Transportation in London

[rodi]

We did the same deal that eastnortheast mentioned - but it was only good if you had arrived, or were leaving by train. (We'd taken the chunnel over to London).

The travel card was great - we used buses, tube trips, and boat trips.

Google maps does a great job of showing you the best way from point A to point B in London - just select the public transportation option when you're doing directions. Very easy - very useful.

 

[eastnortheast]

We did the same deal that eastnortheast mentioned - but it was only good if you had arrived, or were leaving by train. (We'd taken the chunnel over to London).

Hmm, interesting. Maybe it has changed. We flew in, and after we got to our apartment, we walked over to St. Pancreas station (closest National Rail station) and and got our 7 day pass. They never asked how we arrived or how we were going to depart. Hardest thing was to get the photos. We had forgotten those (even though I knew they were required ), so had to find a nearby drug store with a printer and just downloaded photos off of my camera flash drive.

 

[pullmyfinger]

We did the same deal that eastnortheast mentioned - but it was only good if you had arrived, or were leaving by train. (We'd taken the chunnel over to London).

We were in London this past April and flew into Heathrow, took the tube to Victoria Station which is one of the participating stations to get the 7 day travel card and bought it there. They didn't ask us how we arrived there. We did have to have passport sized pictures for the travel cards though, and my picture wasn't quite right - we took them ourselves, but the guy working there made a color copy of my passport picture and used that for my travel card.

 

[pullmyfinger]

The family and I spent a week in London the past summer (2015) (me + DW + 5 kids (tweens thru teenagers).

I did a bit a research on transit cards and for us, the 7-day London TravelCard worked out best. Get a 7 day pass from a National Rail Station, and you get 2 for 1 discounts on a number of sites (You have to purchase from a National Rail Site - getting from a Tube station will NOT work to get the 2 for 1 deals). The downside is that you have to physically buy it at a National Rail Site. You cannot purchase ahead of time or over the internet. We felt it was better than the Oyster card, and we didn't want to get locked in by purchasing one of the all access passes. We definitely got our monies worth on the transit part - took buses/tube everywhere. Used the 2 for 1 a couple of times which helped a few bucks (or pounds as the case may be). Another note that if you do purchase this type of TravelCard, you will need a passport sized photo as they give you a card with your picture on it as well as your travel card. The picture card was used on buses, etc..

If you have a smart phone, there is a great London transit app. I believe it was free. We stayed by King Cross station and could put in our location and destination and it would let us know which bus, tube, etc. to take and the location of the bus stop. Could watch on the map in real time where you were going.

This was what I did as well. We were staying in zone 2, so we got 7 day travel cards for zones 1 and 2. We used the 2 for 1 for admission to St. Paul's Cathedral.

 

[CherylGrrl]

Have used the underground during many London visits. Last trip I started using Google Maps' public transportation option (planned trips at hotel when I had wifi, or at Starbucks/McDonalds) and found the bus system actually worked much better -- faster travel, less walking. Plus there was the sightseeing--much better than being in a dark tunnel!


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[brett]

We use the tube and the buses. We typically stay for 4 days at a time. Oyster card is our preference.

 

[traineeinvestor]

We spent a week in London last month and enjoyed it.

The London Pass was very good value, including many of the sights we went to. An Oyster Card for trains and busses is also a must. We arranged both of these before we left HK so we would not have to spend time when we got there.

The other thing that was helpful was the Uber App - taxis in London are exorbitant and the public transport late at night after shows or late dinners with two children was too slow.

The British Museum and the Natural History Museum were both excellent and free - but they got very crowded very early in the day. If you wish to go to either, aim to get there before opening hours and target the sections you want to see most first.

 

[gerntz]

Do a lot of the tube stations still not have elevators - oh, excuse me, lifts - to be disabled assessible?

 

[pullmyfinger]

Do a lot of the tube stations still not have elevators - oh, excuse me, lifts - to be disabled assessible?

Some of the larger stations have elevators. I think on the transport for london website where you can view the tube maps they have symbols next to the ones that are accessible.

To be honest, it seems like the tube would be very difficult to navigate with a disability. Not only the lack of elevators but people who live there and have tight time frames walk very fast or run and those of us on tourist time need to stay out of the way or get run over. I was surprised at how much walking there is to get from the street to your tube line because some of the lines are so far underground.

 

[friar1610]

...

Also get the iPhone App - London Tube App - great to plan trips

Speaking of apps, when I was there in April I noticed a sign giving details on an app to help you find public toilets (loos) in London. Could be quite useful.

 

[braumeister]

Yes, the London toilet finder app can be remarkably handy.

I also have another one on my iPhone that works all over.

I don't know if it still works, but you used to be able to text "toilet" to 80097 in London and get the location of the nearest public convenience. I was clued in to that by a helpful local about ten years ago.