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The rules regarding Oyster seem to change year on year, when I first got one it was £5 and had £5 loaded on it, but then people were not reusing them and they must cost a fair bit to produce.

A normal oyster had a refundable deposit, a visitor oyster has a £3 fee. Get a normal one.

tractakid wrote:A normal oyster had a refundable deposit, a visitor oyster has a £3 fee. Get a normal one.

So what's the point of the Visitor Oyster then? Is it just TfL's way of fleecing unsuspecting tourists?

I'm still confused about how to get hold of an Oyster card. Do I have to order one in advance, or can I just turn up and buy one on the day?

Just buy it on the day. I think you can get them from some machines if you don't fancy waiting at a window.

al wrote:Just buy it on the day. I think you can get them from some machines if you don't fancy waiting at a window.

There are oyster machines about. Think Tfl just try and make it look like you need to get on in advance, bit like the Paris Metro has visitor passes that look appealing to tourists but actually cost more and aren't worth it.

Just pick an oyster card up when you arrive into London and away you go!

Thanks. I have to say that TfL's publicity doesn't make this at all clear. I'm a bit disappointed in them.

GuyBarry wrote:Thanks. I have to say that TfL's publicity doesn't make this at all clear. I'm a bit disappointed in them.

How terrible

Well, it looks as though I can't get an Oyster card from Waterloo mainline station:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/WAT/details.html

Can I buy one at the tube station?

I bought an Oyster card from a ticket machine in the main Tube ticket area at Waterloo just 11 days ago (the day before we did the Comic Relief FNC). tractakid saw me do it!

You have to pay a £5 deposit plus whatever top-up you add.

OK, got it now. It's a steep learning curve

My first Oyster card was obtained at Watford (from a machine) and refunded at Marylebone. My second one I can't quite remember, but I think I added the railcard discount at Baker Street.

I got my one at Stratford ticket office and used it the same day

Thanks for all the advice. Well, after much deliberation we've decided to buy a one-day Travelcard after all. Although it works out slightly more expensive than Oyster it gives us the flexibility to make additional journeys at no extra charge, and it doesn't have all the logistical difficulties of getting refunds and so on. We've decided to do the route anticlockwise rather than clockwise and make an additional stop at Bank (for Leadenhall Market), so the itinerary is now:

Walk from Waterloo to London Eye
Thames Clipper to North Greenwich (£4.75)
Emirates to Royal Victoria (£3.40)
DLR to Stratford International (nil)
Southeastern High Speed to St Pancras International (£6)
Walk to King's Cross
Northern line to Bank (nil)
Waterloo & City line to Waterloo (nil)

Total cost including £12 Travelcard fee: £26.15

Incidentally my friend has a Senior Railcard so I presume he gets the usual 1/3 discount on HS1?

Yes, he will also get a 1/3 off the travelcard price.

Oh, he gets a discount of 1/3 on his Travelcard as well? Didn't realize that. Sounds like a good deal - only 11 years until I qualify!