The attached link has lots of "2 tickets for the price of 1" at different attractions, valid until 31 January 2004.

This includes: Tower of London, City Cruises, St Paul's, Tower Bridge Experience, Duck Tour, Hampton Court, Madame Tussauds, London Zoo, the Aquarium and loads more. There are also offers at Hotels, Shows and Restaurants.

You are required to present a valid train ticket at the attraction to claim the offer, but I have found that I am often not asked to show a train ticket at all and when I have, my season ticket is adequate.

All you need to do is fill out an online form and then print it off.

http://www.londontrainsoffers.co.uk/...sion/index.php

Thanks for the information! Perhaps you or someone else can answer a question for me. If I'm taking the train from Gatwick into London, is that a valid train ticket for this offer?

Absolutely, a Gatwick to London ticket should be fine. I think the general idea is that the ticket you show has to be valid for the day you go to the attraction.

Like I mentioned, I just use my monthly season ticket I use to get to and from work each day. Similarly, maybe you could use a travelcard if you buy one for your travel around London.

When I went to the Tower of London yesterday, I wasn't even asked to show any ticket. The agents at these attractions probably get used to various different offers like this, they take it on trust you will have the necesssary tickets.

We will have a 7-day Travelcard. Wow! That's a great deal! Thanks again for passing along this information. I was just thinking about buying a London For Less book which would have cost money up front and only saved us 10 or 20% at many of these same attractions. This is a much, much better offer.

Hi,
This offer looks great but where on the site can I download the online voucher form.Plus what is the train ticket being referred to.I will mostly be travelling by the tube in London so does that count?

Linzy - when you go to the link provided above, click on "Attractions Offering 2 for 1". On the next page there should be a photo in the upper left corner. Below it will be the words "Collect your offer now". Click on that to get to the voucher. On the voucher you select the attraction you're interested in - fill out one for each site.

Thanks.Somehow my browser was not showing "Collect your offer now".But I got the forms anyway.
Another question is what do they mean by "Station from which you will start your journey".I will be staying in London for 3 days.The only National train that I would take would be the Heathrow express to Victoria since my hotel is near the Victoria station.
To see the various attractions I would be travelling by the tube/bus.So how do you suggest I can use this offer over a span of 3 days.

Linzy

Have you thought what Travelcard you will get for your visit? Are you just planning to get one covering Zone 1 (just central London) - some visitors will get a Zones 1 and 2 travelcard depending where thay plan to visit.

The reason I ask is that it will proabably determine what station you are best writing as an answer to that question! After all, the attractions themselves probably don't care where you started your journey and have no way of knowing if what you write is true anyway!

By the way, the Heathrow Express runs to Paddington station and the Gatwick Express runs to Victoria.

My understanding is that these offers are intended only for those holding a valid NATIONAL RAIL ticket for the same day you visit the attraction. The list of NR routes can be found here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/info/fs_info.htm

NR does not include the types of routes you would find in london travel zones 1&2 (tube, DLR). If I am wronge someone I'm sure will correct me.

These offers are an attempt to lure locals into London.

It's my assumption that "train" also refers to subway trains. I have printed out some vouchers and listed my starting station as Covent Garden. Hope I have made the correct interpretation.

Strictly speaking National Rail serves overground railway lines into London rather than the Tube.

However, from my experience, I have usually never had my tickets looked at and when I have, my travelcard has been fine.

There are plenty of railway stations in Zone 2 you could put down if you have a travecard that covers Zone 2. Also, there are probably stations (other than rail termini) in Zone 1 (eg you could put London Bridge).

Covent Garden is a tube station only - there's a risk here as you're not strictly playing by the rules but you may well have no problems at all. I would always put down a station that at least serves as a train station too.

Sorry about that. I meant taking National Express coach from heathrow to Victoria and that too I realized is not a train.
Well I was thinking of purchasing a carnet of tickets.Both me and my husband would be visiting the attractions all in Zone 1 within 2 days.Do you think if I show my tube tickets they would allow me for the 2for1 offer.Can I fill in any station in the form regardless of whether it was the not the departure one to the attraction?

The honest answer to some of these questions is I don't know how you will get on.

If you have just a Zone 1 travelcard, I would write the journey started from Vauxhall (ie on the train line to Waterloo). I think Vauxhall is in Zone 1.

Whether you will get away with showing a Carnet ticket is another matter. Although, if you buy a train ticket, when you exit the barriers at your destination, the ticket is retained in the machine so you wouldn't have that to show anyway!

Yes, you can fill in any station on your form (provided it's within your travelcard/ticket range) as any ticket agent at the attraction has no idea where you started your journey (and in all likelihood, couldn't care).

It's a tough one for me to advise because as I say, I have used this to quite a few of the attractions listed and sometimes bever been asked for a ticket, once they looked but I could have showed them anything for the attention they paid and on one occasion the looked and stared for a bit, asked me if my ticket was valid and that was it. What I don't want to do is guarantee you'll be okay with any old ticket if strictly speaking you may not be and you happen upon a keen ticket agent.

Thankyou so much for your replies.
Well I think most probably we'll be buying a one-day pass and a weekend travelcard.So I would just try my luck by filling the voucher form with station (VAUXHALL)and hope that they do not question a lot about train tickets.

This is my first time posting - I have been a silent Fodorite up until now. I REALLY want to thank you, Dave, for posting this 2 for 1 info because it saved my friend and I about $100 Canadian on our trip Nov.5th-11th! However, let me just say, for all of you that are going, that noone seemed to know about this deal at the airport! Furthermore, I found it alarming that the Heathrow Express employees didn't even know that they form part of National Rail!!! Incredible! I had to double-check, and indeed, in an info pamphlet on trains and buses (found at any Underground entrance), it clearly states that Heathrow Express is part of National Rail. I have to say it again - incredible.
My point about all this is that we wanted to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deals and didn't know how to go about it. Now that I know, I would like to share it with all of you.
We took the Heathrow Express thinking that that was the only way of getting a valid rail ticket for the offer - WRONG! What we also did was buy a 7-day Travelcard for 16.50 (Pounds) for Zone 1, and guess what? That travelcard is good for both the Tube and National Rail within Zone 1! That solved that problem.
Now, when we got to our first attraction, the Tower of London, we were a bit nervous - we had printed the voucher off the website, but were worried that it wouldn't work - that they wouldn't know anything about it, just like the airport personnel. BUT, when we gave the voucher to them, it worked AND they never asked us for a valid rail ticket! Needless to say, we were ecstatic! During our stay, we also visited St. Paul's, London Dungeon, and Tower Bridge Experience, among others. NOONE asked us for a valid rail ticket!
So, there you have it - you can take the chance and just get a voucher off the net, or you can buy a travelcard and be prepared if they do ask.
One thing is for sure, we only saw one brochure re: the 2 for 1 offer (and that was by chance because we found it on a table at a pub - someone had left it behind), so there are no advertisements around London for this deal - I am certain, just as Nidwaldner_Chris stated above, that this is a marketing tactic for local Londoners to visit attractions, and not for tourists.
Thanks again, Dave, you made our trip!!!!

Thanks to Dave and Frnndz: I had just about abandoned the idea of using the vouchers, but think we'll give it a try now. We won't be using Heathrow Express, we've reserved with Ray Skinner so obtaining a ticket in that way won't work for us. Guess we might try the Travelcard. Hate having to redo the vouchers because the departing station is incorrect, but for the money saved guess it's worth the trouble. Thanks again and wish us luck!

Frnndz - I'm so glad it worked out so well for you. I was hoping it would come in handy for some visitors. Particularly for people wanting to see quite a few of these attractions, the savings really add up.

Giovanni - if you have a travelcard I am sure you will be fine so I definitely wouldn't give up now! Like Frnndz has said (and I mentioned earlier), most places will not ask you for a ticket anyway. Good luck and enjoy your trip to London!

I just returned and also used the 2 for 1 offers and, as another poster wrote, was never asked to present a train ticket. So take advantage of these offers and save yourself some cash!

Do offers like this often get extended? We will be in London in late March and will be looking for little ways like this to save $$.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's gets extended or starts again. It seems to have been available on and off for quite a long time now. July through September seemed to be the main exception when it wasn't on offer (not surprisingly).

Check the website www.nationalrail.co.uk a bit nearer the time of your trip or if you let me have your e-mail I'll happily e-mail you with details as I use that site quite a lot for train times etc.