few ?s for a quick London visit

[mishoe1]

I tried first searching these boards and need some additional help/clarification, please.

 

We are 3 ladies there for a weekend after a cruise - 1 of us has never been there, 1 was there 30 years ago & the 3rd has been there 6 times but DEFINATELY not done it all :) We are staying in the Belgravia area (not too far from Victoria Station).

 

We want to get as much as we can out of the time we have - but want this to be quality stuff too. We have theatre tickets for Saturday evening & our other full day is a Sunday (we know shorter hours for things).

 

So.....

 

1. Hop on/hop off buses - I know that there are 2 (Big Bus Tours & Original London Sightseeing Tour) - is 1 better than the other? We're thinking this will be good to do on Sunday - get a good lay of the land & then decide what to see/what's open to see.

 

2. Oyster vs Travelcard - I think I have a grasp on what to do here, but I do know that things just changed too. I figure if we do the HO/HO bus for 1 day we only need to worry about the other full day (we are doing private transportation btwn Heathrow & the B&B). The main ? I have on the Oyster card is....do you pay per trip or is it unlimited/per day? If I remember correctly the Travelcard is unlimited/per day. The Oyster card also doesn't have a time limit, right? TC would be for 1 or 7 day only.

 

3. Simply Airports transfers - are they still a good company to use? Or would you recommend acxtransfers instead?

 

Thank you so much for any input! Really want this to be a weekend to remember (and in the good sense, not bad :p)

[Globaliser]

2. Oyster vs Travelcard - I think I have a grasp on what to do here, but I do know that things just changed too. I figure if we do the HO/HO bus for 1 day we only need to worry about the other full day (we are doing private transportation btwn Heathrow & the B&B). The main ? I have on the Oyster card is....do you pay per trip or is it unlimited/per day? If I remember correctly the Travelcard is unlimited/per day. The Oyster card also doesn't have a time limit, right? TC would be for 1 or 7 day only.

A pre-pay Oyster is pay-per-trip. Value is deducted from the card for every trip that you do.

 

But there are two important things to note:

 

1. The fare that is deducted when you're using the Oyster is usually much lower than the fare that you would have to pay if you were using cash. So you get an immediate benefit from doing this, when compared to paying cash per trip.

 

2. The Oyster has a daily price cap, which is now basically set at the same price as a one-day Travelcard that covers the travel that you have actually done. So if you use less public transport than that, you only pay for what you've used. If you use more public transport than that, you do not pay more than the cost of the most appropriate one-day Travelcard. All the complications like which zones you're in etc are automatically taken care of. Looking at fares paid, using a pre-pay Oyster should never be worse than using one-day Travelcards. (Technically, the cap is at the most appropriate combination of one-day Travelcards and Bus Passes, but you don't need to worry about that complication either.)

 

The recent positive changes to pre-pay Oysters are that they are now accepted on Thames Clippers river services, and all National Rail services for journeys within the London zones.

 

The main downside to using a pre-pay Oyster, particularly if you're only using it for one day, is that you have to pay a £3 deposit for the card. If you want to give it back at the end, you'll have to make a stop at a Tube station ticket office to hand it back and get a refund of the deposit and all the unused credit. If you were going to use the Tube to get to Heathrow, the ticket office would be right there when you get out of the Tube. But as you're using a private transfer (for reasons which I understand), you'd have to remember to do this immediately after your last Tube trip, hoping that the ticket office is open at the station that you're getting out at.

 

Of course, you could always keep the Oyster for your next trip. The card and the credit will not expire.

[Giantfan13]

I tried first searching these boards and need some additional help/clarification, please.

 

We are 3 ladies there for a weekend after a cruise - 1 of us has never been there, 1 was there 30 years ago & the 3rd has been there 6 times but DEFINATELY not done it all :) We are staying in the Belgravia area (not too far from Victoria Station).

 

We want to get as much as we can out of the time we have - but want this to be quality stuff too. We have theatre tickets for Saturday evening & our other full day is a Sunday (we know shorter hours for things).

 

So.....

 

1. Hop on/hop off buses - I know that there are 2 (Big Bus Tours & Original London Sightseeing Tour) - is 1 better than the other? We're thinking this will be good to do on Sunday - get a good lay of the land & then decide what to see/what's open to see.

 

2. Oyster vs Travelcard - I think I have a grasp on what to do here, but I do know that things just changed too. I figure if we do the HO/HO bus for 1 day we only need to worry about the other full day (we are doing private transportation btwn Heathrow & the B&B). The main ? I have on the Oyster card is....do you pay per trip or is it unlimited/per day? If I remember correctly the Travelcard is unlimited/per day. The Oyster card also doesn't have a time limit, right? TC would be for 1 or 7 day only.

 

3. Simply Airports transfers - are they still a good company to use? Or would you recommend acxtransfers instead?

 

Thank you so much for any input! Really want this to be a weekend to remember (and in the good sense, not bad :p)

 

If I may just add one thing to Globaliser's comments. If you decide to go for a travel card you might want to consider the Rail travel Card which is basically the same as a regular travel card except you buy it at a rail station. With this travel card you have the options for 2/1 entree fees at many of the attractions in London.

 

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/

 

We did this exact thing for a one day visit of London pre cruise.

 

As for some of your other questions.We used the Original Sightseeing Tour, for no particular reason except we were able to buy tickets on line for a bit cheaper than the other. I think they also have more buses running, but I cannot say that for a fact. It is a great way to see a good part of London for a very reasonable price. Plus, this particular company uses to give a coupon for a 3 pound meal at the Sherlock Holmes Pub, which we also used and loved.

 

We also used Simply airports and we very satisfied with them. They picked us up at the airport right on time and returned us to the airport after our post crusie stay, also right on time. Good service at an affordable price

 

Cheers

 

Len

[pkamison]

We used Simply Airports in December. They were very good and a reasonable price.

[skisteamboat]

1. AFAIK, the two HoHo companies run essentially the same routes and sights. I recommend London Walks http://www.walks.com for tours after the HoHo. They have many different types and places to see and go if you are up to walking.

 

3. I always take the train for the Airport(s).

 

Enjoy yourselves.

 

Cheers