Cadgirl

I was lucky enough to meet a British gentlemen a few days ago here in Chicago and I mentioned to him that we are going to be honeymooning in London in November. He suggested that I purchase our National Rail passes here in the US before we leave on our trip. He said it would be much cheaper to buy them here. First off, how would I go about doing this? He suggested going through my travel agent, but I have always booked all our trips online myself.

And if its possible, would it actually be cheaper?

Thanks!

sashh

Yes it is cheaper - these passes are only available to non residents, you have to buy them outside the country.

http://www.britrail.com/uk

yk

<i> I mentioned to him that we are going to be honeymooning in London in November. </i>

If you are only going to London, I don't see why you'd need a National Rail Pass.

Cadgirl

I want the Rail Pass for the 2for1 London specials.

Cadgirl

Okay I am officially confused. The website sashh listed above- the passes on this website are a few hundred dollars? What am I missing? What I want is a seven day travelcard that I can use for the 2for1 deals.

Thanks!

flanneruk

Then you don't want the product the "British gentleman" recommended.

BritRail - a French-owned company marketing company operating in the US - sells "all you can eat" packages on our national railway system that can't be bought in the UK. These are irrelevant to you.

You just want a travelcard. No advantage in buying abroad: a huge DISADVANTAGE in that, by buying them abroad you need to decide details in advance. Just go to any National Rail ticket office when you're here and the ticket sellers will sell you what you really want..

janisj

You are mixing so many apples and oranges here you practically have a fruit shop. Forget Passes, forget travel agents . . .

The 2-for-1 offers are associated w/ rail tickets -- not passes of any sort. And the discussions you may have read on here are talking about using train tickets for your normal transport in London and to get 2-for-1's. You cannot buy these tickets ahead of time - you need to go to any of the regular train stations in London to buy them. Normally you'd go to a tube station to buy your transport tickets -- but to get the 2-for-1s you just go to a train station instead.

Also - you'll need to pre-print the 2-for-1 vouchers.

If you tell us where you are staying in London, we can tell you which train station will be most convenient.

And - forget everything that 'British gentleman' told you. It's just not applicable to what you need . . . .

Cadgirl

Sigh... thank you. I had this one pretty much figured out, and then I had to go and talk to someone...

My apologies for the the mix up of terminology.

I am staying near Trafalgar Square by the way.


Thanks!

janisj

Then you are set - Charing Cross station is right there next to Trafalgar Square. Go into the train station (not the Underground station - the regular train station) and go to a ticket window and explain to the agent you want a paper travel card for the tube and buses. Your specific needs will depend on how many days you are in London, what zones you will visit - probably just zones 1 and 2, and how many days you want to use the 2-for-1's.

If you are only going to a few of the 2-for-1 sites you could get daily travel cards just those days, and use an Oyster pay-as-you-go for the rest of your visit. If you are going to a lot of the 2-for-1 sites, and are in London 5 days or more, then get a 7-day paper travel card.