When planning a trip to London, you need to think about how you're going to get around and whether you're going to opt for Oyster Card or Travel Card.
That's why I'm going to explain the main differences and, hopefully, make your decision easier.
Oyster Card or Travel Card: article summary
London Oyster Card: what is it?
The London Oyster Card is a plastic pay-as-you-go card, about the size of a credit card.
To get one, you have to pay £7You can recharge it as often as you like and use it again and again.
It is valid for travel on the metro and certain trains. For each use, the fare will be calculated depending on the zones you travel to and the time of day at which you made the journey.
This is the best option if you're visiting London and using public transport several times a day.
With an Oyster card, you pay for every journey you make, and there's a maximum daily limit. Once this daily limit has been reached, you will no longer be billed for extra trips.
Travelcard in detail
The London Travelcard entitles you to unlimited travel for a set number of days in selected London travel zones.
This card can be purchased for a day, a week, a month or a year, and with it, you benefit from unlimited travel in the London transport zones of your choice.
Generally speaking, a day travel card in London is something I don't usually recommend, as the daily limit on the Oyster card is cheaper than the day travel card.
A 7-day subscription is only useful if you're counting on a lot. use London's public transport system.
How to choose between Oyster Card and Travelcard
To choose between an Oyster Card or a Travelcard and save as much money as possible on your trip planning a trip to Londonthere are two things we need to bear in mind:
- The number of days you will spend in London
- The travel zones you'll be covering
Oyster Cars or Travel Card: take the number of days into account
As a general rule, after comparing prices, I usually recommend a London Oyster Card if you are staying in London for less than five days.
If you are staying in London for more than 5 days, you can opt for a 7-day subscription.
Travel zones
If you buy a season ticket, you need to know which zones you'll be using. Most of London's most popular attractions are in zone 1.
Some tourist attractions are located in zone 2, such as the market of Camden Town. But you also need to bear in mind the location of your hotel.
Take into account the daily limit on the Oyster card
I should mention that the Oyster, card has a daily cap. Once this daily limit is reached for certain travel zones, you can travel for free within these same travel zones.
You must always use your Oyster card as you normally would, but you won't be charged.
The cheapest day pass costs £15.20. This is the day pass price for zone 1, zones 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4.
The maximum daily limit when using the Oyster Card is :
- 8,10 £ in London zones 1 and 2
- 9,60 £ for zones 1 to 3
- 11,70 £ for zones 1 to 4.
So if you use an Oyster card and travel in zones 1 and 2, once you've reached £8.10, you can continue to travel free in zones 1 and 2.
Personally, I advise you to opt for the Oyster Card. It's much more attractive and will save you a lot of money during your stay in London. You'll be able to explore the city and enjoy your vacation to the full.
What to do in London in 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 5 days, a week?
Whatever the length of your stay, I invite you to download my special London guide.
It's free and in PDF format.
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