On 8 Aug, 15:15, MIG wrote:
Why does the TfL journey planner suggest taking two trains and a bus from
Lewisham when I want to go from Charing Cross to Bluewater Shopping Centre?

Probably because Bluewater is outside Greater London, and so isn't
fully covered by the TfL planner. The National Rail plannerwww.nationalrail.co.uk
is your best bet here.

The correct fare will be from Boundary Zone 6 to Greenhithe, which is
*approximately* £2.50 return. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to find
exact Boundary Zone fares online (or to buy from ticket machines) -
you'll need to go to the office at Charing Cross.

I thi - ink that if you have, say, a zone 1 - 2 travelcard, you can
travel to Bluewater from Lewisham via 89 and 96 without paying
anything. Takes a long time of course.

Correct.

For the benefit of anyone who is not a long-time London resident and
therefore doesn't know the arcana of surface London transport, such as
possibly the OP, this is because 1) all Travelcards [irrespective of
zone] are valid on all London buses at all times 2) some London buses,
including the 96, go beyond the Greater London boundary.

Quite how the unsuspecting tourist is supposed to understand this, I'm
not sure...

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org