Travelling in London….. weekend away.

Off to the big City tomorrow for a few days with Mrs and Teens. Is prepaid oyster card still the way to go for tube travel? Its been a while since I was last there and I’m sure things have moved on. A brief look at TFL website says you can scan contactless cards but we would need a separate card each.

Ta

Yes, get oysters for the teens, you can use your contactless.

They are all automatically capped at the day/week travel card rate.

If you register the cards online you can also track journeys made etc.

Yes, get oysters for the teens, you can use your contactless.

That hadn’t even occurred to me ….

Yeah Oysters for the kids, contactless for you and your wife.

Saves the hassle of hanging around the barriers trying to explain you want to swipe the whole family through, and then having to coral the family and causing a blockage at the barriers.

Just go to a tube station and look for a booth with someone in, large train stations are manned but smaller tubes (even Canary Wharf) are only manned sporadically throughout the day.

Its easy to top up oyster, plenty of top up machines dotted around tube/train stations.

Dont forget to tap in and out of each leg of your journey.

How old are the teens ?

Below 11 kids travel free.

Please stand on the right, :-)

The tube is handy but its often quicker or about the same time to walk in central London. You’ll see a lot more as well. Same goes for the bus. Sit at the front up top and you’ll get a great view. Much easier to hop on and off too. The bus is covered by your oyster.

How old are the teens ?

15 & 17….

TBH i think theyve both got bankcards these days so they could pay for themselves! result.

its often quicker or about the same time to walk in central London

Agreed, most things were wanting to do are walkable and would take longer on the tube

Please stand on the right

Might do ;-)

Re Bus …. take the Number 11 from Traf Sq east bound down The Strand past the Royal Courts of Justice onto Fleet Street. Carry on past St Pauls into the City and get off at Bank of England. Walk down King William St to The Monument and onto Tower of London (not sure I’d go in) over Tower Bridge and start to make your way back. Past City Hall and HMS Belfast (my grand uncle was a ship’s cook during the war) through Borough Market (loads to eat here, as there is all along the south bank) and on past the Globe Theatre…. briefly take the wife up the OXO tower :) … then along past National Theatre and London Eye and return over the river on Westminster Bridge. Go down Whitehall past Downing St and the back of Horse Guards and you are back to GO/Traf Sq … collect £200.

Have fun.

Mind the doors.

briefly take the wife up the OXO tower

Overrated. It’s a very tight squeeze, uncomfortably so IMHO, and it’ll leave a dent in the back pocket that could have been used far more purposefully.

Mind the doors.

Stand clear of the doors and mind the gap.

If you intend going to pickpocket hell, make sure valuables are kept out of sight.

Summer tourism in hot spots is a magnet for Mobie snatches and wallet pinchers.

If under 11s go free on the tube – how do they get through the gates?  Are you reliant on getting on and off at manned stations?  Also heading that way soon…

Stay out of the bloody way !!!

Really, not about tourists and other yokels exclusively, but people who get on or off the train and then just stand there in the doorway are really a liability. Likewise getting to the end of the escalator and then just standing gawping.Grrr!

If under 11s go free on the tube – how do they get through the gates?

Go to the wide barriers for wheelchairs, pushchairs and baggage and take them through with you. On manned stations they may have staff there who can open separately with their card anyway.

Yes, be cautious of pickpockets as in any town but also of moped phone snatchers…. try not to walk about with head down checking emails or following a map. Stop, stand in a doorway and check with phone in a position that isn’t easy for a thief to access while others keep watch, or better go into a shop or cafe and check there.

I’ve found the app Citymapper to be very useful in planning the best way to get across London. Works on buses and the tube, simple to use and free.

Thanks All….

You can get a faux Oyster card for <11yo.   Lets them through the barriers but costs nothing and IIRC has emergency contact details assocoated.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/travel-for-under-18s/zip-oyster-photocards#on-this-page-0

Go and have lunch at Maroush Express on Edgware Road. Best Lebanese nosh in London. Take care not to order too much mezze because it will fill you up before the mixed grill arrives.

Kryton – those zip cards mean they can travel for free but it seems they want 15 quid ‘admin’ fee for each card, unless I’m reading it wrong.  Not practical for us as its likely one trip a year only.

Oyster reg I thought was £5???

Long time ago now though..

ZIP cards look like a bit of a faff…. probably stick with Contactless and Oyster for sproglets.

Thanks again, all.