What is the best ticket to buy for the tube

[johnk]

What ticket should I buy for a weekend in London. going from Osterley Piccadilly line into London Sat, Sun and maybe Fri evening

[Postdog]

Buy an oyster card and just load it up with a few quid. Whether used a lot or a little you get the best deal possible on tubes and buses. go to the TFL site for info.

[237SJ]

I buy a one day travel card if I`m going in. It`s £7.50 for all zones.

[jno]

Oyster cards are a good idea, but you do have to buy them, so they are best if you plan to use them fairly frequently. You can get unused money back, I think, but you have to consider whether the hassle is worth it for one trip..

[VHG]

Does this help?

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/default.aspx

Note a single journey is £4 so well worth buying any sort of travel card.

When I go up to London from my parents in Harrow I always buy a one day travel card.

You can use it as much as you like, and get on and off at any station.

Great if you are not sure exactly what you are doing for the day.

[Postdog]

I suggested oyster because I read that it was more than one day, I don't know if you can get one that lasts longer without hassle. A local shop must do oyster cards so you can buy, fill out the form, take it back to the shop, charge it with maybe 15 or 20 pounds and you are ready. Need more when you are up there, no problem just add using a ticket machine.

[237SJ]

It depends if you are going to make lots of journeys though. With an oyster, you will pay every time you make a journey. With a one day travel card you can go anywhere you want, as many times as you want within the zones including buses and overland trains as well as the tube.

[Buenchico]

237SJ's post is only partially correct.
When using an Oyster card, credit is deducted from the card each time you make a journey but the system automatically operates a cap at a point when the Travelcard fare is reached . (It used to be 50p less than the Travelcard fare but that saving is no longer shown on the TfL website).

An Off-Peak Day Travelcard (which is valid at all of the times you've referred to), covering Zone 4 (where Osterley Station is located) will cost you £6.30 per day. If you use an Oyster card instead, the system will automatically stop charging you after £6.30 credit has been deducted. (You get free travel for the rest of the day).

So you can either buy three separate Travelcards (3 x £6.30 = £18.90) or get an Oystercard for £3 deposit plus 3 x £6.30 (=£21.90). At the end of your stay in London you can either return your Oyster card to get your £3 deposit refunded or retain it for future use.

Now that the 50p per day difference between using a Travelcard or an Oyster card has been removed, there's little to choose between the two options. The Oyster card involves greater initial outlay but you'll only have to queue once, rather than three times.

Chris