Author: Bob Handford
Child fares on London’s Underground and Buses are very complicated and fragmented. Every year on January 2nd ticket regulations and prices are reviewed and normally the authorities tinker around to a lesser or greater degree with the child travel concessions.
For 2013 the authorities have been unusually inactive, the only real changes have been fare rises averaging around 4%.
This piece tries to explain as simply as possible the situation for your child, some workarounds to get around some of the restrictions and if you still don’t understand an opportunity to discuss and perhaps add to this piece.
At one extreme your child may travel free everywhere, at the other end of the spectrum if unprepared you may end up paying adult fare – so its worthwhile making sure you understand the following:
Under-5s
Children under five can travel free at any time on the Tube (underground), DLR, buses and trams in London as long as they are accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. Simple
Children 5-10
Under-11s can travel free at any time on buses and trams. Simple
They can also travel free at any time on the Tube and DLR (Docklands Light railway) when they are traveling with an adult who has a valid ticket. Up to 4 children under 11 years old accompanied by a paying adult travel free on the London Underground. Simple
Unaccompanied children between 5 and 10 must have a valid Oyster Photocard for free travel. (Ah yes, the Photocard we’ll come back to these)
Children 11-15
Children aged 11 to 15 years must get an 11-15 Oyster photocard to travel free on buses and trams and at child-rate on Tube, DLR and London Overground services.
(Simple? – its the two words Oyster Photocard that creates the problems for visitors – see below.)
Children 16-17
In the UK you become an adult when you are 16. However in London it is possible to get child fares by getting an Oyster 16+ Oyster ID Card.
It is very similar to 11-15 Oyster Photocards, but you cannot use it to buy 1 Day Travelcards.
Simple? – again, its the two words Oyster Photocard that creates the problems for visitors – see below.
Student 18+
If you are studying at a recognised educational establishment in London that is registered for the scheme and you are residing in London you can apply for a Student card
This enables you to get 30% discount off bus and Travelcards of 7 days or longer
Only for students studying and residing in London, first step is to check with your educational place to see if they are registered.
Oyster Photocards
In Bob’s day you became an adult when you were 16. If you were 18 but looked 14, many asked for a child fare got a knowing look but got a child ticket. If you were 14 and looked 18 you made sure you had some documentation on you that proved you were entitled to child fares.
Today with Oyster Cards, age bands, automated ticket barriers and such like much stricter controls are needed to avoid fraud.
The system is no real problem if you are a London resident with a young child. Take a little time for the initial registration process to get your Oyster Photocard and thats your passport to free and half price public transport until you are an adult. When you want a child travel product, just produce your Oyster Photoard. If a ticket inspector see’s you are using a child Oyster and you look a little old for it, the Oyster Photocard is demanded as proof.
For visitors its a hassle you can do without and often its too late when you do find out the hoops you have to jump through to get child fares via the Oyster Photocard.
First of all, the recurrent question from visitors – my child has got a passport with his/her age on it, isn’t that good enough as ID?.
I’m afraid the answer is no, you need London’s unique Oyster Photocard, nothing else.
How Do I Get An Oyster Photocard
If you are a resident of London, its quite straight forward. Get a form from your local Post Office and fill it in, then return to the Post Office with £10, a passport size photo plus birth certificate or passport and you should get it in 2 weeks.
If you are resident in the UK then you have to do the process on-line, you’ll get the Photocard within 4 weeks.
Now the aspects of Oyster Photocard that works against visitors from overseas. The Oyster Photocard costs £10 per child and you need to order the Oyster Photocard at least 4 weeks ahead on-line.
It won’t be sent to your home adress, you have to collect it from a small number of visitor centres in London, (Heathrow Airport or Liverpool Street, Victoria, Kings Cross or Euston Stations)
The application web page is: https://photocard.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gotoApply.do?type=under18&res=false&from=home
Can I Get Around The Child Oyster Photocard Requirement
There are three main ways of getting around the need for an Oyster Photocard to get half price child fares if your child is under 16 and isn’t entitled to free travel.
1) The first is to buy a 1 day child Travelcard, (it doesn’t need Oyster Photocard), but a 7 day child Travelcard does.
2) The second is to buy Travelcards from a railway (not Underground) ticket office. The railways have their own ticketing system but sell Travelcards at their Central London stations. Perhaps bizarely the railways issue their photo id cards free of charge, but they can only be used to buy tickets sold from a railway ticket office. So for a 7 day Travelcard you can walk up to a railway ticket office with a passport size photo of your child, buy a 7 day child Travelcard and a railway photo id will be issued on the spot. Note: only railway stations in Central London sell Travelcards (e.g. Paddington, Euston, Kings Cross, St Pancras, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Waterloo and Victora), they do not sell Travelcards at the railway station ticket offices of London’s airports.
Another minor complication is that at railway ticket offices adults need a photo id card to buy adult 7 day Travelcards, whereas this is not a requrement at TFL outlets like Underground Stations.
The other bonus with buying Travelcards from a railway station is that it qualifies you for the railways 2 for 1 sightseeing promotion.
3) The third work around is that you can buy 7 Day Child Travelcards without any photo id on-line from the TFL / Visit Britain on-line shop and have them delivered to your home, including overseas. There is a delivery charge.
TFL / Visit Britain On-Line Shop
Free Travel – How Do I Get my Child Through the Ticket Barriers Without A Ticket?
If your child is entitled to free travel, you do not obtain a ticket
London’s buses are ticketless, so no problem there.
On the Underground and DLR and suburban railways you have to pass through a ticket barrier where you need to insert a valid ticket for verification before the barrier is raised. If your child is entitled to free travel you do not get a ticket that costs nothing, instead you need to get a member of staff to let your child through the manned barrier onto the platforms.
National Rail
The Railways in the UK that run into London and include all the commuter lines of London that are not the London Underground or the DLR have different rules and are much more straight forward.
Children uder 5 travel free when accompanied, children 11 to 15 years old can get child fares, normally 50% of the adult fares. Full stop.
Straight forward isn’t it?
London Underground – Fares, ticketing and how to use
London Buses – Fares, ticketing and how to use
Public Transport Passes – Travelcard or Oyster Card?
166 Comments
Hi Bob
Myself and my Wife intend to take my 9 year old grandson to central London, we both have free travel cards being pensioners. It does state that he can travel free on the tube
If he is with a fare paying adult, does this still apply when free travel cards are used.
There is no problem with the 9 year old travelling free accompanied.
Assuming you are from outside London I’m a bit lost when you refer to “free travel cards for pensioners” – never heard of such a thing, just the English free bus passes that are not valid on the Underground.
Hi Bob
Sorry for the confusion we live in the Greenwich Borough and the freedom pass does cover the London Underground, so can he travel free as we are not fare paying passengers.
OK, from your original post I thought you were not London residents.
As long as the child is accompanied by an adult that is the key thing so you will be fine.
Hi Bob,
Great to find such a useful site, however, being a bit dim i am still confused. hubbie has thrown in the towel and left it up to me. We are staying for approx one week at Theobald park camp site (nearest station waltham cross) at beginning of July 13. 2 adults, 3 children (16, 13 and 5) . Now I totally get the five year old situation and I am beginning to realise the 16 year old (outside of London) is an adult, however tfl have suggested I purchase a 7 day child travelcard on line for her? Is this correct? Bit of a minefield. Colleague today told me you want to all have oyster cards for swiping for speed and avoidance for queues. I have left it too late to order child oysters. Am I going to end up best getting 4 visitor adult oyster cards so we all have the same thing? Or two 7 day child travel cards and two visitor oyster cards??
Thanks in advance for help.
I’m assuming you have some kind of transport staying at the camp site as its a bit in the middle of nowhere.
Assuming you have a car or similar I’d suggest…
For your 16 year old he/she can only get child fares by getting an Oyster 16-17 ID Card that costs £10 and takes 4 weeks to process after applying on-line and then you collect it from a Visitor Centre in Central London. This means few visitors bother
I’d suggest buying 3 x 7 Day Travelcards zone 1-6 from the TFL on-line web site and one child Travelcard zone 1-6. This avoids the photo id card requirement for the 13 year old). The 5 year old travels free only on the London Underground, buses DLR etc, not the trains at Waltham Cross or Turkey Street. Drive to Oakwood Underground Station or Cockfosters each day, last time I was there there (40 years ago) there was plenty of street parking and use the Underground from there. (Oakwood is in zone 5) but the price is the same as zone 6. This means for the 5 year old to enjoy free travel you’d have to drive to Oakwood, Cockfosters or Barnet each day and enter London using the Underground
Or …
Drive to Turkey Street Station (just as close as Waltham Cross) in zone 6, this is a rail station in zone 6. I was brought up as a kid around the corner from here and car access is much better than Waltham Cross (although again this was 40 years ago)Buy 3 adult and 2 Child Travelcards zone 1-6. This means your 5 year old doesn’t get free travel but as you are buying from the railways the Travelcards qualify you for 2 for 1 sightseeing in London. The other downside is that you all need passport size photo’s as the railways make an id card up for you (free). Turkey Street Ticket office is only open until lunch time each day and closed on Sunday. With a zone 1-6 Travelcard you then have the choice of where to go for public transport each day from a range of railway and Underground Stations in the area, though Waltham Cross is in zone 7.
Hi bob
Me and my baby (1,5 years) are traveling to london later this week, and we’ll be staying there from friday to monday. We want to travel with the busses mostly, but sometimes if needed, the tube. What will be cheapest, travelcard or oystercard?
Thanks
Your cheapest option is Oyster. On days you only use buses there is a special daily cap of £4.40 no matter how many journeys you make.
Thanks for quick respons:)
But isn’t it possible to use oyster on the busses. do I have to pay for the busses even though I have a oyster card?
If you are using Oyster on a pay as you go basis there is a flat fare wherever you travel on the red buses. If you only travel on the red buses the daily cap is lower than travelcard.
If you have a Travelcard loaded onto an Oyster the system will pick up and use that instead.
Goodmorning Bob
I want to go from Heatrow 1 to central London.If I buy a travelcard 7 days on Oyster for the zone 1-2,may I catch a bus from Heatrow to central London?
I do not pay because I can take the busses regardless the zone!
Is it true?
Is there a line?.
Best regards
There is no London Bus that goes direct from Heathrow to Central London.
You would require at least 4 separate buses so its not really a viable option.
Hi Bob
Thank for your replay:3 others questions I have
1-If I take N9 bus to central london from Heatrow 1 , is it good to get hammersmith?
I don’t pay anything more than my travelcard 7days on Oyster for zone 1-2 that i buy at Heatrow,right?
2-i will follow your advice for River thames boat.When I am at Hampton Court,may I pay the south west train with pay as you go to Clapham Junction.Is it cheaper to buy a train ticket?
3-Which is the difference between tram and buses and bus and coach is the same thing?
The N9 bus is a night bus that only runs when the London Underground is closed between midnight and 5 a.m. When there are no flights into and out of Heathrow.
If you are looking for the cheapest option, a boat to Hampton Court is not cheap and not covered by Travelcards and Oyster Cards.
For the purpose of Travelcards for visitors just think London’s red buses. There is a tram network in the croydon area far from where most visitors go and coaches like National Express and Megabus are not covered by Travelcards.
Thanks very much Bob
You are very kind.I will tell everybody about your website.
Best regards
Hi Bob
I found a new idea!
-I go to terminal 5 from terminal 3 (is there a free bus to connect the terminals?, I suppose)
-I took bus 490 to Richmond
-I took bus 190 to Alexandra Avenue (I have to go to Staveley Road)
In this way, with my Oyster 7 days travelcards zone 1-2 , i do not need to pay for the extra zone for the tube.
Right?!
I love tring to understand your city,it is not just a matter of money.
The underlying theory of your adventure is sound.
If you have an Oyster and use it on a PAYG basis and only use the buses its £1.40 per bus journey on Oyster with a daily cap of £4.40
The cheapest Travelcard zone 1-2 is over £7 so its much cheaper just to use the Oyster on a PAYG basis where the maximum you will pay in a day is £4.40 if you are only using the buses
The 490 bus starts at Terminal 5 and also picks up outside Terminal 4.
You can get the Heathrow Express to T5 and the Heathrow Express shuttle train to T4 free of charge from Heathrow Central. Both run every 15 minutes.
Hi Bob,
We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children- 15 years and 10 years). We are all going to buy Travelcards from Victoria Railway Station, except the small 10 years old daughter. Can we use the 2 for 1 offer if our daughter doesn’t have Travelcard (valid train ticket) ?
If not, what should we do?
Thank you.
Your 10 year old cannot partake in 2 for 1 without a rail issued ticket. The railways who sponsor the promotion don’t have free travel for under 11′s.
2 for 1 doesn’t really work for children as the deal is one person pays full adult admission the other goes in free irrespective of age.
Hi Bob , thanks for your Blog,full of interesting things.Some little questions
-when you have a 7days-travelcard for 1-2 zone is it possible to use buses for all the zone or just zone 1-2
-if i buy travel card zone 1-2 7 days on Oyster
and i go on zone 5 , do I pay with PAYG?.According to this,it is enought to put extra money on the Oyster isn’t it?
Go on Bob
Buses are zoneless, if you have a zone 1-2 Travelcard you are covered for red buses in all zones.
On the Underground though if you travelled to zone 5 with a zone1-2 Travelcard the system would take the fare to cover zones 3 to 5 out of the Oyster PAyG balance that may be loaded on your Oyster.
Hi Bob thank a lot.I read everything!But can you help me again?I bought a Oyster ID for my son (11) and I will collect it in Heatrow.
When I have the Oyster what should I do?
-have I to buy another Oyster and put inside the child fare and pay as you go.Zone 1-2 and two fit.
-how much he pay every day,1 pound regardless the zone?.That is 3 weeks , 22 pounds more or less.
-I have an Oyster.Can i put on O. at Heatrow the travelcard 7 days?.
-if i pay +/- 30£ for one week , is it more cheap than Oyster pay as you go,right.
-I will stay 14 days,may I put 14 days in the same moment?
-is it possible to buy the Oyster child fare in Heatrow?
Thank bob
With regards your son you will be collecting an Oyster ID Card, which then subsequently enables you to buy to get a Child Oyster which when loaded with money acts in exatly the same manner as an adult Oyster. The only difference is that child fares are levied rather than adult.
I think you are getting slightly confused between 7 Day Travelcards and Oyster Card Pay As You Go.
It sounds as if you want a flat fee 7 day ticket for zones 1 and 2 in the centre of London. If this is what you want then you buy a 7 Day Travelcard zones 1-2 and that is loaded onto the Oyster and you just use it as a pass where you have pre=paid all your fares for 1 week if you travel in zone 1 and 2.
Heathrow is in zone 6, so the zone 1-2 Travelcard doesn’t work if you use the Underground from Heathrow.
So you might wnat to consider using Oyster PAYG to cover the journeys (if any) outside zones 1-2
You can buy 7 Day Travelcards up to 4 days in advance of the first travel date.
Hi Bob
Just wont to be sure that I have understood this correctly
I will be travelling to London with my 15 years old daughter for one week mid-October and as we most probably want to take advantage about 2for1 offers I will buy 7-day Travelcards for both of us from Paddington Railway station. Have I understand correctly that I don’t need Oyster ID for my daughter as I would be buying the Travelcard from the Railway Station instead of underground station please?
Kind Regards
If you are buying Travelcards at Paddington Rail Station ticket office your daughters requirements are the same as yours, a passport size photo.
The Oyster ID card is only required if you buy from anywhere other than a rail station, like Paddington Underground Station.
Hi Bob,
I have read through the information but I am still confused, maybe you can help. I will be travelling to London this coming July. We will be 2 parents, a 17 year old and a 13 year old. Can you explain the cheapest way for my children to get around?
A lot depends on how long you are staying in London and for your kids and how far you are travelling in and around London.
The most complicated part is your kids trying to avoid the hurdles visitors have to get through to acces child fares.
I’m assuming you are just going to travel around the centre of London where all the hotels and main sights are ..
For the adults buy an Oyster Card if you are travelling less than 5 days. If you are traveling more than twice a day for any 5 days in a 7 day period get a 7 Day Travelcard zones 1-2
For your 17 year old just treat as an adult unless you are staying over a week. 17 year olds are adults in the UK, this applies to all things, not just transport. Your 17 year old can legally drink alcohol, have sex with whoever and join the army and kill people in the UK which soulds pretty adult behaviour to me.
There is in London a scheme where you can apply for a special Oyster ID Card but as this costs £10 and you have to apply on-line weeks in advance is not really viable for adulrs
For the 13 year old buy a 1 Day Child Travelcard every day, (you can buy up to 7 days in advance from Underground Stations) or you can buy 7 Day Travelcards on-line without any ID requirement on-line on the TFL Visitor Shop on-line nad have them mailed to your home address or from a mainline railway station if you bring along a passport size photo.
Dear Bob
We have 2 adults, 2 children (11& 4) arriving in Heathrow on 13 July, staying at Crowne Plaza Kensington Hotel from 13 to 17July, then driving to Windsor, Stratford upon avon to return to Crowne Plaza on 19 July, and check-out on 21 July to fly home from Heathrow. We plan to visits a few of the attractions (Windsor castle, Eton college,Thames river cruise, Tower bridge, London transport museum, Chelsea football club, Westminster Abbey, +/- London Zoo etc) as stated by the London Pass.
Option 1) London pass x 2 adults; 7-day zone 1-2 travel card x 2 adults & 1 child (from Train station like Victoria, requiring the passport photos for all), starting on 14 July
Option 2) 7-day Travel cards as above plus with 2 for 1 vouchers
I understand that you are not a proponent for London Pass. I would treasure your advice.
Kind regards
Clarence
I don’t think there is a universal “best” answer so I’ll just make some broad points.
One of the dangers of the promotions is you tend to end up having a very fast paced itinerary only going to the places on the scheme, there is a lot in London that is free and very worthwhile, especially for kids.
Its a false economy spending all that money to get to London then have your visit shaped chasing a relatively minor discounts. The biggest savings will be reseraching air fares and accommodation.
I would recommend that you forget about both passes for the time being and think hard where your families interests are, the pace and “chill out” time they like then writing down a list of must see’s and exxperiences.
The big strength of London is its variety, there is truly something for everyone.
A lot of people’s visit is shaped by the requirements of the tourist industry squeezing maximum cash out of you rather than the the needs of the visitors themselves.
If you don’r visit art galleries and marvel at architecture when at home are you really going to enjoy shuffling around such places away from home.
Many of the great experiences of London are free, the museums, art galleries, markets, watching a trail at the Old Bailey criminal court, heckling at Speaker’s Corner etc
With kids time for chilling out and spending time with them is paramount.
I do not have anything against the London Pass, but I suspect if you sat down worked out your itinerary and the costs of it you probably would not save any money – if it does then its a no brainer, make it work for you.
Your hotel is opposite Gloucester Road Underground Station, with a largish (for Central London) Waitrose Supermarket opposite.
Your 4 year old travel free on the London Underground.
It is very easy to get to Windsor from Gloucester Road, (District Line to Paddington, then train to Windsor)
Windsor is outside the scope of Travelcards/Oyster but is covered by a special extention on the London Pass Travelcard and at the moment there are no 2 for 1 vouchesr for Windsor Castle.
With your kids, Windsor Castle is going to be a bit dry so reward then down by the river feeding the Swans or have a picnic in the Great Park and hunt down a deer herd.
Chelsea FC with a bit of planning is a walking expedition from your hotel, or from Erals Court/West Brompton Underground. I would recommend approaching Chelsea through West Brompton Cemetry (A Royal Park), a very atmospheric place.
Hi Bob,
Thank you so much for your wonderful & thoughtful reply. I definitely will think it over before rushing to buy any passes. We shall follow your advice on the way to Chelsea FC.
Cheers.
hey bob
me and my husband are going to London for three months. we are looking for a cheap medium of transport. i want actual figures of how much oyster card wud cost us per week so can u plz help
I’m afraid thats not possible as Oyster is not a flat fee pass.
If you are staying a week or more then a 7 Day Travelcard may well be more appriopiate. This is flat fee but the price you pay depends on which travel zones you want access to:
See: http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard_oyster.htm
HI BOB
Traveling into london on a sunday 1Adult 1 senior 61 yr female 1 child 13yrs old am i right in thinking my best option for zone 1&2 would be to purchase 1 day travel card
Assuming you are going to use the Underground more than three times a 1 Day Travelcard zone 1 & 2 would seem the appropiate ticket, a child Travelcard for the 13 year old.
3 or less journeys and an Oyster Card will be cheaper, though you will have the hassle of paying the £5 deposit then reclaiming the deposit and balance at the end of the day.
For the child they cannot get a child Oyster Card so a Travelcard is best.
Hi Bob,
Just wanted clarify what I’ve been reading online, I will be in London for a holiday visiting places mostly in zones 1 and 2. However, I would like to go to the RAF Museum in Colindale which I understand is in zone 4. Now, is it correct that I will have to buy an oyster ticket for zones 1 – 4? I plan to travel from kings cross to Colindale. Thanks.
If you are buying an Oyster card it automatically charges you for the zones you travel in each day you do not have to do anything yourself.
However if you bought a Travelcard you do have to specify which zones you want to travel in and the cost of the Travelcard reflects this.
Hi Bob,
I will be visiting London next Saturday and bringing my two grandkids (12 and 14 years old) with me.
The tfl website states that I can buy each of them a one day travel card for bus and tube but that they must travel with a fare paying adult.
I have a senior bus pass issued outside London, so I can travel free on London buses.That seems to me to mean I won’t be a fare paying adult and hence cannot use the one day travel card for my grandkids if they travel with me?
I tried the tfl site for help but could not find an answer.
Can you please clarify the situation?
Thank you, Joe
Phone TFL for an official answer, but I cannot see you having a problem.
Hi Bob,
Thank you so much for the London Toolkit website and this blog! I would appreciate it if you could let me know if my thinking is correct on our transportation options. My husband and I are traveling to London with our 13 y.o. daughter in June from Texas via Berlin. We are flying into Heathrow on BA, arriving on a Sunday afternoon. We are visiting friends in Ealing for the first part of our stay (letting a cottage in the New Forest with them) and then later staying in a flat in Southwark for four nights for sightseeing in Zones 1-2. We hope to get around some using the Barclay’s bike scheme, weather permitting! I think the best option for us is to buy pay-as-you-go Oystercards for my husband and I and 1-day child off-peak Travelcards for our daughter as needed. We plan to take the Heathrow Connect to the Ealing Broadway station on our first day. (Are Oystercards invalid on Heathrow Connect to Ealing?) After we return from the New Forest (no public transport needed for that trip), we will buy our Oystercards and Travelcard. (Are child Travelcards easily purchased at all Underground stations? Can they be purchased from bus operators?) We don’t plan on visiting most of the attractions covered in the 2-for-1 pass, but I wonder if the train tickets I bought on the First Capital Connect from London Bridge to Gatwick at the end of our stay will suffice? To retrieve those tickets I need to get them from the automated machines at London Bridge, I don’t know if I can get them in advance of our day of travel…. Anyway, thank you in advance for your help. And by the way, why would anyone buy a Visitor Oystercard?
You have obviously done your research and come up what appears to be the optimum solution. Filling in the gaps …
You cannot use Oyster, Travelcards etc on the Heathrow Connect on the section of the line between Heathrow and Hayes & Harlington. Its also worth mentioning that on a Sunday Heathrow Connect trains only run hourly.
You can buy Oystercards and Travelcards at any of the Underground ticket offices at Heathrow.
You could get the Underground to Northfields or South Ealing using Oyster, for your 13 year old just get a single child ticket for the single journey that day or change at Acton and loop around to Ealing Broadway.
In general you can buy Oyster and Travelcards at any Underground Station in London on demand and most railway stations as well as literally hundred of local neighbourhood stores that display a sign in their Window.
As you say Visitors Oystercards don’t make sense at all financially in my view and are basically marketed to the gullible by those who don’t make it clear that there are better alternatives.
The single ticket from London Bridge to Gatwick doesn’t qualify you for 2 for 1 I’m afraid.
If you want to use a 2 for 1 voucher buy a 1 day adult Travelcard from Ealing Broadway RAILWAY ticket office on the day you want 2 for 1 and that will have the rail logo that qualifies you. Use it instead of Oyster that day.
Thank you for all your help, Bob! Taking your advice, we will buy our adult Oystercards and 1 child Travelcard at Heathrow and take the Underground to Ealing Broadway via the Picadilly Line, changing in Acton to the District Line. We’ll make a decision about the need for a 2-for-1 pass and an adult Travelcard once we are in our flat in Southwark. I am assuming a one-day Travelcard is only valid on the day of purchase. I imagine the closest Railway office to buy one is the London Bridge station. Thank you again for maintaining such a helpful website and blog. Please let me know the best way to support it!
Sincerely,
Corinna W.
Southwark is quite an ill defined area, London Bridge is most probably the closest railway station, but Waterloo also could be also depending exactly on where you are located.
Thank you for your kind words about the site, the most helpful thing you can do is just to tell others of its existence and you had a positive experience
Hi Bob
Need help please in understanding 2 for 1 and travelling in London. Arriving from south Africa at Gatwick airport on 20 June. We are staying in London,closest station is charring cross. We are 2 adults and 3 children, age 13,10 and 8. If we buy train tickets from gatwick to charing cross with return on 25 June, do those tickets automatically qualify us for 2 for 1 deals. Or do I have to buy travel cards. We will be sticking to zone 1 and 2 sightseeing. Will ask further questions based on yr answer to this. Thanks. JayJay
Yes if you purchase return train tickets to Charing Cross at Gatwick you will be covered for 2 for 1.
You will need to change trains at London Bridge.
You will almost certainly get single tickets for each direction. Its important you don’t put the single ticket in the automatic ticket exit barrier at Charing X as it will retain the ticket and you need the ticket if demanded by the attraction when using 2 for 1.
Instead go through the manned exit and explain you need the ticket for 2 for 1.
Now the complicated bit.
On the railways there is no free travel for kids under 16 so all your kids buy child tickets at half price.
In London children under 11 travel free on the buses and London Underground.
Assuming you are staying in Central London for 6 days and not travelling out of the centre a 7 day Travelcard zone 1 & 2 is you best transport card.
The ‘problem’ aspect is going to be your child that doesn’t qualify for free travel.
The neatest option is going to be either buy a child 7 day Travelcard zone 1-2 on-line at the TFL on-line shop and have it shipped to home before you depart or buy it at Charing Cross Railway Station where you will need a passport size photo.
Buying anywhere else there are id issues which make it impractical for a short term child visitor to get child fares other than buying a child fare for every journey.
However if the adults buy their Travelcards from the rail station they will need photos too. If they buy their Travelcards from the Underground Station ticket office no id is required and the 7 day Travelcard will come loaded on an Oyster Card
Ok so I use the return flights to gatwick as my tickets to qualify for 2 for 1. At the airport, we buy tickets for all of us to get to charring cross, changing trains at london bridge.
Now, once we in London will it be better for us to travel using visitor oyster card which I can buy here in south Africa from the visitbritain shop where we get our visas or should I still rather use travel cards to get around. Which will be more cost effective, ?
With regards London transport I would not recommend a Visitors Oyster Card, if you get an Oyster get it in London , its a more flexible product here and you’ll get your deposit and balance back in full at the emd.
For the adults the broad rule is if you are travelling within the centre of London only during your stay (zones 1 and 2) and are making 3 or more journeys in 5 days or more in a 7 day period then get a 7 day Travelcard zones 1 and 2. Otherwise get an Oyster in London.
Your 13 year old is going to be the problem assuming you want child fares.
Oyster is not really an option as you need an Oyster ID card that costs £10 and takes weeks to process and you’d need to pick it up from a visitor centre.
For your 13 year old the main option would be to buy a 1 day child Travelcard each day for the zones you are travelling in or buy a 7 day child Travelcard zones 1 and 2 from the TFL on-line shop and have it delivered to your home which doesn’t require photo id either.
Otherwise buy a 7 day child Travelcard from Charing Cross Train Station ticket office where you will need to provide a passport size photo of your 13 year old. You will not be able to buy a 7 day child Travelcard anywhere else without an Oyster ID card.
Your younger children travel free on London’s red buses and the Underground without tickets but do bring some id in case challenged over their age.
Sounds perfect thank. When we leave gatwick, is it the gatwick express we use?
The Gatwick Express train runs to London Victoria not London Bridge.
Just buy a ticket to Charing Cross via London Bridge at Gatwick.
The trains will be operated by First Capital then South East Trains.
There are no seat reservations or allocations, just grab a seat where you can on boarding.
Hello,
We intend to visit London from 01 – 04.05.2013;
We will arrive on 1st of May from Paris at Gare St. Pancras around 13:15 and we supposed to get to the hotel in Southbank area(Waterloo station); from there we intend to visit mostly of the attractions point from LondonPass;
The question is how will I manage better the London Pass with travel options(probably Travel Crad) in order to have savings.
Should I get London Pass for 2 adults and 1 child; and then only 2 adults Travel Cards (due to the fact that for the child transportation it’s free) ?
We are 2 adults and a 6 years old child.
Waiting you advice as opinion as well.
George
Personally I am very sceptical about the London Pass.
The only way of seeing if you can make it work is write down your itinerary without looking to see what the London Pass covers, then work out if it saves you any money.
Another question for you – Once we have the 11-15 photocards in hand, can we load money directly onto them for the kids to use or are they only “ID”. If they are only ID then presumably we need to purchase regular oystercards as well to pay for tube travel. Is that right? How does the oystercard & the machine know to only deduct the child rate?
Thanks!
You need the Oyster 11-15 Photocards to purchase a child Oyster Card, they are just used as id.
You load the Oyster Card with money not the id. As its a child Oyster the system takes child fares.
You should have the ID card available if requested, the authorities try to police parents using their childrens Oyster cards
Thank you Bob.
One more clarification. If I well understand to access the promotion 2 x1 you must necessarily have a train ticket or you can simply buy the travelcard at a railway station as indicated on the website section “London Travelcard Qualification For 2 For 1″ in the site http://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1.html ?
So for example we can arrive by bus to Victoria Station and buy the Travecards qualified for the promotion 2 x 1
It’s correct?
I wait for your answer
Thanks
Valeria
yes if you get easyBus to Victoria then walk directly into Victoria Railway Station and buy Day Travelcards for everyone but your smallest that will qualify you for 2 for 1 and also enable your eldest child to get child rate travel.
All 3 of you will need passport photos.
Your smaller child doesn’t qaulify for 2 for 1 unless they too get a child rate Travelcard.
Hi Bob, we are a 4 people family form Italy and we’ll spent 7 days in London from 24th of April to the 1st of May.
The boys are 12 and 6 years old. So one of them doesn’t pay travel, but the 12 year old boy needs the Oyster Card ID to have the half rate.
We arrive at Luton Airport and we think to arrive in London with EasyBus
Do you suggest to buy the LondonPass or a TravelCard?
It’s possible to buy travelcard at Luton Airport? If I buy on line I ned always the Oyster Crad ID? Or I have to bring the cards in London and I need only the photo of the child?
thank you very much
The free travel for children under 11 only applies on the London Undergrond and London’s buses, it doesnt apply on the railway or any transport from Luton Airport.
Luton Airport is outside London and Travelcards and Oysters are not applicable to any transport.
You have two options from Luton, the easyBus/Green Line bus service or the train service.
You should factor in where your accommodation is in London as bus and train go to different parts of London.
If you go for the bus you need to purchase on-line now, its much more expensive on the day paying the driver.
It would be neat if you could use the train.
If you are arriving off peak you can get a groupsave fare which will compete on price with bus.
Getting a return train ticket also qualifies you for the 2 for 1 promotion which is probably going to be amuch better sightseeing scheme to the London pass
See: http://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1.html
As you have identified the tricky part is your 12 year old.
For 7 Days the best travel pass is going to be a 7 day Travelcard zones 1 and 2. The adults can buy these anywhere in London, but not at Luton Airport.
If you buy at a railway station (St Pancras or London Bridge) if you take the train or Victoria if you use easyBus then you can buy the 7 day Travelcards for your 12 year old. The railways issue their own photocard free of charge but you can only sue it to buy train tickets and 7 Day Travelcards not Oyster. The only real downside is you need to bring a passport photo of your child.
If the adults buy their 7 Day Travelcard at the rail station they need a photo like your child, but if they buy from anywhere else like the Underground Station they don’t.
Its too late now to obtain an Oyster ID Card for your child.
Hi Bob.
Thanks for your great website. Learning a lot. I just want to check that I have understood everything wrt travelcards for my family travelling to London for our first time this June. We are 2 adults, 3 children age 13,10 and 8. We arrive at Gatwick airport and are staying in an apartment near Trafalgar. We are close to Charing Cross station and will be in London for 5 nights. We are hoping to use the 2 for 1 specials and will use public transport as needed.
1. What is the best way to get from Gatwick to Charing Cross?
2. At Charing Cross we buy a 7 day travelcard for myself and my husband and a child travelcard for my 13 year old. We all need a passport size photo in order to buy the travelcard. This will mean we do not need to worry about the pre-bought child oyster card for my 13 year old . Am I correct?
3. We do not need any travel cards for the 10 and 8 year old.
Thanks for your advice. I hope I have got this correct.
Jayne
I’m second guessing you are staying at Citadines?
The simplest option from Gatwick to Charing Cross is by train, changing at London Bridge.
You get the First Capital Train at Gatwick, not the Gatwick Express or Southern Trains that terminate at London Victoria.
The return train tickets alone will qualify you for the 2 for 1 promotion.
Obviously what time you arrive at Gatwick is beyond your control, but if its off peak you’ll be able to get a Groupsave fare which will save you a lot.
Note unlike the London Underground and London’s red buses there is no free travel on the trains for kids.
You are right in your understanding of the passport photos for the Travelcards
Ok thanks. So if we are travelling by train does , which we might well do, do we need to buy the children a travel card as well then?
We are staying in the Fielding apartments on De Villiers street
You cannot buy Travelcards outside London.
The Fieldings Apartments are in Covent Garden, If you used the train you’d get off at St Pancras and buy the Travelcards there.
Hi Bob
Simple question time – I’m travelling with 2 children under 10 for 2 days of sight seeing this Easter. If the kids are free to travel and don’t require a ticket how do I get them through the barriers?
Thanks
Lisa
You don’t go through the automatic barriers, you go through the manned entrance/exit.
If your kids can be mistaken for 11 or over bring some proof of birth date in case challenged.
First off, thank you very much for taking the time to patiently answer everyone’s questions. I appreciate it. A fun way to spend my Saturday night
So after reading everything through I think the 7 day travel card is our best option but let me summarize what I understand of it all: First here is our situation:
family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids 11 & 14). Flying to Heathrow, staying at a flat, minutes from Marylebourne Station or Paddington Station. Doing most of the touristy stuff, plus we will going to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour which is at Watford Junction.
It sounds like the best option would be the 7 day travelcard because of the 2-1 offer (which I wish I had known about previously as we just became members of the HRP.org). I understand that the 2-1 locations change but currently it’s showing the Eye, Madame Tussards and the Churchhill War Rooms, all of which the family wants to see.
One place to get the travel card is at the railway stations, one of which is at Paddington (do not get at LHR). All 4 of us will need a passport sized picture so that the id card can be issued. So we could get a 1 way fare from LHR to Paddington, figure out where the railway booth is and get the 7 day cards from there. The 7 day travel card zone 1 -2 allow unlimited travel on either bus or train (underground) for the 7 days, correct?
The key to using the travel card (if I am reading it all correctly) is that we will have to go through a special barrier, one that will give us back our ticket/card, correct?
One thing I haven’t read is how to pay for the travel cards. Will railways take credit cards? And are they open on Sundays?
We plan on going to the studio tour for which we can catch a free shuttle bus from Watford Juncton. Looking at the tube map, that station looks to be part of the group but it is available on above ground line, not underground. Would the travel card be good for that station? or would we have to pay a supplemental fee to get out there?
For now this is all of my questions. Again thank you for taking the time to read and answer.
The railway ticket office at Paddington Station is open 24×7. You cannot really miss it on the main concourse on the same level as the trains. (There is a smaller Heathrow Express ticket desk which will not issue the Travelcards)
You can use all the major credit and debit cards.
From Heathrow to Paddington there is the Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect trains.
The Heathrow Express is nearly double the cost of the Heathrow Connect, though they are currently running a promotion where up to two kids travel free when adult pay full fare, enter the code KIDSFREE12 in the promotion code box when selecting your tickets on-line at the Heathrow Express web site. This brings the fare for your group down to £40.
The Heathrow Connect train is still cheaper for your group at £30 but runs less frequently (especially on Sundays) and if you are using Terminals 4 or 5 you need to get the Heathrow Express train (free) to Heathrow Central Station where Heathrow Connect services start from.
With Travelcards, like any ticket to enter and exit any train or Underground Station you need a valid ticket. You put the ticket into te entry/exit barrier and the system checks the validity of the ticket. If its valid it returns the ticket and the barrier opens to allow you through.
Watford Junction is right on the edge of London. It sounds like all the other places you are visiting are in Central London in zones 1 and 2.
Your Travelcard Zones 1 and 2 is not valid to travel outside the centre of London (zones 1 and 2) and its not worth buying a Travelcard that includes Watford just for one trip.
Watford Junction. The same with Heathrow which is in zone 6.
By train from Euston there is a big difference on a day return to/from Watford Junction depending on when you travel.
For your party an off peak day return should be £29.40, a standard ticket £47.10. Use a travel planner like that below to see when off-peak times are:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/affs/london_trainline.htm
Thank you for your prompt response – we arrive at LHR on a Sunday and didn’t know about the limited trains so it sounds like with the coupon code the express would be better. Hopefully it’s still valid then – we’ll be in London 5/26 – 6/2. Can we get this ticket ahead of time? or is it something we can only get there?
To throw something else into the mix – IF there had been no 2-1 special on the travel cards, would we have been better off getting the 7 day travel card from the TFL for the kids?
You can order tickets at least 3 months ahead of time on the Heathrow Express web site.
If you travel 5 or more days in any 7 more than twice a day a 7 Day Travelcard offers better value than the alternative an Oyster Card.
The main issue with children is id.
If you turn up in London you cannot get child rate 7 Day Travelcards or Oyster Cards without an Oyster ID Card. As this costs £10 and takes weeks to process its a hurdle too far for most visitors.
The railways is one of the workarounds for visitors as they issue their own photo id cards free of charge with a photo, but you can only use these to buy products from rail stations which includes Travelcards.
The other work around for visitors is to buy child Travelcards on-line from the TFL on-line shop where they sell 7 Day Travelcarsd without id.
Your response leads me to another question (after a bit of review) – you commented about taking the Heathrow Express. It is significantly pricier (even with the coupon for the kids) than the regular underground – are the trains that infrequent on Sundays to and from? As far as I can tell, the price for the 4 of us, return trip, would be 24 gbp, versus 68 gbp for the express (with the coupon). Coming in on a Sunday – we’re not in any great rush so a slower ride into the city might be good for us to get acclimated after the craziness of the airport (I’m a seasoned traveler – my husband, not so much). Just trying to spend our money smartly. Thanks!
You can take the Underground to Paddington, Underground trains run every 5 minutes from Heathrow.
Change at Hammersmith and Earls Court to avoid the worst of lugging luggage up stairs, escaltors etc.
Hi Bob – Have read all of your comments and think I know what is best for our situation (adult travelling with two 15-year olds but want to check with someone in the know.
We will be in London three separate times this summer. We will be there for 3.5 days and need to travel to and from Heathrow, we will be there for a week where we will do lots of sightseeing, and then again for 2.5 days before we fly out.
I think the travelcard makes the most sense for the week we are in London. Adult for me and child cards for the 2 girls.
The question is, what to do about the 3.5 days up front and the 2.5 days at the end. Do I just get them adult oystercards? I am not sure we will do enough travel in those days to make up the £10 fee for the 11-15 photo oystercard. Not sure it is worth purchasing it.
That’s the first question. The second question, is, if I buy 3 travelcards and 3 visitor oystercards online now (I am outside the country) which I need to do to avoid the £10 fee, will they be separate or will they combine them? I would prefer they were combined but I don’t see any place on the TFL website to indicate that.
Or should I wait until we arrive and puchase adult oystercards at heathrow, go to Victoria or another trainstation and get the 7-day travelcard ticket there? You say they will issue their own photocard. Will that photocard allow the girls to get child rates on the oystercard for the 3.5-day and 2.5 day portion of our trip as well?
Also, can I buy that travelcard/photo id for the teenagers if I have their photos but they are not with me at the time? And can it be dated for two weeks after I buy it if I buy it at the rail station or will it be effective immediately when purchased there?
Finally, do any of the cards have any affect on the family & friends railcard which I am also considering since we will be taking the train to and from London/Edinburgh as well. I really appreciate your help.
Thank you!
Bonnie
For the periods of less than 5 days an Oyster Card will be least expensive from a straight cost perspective.
The only reason to buy a Visitors Oystercard before arriving in London is convenience, you will pay more for the privelege (delivery fees and a non-refundable deposit) than buying In London.
Because of the Oyster Photo ID requirements for the kids, Oysters are not really an option unless you treat them as adults.
For the kids you can buy 1 day child Travelcards at any Underground Station up to 7 days in advance without id, though these do not qualify for 2 for 1.
If you are staying at Victoria it doesn’t look it will be any inconvenience to buy these at Victoria Rail Station if you want to make use of 2 for 1.
With 4 people from Heathrow to Victoria you might want to look at a private car from someone like Just Airports or Simply Airports or if you are using Terminal 1 or 3, the National Express Bus to Victoria Coach Station. With luggage these options are less stressfull than the Underground.
Then buy your 7 Day zone 1-2 Travelcards at Victoria to qualify for 2 for 1.
It doesn’t make sense buying at Heathrow as it is in zone 6, its not worth buying a zone 1-6 Travelcard just to cover you for the airport leg on the Underground. Most tourists will only need a zone 1-2 Travelcard
With regards the kids Id they need to be there for ticketing and photocard purposes
Photocards issued by the railways can only be used for buying from the railways, you cannot use tem for buying Oysters or Travelcards from Underground Stations etc.
With regards the Family railcard you can use it to get a discount on zone 1-6 1 Day Travelcards only.
Family railcards can only be delivered to UK addresses and you cannot pick-up from Heathrow airport.
Hi Bob,
It’s a blessing I discovered your blog! I will be coming to the UK for the first time, with my husband & 2 boys (11, 18) for 11 days end of July. We will be flying to Gatwick and lodging in front of Euston station. We will be staying mostly inside London but thought of going to Cambridge on day 8, Hampton Court & RAF museum on day 7, Windsor & Wembley stadium on day 4, Greenwich on day 6, Chessington’s Park on day 10.
We have bought 3-day London passes for days 2,3,4. We now have different travel options and are not sure which to choose!
1) 7-day travelcards for zones 1-2 and then maybe individual 1-day cards on other days;
2) using our relatives’ Oyster cards and topping them up with Travelcards + other credit for other days and for going beyond zone 2 on certain days; (if you top up Oyster cards can you still use 2FOR1?)
3) whether to buy a 7-day card for the 11yr old or individual 1 day cards when necessary.
We are also aware of the Groupsave 4 on Southern trains, which we can avail ourselves of. The different fares available are so complicated!
Thanks a lot – Maria
If you have Oyster Cards then you may as well use them for all your public transport in London, the only places they don’t cover that you list is Gatwick, Windsor and Cambridge.
Your 18 year old in the UK is perceived very much as an adult, he can drink as much alcohol as he likes, have sex, vote, join the army and kill people which sould s pretty adult to me.
The only real issue is the 2 for 1.
If you are staying in Euston, it makes sense not to go to Victoria unless the First Capital Line is shut to St Pancras. St Pancras is about 600 yards from Euston Station.
The neatest option would be 4 for 2 return train ticket from Gatwick to St Pancras. Depending on when you are travelling this could be as little as 40 GBP return for your whole party.
What is more the train tickets also qualify you all for 2 for 1 in the centre of London during your stay
Use the train travel planner below to see if this option is available for your dates/times – if so it looks a very compelling.
http://www.londontoolkit.com/affs/london_trainline.htm
The broad rule for 7 Day Travelcards are that if you are making more than 2 journeys a day for 5 or more days in any 7 they work out cheaper than an Oyster.
Your 11 year old is going to be affected by photo id card requirements for child fares. The main work arounds are either to buy 1 Day child Travelcards from anywhere which don’t need id or get a 7 day child Travelcard from Euston rail ticket office, you will need a passport size photo.
Thanks Bob for your reply!
From the itinerary I am planning, it looks as if we need to use the tube for a minimum of 2 times a day for 6 consecutive days, so the travelcard should pay off. About the Gatwick return tickets, when going back we need to travel at peak times, so price will go up to £55 instead of £40. Pity.
About what you wrote: “What is more the train tickets also qualify you all for 2 for 1 in the centre of London during your stay” – does this mean that with just those return train tickets we can avail ourselves of the 2 for 1 vouchers? I’ve read on the londontoolkit.com that to qualify, train tickets have to be bought from a rail ticket office, and it seems that in Gatwick there isn’t one (it wasn’t listed). Euston was listed though.
Another query I have is when changing zones. To go to Hampton Court, Wembley stadium, RAF museum, we can still use the tube but outside the card zone. Can one easily pay the excess at the train station?
Regards,
Maria
Yes the stations listed like Euston are the Central London stations where you can buy Travelcards from rail ticket offices that qualify for 2 for 1.
Gatwick is well outside London so you cannot buy Travelcards, but there is a very large train ticket office there where the return train tickets you buy there qualify you for 2 for 1 for the period you are in Central London.
One thing to remember with the train tickets is that you normally will get one set of tickets for the outward leg, another for the return.
When you go through the exit barrier at St Pancras don’t go through the automated barrier, the barrier will gobble up your ticket. The people at the attractions will probably want to see this ticket to verify you have indeed got return tickets.
Instead go through the manned exit and make sure you keep your outward ticket.
If you have Oyster cards the charging mechanism auomatically works out the fares whichever zone you go through.
Its only Travelcards you buy by zones, so if you buy a zone 1-2 Travelcard and you are going to Hampton Court you have to buy an extention fare. With Oyster it does all this automatically.
London’s red buses are zoneless, so if you have a zone 1-2 Travelcard you could use it to travel out to zone 6 if you wanted.
Thanks a lot Bob for the information you provided. It surely is of great help.
Maria
To conclude (still thinking about what you wrote), the best way would be to use a 7-day travelcard for 7 of the days of our holiday, and use our relatives’ Oyster cards for the other 3 days since we will be using the tube much less. We will be using the trains more on those days, using Groupsave 4 mostly.
Maria
Hi Bob,
I’m hoping you can help me with giving me some advice on getting a travelcard vs. an oyster card. I’ll be in London for 9 days total. I’ll be flying in and out of Heathrow, staying near St. Albans train station. For 5 out of the 9 days I’ll be travelling to/from Swiss Cottage tube station during peak hours and for a few of those days I anticipate a third trip in central London.
Would you recommend a Zone1-6 seven day travel card? And then purchasing additional one day travel cards for the additional days?
Thanks for your help in advance,
Confused Canadian Traveller
St Albans is well outside London, so Travelcards etc are not valid.
There is a direct bus between St Albans and Heathrow, route 724 that avoids London all together. This also is not part of London’s public transport system.
From St Albans you will need to buy a weekly railway ticket at St Albans into London and see if you can bundle a zone 1 Travelcard in with that ticket.
Hi Bob
We will be purchasing 7 days cards and we have photos ready for that. We are going to Greenwich by cab from the airport when we arrive. Lots of 2for1 vouchers so we want National Rail Travelcards. Can we get the 7 day cards at Greenwich National Rail station, or do we have to pay a one-off fare to a main London station on the first day in order to get the 7 day cards?
Thanks
Greenwich train station is listed as being managed by South Eastern trains.
On that basis it sounds as if the ticket office will issue 7 day Travelcards with the rail logo on it but I cannot guarantee it.
Thanks Bob. Sorry going to pester you on something else – Assuming we have Zone 1 and 2 Travelcards in hand, does that limit is to Red Bus travel only within those two zones, or will our cards be good enough for a bus ride from Lewisham (edge of zone 2 from what I can tell) to Croydon? I thought I read something about buses not having the same zones. Cheers for your help.
Yes red buses are zoneless so if you have a Travelcode zone 1/2 you can use it anywhere on the red London bus network
Hi Bob
Thanks for being such a fountain of knowledge on this minefield! We are arriving at St Pancras on the Eurostar on Sunday 14 April. 2adults and 2children aged 12 and 9 – the 12yr old is smaller than the 9yr old so we did think they could both pass for under 11s…..but that’s an aside …..
We are staying with friends at Frimley with Woking being the nearest train station. We will need to get here on the Sunday and will then be travelling into london sightseeing on the Monday Tuesday and Wednesday – one of those days probably into. London twice due to going to an evening show.
We’re keen on the sound of the 2 for 1 deals re sightseeing although I did read somewhere sometimes it’s cheaper to do 2 for 1 on the adults and just pay for the children unless child tickets for an attraction are high in price??
Would you suggest one day off peak travel cards for us or a 7 day? Or oyster???? We pick up a car on the Thursday which we’ll be dropping off at the airport so no need for any airport trains etc…..
Hope you can help!
Thanks Bob
Lisa
Woking and Frimley are well outside the London area covered by Travelcards.
You will be taking the train into London Waterloo from Woking and you can buy day return tickets which optionally include 1 day Travelcard zone 1 on them.
These return tickets as they are train tickets qualify you for 2 for 1.
There also may be 4 travel for the price of 2 tickets available.
The bad news is there is no free travel on the railways for kids, so both will need child fares.
As the 2 for 1 offer for most attractions is one person pays full adult admission, the other goes in free irrespective of age, this means you may or may not be right about the kids and whether it is worthwhile depending on the child admission structure of that individual attraction.
Hello, I am sorry, but I am still confused: I have to children between 11-15 and I want to buy 7 day paper travelcards in railway station, but I have read that in order to purchase 7day travelcards for kids I have to have Oyster ID for them – is it true? How much are 7day travelcards for children, because I have found somwhere if they have Oyster cards they can also take the tube for free? Is it so?
If you could clear this up for me I would be thankful.
Thank you
Darija
At railway stations only you do not need Oyster ID Cards, like everywhere else.
Rail station ticket offices treat 7 Day Travelcards as season tickets. Both adults and children need a railway photocard. This is issued free on the spot but you have to bring your own passport size photo
Hi Bob…Just found your site and plan to go over it with a fine tooth comb but I’m afraid I have a time is of the essance question. I seem to be coming up against a deadline to get Oyster Card ID’s for a March 24th arrival. I wanted to hear your opinion before I let honor or ignore that deadline. My question revolves around the London Pass w/Travel.
Basic facts…large group traveling with two kids (10 and 14). Arriving 24th of March, departing 1st of April. We’re staying near Regent’s Park and planning on doing a typical sightseeing routine that would be tough to detail out right now but shouldn’t exceed zone 3 (except Windsor and Hampton Court.) Our trip to and from the airport is already accounted for.
The difference of 27pds between the child pass w/travel and without seems to get eaten away pretty quick when you start with the 10pd fee to get the ID. The remaining 17 pds feels like it would evaporate fast in the first few days. My question is what are the downsides to the London Pass w/travel? Or true advantages for that matter?
Your thoughts??
Thanks!
Relatively few people can make the London Pass work financially unless it fits your itinerary requirements like a glove and you are taking advantage of a large discount offer.
On the face of it the best deal would be 7 day Travelcards zone 1-2 for everyone and twin that with the railways 2 for 1 admission promotion to places like Hampton Court, Windsor etc.
You can buy 7 Day Travelcards on-line from the TFL Visitorshop and no photo id is required, but this option doesn’t qualify you for 2 for 1.
You can buy 7 Day Travelcards from mainline railway stations in London with just a passport size photo and they make the id pass up on the spot free of charge and that qualifies you for 2 for 1.
Going after the Oyster ID Cards for tickets sourced from TFL doesn’t sound something you should be chasing but I don’t know the detail of you trip.
Around Regents Park is a large area and you do not say which airport you are using or how large your group is which may affect some of the above.
The relevant pages to read on the web-site are:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard.htm
http://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1.html
Do the adults also need photos for the 7 day Travel cards bought at the mainline train stations? And do I understand that by buying the card this way our 14yr old will now get a 7 day travelcard for 1/2 price? (reg 30.40 for zone 1-2?) Also, no need for the 10 year old to get anything, right?
If you want to qualify for 2 for 1 you need to buy from the railways either a Travelcard or return train ticket to London.
On the railways anything 7 days or longer is treated as a season ticket and everyone (adults and children) requires a railways photocard which is issued free of charge on the spot, you just being along the photo. This allows you to buy Child Travelcards.
The 2 for 1 promotion requires everyone going into an attraction under the scheme to have a rail ticket. If your 10 year old travels free with no ticket on the Underground and buses there is no ticket so they won’t qualify for 2 for 1. (The railways don’t have free travel for kids). You either buy a child Travelcard for your 10 year old and qualify for 2 for 1 or use free travel on the Underground and buses and don’t.
The 2 for 1 offer is 1 voucher covers 2 people, one of whom pays full adult admission the other goes in free irrespective of age.
The alternative is buying through non-railway outlets.
Adults do not need photo id for any Travelcard or Oyster product.
The work around for kids is buying Travelcards on-line from the TFL on-line shop which doesn’t require photo’s or buying 1 day child Travelcards anywhere.
However none of these qualify for 2 for 1
Hi Bob.
Thank you for this comment space. I’ve learned much, but am still unsure how best to plan. Everybody really has different challenges!
We are a family of 2 adults, 2 children ages 10 & 13. We will be abroad for 12 days in March, but will go to Paris on EuroStar for 2 days in the middle of the 12.
We arrive at Heathrow (zone 6) and will want to go to London zone 1/2.
Should we just pay for a 1 day zone 1-6 peak pass on the morning we arrive (7am) into Heathrow then follow the next day with 7 day zone 1-2 passes from the rail station? Our first lodging is in Chelsea. We will go to standard tourist sites. I am concerned that if we try to save money by buying a zone 1-2 7-day travelcard we will lose it when we try to go further out.
However, within the first 7 days we want to go to Windsor Castle/Eton for 1 day. The travel card does cover this for all or does not b/c it is a train and the 10 year old does not ride trains for free so a fare for him only?
Am I clear that the 10 year old travels the tube & buses in London for free with paying adult?
Then, when we return from Paris, we have 5 days, the last of which will be only going to back to Heathrow from Hampstead Heath area.
So, I am confused on what is the least complicated method of travel pass but also somewhat economical method for us.
We are within 3 weeks of trip, so cannot get the photo ID card for the 13 year old.
Thank you for any guidance you may be able to offer.
Your plans are indeed complex using a wide variety of transport all with different ticketing requirements.
Chelsea is outside the main Central Hotel districts and is an area not easily defined and hotels as they always do run a free licence on geographical location. It could be a very tedious journey from Heathrow to your hotel. You might look at getting a private Van especially if you are not travelling light. Get a quote for a private car from someone like Just Airports and Simply Airport and you may be pleasantly surprised.
For your London travel on Underground and Bus for the adults its quite straight forward, just get an Oyster Card.
For children its very complex. As you say children under 11 travel free without a ticket.
For 11 -15 year olds you need an Oyster ID Card that costs £10 and a lot of hassle purchasing well in advance on-line and collecting at Heathrow Visitr Centre that is best part of 30 minutes from Terminals 4 or 5 (OK for Terminals 1 and 3)
But given your travel patterns it may be the compromise solution
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14310.aspx
The alternative Travelcard workaround options not requiring photocards are more rigid in that they are zone based. Its not worth getting a zone 1-6 Travelcard just to cover a single trip out to Heathrow.
A Zone 1-2 Travelcard for most tourists is all they need with an extention fare for te occassional journey to Heathrow, Hampton Court etc outside the centre.
Places like Windsor are outside the Oyster/Travelcard catchment area and you’ll travel by train that have different regs, for children no free travel, but no photocards or age banding either.
From Chelsea to Windsor presumably you’d go to Clapham Junction or Vauxhall and get one of the trains out of Waterloo to Windsor Riverside. A day return on this would also qualify you for the 2 for 1 admission promotion admission to Windsor Castle.
Hi,
We are 2 adult and 3 children (12, 15, 15) going to London 22nd March – April 1st. We are staying in Southfields. Airport: Gatwick. We might like to use some of the offers included in the 2 for 1 rail issued travel cards. Which will be the best way for us to organize our trip and travel cards / tickets? Could the tickets be bought at Gatwick or Wimbledon railway stations? (We have 2 Oystercards from previous trips, but last time we just bought 1 day travelcards for the kids, since we had no photo card).
Gatwick is well outside London and you cannot buy Travelcarsd there.
The options that come to mind are:
a) Buy return tickets on the Gatwick Express train to Victoria buying a 5 travel for price of 3 ticket or similar. The Gatwick Express tickets on their own if purchased at Gatwick will qualify you for 2 for 1 irrespective of Travelcards for the duration of your stay. The main thing here is not to let the exit barriers at Victoria gobble up your outward tickets as you will need these to show at the attractions, go to the manned exit of the platform.
This option would also allow the adults to use the Oyster Cards as they please and still use the Gatwick express tickets for 2 for 1.
b) As a general rule if you are travelling between Southfields and London 5 or more days in a 7 day period its cheaper to buy a 7 Day Travelcard than an Oyster on PAYG.
According to the web, Wimbledon Station has a ticket office managed by South west Trains so you should be able to get a 7 day Travelcard there that will qualify you for 2 for 1 and not need a 11-15 Oyster ID Card like if you bought at Southfields. You would need a passport size photo though. Or you can buy 1 Day Child Travelcards there that also qualify for 2 for 1 and need no photocard. You can also buy 1 Day Child travelcards from Southfields without photo id but these will not qualify for 2 for 1.
However, the Wimbledon ability to sell tickets is based on information gleamed from the Web I don’t know this station personally. Perhaps you could get the people you are staying with to double check this.
I presume there is both a railways and underground ticket office at Wimbledon, but i don’t really know.
Thank you for your answer. We plan to use SW Trains from Gatwick to Wimbledon, and buy return tickets (group save). Will those tickets alone qualify for 2 for 1 for the entire stay?
At the end of the day its up to the attraction if they accepted a Gatwick to Wimbledon via Clapham Junction ticket.
Strictly speaking they shouldn’t as the whole point of the promotion and the railways sponsorshop of the promotion is to encourage people to use the train when going sightseeing rather than other transport options.
You therefore should have railway tickets that enable you to get to the attraction valid for the day of the visit.
So a return to Wimbledon would be valid for any 2 for 1 attractions around Wimbledon, but not for any in Central London.
Having said that attractions are very variable on how closely they scrutinize the tickets, so you may be OK on some places.
If you want to be totally sure of being accepted for 2 for 1 in Central London you either need to get a return ticket from Gatwick to London Victoria for the 2 for 1 qualification, then buy separate tickets back out to Wimbledon or buy rail purchased Travelcards for the duration of your visit and travel from Wimbledon into london each day.
Hi, I have read all the above posts and want to see if I understand this correctly. We will be in London June 29-July 4th so for 6 days total. We will be staying right by the British Museum so within walking distance of a lot of stuff. But we have 4 kids and they don’t always like walking a lot as I found out in Washington DC. We will fly into Heathrow or Gatwick in the am. We have 4 kids–13, 13, 11, 7. I know for our 7 yr old we don’t need a ticket, but we do for our other 3. It seems counter-productive to spend £10 for an ID card for the 3 kids. We can buy them 7 day travel cards from one of the main railways you list like King’s Cross as we could also use them for the 2 for 1 special. Or would it just be easier to order them ahead of time online as we have plenty of time for that? I think the Tower of London is the only 2 for 1 special we would like to do. Maybe the transport museum but I am not sure. Kids get in free to Churchhill war room from what I have read. I don’t think if we order them ahead of time that we could use them for the 2 for 1. We will be leaving from Heathrow as well. We also want to go to Harry Potter Studios but I read that you can take a train from Euston Station to get there. Thanks shannon
There is no point in going through the Oyster ID Card route for your kids as you say.
Gatwick to St Pancras is the best route for Bloomsbury by train. Depending on what time you are travelling there mab be 4 travel for the price of 2 fares on the train.
At St Pancras Railway Station you can buy 7 day Travelcards zones 1-2 from the train station ticket office (not Underground)
Both adults and child need to bring along a passport size photo and the railway staff will make up a railway photocard free of charge on the spot.
It is only Oyster Cards and Travelcards issued by everywhere else but railway ticket offices that want the Oyster ID Cards at £10.
The other work around as you say is to buy on-line from the TFL Visitor Shop where no photo id is required at all, but these Travelcards are not valid for 2 for 1 and there is a charge for delivery to your home address.
Hi Bob
Want to travel to london in summer by car for 2 days,need to find a hotel with parking,and need advise on which tickets to buy to travel around for 2 days.
many Thanks
If its a hire car then just get rid of it for a couple of days.
If its your own car then look at BCP (search “BCP parking in London” on a search engine).
If you want to stay in the suburbs and commute in each day look at Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties on their web sites
For 2 days in London the best transport pass is an Oyster Card
Hi Bob,
I am coming to London for 8 days in April with my husband and 2 daughters aged 6 and 8. I don’t find it easy to organise our stay and I would appreciate some help!
On day 1, we will land at Heathrow between noon and 1pm. We don’t expect to be in our hotel (Earl’s Court) before 3 or 4pm, so we’ll have a few precious hours left to visit. In your opinion, what would be the cheapest way to travel on such short time?
From day 2 to day 8, I have planned to buy 1-week travelcards for my husband and myself. As regards children, I am a bit confused.
I’ve read that children travel for free if they are with an adult who has an Oystercard (not the case for us) or a valid ticket.
Is a 1-week travelcard considered as a “valid ticket” ? Or do we have to buy a 1-week travelcard for each child ?
We plan to buy travelcards at Victoria Railway Station in order to benefit from the 2-4-1 offer. If we ever have to buy travelcards for the children, can they also benefit from this offer, or does it apply only to adults?
Thank you in advance for your help !
For children under 11 they travel free on the Underground and Buses when they travel accompanied irrespective of what tickets their parents are using.
The 2 for 1 promotion requires everyone who is entering under 2 for 1 to have a valid ticket issued by the railways.
So regards your kids its a straight choice between travelling free and not qualiying for 2 for 1 or buying Child Travelcards and qualifying for 2 for 1. There are 1 Day Travelcards (that don’t need photo id’s if you want to pick and choose days covered)
You might want to consider the adults buying an adult Oyster card at Heathrow Underground Station and use that for travelling to and from Heathrow, your journey to Victoria on day 2 to get the Travelcards and any evening excursion on Day 1.
Don’t forget to bring a passport voucher each and print the 2 for 1 vouchers you require before you travel. Get your deposit back
About 15 minutes walk from Earls Court along the Cromwell Road are the South Kensington Museums, for kids the basement of the Science Museum is very good and all three museums are free and world class.
If you’re tired after your trip and just want a short break I’d recommend you walk 5 minutes south from Earls Court to West Brompton Cemetrey, a magical place for kids to romp.
Hello Bob
Myself and my wife and 2 grandchildren aged 9 & 12 will arrive in London ( King Cross ) on Sunday 17th Feb until the 21st Feb staying at the Comfort Hotel in South London Rd, I have a metro senior citizens pass my wife a metro blind pass also a disabled rail card. as I see it, on the buses my eldest grand daughter could travel as my wife’s carer ( as she usually is ). when we are out and the 8 yr old could travel free with me, but what would be the best tickets to buy for the tube because the children would really like to experience it on one or two days,
Also are there direct bus links from where we are staying to the main tourist sites eg: Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Sq. My wife is blind and disabled but not in a wheel chair so the fewer transport changes the better
Not too sure I know what a Metro Senior Citizens Pass I assume its a regional seniors pass. If it comes under the National English Bus Concessionary Scheme that allows free travel on London’s red buses but not the Underground.
Your 9 year old travels free on London’s bus and Underground services without a ticket
The disabled railcard allows you to load this discount onto an Oyster Card, but only applies the discount to off-peak travel on the Underground.
The disabled railcard allows you to buy a 1 Day Travelcard Off Peak Travelcard Zones 1-6 with the discount, though you only really need a zone 1-2 Travelcard which isn’t available for discount on this scheme and there is a miimum amount which for a child may mean you are getting no discount at all.
I’m sure you are a lot more familiar than me with who qualifies as a helper.
The Oyster Card also is very clunsy for use for just one journey on the Underground as you have to make a £5 deposit for each one and then claim it back at the end when you surrender it.
A 12 year old also needs an Oyster 11-15 Photocard to get an Oyster Card or free travel on the buses and this costs £10 and several weeks to process.
1 Day Travelcards and child fares have no ID card requirements.
There is a child 7 child bus pass available for £9.80
The cash fare for a single child ride on the Underground in the centre is £2.20, £4.50 adult
I’m assuming you are staying in the Comfort Inn Vauxhall, South lambeth Road
London’s attractions are spread out over a wide area. The bus map below of Central London will help you. Your hotel is at the bottom of the map just below Vauxhall where the 2 and 88 bus come into the map.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/central-london-bus-map.pdf
Hi Bob
12 of us r coming to London for a 10 hour stopover, on our way to Africa. We will arrive Fri, March 1/13. We would like to visit as many of the top 10 attractions as time allows and the ones that are maybe closest together. Is it best we all buy a 1 day London Pass with travel?
Can u suggest an itinerary that would allow the best / shortest London sightseeing trip and travel recommendations! Thanks looking forward to hearing from you
A London Pass probably wouldn’t be a good idea in terms of achieving your objective.
Assuming you are all going to travel together buy a group day ticket at Heathrow Underground.
http://www.londontoolkit.com/blog/transport/group-day-tickets-travelcards-for-10-or-more/
The top 10 ten tourist attractions are below (which are not the same as the London Pass people tell you are the top 10)
http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/tourist-attraction/top-ten-attractions
There is a very good chance that some of these won’t be at all of interest to your group whilst others not on the list might be a highlight depending on where your interest lie.
Given the “top commercial attractions” that get all the marketing take 2 to 3 hours to visit and best part of 20 GBP to enter each I wpuld suggest you just target 2 or 3 that really are must see’s to your group and use the Group day Ticket to get to them or just get on one of the hop on, hop off sightseeing buses taht take about 3 hours to do one lap and give you a good orientation to London.
Hi Bob,
I am visiting London next month with my 13 year old daughter.
We will stay in London for a total of 10 nights.
We will arrive in the evening and take the Heathrow express, and when we leave, we may take tube (the flight is in the morning).
During the first 5 days, we will be traveling so we will need to take bus/tube between the hotel to the station only (on 4 days) .
During the last 4 days, we will stay in London.
Do you think it will be better off to buy a one week travel card (zone 1 and 2) for me for 4 days in London (+ I can use the card on 2 days out of the above 4 days )
and buy oyster card for the rest of the stay, or just use oyster card for the whole time?
What shall I do for my daughter? Buy a one week travel card from a railway station?
Please advice
Thank you.
For yourself it sounds as if an Oyster Card is the right solution for the entire stay.
For your daughter its more tricky as she needs an Oyster 11-15 Photocard to get a child Oyster – which if you’re happy to apply for on-line might be a good idea if only for the convenience factor.
Otherwise its a day by day thing of working out if you just pay individual child fares or pay for a 1 Day Travelcard which you don’t need a photo from the Underground for or buy a 7 day Travelcard from Paddington Station railway ticket office which you will need a photo for so they can issue you with a free railway ID card.
If you are doing the sights and can take advantage of the 2 for 1 admission programme that alone would justify you both buying 7 Day Travelcards from Paddington Railway Station as the savings from taht may well be far more than the amounts involved on the transport.
Thank you, Bob.
I will buy an Oyster card for myself and my child.
as far as i gather, an adult can get a paper 7day travelcard at a national rail ticketoffice only carrying a photo. But my question is: may i get several travelcards, providing a photo for each, or the “photographed face” must stand in front of the counter?
I mean, I’m coming by car and need to stop at a railway station to get travelcards. Each of my friends need to go or one of us can do all the job?
Hope it is clear.
P.S.
Is there a way to know every tube/rail station (the one that sells paper travelcard for 2-4-1 offer) opening time?
Below is a link to a list of all of the rail stations in the London area and who manages them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_London_railway_stations.
You should be able to buy a Travelcard for 2 for 1 from any station that is managed by a rail company and not TFL, London Underground or Overground.
Once you have a likely station search the station on the National rail web site and that will give you opening hours and London transport zone.
I would then phone them and ask them directly if you can get the Travelcards without being present.
Let us know what result you get.
Wrote an email on February the 6th, today i received the answer.
After some apologize for the delay, they told:
I can confirm that each of you will have to be present to purchase the travel card.
Hope this could help other people needing this info.
bye
cdb
We are coming to London on the 18 February 2 adults and 4 children ages 12,11,9,7 we will be staying at Londons king cross and are hoping to see the sights what is the best way to travel.
I was also considering the bus tour for two days, we wil be staying for 3 nights and are travelling by car
The HoHo buses are fine just for an initial orientation of London and until the end of February there is a 2 days for the price of one offer. However, its bitterly cold on the top deck off a open top bus in February, not a pleasant experience if the weather stays as it is currently.
If you know broadly what you want to do and visit the best in terms of convenience and ease of use would be an Oyster Card for the adults and 1 day child Travelcards for the kids. The 7 and 9 year old travel free on London’s Underground and buses and do not need tickets.
Hello Bob
I’m staying just outside London and coming in for the day.
Just wanted to check my research is correct. If I buy a family travelcard from Kings Langley Station, for 2 adults and 2 under 16s, that will give us return off peak travel to Euston, travel around London by tube and bus (all zones?) and access to the 2for1 promotions for that day?
Many thanks
Simon
If by Family travelcard you mean a day return ticket bought from the railway station at Kings Langley with a London Travelcard as part of the ticket then yes you are right.
Bob, thank you for answering my previous question. Sorry I had a lot of confusion, but it’s clear now. One more question, please. Do you know if Kensington Olympia Railway Station sells the travelcard to get the 2-4-1? That one is only 18 minutes away from the hotel we’ll be staying at. The next closest one to that one is 44 minutes away-Paddington Railway Station. Thank you.
Olympia is an Underground/Overground station not a railways station.
The number 27 bus runs direct to Paddington from Olympia or you can walk to Kensington High Street and get the tube from there, either should take about 20 minutes
Hi Bob,
We’ve purchased a 7-day Zone 6 Travelcard and are staying at the Holiday Inn T5. The local buses are outside that zone. Is there a faster way to get into downtown London than taking the local bus 77 back to T5; then the Underground? What about a bus to West Drayton, then a train? Much appreciated.
If you want to use the Travelcard, probably best just to go back to Heathrow.
Hi Bob, really confused and dont know what to do for the best. Just want a one day travelcard for just zone one as have a train into Liverpool street. For two adults, one 18 year old in fulltime education, one 17 year old, one 15 year old and one 6year old. It seems different for everyone! would be really grateful if you could help me many thanks
Your requirements are 4 x 1 day adult Travelcards, 1 x Child Travelcard and the 6 year old travels free without a ticket.
Visiting London for 4 days (Feb) 2 x adults ,1 x 16 yr. old. what’s the most cost effective/easiest way of getting around on tubes please
Buy an adilt Oyster Card for each person.
For 4 days its not viable to get an id card for your 16 year old to qualify for child fares.
http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/oystercard.htm
Hi Bob! We will be in London for 3 days in July (2 adults, 1 10year old, 1 13 year old). We definitely want to do the 2-4-1 so I know we need travelcards. Am I right in thinking that we would need to buy a travelcard each evening for the next day and be able to do the attractions 2-4-1 as well? Does my 10 year old absolutely need a travelcard (even though he travels for free) in order to get the 2-4-1? Thank you!
Yes you need a valid Travelcard issued by the railways only, nowhere else, for the day you are visiting an attraction you want to use a 2 4 1 coupon on.
This also applies to your 10 year old. If you travel free as a 10 year old, no ticket is required, so you cannot be valid for 2 4 1 .
It still doesn’t make sense to me. But if I buy a travelcard, my 13 year old can get in for free at attractions with the 2-4-1 (he would still need the travelcard for transportation). And if my husband buys a travelcard, my 10 year old can get in for free at attractions with the 2-4-1 (but he won’t need a travelcard because he already gets to ride free transportation). You know what I’m talking about? Thank you!
Its confusing because using the Travelcard is a loophole that the 2 for 1 promotion wasn’t designed for.
The promotion is run by the national railways, and on all railway services there is no free travel for children.
The 2 for 1 promotion is sponsored by the railways and was designed that people taking advantage of the promotion would use the railways instead of taking the car to an attraction.
The Travelcard is just a loophole, in that railway stations sell Travelcard as they run a large rail commuter network in London where Travelcards are valid and they sell Travelcards at their ticket ofices.
That is why only Travelcards bought from a railway ticket office are valid for 2 for 1.
Free travel for under 11′s is a TFL thing on London’s buses and Underground and is nothing to do with the railways.
Travelcards bought from TFL outlets like theUnderground are not valid for 2 for 1.
For your 10 year old, the choice is travel free on buses and underground but not railways without a ticket, in which case you do not qualify for 2 for 1. Or buy a child Travelcard from the railways and do qualify for 2 for 1.
We won’t be traveling on railways, so I guess what we’ll be doing is purchasing 3 travelcards, therefore the 3 of us get 2-4-1 (which essentially that is good for 6 entries already allowing our son to get in with us)!
3 Travelcards bought from the railways entitle 3 people to use the 2 for 1 voucher.
For 6 people you would need 6 Travelcards and 3 x 2 for 1 vouchers
If your son is under 11 he travels free on London’s Underground and Buses without a ticket.
As he has no ticket he doesn’t qualify for 2 for 1.
If you wanted him to participate in 2 for 1 he would need a child rate Travelcard bought from the railways.
If i was to travel up to london to go to the Natural History Museum with the family comprising of 2 adults and 4 children two over 5years two under 5 years would any of the children need to buy ticket for the underground from waterloo
Children under 11 travel free on the Underground when accompanied.
They do not need tickets so you will have to go through the manned gates rather than the normal automatic ticket barriers
Hi Bob,
I am finding your website really helpful. Although I am still a little confused as to what will be best for our situation.
I will be visiting London for 6 days with my Family (Wife and three girls 13, 12 and 8 years old). We will be staying in Bromley but will more than likely be commuting to London by train most days. What would be the best option for us? Travelcard for zones 1-6 for me and my wife but what about the kids? We would like to take advantage of the 2-1 attractions offer. And when and where should we buy the cards. In London or before we leave?
Thanks
Simon
Parts of Bromley are in zone 4, some in zone 5.
Where are you staying and where and how are you arriving in London
Hi Bob,
We will be flying into Heathrow and staying at Rodway Road, Bromley.
Cheers
probably train from Heathrow to London…though i haven’t researched that yet..what would you suggest?
Sundridge Park seems to be your local station and is in zone 4.
Sounds like you won’t be going into London every day.
For the adults, assuming you will be using the Underground from Heathrow I would get an Oyster Card at Heathrow
On the London Underground your 8 year old travel free, but not on the train between Bromley and Central London
For your other children I’d get a 1 day child Travelcard to get to Bromley.
If you are going to be going into London 5 or more days its worth getting 7 Day Travelcards zones 1 to 4 at Victoria Rail Station for all to qualify for 2 for 1. You will need passports size photo’s for each of you
If you are going in less than 5 days, then just buy 1 day Travelcards at Sundridge Park each day when requiring 2 for 1 or your Oyster when not. The manned ticket office at Sundridge Park is only open weekday mornings.
Groupsave tickets where 4 travel for the price of 2 at certain days/times may also be available and for certain dates and times to Victoria only that will be slightly cheaper than a Travelcard. If you go to the South east railways web site you can view prices/times interactively on-line. These will also qualify for 2 for 1.
hi bob. My family and i are going on a trip to london for 15 days, and will probably stay at Ilford. My age is 16, my sister’s 14 and we will be accompanied by our 2 parents. What would you suggest us to purchase? What zone is ilford in?
thank you in advance
Ilford is in zone 4.
Yourself at 16 will have to travel as an adult.
Assuming you will be travelling most days into London it sounds like a 7 day Travelcard for zones 1 to 4 fits the bill.
For your 14 year old sister its best if she buys the Travelcard from a rail station, not an Underground/Metro Station. If she brings along a passport size photo she will get a photocard made up at the ticket office free of charge.
Anywhere else and she would need an Oyster 11-15 Photocard that you apply for on-line and costs £10 and takes several weeks to process.
If you are staying with relations or someone, get them to check out Ilford Railway Station to see if it has a railway manned ticket office, I think it should but i don’t know that station.
The adults will also need photocards issued if you buy from the railway station.
Another benefit of getting Travelcards from the railways station is that they qualify you for the 2 for 1 promotion, see:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1.html
Dear Bob I’m planning to go to London with a group of 14-15 year old students . My question is related to traveling by bus in London. I’s the second time I’m going to go there, the first time we bought group day tickects for the tube, but this time we would like to travel by bus as well. What do we need to do for it? Because I have read that if we have a travelcard and the child are under 16, they could travel by bus for free. Is it necesary to buy an oytercard? I was in London last summer and my niece needed a photo card to by a 7 days thavelcard, it wasn’t a zip oyster travelcard but a cardboard photo card that gave us in Euston Station.
Thanks in advance
Rosa
For children between 11 and 15 to get free travel on the buses they need an Oyster 11-15 Photocard that costs £10 per child. This also allows then to travel at child rate on the Underground.
You can get around the photo requirement only by buying single child fares, buying 1 day child Travelcards or the group tickets but no free child travel.
The railways ticket offices sell their own 7 Day Child Travelcard which unlike the TFL one doesn’t require an Oyster Photocard that costs £10, they issue their own free photocard on the spot, you just need to bring the photo. Unfortunately the Oyster is a TFL product, you cannot use railways photocards to enable free travel for your 15 year olds on the buses.
For adults riding the buses there is a special daily bus only cap of £4.40 with each journey costing £1.40 on an Oyster Card
Bob, going to London on Jan 25th until 27th with my 16 year old son. Will be staying mainly in Zone 1. Travelling from Gatwick on the express to Victoria. What is the best option -just get tickets on underground as needed?
Gerry
Buying individual fares is both expensive and time consuming.
Best get an Oyster Card each whilst in London when you get to Victoria, don’t get the ones sold by the Gatwick express.
Your 16 year old counts as an adult.
Hi
My daughter is going to hopefully studying for a midwifery course in London, could you please tell me how much a student card 18+ will be for a week for zones 1-6.
Kerry
Your first step should be to find out if the educational establishment your daughter is studying with is registered with TFL for this scheme and the authorising officer will authorise your daughter for this discount.
Hi Bob,
My wife and I will be visiting London for a week, staying and travelling essentially within zone 1. Can we purchase an unlimited pass for the week and if so, what is the cost?
Thanks!
A 7 Day Travelcard in 2013 for zones 1 and 2 costs £30.40 and covers the Underground, buses and DLR.
Buy it at any Underground Station
Hi Bob,
my daughter (12) will travel tomorrow with me to London (Heathrow). As we are going to stay in London till Sunday, can we buy a one-day Travelcard at Heathrow (as we don’t have a photo for Oyster)? Also, can we buy a one-day Travelcard at any underground station in London)?
Thank you for your help,
Diana
Your daughter (and you) can 1 buy 1 day Travelcards at any Underground Station including Heathrow without any photo id.
You as an adult will probably be slightly better off getting an Oyster which for adults also dosen’t need photo id.
Hi, Bob!
We are coming from Croatia to London in March 2013. There are 7 of us: 5 adults and 2 children aged 14 and 15. Is it ok to buy 7-day Travelcards from TFL online shop and do we need anything else (like photos) with it?
Thank you for your help.
Ivana
If you require 7 Day Child Travelcards for 14/15 year olds then the TFL on-line shop is just about the best place to buy them as no photo id is required.
Thank you!
i only just realised i had posted this in the wrong bit!
any advice on how much £ we should load the card with?
Many thanks
Joanne
My husband and I are travelling in zone 1 with our 2 children aged 11 and 8 in July 2013.
Can I just check that I understand things correctly. When we arrive at Paddington train station I can purchase a 7 day travel card for my 11 year old if I provide a passport sized photo. My 8 year old will travel free when with us and I don’t need a ticket – but she will need to be let through a manned barrier each time.
My husband and I can purchase our 7 day travel cards at Paddington train station if we have a photo ID card (which we don’t)! Otherwise we can go to Paddington underground station a purchase 7 day travel cards without needing any photos?
Would it be better for us to purchase our 7 day travel cards in advance online and then just sort our 11 year old out when we arrive in Paddington train station?
Thank you.
There are 2 ticketing systems in London selling 7 Day Travelcards, TFL and the Railways, both have different rules and regs.
TFL ticketing is dominant, the only place you buy from the railways are railway ticket offices manned by railways staff at railway stations. By railway I do not mean the Londoon Underground or the Dockland Light railway.
If you buy a 7 Day Travelcard from a railway ticket office both adults and children need to have a photocard. This is free and is made up on the spot but you have to bring your own passport size photo.
The railways ticket office will then issue you your 7 Day Travelcards which are separate from the Photocard which you could use for oter railway products in the future.
The 7 Day Travelcards from the railways are card tickets with a magnetic strip and the railway logo on.
If you buy a 7 Day Travelcard from a TFL outlet it will come loaded electronically on an Oyster Card.
For adults it will just be issued, there are no photo’s or id involved.
For children you need to have obtained an Oyster card ID on-line beforehand that costs £10 and takes a month or so to process.
At Paddington Station the railways ticket office is on ground level where the trains like the Heathrow Express terminate, the TFL ticket offices are the London Underground ticket offices below ground.
Both Travelcards are exactly the same once in use, but only the railways Travelcards are valid for the 2 for 1 admissions promotion.
As you say children under 11 travel free on buses and underground in London without tickets, but do have age verification available if challenged.
Thank you.
It seems the best option is for us 2 adults and our 11 year old to have the travel cards issued at Paddington Train station on ground level and we will take passport sized photos with us. Is it best to take some other id as well? I only have a paper driving licence – no other photo id.
Thanks again for your help!
You do not need any particular id for the adult photo card. a driving licence I think would be fine.
Dear Bob,
I am extremely confused. I am travelling to London in March with my children, 18, 17, 8 and 6 years old. I will be travelling upto Zone 4 so am interested in purchasing the Travelcard 7 Day. But after reading all the different things I have to do, I don’t know where to start.
Would you be able to help me?
Your 6 year old and 8 year old travel free on London’s buses and Underground when accompanied by an adult, they don’t need any ticket. (Do bring proof of age in case challenged)
Your 18 year old is classified as an adult.
For your 17 year old to get child prices you need to apply on-line in advance for an Oyster 16-18 ID Card which enables you to get a child rate 7 Day Travelcard on Oyster. If you don’t do this treat your 17 year old also as an adult.
(The Oyster ID card costs 10 GBP and takes a minimum 4 weeks to process and you have to collect it at 1 of 5 visitors centres in London, so the hassle may not be worth the effort)
You can get 7 day Travelcards at all Underground stations amongst other places, they will come loaded an Oyster card and only take a minute to issue, you do not need photos or anything for adults.
Hi bob,
Do I have to get my 7 year old a travelcard if she is travelling the London underground with my 16 year old daughter? I know you mentioned that children under 10 can travel free if they’re accompanied by an adult, but does my 16 year old classify as one (she has the discounted student 16+ oyster card)? Just a bit confused.
Many thanks!
I suspect this is one of those obscure situautions that wasn’t covered when they made the rules and wasn’t covered in any staff training.
Personally my thoughts are if you read the rules literally, the fact that your 16 year old is travelling as a child in effect means your 7 year old is not accompanied by an adult and so requires an Oyster 5-10 ID card to get free travel.
I’d recommend you phone TFL customer services (020 7918 3015 ) for an authorative answer, whether this corresponds to the actions of the guy on the ticket barrier will be interesting.
Hi Bob – Saturday 5th I am travelling to London with my sons 18 & 15. I have an oyster card – we are going to visit the British Museum . Can my 18 year old son use my oyster card as well as me, thereby deducting two fares from the one card? – or should I buy him an oyster card of his own. Or would it be best to buy two 1 day travel cards now as I’ve left it to late to purchase my 15 year old a photo oyster card. Help. kim
You cannot share an Oyster between multiple people travelling together. When you put the Oyster through the first time to allow yourself through the barrier, the next time an Oyster gets put into a barrier it has to be an exit barrier somewhere else on the network.
For the short term tomorrow the expedient solution is to buy a 1 Day child Travelcard for your 15 year old, pending a decision whether you think its worth your while applying for an Oyster ID card for the future
For your 18 year old you may reason tomorrow is a good time to get a separate Oyster for him, assuming this won’t be the last time he travels within London, otherwise get an adult Travelcard.
I am planning to go on one of the london buses route 81 with my friend and am going to Ditton park in slough. Am quite worried that London buses do not have the 1-day bus passes since we are going back the same route, is there a cheaper way we can be able to pay a return ticket to go on the bus and back.
London’s red buses no longer have a 1 day bus pass, instead you use an Oyster card.
If you only use red buses and don’t use anything else your Oyster will be charged £1.40 per journey with a price cap on any calendar day of £4.40 if you make more than 3 bus journeys in a day.
Hi Bob, my husband and I and 4 kids – ages 9, 7, 5, 5 will be in London for 8 days in July 2013. We rented an apartment in Islington and pretty much want to site see and see London the entire time. Do you think it’s best to take the tub or busses? Also what type of card do you suggest? Oystercard?
Thanks so much, Emily
The London Underground is the best way to get around in Central London effeciently, though I would recommend using the double deck red buses where you can for another perspective on London. For kids that age it would be a good activity to give them a bus map and get them to sort out the bus routes required.
Children under 11 travel free on London’s public transport.
if you are doing the first time tourist thing visiting London’s icons you may want to consider getting 7 day Travelcard zones 1 & 2 from the nearest railway station with a railway ticket office. Islington is a big place, I suspect Kings Cross might be the nearest, but if you contact the owners of the apartment they might advise of a closer railway station (not Underground) to the apartment
Getting the Travelcard enables you 2 for 1 admission to mant of London’s attractions, see : http://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/london_travelcard_2for1.html
Otherwise just buy it from the nearest Underground Station or newsagent that seel Travelcards and Oyster Cards.