tickets bus and tube in london

[nappybrain]

Can someone please explain to me what the best option would be ticket wise for occasional tube and bus trips for a 2 day trip to london. have looked at TFL and am completely baffled by oyster cards travelcards and photocards and the like...my DH and I would be travelling with them. I think we would prob walk quite a lot but might want to make 2-3 trips by public transport during visit. what would the cheapest and best option be for us? thanks

Hi nappy get yourself and DH and oystercard each. Just go to a tube station, ask for a couple and you are required to put a small deposit on them. It's just like pay as you go - put about £10 on each one to start with. You don't need a photocard and as you'll be making so few journeys, you won't need a travelcard either.

Travel by bus/tube is cheaper by oyster, it's quicker as you just tap once getting on the bus and tap at the start and end of your journey for the tube (tap on the round yellow pads) and you can keep your cards or give to someone else.

It's best to get an Oyster card in that instance. The way Oyster works is that it charges you for individual trips, at a cheaper rate than if you bought spearately, but if you exceed a certain limit it will charge it as a day pass - so unlimited travel for that day for a fixed amount. If you don't know how much you're going to be using it this is definitely the est thing to do.

I have to say oystercards are fab - I get confused when I'm out of London and have to pay for the bus with cash and get an old school ticket back!

ok thanks. do the kids go free if DH and I get an oyster card? do they need a pass at all or are they covered by ours?
how do you know how much credit you have left on your oyster card - i'm worried about getting money left on them at the end of our visit - or not having enough money to travel! your advice is really helpful thanks!

How old are your kids? Under 11s are free, over that age they need a photocard oyster but it's still free. Here's an explanation on this website

You can check your balance by asking at the tube or when you tap in, if there's a reader it will flash up telling you your balance. Some tube stations don't have these readers on the barriers or are hard to read! But I wouldn't worry - just top up after a few journeys maybe?

Sorry just to clarify, kids over 11 are free on buses but not the tube!