minx

Despite having travelled before I am finding that trying to navigate the many options for tickets to London attractions has left me confused and feeling like a country bumpkin.After reading many posts I have decided the London Pass is not for us. We have only 3 full days and I have resigned myself to missing a great deal. I would like to buy tickets here for the Tower and the Eye.I am still investigating possible sites to do this. One being www.getyourguide.com. Has anyone had dealings with them? Tickets for the EYE come with 2 options 1) buying a ticket here 2) and significantly more money which allows you to jump the queue. Does this mean if I opt for 1) I can still jump the queue waiting to BUY tickets.Long complicated question ...sorry. But if anyone can wade in here I would appreciate some clarity

PatrickLondon

Most of the worthwhile musems and galleries in London are free, and only charge for special temporary exhibitions.

For the Tower, I doubt if there's much advantage to pre-booking: you'd be better off making sure you get there early in the day to avoid the crowds inside, which are likely to be more of a problem than queueing to get in.

The Eye is different. I'm afraid I have no direct recent experience of how long it takes to buy tickets on the day.

janisj

I would never pre-book the Eye. For one it is VERY weather dependent. You don't want to do it on a day when the ceiling is low and the views are affected.

Once you are in London and can get a handle on the weather you can book by phone or on-line the day before or in the morning the day you want to do it.

As for the Tower, getting there at opening time solves the queue issue . . . and if you want to use the 2for1 scheme you can't pre-book.

minx

Thanks for this and I had certainly given thought to the weather-related issue of pre-booking the Eye.I will now book it there. We are arriving in London early morning Thursday after that long overseas flight.I don't want to waste that day but we will probably not get to the Tower until noonish....and the lineups could be long by then. THAT would most likely be the extent of our agenda for that day so I may pre book just that.Thought about the HoHo bus for the initial overview but fear that could be a waste of our short precious time.I get the impression from the Forum that it's not really worth the cost.

janisj

IMO/IME you don't want to do any 'heavy' sightseeing day 1. Not the Tower, no museums, no theatre, things like that.

A walk, maybe the Eye, a river cruise, things that don't require physical or mental exertion. <i>Maybe</i> the H-o-H-o (though it is also quite weather dependent and is very expensive)

iowamom

Not sure when you are going but we were just in London and delayed our trip on the Eye due to the weather at least once. We arrived at the Eye a little after 10am without purchasing tickets in advance and were on the eye by 10:45am. We used the National Rail Days Out 2 for 1 deal and I wasn't sure if we could still get that deal if we booked in advance or not in person.

janisj

Oh - didn't even think of the 2for1 re the Eye.

No, you can't pre-book if you plan on using the Days Out Guide 2for1.

texasbookworm

I agree that waiting until Day 2 or 3 to be at the Tower before it opens and then avoid most of any queue and be ready for a nice long visit is better than trying to do that on the day of arrival. There are plenty of photo ops/walk-bys/free things/parks/outside of things/neighborhood orientation etc. etc. to fill up whatever remains of your arrival day. Then do the Tower first thing the next day. Fit in the Eye when time and weather work, maybe even the first day. (I've not been on Eye in my 4 visits to London so have no opinion on it.)

iowamom

We used 2 for 1 at the Tower of London as well but I just now see that the deal is suspended from mid July to September. And the London Eye 2 for 1 ends at the end of April - not sure if they will extend it?

jamikins

The tower has been on the 2for1 deals since we moved here in 2007 so I would guess it will be extended. The eye is sporadically included in the 2for1 deals and is not usually included during the summer months.

minx

Unfortunately we cannot take advantage of any 2for1 deals. I'm concerned our timing will be bad arriving so close to the weekend and having to deal with even longer line-ups.We'll just have to figure it out when we get there.
Thanks

caroline65

We are arriving in London 1st June. How do you get the 2 for 1 deals for eye and tower of London?

Leslapins

We did London Eye in fall of 2011, and I don't recall the queue being THAT bad. (My bigger issue was that I thought it cost too much for one spin in a cramped container with dirty windows, making photo-taking really difficult...)

jamikins

Caroline65 check out this website and do a search on this board for tonnes of info
Www.daysoutguide.co.uk

caroline65

Thanks jamikins, will check uot that site!