British Visitor Passes
 

Planning to spend 2 1/2 weeks in England and Wales this summer. It will be our first trip to Britain. Planning on 3 days in London, 3 days traveling down the south coast to Cornwall, 5 days in that region and the last week driving up through Wales and back around to London.<BR><BR>Looking at the different passes available. English Heritage Overseas Visitors Pass, London Pass and Great British Heritage Pass. Comments on which one we might find of value (if any). Planning to be in tourist mode for the whole time :)<BR>

We used the Great British Heritage Pass and found it a great value. You need to plan ahead to see what sites most interest you.

For your route the GBHP is the best bargain - by far. They now have 3, 7, 15 or 30 day versions. For 2.5 weeks I would get the 15 day pass. Relatively fewer properties are covered in central London so have your pass validated at the first place you visit after leaving London.

Thanx both for your comments. Is the GBHP something we need to acquire prior to arriving in England, or can we buy it at the first place we visit?

four2travel. You can buy the pass on-line or from the BritRail 800 number (don't have either one here at the moment but they will be easy to find)<BR><BR>The advantage to buying it before you leave is you get the 40 page catalog that describes all the places with open hours and maps. This is a HUGE help in planning your routes since you will learn about hundreds of places you may have never heard of.<BR><BR>They are only available to overseas visitors. You can buy the pass in the UK - but only a limited places - LHR, but not LGW, Glasgow airport but not Edinburgh airport, etc. it is available at some of the major sites -- BUT not all. <BR><BR>So I usually recommend folks buy them from home or at LHR. if you are flying into LGW I'd definitely get them ahead of time - so you can study the catalog.<BR><BR>(ps: this is not a criticism just a comment - on another thread you mentioned a hotel looked &quot;quaint&quot;. Unfortunately that is a word Americans use a LOT in the UK and can really tick off many Brits. They think we are talking about &quot;cute&quot; or &quot;Disneyesque&quot;. A much better term would be &quot;character&quot;. If you look ad B&amp;B ads etc you will see things like a &quot;character filled 17th cen. . . . . &quot; They mean what many from the US would call &quot;quaint&quot;)

Thanx Janis. Live and learn. :) <BR>

OK, I'm doing about the opposite...I will be staying in London for two weeks, with perhaps a day trip to Dover and one to Nottingham. Which of these passes would be best for us?<BR><BR>We will be doing the normal touristy things (museums, Tower, Madame Tussauds, Eye, Westminster), and in general exploring the city.<BR><BR>Thanks!