Giggleswick

The Natural History Museum is free (though putting a contribution in the box is welcome), so there's no ticket queue and no proof of entry. But, as others have noted, there's a security check which, of course, applies every time you enter.

thijsseh

You can't do anything Oyster related at Windsor because it is outside zone 6 (Oyster territory).
There are a few destinations outside zone 6 where you can use the card (LGW being one), but there are no 'facilities' there. And anyway, Windsor is not one of them.

WorldLux

Oystercards are valid in all 9 (!!!) zones of TfL and beyond those zones on select services. The Great Western Railway seems to accept Oystercards in all of their stations within London. Windsor's definitely not in London.

Ldnn1

I've linked to it already upthread but here again is the network map showing stations where Oyster is accepted:

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rai...rvices-map.pdf

Windsor is not within it.

Graciecatt

I understand I can't use my Oyster at Windsor. I had been under the mistaken impression that I could at least purchase one there at the station, but after thinking about it, it doesn't make sense that I could purchase the Oyster at Windsor since I can't use it anyway.

I had been hoping to get all of my transportation purchases done at once, but I can at least buy all the other rail tickets at Windsor and buy my Oyster upon arrival at Paddington once I change over to the underground station.

WorldLux

^ and you can get the TfL Oyster app (released earlier this month) which allows you to top-up your card on the go. It is a bit wonky at the moment and it takes some time for it to refresh and complete journeys. Had multiple warning notifications on my phone that I had negative credit on my card (the system needs time to detect the touch out and until it receives the confirmation that you successfully touched out).

:D!

I wouldn't bother with an app (particularly if it's "wonky" and "takes some time to update") if I was visiting London for 4 days.

WorldLux

when I same that it takes time to update I mean that the app does display the journey history instantaneously. This has never been the case so far (apart from ticket machines). The TFL websites shows your journey history only the next morning, whereas the app takes probably 2hours to show it thus making it quicker than the website.

Graciecatt

I downloaded the Tfl Oyster app (thank you WorldLux!) and as soon as we get cards I will load them on. This will be really helpful in terms of knowing my balance so I don't overload near the end of our trip, and of course for the ease of topping up wherever we are.

I read that I can get my £5 deposit and up to £10 PAYG funds refunded on each card. Is this information up to date? I can do the refund online once I get home with my registered cards?

WorldLux

I'm not sure if you can set up an account right away. TfL used to ask you your last journey and you could only add an oyster card to your online account the day after travelling.

If you're doing 3 trips in zones 1 and/or 2 per day you'll be charged the day cap of 6.6£. A trip to zone 3 pushes the cap to 7.7£. That will certainly help you predict your budget.

You can do the refund at a ticket machine.

PS: Sometimes walking is much quicker than using the tube. For short distances (e.g. Trafalgar Square - Covent Garden; Chinatown - Soho; etc.) walking is certainly a great alternative as going down to platform level and back up to street level can take some time. And if you don't like walking there are always buses (count towards the day cap).

NWIFlyer

I think it's worth highlighting, based on this post, that Uber has just been refused a licence to continue operating in London, although they have 21 days to appeal and can continue to operate during that time. This might affect some of your transport choices!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41358640

Graciecatt

OK I'll have to pay attention once I get our Oyster cards. And good to know about the refunds at the machines. Maybe I'll just do it when we arrive back at LHR - we're in T5.

I totally get it about walking between stations being quicker. Here in Boston we have a great deal of subway stations super close to each other. I also think walking instead of a bus and traffic might be quicker too in some cases.

I tried to lay out the best way of transport between each of our itinerary stops - a little excessive, but I wanted to see options ahead of time so we'll spend less time figuring it out each time we go from one place to another. Just plain walking was definitely something I looked at.

I found a map of walking distances between Tube stops somewhere (directed by someone here? Not sure) which I immediately put in my Tripit Notes.

Graciecatt

Wow that's amazing. And good to know. The 21 days will just hit our time over there. I can't imagine a city refusing Uber, although we had our issues here as well with airport trip originations and the taxi unions.

Graciecatt

We are back and had an amazing time that ran like clockwork thanks to all the help I got here with my research and prep. I was going to write a trip report, but I got intimidated from the "how to write a great trip report" thread.

Just a couple highlights from my discussions here:

• We sat upstairs (world traveller) on our A380 to London. I liked that it was just us without a 3rd person - totally worth the extra seating cost - thank you to those that suggested it.
• Used the Priority Pass The Club in BOS. Hated the basement vibe, but food was not bad and service was excellent
• St. Pancras Renaissance was amazing. The Chambers Club was totally worth it. For those who know the story, I had contacted the hotel as it was my birthday trip and customer service booked us a junior suite for an extra £80/night above my booked AAA rate. I was never charged the extra £80 so we ended up with the junior suite for the AAA rate.
• We used buses, national rail, and the Tube - all was super easy, quick, and clean. As I learned here, it was great to take the bus to see the city rather than always being underground. We enjoyed sitting in the front seat on the top. Despite having apps for Citymapper, TfL, and National Rail, we used google to get around.
• Oyster card refund was quick and easy - I never would have known that was a thing so thank you!

We managed a week's worth of sightseeing in our 4 days - kept to our schedule plan and even added a couple things.

Day 1 - Windsor Castle, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St. Dunstan
Day 2 - Bletchley Park, Brick Lane, Churchill War Rooms, Bletchley pop-up bar (so much fun!!)
Day 3 - Kensington Palace, Leadenhall Market, Beefeater Distillery, Grant Museum of Zoology, Covent Garden, Sky Pod Bar in the Skygarden
Day 4 - Natural History Museum with a side trip to the V&A gift shop. I would have loved seeing the V&A but my daughter had spent extensive time there her last trip to London. Had we known, we would have at least attended their Pink Floyd exhibit.

Outstanding food:

• Whoever recommended the North Sea Fish Restaurant near St. Pancras - thank you! Both the fish and chips were the best - honestly the best french fries/chips I've ever had and the fish was super fresh with perfect batter.
• Comptoir Libanais at South Kensington. Lebanese/Middle Eastern is our favorite and this was one of the best we've had.
• Eclectic mix of food from the stalls at Brick Lane - Chinese dumplings, homemade gnocchi, dolma, and kaftka. I could have eaten a zillion of the dumplings - super light and crispy.

Biggest ££££ surprise - getting charged £17 to store our luggage at the Natural History Museum. This was on our last day and since Kensington is halfway to LHR from the St. Pancras, we brought our luggage. I inferred from their website that it was free or at least nominal. Had I known I would have used the Citystasher service a couple blocks away instead.

Best use of ££££

• The £10 Behind the Scenes Spirit tour of the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum. The guide literally took us back to where the scientists' labs are to see the preserved zoology specimens. My daughter is a marine scientist so this was something she was really looking forward to. It was just the 2 of us and a mother and her 2 young daughters.
• buying rail return tickets from Queensland Road to Vauxhall to use for 241 deals - we saved almost £100 for the £5 I spent on the tickets

Most underwhelming use of ££££ - Kensington Palace and the included Diana Dress Exhibit - I could have totally done without spending £55 for this.

bigguyinpasadena

"Most underwhelming use of ££££ - Kensington Palace and the included Diana Dress Exhibit - I could have totally done without spending £55 for this."
WOW! That is pricey! Buckingham Palace was only 31 GBP!