Looking for travel advice -London Heathrow to Russell Square with a family

[swee'pea99]

Thanks!

Two other things not everyone knows - 1) There's a maximum daily charge, so once you've hit a fiver or whatever it is, further journeys are effectively free, and 2) If you get off a bus and get on another one, you're not charged anything for bus #2. (There are T&Cs I can't be bothered to check, but that's basically it.)

 

[mjr]

So given all that, I think it's safe to say I won't use a contactless US card even if I had one unless I'm at the point of sale with a real person (BTW, are contactless cards the same as chip cards?).

No, only some chip cards are contactless. They usually have a symbol on them like a sideways wifi symbol without the dot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment

DC/CR = Docklands?

I'm guessing Debit Card / CRedit card, but I would usually have used CC for Credit Card. As far as I know, the Docklands Light Rail uses the same Contactless-or-Oyster system as the rest of London Transport so doesn't have its own cards.

 

[swee'pea99]

are contactless cards the same as chip cards?

Nope. And CR = CRedit card (as against DR = Debit card, ie takes money direct from your bank account. (NB CR isn't a term in everyday use...I'm just assuming that's what the user here meant.)

 

[mjr]

Nope. And CR = CRedit card (as against DR = Debit card, ie takes money direct from your bank account. (NB CR isn't a term in everyday use...I'm just assuming that's what the user here meant.)

Although you can also get prepaid debit cards that take money direct from an account only linked to the card. Money exchangers like Travelex will sell them to you, but probably not at a particularly good exchange rate unless you can preorder. I don't know if there's a guide to prepaid cards like http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/travel-credit-cards for people in the USA - anyone?

 

[jefmcg]

Two other things not everyone knows - 1) There's a maximum daily charge, so once you've hit a fiver or whatever it is

There is also weekly capping, Monday->Sunday but only applies to devices and cards, not to actual Oyster cards.

Note to the OP, you will need a separate contactless card for each traveller, so unless your kids have their own cards or you have spare ones with a different number that you are happy for them to carry, you'll need oyster cards for them

(and if you pre-order a photo-oyster card for them and pick it up at heathrow, I gather their travel is free. Who knew? --- yep, all the other posters on this thread knew )

 

[Nigeyy]

This is why I like this board, so many people being really helpful for which I am truly grateful.

So... I saw a 3-day Oyster pass for 90 quid (I think it's half that if your child is 11-16, and I have a 13,15 and 16 year old), which seemed like it would be quite expensive, I mean that's 30 quid a day and I don't think we'd be going on the tube that frequently during the day -I would have thought it would be better to just pay as you go. But capping? I never knew about this.

If it only applies to devices and cards (and I assume by that you mean contactless credit cards), and not oyster cards, I might be out of luck though -unless I consider buying a cheap phone which can be a payment device.

There is also weekly capping, Monday->Sunday but only applies to devices and cards, not to actual Oyster cards.

Note to the OP, you will need a separate contactless card for each traveller, so unless your kids have their own cards or you have spare ones with a different number that you are happy for them to carry, you'll need oyster cards for them

(and if you pre-order a photo-oyster card for them and pick it up at heathrow, I gather their travel is free. Who knew? --- yep, all the other posters on this thread knew )

 

[srw]

This is why I like this board, so many people being really helpful for which I am truly grateful.

So... I saw a 3-day Oyster pass for 90 quid (I think it's half that if your child is 11-16, and I have a 13,15 and 16 year old), which seemed like it would be quite expensive, I mean that's 30 quid a day and I don't think we'd be going on the tube that frequently during the day -I would have thought it would be better to just pay as you go. But capping? I never knew about this.

If it only applies to devices and cards (and I assume by that you mean contactless credit cards), and not oyster cards, I might be out of luck though -unless I consider buying a cheap phone which can be a payment device.

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card

It's 3 quid for the card, plus a few quid for the travel. And if memory serves you can buy them easily from machines at LHR.

 

[Nigeyy]

D'oh, thanks, I missed that bit, I was googling "tourist oyster card" kind of thing. So who the heck would buy a 90 quid 3-day pass then? (sorry rhetorical question).

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card

It's 3 quid for the card, plus a few quid for the travel. And if memory serves you can buy them easily from machines at LHR.

 

[mjr]

D'oh, thanks, I missed that bit, I was googling "tourist oyster card" kind of thing. So who the heck would buy a 90 quid 3-day pass then? (sorry rhetorical question).

Mugs being scammed by people who are better at Search Engine Optimisation than parts of London's government?

To be fair, people living in England make similar mistakes searching for how to get that US ESTA thing or the European Health Insurance Card instead of simply going to the appropriate dot gov or gov.uk web pages.

Edit: on checking, 3 one-day travelcards for all-zone travel wouldn't be far off £90 - but I think you'd need to be out in zone 9 and travelling into the central zone 1 and around a bit every day for that to work out the cheapest way to do it.

 

[subaqua]

Tube is cheaper on a Zip card for kids . However not sure if kids from outside London can get them now. We had a problem with getting one for my niece when she was here a few years ago. Was easier to get paper tickets in the end .

 

[subaqua]

Tube is cheaper but not Fred once over 11 on a Zip card for kids . However not sure if kids from outside London can get them now. We had a problem with getting one for my niece when she was here a few years ago. Was easier to get paper tickets in the end .

 

[slowmotion]

Take the Piccadilly line to Russell Square but don't forget to take a double decker bus ride at some stage during your stay here in London. Have fun.

 

[nickyboy]

Nope. And CR = CRedit card (as against DR = Debit card, ie takes money direct from your bank account. (NB CR isn't a term in everyday use...I'm just assuming that's what the user here meant.)

Sorry my fault for using DR/CR to represent Debit and Credit. "DR" and "CR" are accounting abbreviations for "Debit" and "Credit"

 

[User269]

If it's of interest, you can get an online quote for a taxi here.

 

[srw]

Edit: on checking, 3 one-day travelcards for all-zone travel wouldn't be far off £90 - but I think you'd need to be out in zone 9 and travelling into the central zone 1 and around a bit every day for that to work out the cheapest way to do it.

£17.20 is the daily cap for a PAYG Oyster card including zone 9, so £90 is over 5 days of travel, and someone is ripping off gullible tourists. While I think zone 9 is an absolutely splendid part of the country, and would highly recommend it to everyone, I have to recognise that zone 9 is not going to be top of everyone's list for tourist attractions. The Amersham fairground organ museum doesn't quite live up to the V&A, while St Mary's Chesham is a perfectly nice mediaeval church, if rather Victorianised - but it's not Westminster Abbey.

It is, however, a very good place to go for cycling. Off-peak, the fare out from anywhere in London to zone 9 is £4.10. You get dropped at the top of the Chilterns and have Buckinghamshire at your wheel.