Trying to get a bargain...

A question about : Trying to get a bargain...

hi Guys, so i've been tasked by my mums boyfriend to book a weekend away as a surprise for her 60th in Feb.
I have already booked a theatre ticket for the 12th and now need to work out how they are going to get there!
The show is at the Picadilly Theatre.

Any help appreciated on trying to find the best deal.

I am looking to;
Book to get from Reading, Berks to ??? (i think Paddington)
Tube ( i think Bakerloo line Zone 1) to Picadilly

On the 12th February then back again on the 13th. Ideally around midday ish as the show is at 7-7.30pm
I also need to book a hotel room and meal for them! (No pressure)

Unfortunately my mums boyfriend does not have any family and is computer illiterate so we have offered our services.

Please help me as i've never done this before either!

Best answers:

• I would recommend doing your research on www.thetrainline.com, but MSE itself has an app which I have never used, and is mostly concerned with less straightforward journeys than Reading to Paddington. The off-peak return fare for the dates you mention is Ј53.40 for two adults, but this does not include bus or tube travel. You can buy tube tickets at underground stations, but you cannot pay cash for bus tickets on the bus - you have to buy them in advance or use a contactless debit or credit card. Bus and tube travel is cheapest with an Oyster card, but you need to organise it in advance. I have no recent experience of paying for London bus or tube travel because I now have an old man's bus pass. All the information about bus and tube travel is available on the very excellent TransportForLondon website.
  And don't forget that if your loved ones are over 60 on the day of travel, then they are both eligible for the Senior Railcard which will give them a third off the normal price of travel, but it is only worth buying if they intend to make several train journeys during the year. Alternatively, there is the 2-together discount card, but it only works if they always travel together.
  Unless they plan to spend some time shopping or sightseeing on the 13th, then I recommend finding a hotel close to Paddington station, so that they will be able to avoid another day of bus and tube fares - I may be wrong, but I think there might be some advantage in using an Oyster card for one day only.
  If you buy the mainline tickets from thetrainline.com then you will have to pay a booking fee, but Reading ticket office will sell you a post-dated ticket for the basic price, and if there is a change of plan, you will be able to claim a refund right up until the time of travel.
• An off peak day travelcard from Reading to zones 1-6 is Ј22.70. Buy two - one to travel out and the other in advance to travel back on 13th. (They are not sold in the return direction, nor for any lesser number of zones). You'll get unlimited travel within the zones.
  An off peak return plus Oyster would work out slightly cheaper - but you would have to shell out a deposit for the Oysters - and the rules on refunding that have changed (or are going to)
  Note the off peak restrictions - at the times you mention there are no problems but off peak tickets are not valid out of Paddington in the evening peak except on stopping trains