I and my wife will be in London for 5 days sometimes in December 2009. Considering this is our first trip to London, we are looking for the best deal and have read so many articles comparing the Londonpass with travel, Travelcard and 2for1 Voucher. Please advise me which one is the best deal and note that this is our first trip. We are planning to visit a few places like Windsor Castle, Stonehedge, Buckingham palace, London Tower, Maddame Tussaud, London Bridge, River Cruise.

Thank you.

London Pass - probably no

London Pass travel option - definitely 100% no

2 for 1 - probably yes (depending on which for pay sites you want to visit)

Some things to factor in:
•You will be there in Dec and for only 5 days.
• The days will be VERY short.
• Buckingham Palace will not be open. It will only be a 5 minute "walk by".
• A river cruise in Dec is often REALLY cold and not nearly as much fun as in the summer.
• Windsor and Stonehenge (note the spelling) are both out of town so you probably won't have time for both (or maybe not either one).
• Madame Tussaud's is OK but not a must for most visitors. If you want to go there - fine. Just don't tell the rest of us
• No - you don't want to see London Bridge. It is just a bridge. What you probably mean is Tower Bridge. It is right next door to the Tower of London so it won't take a special trip/detour.

I don't see anything on your list like the British Museum, V&A, Westminster Abbey, or St Paul's. I'd probably start by clicking on DESTINATIONS above to get some more ideas.

You should research each of the places you want to see, as well as the public transport options, here and elsewhere on the net. There are a lot of opinions to consider. And extensive research is one of the pleasures of travel, so you know what you are doing once you get there.

Thank you for your advise janisj. Actually I am adding my 'things to do' list and as of now what in my mind is to go to the main attraction place.

I am looking for the most convenience way to go around with unlimited ticket and no need to think to buy a daily ticket.

You need tp consider the actual dates in December that you are travelling. I would advise not coming after 19th December because so much slows down. Over the actual Christmas holiday period the place is full of Europeans taking a short break so for example the queues at Madame Tussauds are mad and cold, you can book in advance.

If you do plan to come over Christmas you need to plan very carefully. Be aware that on the 25th there is no public transport, all taxi type operations charge a very large holiday supplement.

Without checking I would say everything is closed and this includes most restaurants. Those restaurants which are open offer a pre set Christmas lunch, this will usually have been booked a long time in advance. Yes as posters here will tell you, small restaurants that are family enterprises and offer different cuisines may be open. There may be meal options in your hotel but you probably need to make a reservation. This is not a religious question there is no point being open when everyone is at home and staff want a very large supplement to work, or days off in lieu.

Most museums will also be closed on 26th December it is a bank holiday.

Vital services do continue of course and those people are working.

Most of the museums a first time visitor would see are free, so I'd say don't get the London pass. For transport get the Oyster card so you can hop on a bus or underground for short trips if you get too cold walking. With the Oyster you can get individual rides very cheaply and you never pay more than the day travel card rate. You can buy one at Heathrow airport. You can also get one by mail from British travel, but it is more expensive and with the ease of getting it at the airport there is no need.

Ditto the oyster card suggestion. You may lose any savings that would come with the paper travel card 2-for-1 deals, but IMO the convenience is well worth it. You can buy a pay as you go card and just load it with funds to cover your time there, or it may make sense to buy a weekly pass. The weekly pass, good for seven days starting any day of the week, does not entail a surcharge for the card itself so it may work out to be the same price or even a few pence cheaper, and can be loaded later with additional funds just like a PAYG (for your future trips!). Pick it up at any tube station.

No London Pass, no no no no no no no no no.

Get Days Out Guide UK, do 2-for-1s. Get a 3-day or 7-day travelcard at a national rail station, NOT THE OYSTER CARD and use that for both travel in the city and to present with your 2for1 offers. Look up where I posted on this forum. And Seamus is flat wrong about "convenience" -- the travelcard is as convenient as it gets: put travelcard into slot at tube station, retrieve, repeat as necessary. I have no clue how the Travelcard is in any way less convenient than the Oyster card and considering the immense savings that is possible, it's a no brainer.

The amount you can save with the 2for1 offers is huge: 17 GBP on the Tower, 12 GBP for the Cabinet War Rooms (look it up, go visit) -- that's over $45 on those two attractions alone. Hampton Court Palace is covered in the 2for1 offers too.

No one should pay retail for buses or the Tube in London. Too many options otherwise.

Why Madame Tussaud's? Big time waste of money -- real expensive, lots of wax stiffs. Better to go to the National Portrait Gallery -- same amount of exhibit mobility and it's free.

London Bridge is a bit of a dud - just a concrete arch over the river and the original is somewhere in Arizona. I'm guessing you mean Tower Bridge. There is no London Tower, it's the Tower of London. And you need to visit Westminster Abbey if you've never been to London.

If you go to Windsor Castle, get a voucher for your castle ticket at Waterloo or Paddington (each is a national rail station with train service to Windsor Castle) and you can probably get a discounted admission. We did -- 12 GBP instead of 15.50 ($7 for two people). And the dollar is worse now than when we visited.

After a few researches and based on the above comments, I think I may opt for the 2in1. Another question about 2in1 as I couldn't get it from FAQ.

I am travelling from France CDG Airport via eurostar/raileurope to St Pancras and will take a train or other transports to the Hotel (may be somewhere in Paddington, have not decided yet). Does 2in1 allow you to book the ticket in advance thru internet for say 1, 3 or 5 days?.

I have checked their website and it seems that you have to key in all the information such as, travelling time, train station etc to book the ticket.

For your information, I will be in London from 3rd Dec 2009 till 7th Dec 2009 before depart to Paris and plan to stay there for a couple of nights.

Windsor is just outside London and there's loads to do and see - even in bad weather.

Stonehenge is much further - towards the other side of the country . Awesome as those mysterious and ancient stones are, they only hold my attention for about 40 minutes or an hour - which isn't long considering the journey from London of of 2-3 hours each way. More importantly perhaps, Stonehenge is on a windswept plain, so in bad weather (i.e. most days in December) it would be horrible.

Agree that boat trip might be unpleasant. How about a nice walk along the riverside instead? It's great walking along the river bank (either direction) from the Tate Modern gallery (recommended) or you could cross the river on the footbridge there, and walk to St Pauls.

Agree with BigRuss about Taussaud's and the National Portrait gallery.

Don't forget the London Eye (if there's a clear day).

The 2for1 program on Days Out Guide does not sell tickets, it just offers coupons that you present when you buy tickets at the attractions. I don't know why it asks for the date other than perhaps to ensure that the coupon is available on that date.

If you're not using the Days Out Guide website, then the above probably doesn't apply.