Watford Junction - London

[lfc84]

I'm an infrequent visitor to London so find the ticket options a bit of a minefield.

Here's my rough plans:

Day 1 - Friday evening
I need to get from Gatwick (about 6pm) to Central London. Then spend a few hour in central London, before headig to Watford Junction around midnight or even slightly later (so a break journey in Zone 1).

Day 2 - Saturday
Watford Junction - Zone 1 (hop on and off tube / bus) - then back to Watford Junction

Day 3 - Sunday
We might go in to central London depending on how tired we are. Later that day we will need to go to Birmingham International. I have already purchased an advance ticket from Watford Junction to Birmingham International.

There are two adults travelling, who both have an Oyster PAYG - one of whom has a 16-25 railcard linked to the Oyster.

I see that LM have a sale on at present but the Oyster still seems to be cheaper if I'm reading things correctly ?

I'd be grateful if somone could advise me on the cheapest ticket(s) to get.

 

[bb21]

The cheapest ticket for Day 2 will be a Watford Junction - London Zones 1-6 Off-Peak Day Travelcard, or using Oyster PAYG. The price for the whole day is £15.70 (undiscounted).

On Day 3, it might be cheaper to use Oyster PAYG depending on how much you travel around in London. A single at off-peak times between Watford Junction and Euston is, for example, £4.50 so if you don't travel around London much then it can be cheaper than a Travelcard. The downside of using Oyster PAYG is that you will have to touch out upon return to Watford Junction, which is not necessary if you use a paper Travelcard.

For Day 1, an Anytime Day Single between Gatwick Airport and East Croydon is £4.90. You can then use Oyster PAYG for the remainder of the day. (Make sure you touch in at East Croydon.) Alternatively a Gatwick Airport - London Zones 1-6 Route FCC Only Off-Peak Day Travelcard is £13.00 and Boundary Zone 6 - Watford Junction Off-Peak Day Single is £4.20 (or £1.60 if you use Oyster PAYG for this last bit and touch in anywhere within Zones 3-6.)

 

[lfc84]

Thanks for the reply.

It sounds like

day 1 - get the anytime single to ECR (which allows for flight delays) then use oyster payg
day 2 - use the oyster payg
day 3 - tbc

 

[LexyBoy]

Another option for day 1 might be a Gatwick Airport-Watford Junction Anytime Day Single +Any Permitted at £22.20, which would be useful if you're in a hurry to get into London and/or don't need to travel much within London.

This allows travel on any train to London (giving access to Victoria, Waterloo, Vauxhall, Charing Cross, London Bridge, Blackfriars and City Thameslink) plus one cross-London Underground transfer. You are allowed to leave at an intermediate station on this Underground transfer but can't continue on that ticket - so you could get out at Oxford Circus for example but would then have to walk or pay for a bus/tube to Euston.