My family of 4 (2 teenagers 14 and 17) will be visiting England for nine days in April. We are planning to visit Bath, Stonehenge, Stratford upon Avon and Edinburgh besides London. I have been researching and it seems like the best deal for transportation so far is a Britrail flexipass ($655) and a 7-days <BR>London Travelcard for $213. That's a total of $868 for 9 days of travel for four. Is this the best deal for us? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

In reference to the London Travelcard, you can buy a one week travelcard for three adults and one child (your 14 year old travels on a child's fare) for 59pounds30 (USD$97.00) for Zones 1 and 2 or 48pounds40 (USD$80.00)for Zone 1 only. I don't know where you are getting your quote of $213.00, unless it is a card prepurchased in the US. In any case, Zones 1 and 2 are probably all you'll need. You can upgrade your card on an individual basis if you go to Hampton Court Palace (Zone 6) or Greenwich - although it's fun to arrive in Greenwich by boat. <BR> <BR>Just bring a small photograph with you, as you will need a Photocard to carry with the travelcard. The whole process takes less than five minutes at the first train or underground station you come to. <BR> <BR>Sorry I cannot help you with the Britrail pass info. Good luck.

Dear Flora, Thanks very much for your quick reply. The quote of $213.00 I guess is for all zones (London Visitor Travel card) bought here in the U.S. - $63 per adult and $25 for 15 and under. We will be staying in Sutton in Surrey for 2 nights and Heathrow Holiday Inn for 4 nights (hotel employee discount) that's why I think we need the 1-6 zones fares. Would it be cheaper if we buy the travelcard when we arrived in London? Thanks again. <BR>

Virginia, <BR>Flora is right on with her suggestion of a one week travelcard for Zones 1 and 2. Almost all of the major tourist sites are within these two zones. <BR>I question the value in choosing a Britrail Flexiplass. With only nine days in England, most of which will be in London I presume, why purchase a Flexipass?. Bath, Stonehenge (Salisbury) and Stratford are all less than two hours from London and all be reached via Intercity trains with a Cheap Day Return ticket. With only nine days in England, at least three of which will encompass Bath, Stonehenge and Stratford, I question the wisdom of including Edinburgh in your trip. London certainly warrants a full six days, if not more.

<BR>Wes and Flora, Thanks for your advice. The reason why I was thinking of the Flexipass was because the travel agent from Britrail quoted me $460 for return fares from London to Edinburgh and $217 for cheap day return fares from London to Stratford. I figured if I wanted to visit Bath, Stonehenge or maybe Cambridge also it would be a better deal for us. I think you are right about us spending more time around London. I think we will just drop the idea of going to Edinburgh. We are really excited about the trip. Thanks again.

Virginia - I checked the London Underground webpage - www.londontransport.co.uk - and it looks like a six zone travelcard would run you about USD$195.00 for one week. It's a nice webpage - with some interesting trivia. <BR> <BR>I was in London for 9 days in March, 1998 with my husband, our 12 year old, <BR>our 15 year old, and my mother-in-law. If you would like a copy of my journal (quite lengthy), e-mail me directly and I'll send it to you. <BR> <BR>Flora

I had a hard time keeping all those numbers straight. Did you find out the difference in price for the zone 1 pass only plus paying the fare each way to and from the hotel? Just a thought. See http://www.londontransport.co.uk/ for all the info you'll ever need on the underground. <BR> <BR>Next, this may not be your style, but have you considered staying in London longer and taking day tours to Bath/Salisbury/Stonehenge and another to Stratford? Of course, you don't have as much time to soak up the culture on a day tour, but it might give you more time in London, which is a huge city and you'll still get to those other side trips. Also, it would cut down on the time you spend getting settled in new hotels in each place. Try Original London Walks (London's oldest and most famous walking tours) at http://london.walks.com/ and go to explorer days and other trips for ideas. There are also other companies that offer these tours such as Frames Rickards at http://www.dinerstravel.com.sg/_vti_...ll/prod010.htm <BR>Day tours may free up some extra time to make it to Edinburgh. <BR>

Flora <BR>My family and I are going to the London area in June and would like to hear about your experiences but my e-mail to you did not go through. Could you sent the journel to me? <BR>Thank you <BR>Barry <BR>

<BR>Flora and Caryn, thank you for your replies. We have decided not to visit Edinburgh during this visit so we can save money and also spend more time in London. We will take day trips to the nearby towns. I will report to you guys when we return.

We used the Britrail pass but it was only worth getting moneywise because we went to Edinburgh. As others have said, without that, it is not worth getting the pass. I suggest you search this forum for Stonehenge. There are divergent opinions on the value of this trip. <BR> <BR>Also for Stratford upon Avon trip, presuming you are taking a train, I presume you will be taking the 9:18 am (9:45 on Sun) train (or whatever the schedule is at that time) from Paddington. The Paddington station can be very crowded. We had to wait in the ticket line for over 20 minutes on Saturday (after we figured out which of the MANY lines to wait.) Leave sufficient time for possible wait there. The next train is at 11:18 then once /hr after that but that would be probably too late to get there to spend enough time.

For Bath, buy your tickets at Paddington station the day before you want to travel. Great Western (www.greatwestern.co.uk) is the high speed train that services Bath from London. They offer day return tickets starting at 15 pounds per person (with some restrictions). Enjoy your trip!

I spent Christmas & New Years's this year there & covered about the same areas you plan on. We had 5 nights in London to make time for museums & theatre. <BR>The museum card is WELL worth it if you plan on visiting several. You can buy it at any participating museum. <BR>With four of you traveling, you'll save a lot of TIME AND MONEY by renting a car, as I did. That is, if you're a conscientious driver I HIGHLY recommend it. <BR>My opinion is that Edinburgh is way too far in the time you have.....with trains, you'll find a LOT of time spent waiting around. <BR>With a car, sure, you'll touch the left curbs from time to time. (I did it 3 times) <BR>Good luck, have fun....don't try to do TOO much in too short a time.

<BR>Thanks everyone, for all your great advice. We are not going to Edinburgh this time around and we will purchase the tickets the day bofore we travel. Have anyone heard about the Heritage Pass? It is worth purchasing? Thanks again.

I recommend going to a book store and buying the "London for Less" book located in the travel section. It's a guidebook (all in color) that also offers discounts on everything from hotel, dining and attractions (up to 4 people). It cost me $20 but paid for itself with one use. It also has a great map of London.

We did not find that the London for Less card saved us much money because the family tickets to most of the places we went were cheaper than the four individual discounts offered on the LFL card. We did save quite a bit with the White Card, however. And if your kids decide a museum is boring after you go in, you can leave without feeling you've wasted anything.

V. Tom, may I just point out that Edinburgh has, as far as i know, always been in Scotland and, no doubt, always will be. <BR> <BR>Please if you learn one thing from this forum it's that Scotland and England are two different countries. Thank you, sir.

Tony: Why are you so hostile? I don't think Virginia or anyone else ever implied that Ediburgh was in England or not part of Scotland. You need to lighten up. Didn't you're mother ever tell you that if you don't have something nice to say don't say it at all?

Allow me to quote from the very first posting verbatim:'...will be visiting ENGLAND for nine days....planning to visit ......Edinburgh' <BR> <BR>Read and weep, Caryn. If you were Scots you would understand, my friend.

Virginia, Yes, I very much would suggest getting the Heritage Pass. I have gotten the pass and plan to use it again this year. It saves a considerable amount of money if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing. The pass covers over seven hundred castles, gardens, and palaces. Just to show how much of a money saver it is, if you go to 5-6 different places on the pass, you pay for it's cost. Last year I went to 33 places.

Virginia, Yes, I very much would suggest getting the Heritage Pass. I have bought the pass in past years and plan to purchase it again this year. It saves a considerable amount of money if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing. The pass covers over seven hundred castles, gardens, and palaces. Just to show how much of a money saver it is, if you go to 5-6 different places on the pass, you pay for it's cost. Last year I went to 33 places.