London area travel mavens help please?

[Britinme]

I live in the USA. I have booked a twelve day trip to the UK in October/November for me and my oldest dgd, who will be 11 and a half when we get there, so she can meet her young British cousins and become acquainted with her dad's British origins. We will be staying in Hemel Hempstead, as that's where my dd lives. I think we are likely to spend several days in London but not every day. AIBU to think there must be a way to get discounted travel both to and in London? I have time to set it up in advance, but at the moment I'm finding the options quite confusing. Help please?

Bump!

The easiest thing to do will be to buy one day off peak travelcards (travel after 09.30), the same ticket covers all day train, tube and bus. Just buy these on the day.

The price of train travel is usually dictated by the time of day you want to travel, so if you can travel during off-peak times, it's a lot cheaper than if you need to go in during peak (i.e. normal working day) travel times. Kids travelling with an adult travel very cheaply - I think it's about £2 or something from where I live (which isn't far from HH) into London return. Check out thetrainline.com, but if your DD lives here, why isn't she helping you with this?

You could consider getting a digital Family & Friends railcard, which costs £30 for the year but would give you money off fares. Looking at the cost of a Travelcard (as pp mentioned), 3 days travel from Hemel Hempstead to London would be about break-even for that.

https://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/

Thank you - I knew about the one day travelcard but thought we still had to pay for 11 year olds (I knew under 11 was free). Sadly she doesn't really look like an under 11 though I guess it's borderline so we might just be waved through. The railcard is a new one on me so thanks for that thought - may well be worth £30. Three or four days is what I'm thinking about. I thought there might be some other facility available. I've heard of the Young Visitors railcard but don't think it applies to mainline trains such as from HH.

What could my dd do to help? She and her husband both work pretty much full time, though as she is self-employed she could take a day off with any luck. Is there anything she could get that demands a UK postcode?

This might help ..

tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/11-15-zip-oyster-photocard#on-this-page-5

At Hemel, you’re past the point where you can tap in / out using an Oyster Card or contactless pay, so you will need to purchase a ticket (or One Day Travel Card) every time you use the train (either a return or said travel card).

You could buy an Oyster / use contactless once you get to London Euston (where your train will terminate or depart) and that is capped at a certain price (can’t remember how much - I just use contactless and never think about it) but I’ve no idea if that’s a cheaper option than the ODTC (which would obviously include your mainline train from HH to Euston & back).

I don’t think a Family Railcard covers London Transport but it will reduce the price of any ticket from HH to LonEust.

The zip card is definitely worth doing as it massively reduces the price of the tube and overground services within the contactless area, and buses are free. Train fares should be half price for an 11 year old:

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/train-travel-with-children/

I’d double check off peak timings to and from Hemel . It was a fair few years ago, but when I worked there it was something like 9.30 - 4.00 was off peak and then after 7. You couldn’t travel on an off peak ticket in the evening rush hour - other destinations only have the morning restrictions.

Where I live, any train that arrives into London after 10am is off peak - there are no restrictions on the return journey.

If I'm going to London 3 or more days in the same week, it's cheaper if I buy a weekly ticket than dailies. I'd imagine it's the same there.

Also, I don't know what train operating company serves HH but since the pandemic and more flexible working, mine now offers travel cards that aren't for fixed periods ie 7 days in a row but can be used on any 7 days within a month or similar. So might be worth looking into that. You can buy adult and child ones with travel within London included - you don't need a zip card.

Do you have a mobile/cell phone you can use here? Most tickets are digital now.

Paper one-day travel cards are being phased out, so you'd need to use oyster or contactless card on the TfL network.

Find out from your DD the train company/services that get from where she lives to London/TfL network and then explore whether they offer travel cards for 3 days/ 1 week.

Otherwise, railcards are the way to get discounted travel. There are various ticketing apps that allow you to book on advance, use your railcard and check for split tickets which are usually cheaper but may not make a material difference over this relatively short journey.

You're basically doing a popular commuting route so travelling off-peak will make a difference.

Just be aware that railcards, while they seem like a good deal in offering 1/3 off rail fares ARE ONLY VALID FOR OFF-PEAK TRAVEL.

So they're fine if you'll be going into London after 1000 and not returning between the hours of 1630 and 1901, but your £30 will be wasted if you need to travel during peak times, because your railcard will be invalid and you'll be charged the full fare.

Thanks folks. I have a secondary Esim on my phone with a UK number (costs me £10 a month from Voxi but more useful than getting a new sim every time I come over and means I can keep the same UK number all the time) and I have a UK bank account as well as my American account so all phone and card stuff is doable. I will ask dad about the train company. Offpeak travel will work for us as neither dgd nor I are early risers and we'll need to get a bus to the station.

That should be I'll ask dd about the train company. No point in asking my dad since he died in 1972. Damn you autocorrect!