Getting about London cheaply-oyster?

[R1gtr]

Probably not the place for this thread but I know loads of you live in London.
I am off to London next weekend for Guns N' Roses and am flying to Gatwick and staying in Westminster with the gig in the Olympic stadium.
Down for Fridays and wondering what the cheapest way to cover the train from Gatwick, around London and to the Olympic stadium and back to the airport on Sunday are?
Should I buy tickets as I need them or an oyster, or travelcard?
I am clueless so any advice appreciated

[Shakermaker]

Oyster can now be used as far as Gatwick but I don't know the cost of it. However you can get a regular ticket from Gatwick to London with travelcard for around £15

On the underground you can now use contactless payment in place of an Oyster card and it will only charge you the lowest amount if you do multiple journeys in one day, rather than having to buy an oyster card and potentially having unused balance left on it.

[Type R Tom]

Use your contact less debit card as will automatically work out the max fair. I don't think you can get a travelcard on the train to include all zones but I might be wrong.

[hyphen]

An alternative to Oyster is a contactless debit card- charges and daily caps are the same.

[fido]

No point [in getting a Travelcard] if you're just staying Zone 1/2. I would get train tickets from Gatwick To London, and touch-in and -out for other journeys.

Edited by fido on Wednesday 7th June 14:40

[Shakermaker]

Type R Tom said:

Use your contact less debit card as will automatically work out the max fair. I don't think you can get a travelcard on the train to include all zones but I might be wrong.

You can definitely get a travelcard from Gatwick to London for Zones 1-6, but it might not be the best option for the OP in his circumstances

[R1gtr]

Ahh okay so you can just use your debit card to get in and out of the tube station and it bills you? This the cheapest way! Been years since I have been down in London and I know it's all changed

[User33678888]

Any credit or debit card with contactless will do, including for the train from Gatwick. It'll cap your fares at the travelcard price for you too. Technology eh
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/...

[bga]

As others have said, use card for the tube.

At Gatwick just buy a ticket to a London terminals. Westminster is equally accessible from London Bridge or Victoria.

Don't waste your money on the Gatwick Express, you pay more to reduce what is already a quickish journey (30ish minutes).

[R1gtr]

Many thanks chaps, this has saved me an afternoon of researching, I can spend it looking at new bike bits instead

[Robbo 27]

R1gtr said:

Many thanks chaps, this has saved me an afternoon of researching, I can spend it looking at new bike bits instead

Not sure how well you know London but one of the best ways of getting around is just to walk, because there is so much to see then distances seem to just fly by, and some tube stations seem to take forever to navigate and are a big hassle anyway. Bank station was my regular stop and I used to have to walk a helluva way to get a train, half the time I would have been better walking or bussing it.

The TFL website is really useful for finding your way and planning a journey.

https://tfl.gov.uk/

Hope all goes well.

[R1gtr]

Robbo 27 said:

Not sure how well you know London but one of the best ways of getting around is just to walk, because there is so much to see then distances seem to just fly by, and some tube stations seem to take forever to navigate and are a big hassle anyway. Bank station was my regular stop and I used to have to walk a helluva way to get a train, half the time I would have been better walking or bussing it.

The TFL website is really useful for finding your way and planning a journey.

https://tfl.gov.uk/

Hope all goes well.

Thanks Robbo, normally walking would be my way of getting about as I love taking in the sights however I am recovering from an ankle reconstruction operation so am still walking with a crutch.
I think I will have to use transport to get everywhere and was thinking it may get expensive.

[joshleb]

Download Citymapper onto your phone.

Quite often bus journeys are quicker than the tube when you include walking distance, especially with your ankle.

[Terzo123]

Contactless via debit card was great the last time I was using the tube and buses. I'm sure there is a maximum daily charge so you can jump on and off all day and not worry too much about the cost.

[valiant]

R1gtr said:

Thanks Robbo, normally walking would be my way of getting about as I love taking in the sights however I am recovering from an ankle reconstruction operation so am still walking with a crutch.
I think I will have to use transport to get everywhere and was thinking it may get expensive.

When you get to Stratford for the Olympic stadium, head towards the glass doors at the end of platform 13 (Jubilee line platforms - you'll probably come in on that line anyway from Westminster ) as they usually put on minibuses for 'less able' passengers direct to the stadium as it can be a 20 minute walk otherwise.

They definitely put them on when West Ham play at home so there's a good chance they do it for gigs too

[HRL]

Think the cap is £12 a day.

[languagetimothy]

If coming into Gatwick beware that they have a minimum amount on Oyster cards as I found out a few weeks ago.

On the way out to the airport for a week in Crete I had about sixteen quid n change on it.
When I returned a week later I couldn't get through the barrier, as many others found too.
The guy said you needed to have a minimum of £14.20 on the card, which I think is the minimum fare to London terminals. I was only going to east Croydon (then cab with case) so already had plenty of credit.

I had to queue at the machines and added a tenner. Now balance £23.

I emailed Oyster/TfL complaining that they already had my money in advance and that I had sufficient funds to travel. They weren't very forthcomig apart from some sort of drivel about their policy on certain routes.

Don't get an Oyster if you are only going to use it for this one trip...

[R1gtr]

Many thanks for all the helpful advice chaps, looks like it will be a normal ticket on the train in from Gatwick and then just debit card for all the tube journeys over the 2 days.
I was worried that with a dodgy ankle I would be using the tube even on short journeys so the cost would be high hence me wondering if a travel card or Oyster were wise.

On another note if anyone knows of any decent bars/ restaurants that are decent and not crazy expensive near Pimlico (where we are staying) or near the Olympic stadium, or the centre for that matter feel free to post here, suggestions most welcome, I will be with the missus if that makes any difference to recommendations : )
Going to Hawksmoor on Sunday for my birthday which I am looking forward to.

[BlueFiestaST]

We paid £6.50 a day using contactless for the buses and tube. That was in zones 1 and 2.
I'd use the buses if I was yourself. The tube is a PITA, especially on crutches.

[User33678888]

No need to buy a seperate ticket coming from Gatwick. It's easier and cheaper to use contactless.
There are direct trains from Gatwick to Victoria in 35 mins. Pimlico is about half a mile from Victoria.