely new for us), and Bruges. At least we are staying on the same side of the Thames altho I an not as familiar with the area.

I am somewhat familiar with London as we have been there several times altho it's been awhile since our last visit. We are basically thinking of visiting the same sights. Wallace is one of our favorites as it is small and not too overwhelming. We usually have tea there after our visit. Also thinking of the Shard as we are supposed to see it from our apartment windows.

Let me know if you have a preference as your time there is much shorter than ours.

 

[artnbarb]

I'm trying to stay flexible with our plans, hoping for perfect weather every day, but leaving my options open. Thanks for your input on the Wallace collection - somehow we've never visited. Will you have a cell phone? We'll have two - but I'm not sure about our Italian cell - we may need to buy SIM card once we arrive in London. We do have free texts and data for our T-Mobile cell, so hopefully we can get in touch once we're there. Send me a PM and we can exchange details!

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

There's always been an entrance charge for Kew Gardens - they're botanical gardens, rather than a public park. More info at the Kew site. The Royal Parks in London (Hyde, Regent's, St James's, etc etc) have been public parks since 1851: see here.

I stand corrected

 

[jonathan]

Ah well, I had the advantage of local knowledge . We used to live pretty close by - and paid for annual membership, which meant that we could wander in any time we were passing. There are lots of pluses about living here in the Cotswolds, but I do miss places like Kew.

 

[nola44]

artnbarb, do you know about the 2 4 1 offers with a paper Travel Card obtained from railway station? I know that Hampton Court, Kew Gardens and the Tower of London are on offer. It's through http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london This can help save lots of GBP's! We used it in 2011 and it saved us enough to pay for one travel card. We'll be using it again later this year.

BTW, we booked at Cornerways B&B based on your and Pauline's posts. So, thanks!

 

[artnbarb]

artnbarb, do you know about the 2 4 1 offers with a paper Travel Card obtained from railway station? I know that Hampton Court, Kew Gardens and the Tower of London are on offer. It's through http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london This can help save lots of GBP's! We used it in 2011 and it saved us enough to pay for one travel card. We'll be using it again later this year.

BTW, we booked at Cornerways B&B based on your and Pauline's posts. So, thanks!

thanks for the tips! I've looked at the 2 for 1 site but don't think we can use it - we'll arrive in London from Gatwick via the EasyBus, and the only train we'll take will be when we go to Bath.

When are you staying at Cornersway? We'll be there in mid July.

 

[nola44]

artnbarb, we will be at Cornerways at the end of June and just for a couple of nights. It's definitely not enough time in Bath but I'm dragging a reluctant husband and nephew so it'll have to do... They're already moaning about going to the Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton but I don't care! This part of the trip is "just for me."

For the 2-4-1's, you buy the 7 day paper Travel Card at one of the London railway stations. We will buy it at the window at Victoria Rail Station which is close to our apartment. You'll each need a passport sized picture which we print at home (in color on regular printer paper). The attendant affixes the photo to the Travel Card and you're good to go on any tube, bus, DLR in the zones you paid for. This year we're getting Zones 1-3 since we'll be traipsing out to Wimbledon and Greenwich. I don't think it's a peak/off peak kind of thing but I'm going to confirm that with the attendant when we're buying the cards. We don't use the Oyster because that's not eligible for the 2-4-1's, even if it's loaded with the 7 day travel card. It is a small hassle to get it but really does save a lot of money. (tripadvisor has lots of info on this)

We only have 43 days 'til we leave!

 

[artnbarb]

Oh darn - I've already ordered the Oyster Card! thanks for educating me for the next time!
We too are only in Bath for a few nights - I decided I wanted more time in London and the Cotswolds, and unfortunately we just can't have it all!

 

[nola44]

That's too bad. But definitely something to keep in mind for "next time" and maybe it will help other folks who visit the forum.

 

[Debra]

As I understand from Art and Barb's original post here I can get my oyster card topped up when I arrive in London and it's good for all zones not just 1 & 2?
So this would allow me to go to Kew Gardens and Hampstead with just a slightly higher cost deducted from my card?

 

[jonathan]

Yes, the Oyster will cover you for all London travel zones, including travel on buses, tubes, London Overground trains, the DLR, and more. Google 'tfl oyster' for more info (tfl = Transport for London, the body that administers all aspects of travel within London).

The Oyster is being used rather less these days, because you can use your contactless debit or credit card on the readers which were first installed for Oyster cards - so you don't need to bother about pre-loading. Apparently this works for most non-UK contactless cards: more info at https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/what-are-contactless-payment-cards?intcmp=8610