Hello,

I'll visit London for one week in late August. As far as it's possible
by then I'll use the tube and buses inside zone 1 and 2 and probably for
a few journeys farther out than zone 2, including the way from and to
Heathrow. Especially for the latter I suppose it might be more
convenient to use an oystercard instead of a Visitor Travelcard plus
some additional tickets.

Can I apply for a regular oystercard at all, as I'm from Germany and
can't give a UK address?

Furthermore, in case I'd get one, can I choose a one-week oystercard and
additionally preload some money onto it for my journeys outside zone 1
and 2?

Thanks in advance for your advice.


Regards,
Joachim

An Oystercard can either have a season ticket (12, 6, 3 or 1 month or 7
day Travelcard, or 12 month bus pass) stored on it, or have Pre-Pay
credit for individual single journies stored on it, or both. So yes,
you can put a one-week Travelcard for your desired zones, plus Pre-Pay
credit, on one. If you only want to put Pre-Pay on, or a Travelcard
lasting 7 days or less, there is no need to register the card or give
any details - just go to a Tube ticket office (staffed window, not
machines) and ask for one. You can do this on arrival in the UK, but be
prepared to queue if you do it at Heathrow. You'll need to pay a £3
deposit however, which irritatingly will be refunded in travel
vouchers, not cash, on return of the card. This £3 fee is only waived
for those who place a monthly or longer period season ticket on the
card when they get it; in this instance registration is also
compulsory, although this won't apply to you.
If you want to avoid paying this deposit, you can buy a paper 7-day
Travelcard, the price is identical to buying it on Oyster. Paper
tickets for single journies, however, are more expensive than their
Oyster Pre-Pay equivalents, so it comes down to if the price
differential in the case of your "extra" journies is more or less than
£3, plus hassle factor.

Keith

j dot harter wrote:
Hello,

I'll visit London for one week in late August. As far as it's possible
by then I'll use the tube and buses inside zone 1 and 2 and probably for
a few journeys farther out than zone 2, including the way from and to
Heathrow. Especially for the latter I suppose it might be more
convenient to use an oystercard instead of a Visitor Travelcard plus
some additional tickets.

Can I apply for a regular oystercard at all, as I'm from Germany and
can't give a UK address?

Furthermore, in case I'd get one, can I choose a one-week oystercard and
additionally preload some money onto it for my journeys outside zone 1
and 2?

Thanks in advance for your advice.


Regards,
Joachim

Keith, many thanks for your detailed answer. Initially I intended to
minimize that 'hassle factor' by using an oystercard, but that might as
well not work out, as you say, so I'll probably go with paper tickets.


Regards,
Joachim