BritRail pass - Gatwick Express question
 

Hello all,

I think I am going to forget renting a car and get the BritRail pass as I don't want the added stress of driving, and the rail system looks easy enough.

My question is that when I go to order it, it says "Unlimited travel on the rail networks of England, including transportation from Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted Airports to London (constitutes a day of travel on your pass)"

Does this mean that it uses one of your days? So to transfer from Gatwick to London would use day one and then if I want to take the train out of London the same day I am using day two? I am so confused, thanks for any help you can offer about my question! :)

Jerilyn

Think of it this way: if you've purchased an 8 day BritRail Pass ( for example) and you use it on the Gatwick Express the day you arrive and THEN you decide to take another train trip that same day , you still are on Day 1 of your 8 day pass. Theoretically, you could take dozens of trips on Day 1 any time before Midnight (24:00) and still have used up only 1 day of your pass.
As soon as the clock turns to 12:01 AM (00:01 )then Day 2 of your pass has begun. You can use the pass on Day 2 as many times as you like. So on and so on until Midnight of the 8th day ,then your pass is no longer valid.
If you plan to return to Gatwick via the Express any day agfer Day 8 of your BritRial pass, you would need to buy a ticket for the Express. This can be done at the Express ticket booth at Victoria or on the Express itself.

I forgot to mention that you'll need to validate your BritRail Pass before you board the Express on the day you arrive at Gatwick.. You can do that at the rail station at Gatwick.

Thank you so much for your reply, I don't know how I manage to get so confused all the time! ;) Thanks again.

Hi jamlyn

Before you buy your pass go to www.railsaver.com, enter your itinerary, click "only if it saves me money" and see if you should get one.

Yes, do check. Although I often do train passes as I use them a lot, you really have to do a LOT of LONG trips in Britain to make their passes pay. Unless you're going up to Edinburg and over to Wales and then to York, and back down to Brighton from there, or something similar, you can probably do point to point for less, especially with cheap day tickets and other specials.

iamlynn98: I totally agree with ira and Patrick. The people who can save using a BritRail Pass are definitely in the minority. Train tickets in the UK are usually a bargain (I know, I know - most UK Fodorites don't think so but compared to Amtrak . . . .)

Unless you are travelling all over the country on several long haul rail trips you will probably save quite a lot just buying point to points and/or cheap day returns.

So work out where you are likely to go and check the ticket prices before you invest in an expensive Pass.

Thanks for your suggestions. I plugged it all in and it looks like the BritRail pass is the way to go. We are staying with family in Worcester and are going to do lots of day trips around as well as a few days here and there. Thanks again for all your help! :)