7 Day Travelcard and LHR
Mar 17, 2012, 2:49 pm
#16
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yes but zone 1 covers a pretty big area!
If the OPs destination is in the west of zone 1 then the train to paddington might well be quicker but the train won't necessarily be quicker (and involve more changes) if the destination is more to the east of Zone 1 i.e the 'city' area where getting the picadilly line may well be better
If the OPs destination is in the west of zone 1 then the train to paddington might well be quicker but the train won't necessarily be quicker (and involve more changes) if the destination is more to the east of Zone 1 i.e the 'city' area where getting the picadilly line may well be better
Mar 17, 2012, 4:40 pm
#20
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yes but zone 1 covers a pretty big area!
If the OPs destination is in the west of zone 1 then the train to paddington might well be quicker but the train won't necessarily be quicker (and involve more changes) if the destination is more to the east of Zone 1 i.e the 'city' area where getting the picadilly line may well be better
If the OPs destination is in the west of zone 1 then the train to paddington might well be quicker but the train won't necessarily be quicker (and involve more changes) if the destination is more to the east of Zone 1 i.e the 'city' area where getting the picadilly line may well be better
I just wanted the OP to know that a journey from LHR on the tube to the centre of London takes ages.
I personally am surprised that anyone would stay at a LHR hotel and travel in to zone 1 on the tube each day, it might be better to consider a hotel closer to where you are working if cost of travel is important.
If you had the luxury of taking the HEX or a taxi, then no problem but going from zone 6 to zone 1 will take a long time with the tube stopping at every stop and being full!
Just mention this as I have taken this tube once myself and never would again.
Mar 17, 2012, 6:19 pm
#21
Join Date: Sep 2011
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I work in zone 1 near London Bridge. If takes ~ 50 mins to get to LHR via HEX and ~ 1hr to get there via the underground. Given the price difference between them I nearly always get the tube all the way there. Paddington is one of the least accessible mainline stations in London.
Mar 17, 2012, 6:28 pm
#22
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I work in zone 1 near London Bridge. If takes ~ 50 mins to get to LHR via HEX and ~ 1hr to get there via the underground. Given the price difference between them I nearly always get the tube all the way there. Paddington is one of the least accessible mainline stations in London.
Jun 7, 2012, 12:17 pm
#23
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 71
I will be in London for 9 days in the fall and I have been looking into this myself. Days 1 and 9 will be half days transiting to and from LHR and I will use my Oyster card on those days. But it appears that it will be much cheaper for us to get the zone 1&2 7 day travelcard for the middle days. It appears that good deals can be had on the Visit Britain web site to order it a month or so before we depart and have it shipped to us.
We will likely use the Heathrow Connect to get to and from LHR.
It sounds like we would then have the old-fashioned paper cards. It also appears that doing it this way will be a bit cheaper than loading the travelcard onto our Oysters.
I used to just use Oyster for every day (normally we're there 7-8 days when we go) then learned that we paid too much using Oyster only. So this seems like the way to go.
If anyone has other suggestions, please share!
We will likely use the Heathrow Connect to get to and from LHR.
It sounds like we would then have the old-fashioned paper cards. It also appears that doing it this way will be a bit cheaper than loading the travelcard onto our Oysters.
I used to just use Oyster for every day (normally we're there 7-8 days when we go) then learned that we paid too much using Oyster only. So this seems like the way to go.
If anyone has other suggestions, please share!
Jun 7, 2012, 12:53 pm
#25
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 71
I just checked the tfl.gov.uk site as well as the visitbritainshop.com.
TFL say:
Travelcards are paper tickets that can be purchased for various combinations of dates and zones. They are available for adults and children and do not need any photographic ID to be used for travel.
If the zones you require are not available from this shop, please purchase your Travelcard on arrival in London.
Please note that if you buy a 7 Day Travelcard from a TfL outlet upon arrival in London it will be issued to you on an Oyster Card.
Both sell it for the same price, and both will ship overseas prior to the trip with a paper ticket. TFL say that if bought at a TFL shop in London then it will be loaded onto an oyster card. I'd prefer it to be on an oyster card because the oyster is more durable and less likely to get misplaced.
TFL say:
Travelcards are paper tickets that can be purchased for various combinations of dates and zones. They are available for adults and children and do not need any photographic ID to be used for travel.
If the zones you require are not available from this shop, please purchase your Travelcard on arrival in London.
Please note that if you buy a 7 Day Travelcard from a TfL outlet upon arrival in London it will be issued to you on an Oyster Card.
Both sell it for the same price, and both will ship overseas prior to the trip with a paper ticket. TFL say that if bought at a TFL shop in London then it will be loaded onto an oyster card. I'd prefer it to be on an oyster card because the oyster is more durable and less likely to get misplaced.
Jun 7, 2012, 1:27 pm
#26
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 7,605
Why? As others keep pointing out Paddington is in the wrong place for most tourists who could reach their destination almost as quick, if not quicker, than the HEX, let alone the HEC. As you have Oystercards just use them on the Tube from Heathrow at a third of the cost
The cost is the same whether on Oystercard or on paper. The difference is access to the daysoutguide.com offers which offer substantial savings to people who buy Travelcards at National Rail ticket offices.
To be more precise, if you buy a 7 day Travelcard at National Rail ticket office it will come as a paper card, but you need to have a FREE photocard first.
For children aged between 11 & 15 offers a cheaper option than a zipcard and removes the hassle of applying for it in advance.
For children aged between 11 & 15 offers a cheaper option than a zipcard and removes the hassle of applying for it in advance.
Last edited by alanR; Jun 7, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Jun 7, 2012, 1:43 pm
#27
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 71
[QUOTE=alanR;18716522]Why? As others keep pointing out Paddington is in the wrong place for most tourists who could reach their destination almost as quick, if not quicker, than the HEX, let alone the HEC. As you have Oystercards just use them on the Tube from Heathrow at a third of the cost
We're staying in Maida Vale, so Paddington is just as easy at the Piccadilly line in from LHR. I'll take a look at that daysoutguide.com site, that sounds like it could be good!
Thanks for the very useful information about how National Rail fits in to what I thought was a London Underground thing, I wouldn't have thought it did. I guess it's sort of like that Parliamentary train line that I read earlier on this blog, one of those uniquely English ways of doing things!
We're staying in Maida Vale, so Paddington is just as easy at the Piccadilly line in from LHR. I'll take a look at that daysoutguide.com site, that sounds like it could be good!
Thanks for the very useful information about how National Rail fits in to what I thought was a London Underground thing, I wouldn't have thought it did. I guess it's sort of like that Parliamentary train line that I read earlier on this blog, one of those uniquely English ways of doing things!
Jun 7, 2012, 1:57 pm
#28
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Thanks for the very useful information about how National Rail fits in to what I thought was a London Underground thing, I wouldn't have thought it did. I guess it's sort of like that Parliamentary train line that I read earlier on this blog, one of those uniquely English ways of doing things!
Jun 9, 2012, 10:16 am
#29
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: London
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I will be in London for 9 days in the fall and I have been looking into this myself. Days 1 and 9 will be half days transiting to and from LHR and I will use my Oyster card on those days. But it appears that it will be much cheaper for us to get the zone 1&2 7 day travelcard for the middle days. It appears that good deals can be had on the Visit Britain web site to order it a month or so before we depart and have it shipped to us.
We will likely use the Heathrow Connect to get to and from LHR.
It sounds like we would then have the old-fashioned paper cards. It also appears that doing it this way will be a bit cheaper than loading the travelcard onto our Oysters.
We will likely use the Heathrow Connect to get to and from LHR.
It sounds like we would then have the old-fashioned paper cards. It also appears that doing it this way will be a bit cheaper than loading the travelcard onto our Oysters.
If you already have Oyster cards, then bring them with you, and load up a zones 1 & 2 travelcard once you get to London. It's possible to do this in advance, so when you get to Paddington, you could do this alongside adding a small amount of prepay credit to cover your first and last day's (non-Heathrow) travel.
Jun 9, 2012, 2:13 pm
#30
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It is not possible to purchase online a Travelcard and/or prepay credit to be loaded onto an Oyster card without a UK-billed credit or debit card. If you meant purchasing a future-dated Travelcard, then yes this is allowed.