I’ve just got my children a Zip Oyster Card each. Available for ages 5-10, 11-15 and 16-17 year olds, they offer free and discounted travel across the capital and beyond (including areas of Surrey) as well as independence for older children.

Like all Oyster cards, Zip cards can be preloaded with credit for pay as you go and enable users to easily touch in and out anywhere where there’s an Oyster yellow card reader (you only have to touch in on buses and trams).

Applying for a Zip Oyster photocard online

A parent or guardian needs to apply for the Zip Oyster Photocard for under 18s and you do this by creating a free account in your own name: https://photocard.tfl.gov.uk/

By entering your child’s date of birth, the system automatically recognises which card you’re applying for. You’ll need digital photos of each child you’re applying for and their passport details to verify their age.

It’s all very straight forward. Make sure you use a clear head and shoulders shot though as two out of three of my pics were rejected. I think this was because they were too heavily cropped and therefore pixelated.

The communication, which is via texts and emails, about the progress of the application was great and the cards arrived 2-3 days after application.

Zip cards for 5-10 year olds

These cards cost £10 on application and with it your child gets free travel on all London transport services (under-11s can travel free at any time on London buses and trams without a ticket/Oyster Card).

Benefits

• Free travel on Tube, DLR, London Overground and TfL Rail
• Free travel on most National Rail services* that accept pay as you go
• 50% off adult rate tickets on the Thames Clippers River Bus services
• Pay as you go at a child rate on the IFS Cloud Cable Car (formerly Emirates Air Line Cable Car)

Zip cards for 11 -15 year olds

For children aged 11-15 the card costs £15 and offers free and discounted travel.

Benefits

• Free travel on buses and trams
• Child rate pay as you go fares on Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and Emirates Air Line
• 50% off most fares on National Rail services *
• 50% off adult rate tickets on the Thames Clippers River Bus services.

Topping up

You can top up ad hoc easily from your account by clicking the link shown.

However, there’s also the option to auto top up. This Tech Advisor article provides a useful step-by-step guide: https://www.techadvisor.com/how-to/internet/top-up-zip-oyster-3803620/

Enjoy your travels!

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You might also like:

Diary of 43 Days of School Holidays – Part I

Summer Holiday Challenges

* check website for exclusions

The post Zip Oyster Photocard: free & discount travel for 5-15 year olds appeared first on The Parent Social.

Check Passports

Check everyone’s passports. A year of passports being mothballed for many means lots could have expired unnoticed (or have less than the required minimum of six months validity). My husband needed his for ID purposes this week and discovered that it expires next month.

The good news is that HM Passport Office is extremely efficient at the moment. This is probably due to the fact that they’re a lot less busy than usual. That will almost certainly change as more people’s thoughts turn to travel, so get in now.

It’s £9.50 cheaper to apply for a passport online instead of by post and the renewal application took less than five minutes: https://www.gov.uk/apply-renew-passport

Transport That’s Protected

Make sure flights, ferry crossings, coach bookings, car hire etc are protected in the event of a forced change of plans; check T&Cs and book on credit card for extra protection.

I love a bargain. Last month I saw that I could get five return EasyJet flights to Nice in the peak summer period for a total of £320. It was far too tempting and I couldn’t resist. The carrier has introduced its ‘Protection Promise’ (which also includes its package holidays). If you book flights to a destination that goes into lockdown, you’ll be offered a refund. Crucially, this still applies even if the flight runs. You can also transfer your travel dates fee-free if your flight is impacted by new quarantine requirements.

Holiday accommodation

As with travel, book on your credit card and check, check and check again what the cancellation policy is before booking. Whilst this might be more straightforward for hotel chains, policies will vary wildly with private accommodation and even via a rental network giant like Airbnb where different hosts will have different cancellation policies.

The GHIC has Replaced the EHIC

Not a replacement for travel insurance, the old EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) would get you emergency/necessary medical care for the same cost as a resident in the country you were visiting. The good news is that EHICs are still valid until their expiry. However, these are becoming obsolete and have been superseded by the GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card). They both do the same thing so make sure you have one or the other. Apply for a free GHIC card here: https://www.ghic.org.uk/Internet/startApplication.do

Items You Can No Longer Take Into The EU

Following Brexit there are a number of things you now can’t take with you into the EU. These include:

• Meat or meat products (ie things containing meat)
• Milk or dairy products such as cheese (there are some exceptions such as powdered baby milk)
• Fresh fruit (excludes bananas, coconuts, dates, pineapples and durians)
• Vegetables
• Plants and plant products

I can’t wait to get travelling again… and whilst we are still grounded we can travel vicariously and get inspiration for future trips with a good read. Vitali Vitaliev’s The Bumper Book of Vitali’s Travels is just the ticket.

You might also like: Driving Holiday with the Kids.

The post 5 Things to Think About If You’re Planning a Post-Lockdown Holiday appeared first on The Parent Social.

Entertaining the kids this half term

Bowling

Hollywood bowl is laying on lots of activities and prizes this February half term. Early birds bowling before 10am can get a 25% discount. Just enter the code ‘FEB2025’ at checkout.

Tenpin is offering two games of bowling and a burger meal for £8.70 for Juniors and £11.20 for Adults. This is available Monday to Friday until 5pm over the February half term.

Paintball

If booked via Groupon (link here) you can get a paintball experience for up to five at Paintball Network for £5. That includes 100 balls and light lunch each. For £10 and £15 you can get the same for up to 10 and 15 people. That’s a whopping 96% discount!

There are loads of venues throughout the country; players must be 10 or above.

Cinema

Vue – Children aged 2-12yrs can get cinema tickets from £2.49 every morning during the school holidays (accompanying adults also only pay £2.49 plus 75p booking fee). Vue’s Mini Mornings screen the best kids films and family films at lots of locations in the UK. Don’t forget, you can also pay using Nectar points

Odeon also has a great offer on during school holiday mornings. Adult and kids’ tickets at participating cinemas are £2.50 each for selected movies (there’s a 75p online booking charge per ticket). Showings vary between cinemas. See Odeon’s website for full listings

Golf

Topgolf is running its Eat, Drink, Play deal this February half term between the 17th and 20th (from 11-1pm and from 4-6pm) at its nationwide locations. Visitors get a meal, drink and two games for just £11 for juniors and £17 for adults.

Big attractions nationwide

Daysoutguide.co.uk in association with National Rail offers 2FOR1 on 100s of attractions nationwide including: LEGOLAND, London Dungeons, Thorpe Park, Liverpool Cathedral, London Zoo, Cadbury World, SEA LIFE Centres, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures.

Go to: https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ for more details

National Trust

As always, I thoroughly recommend getting a National Trust membership. After the initial outlay of £126 for a family membership for a year (or £10.50 a month) you get access to 100s of great places countrywide all year round. It really is great value for money.

Kids eat free/£1 deals this half term

Plenty of high street favourites are offering kids eat free deals this February half term. Head to Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Yo Sushi! or Brewers Fayre to bag a freebie meal this half term. You can even combine your weekly shop with a free meal for the kids at Morrisons. Carluccio’s, Toby Carvery and Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery  are offering £1 meals for children.

Something a bit posher or different?

Galvin, a family–run collection of restaurants founded by Michelin star brothers, is offering free meals for children 14th February- 22nd February.

If Vietnamese street food is your thing then get over to Pho for another freebie for the kids. For free Brazilian fare get over to Cabana.

Londoners can get children’s’ meals for free at Le Pont de la Tour right by Tower Bridge.

Even Gordon Ramsay is getting in on the act. Go to his restaurants from February 17th and children eat for free from the Tilly’s Treats menu.

Travel

National Express is offering half-priced children’s fares on its coaches this February half term. Just enter your travel details in its journey planner and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. Get exploring!

Southeastern trains have Kids for a Quid all year round. If you buy one valid off-peak adult ticket on the operator’s services you can take up to four children for £1 each. Tickets need to be booked online or at the ticket office (not available from machines). Check terms and conditions before travelling.

Kids travel for £2 each on Southern if accompanied by a full-paying adult off-peak. Again check the terms and conditions first.

Lots of other train operators offer similar discounts so check online and bag yourself a bargain.

Happy half term!

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