Family of 4. 2 days in London. Oyster cards. Yes or no?

[maldivemoment]

Very last minute 2 day trip to London next weekend! 😬
Should we get Oyster cards to help us get around? We’re a bit clueless!

Thanks in advance

How old are the kids?

If under 11 it isnt worth it, just each adult use a debit card to tap through and take a kid each with them through the turnstiles. The daily limit will top out at the same amount as Oyster would.

Not for the adults - you can use your normal contactless cards (just tap in and out where you would with the Oyster) and you’ll be charged the same as Oyster, including the daily cap.

If the DC are 11 or over worth getting a Zip card as it’s much cheaper for Tube and free for the bus, but you have to apply for them online and they take about 5 days minimum to arrive, so may not even arrive in time. Under 11, just go through the big gates with them.

Thanks folks. Much appreciated. Teens are 13 & 16.

so looks like prob best just to use debit card?

Yes. Thinking about it, the teen zip cards are £11 each anyway, so for a couple of days you’d probably only break even with the reduced travel so debit cards will be fine.

Yes use debit cards. Tap in and out each time on the tube even if the barrier is open.

this might help.

tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/getting-around-london/best-ways-for-visitors-to-pay#on-this-page-3

Debit cards it is then OP, hadn't clocked that the Zip cards take 5 days to arrive.
Just make sure you have 4 different debit cards, assuming the teens have their own
Have a fab time!

Unless you have disabilities, I find we tend to walk most of the time in London, the only exception is going out to Greenwich (river bus) or the odd single journey eg walk all the way to south ken via Hyde Park but tube or bus back. I’ve never reached the cap even. Each person having a separate debit card is easy, if you don’t live in London or regularly go, the teenager cards are a faff.

I used an old oyster and had a child visitor discount applied for DD when she was a teen and we were staying not quite central and planed to move about a lot. It’s not worth buying them and topping up for the sake of a few journeys though so it really depends on where you are staying and if you plan to be central mainly, we don't really use transport for anything if we are just staying central.

I would google it if I were you and see where you can buy two day travelcards for teens. Teen travel is 50% off adult fares, which you won’t get if you’re paying with debit cards. You won’t necessarily need ID. We always manage to get teen fares for our 5’10” teen at our local rail station without needing any proof of age. He just needs to be there when we’re buying the tickets.

Thanks all. Unbelievably helpful.

Next question; we’re staying overnight at Premier Inn London Bank (Tower). Any recommendations for somewhere to eat. I am extremely indecisive so trying to avoid walking for miles to settle on a good place to eat!

Open to all suggestions…

Sorry just going back to contactless cards. Some people are caught out by this. Be careful not to have one person use their physical card for part of the day and then the same card on Apple Pay or something like that for other parts of the day as they are treated as two completely different cards and will each charge the full fare.

Depends what you like, food-wise… Chinese? Head to Chinatown and around. Indian? Brick Lane (which you’ll be close to) and around. If you’re happy with chains, you could head to Canary Wharf or the O2 and take pot luck - you won’t find the best food in either, but you’ll have a LOT of options. Plenty of places around Covent Garden, Charing Cross, but not sure how you’d fare without a booking this close to Christmas.

I'm not a huge fan of Trip Advisor, but it could help you whittle down your options, and you might even find some discount offers.

If you want to splurge, there are restaurants in the Shard that offer decent food and have views across London. We ate at the Asian (Aqua Kyoto, iirc) last year and enjoyed it. The greeter alone made our evening.

Haven’t been there for years, but the Dickens Inn at St Katherine Docks used to do terrific pizzas - SKD is nice to mooch around anyway, so that might be a good option for a lunch break.

Los Mochis is not far from where you are staying - very cool, rooftop views etc. Very expensive. sort of Mexican / Asian fusion.
Brick lane or Shoreditch offer good options. Sorry can’t think of specifics.

N.B OP, to emphasise what a pp said:

A separate contactless payment for each person. You can’t tap your teens through on the same card you use.

And each person must use the exact same payment method for each end of each journey, and all day.

Citymapper & Google Maps are both helpful for suggesting routes - buses are cheaper & can be more fun. If you’re catching a bus you tap when getting on but not when getting off.

A lot of Central London is walkable as other posters have said. Look out for the big freestanding black & yellow maps.

Make sure your teens know to stand on the right on tube escalators & to keep phones & cards / cash somewhere safe where they can’t be easily stolen.

Register your cards on TFL - if you do that it’s easy to claim back of u forget to swipe anywhere.

Thank you, each & every one of you. 👍🏻

For mine, (12 & 15) after much much research I did the following, which must be done at a staffed tube station:

• but them an oyster each (£8 each I think?!)
• load money on to the oysters
• Find a staff member and ask them to turn them into children's oyster cards. Staff member does this at the machine for you.
• They can make them children's oysters for a set time (up to 2 weeks I think).

If you just use contactless for them, you'll be paying adult fares. Kids fares in London are quite a lot cheaper. An added bonus if you can borrow existing oyster cards of anyone, you just put money on and then ask the staff member to make them kids ones temporarily. Obviously better as the £8 upfront 'deposit' means it isn't cheaper the first time. I think you have to have a London address for a zip? There are staff around at most big stations during the day. It does save money.