London Pass and other Questions
 

I am going to London in a couple of weeks for the first time. I have done the research and read all the discussions, but never really found opinions on the London Pass. Is it worth it? When buying a travelcard, should I get an all zone or just the central zone. We are flying into Gatwick. Finally, has anyone stayed at the Blakemore Hotel? Many Thanks.

To answer one of your questions, get a travel card for Zone 1 only. Almost all of London's attractions are within that Zone. If you choose to travel outside the zone you can buy a supplement for that excursion.

We bought a London Pass when we went to London earlier this year and figured that if we saw at least two of the attractions per day that the card more than paid for itself. Especially if you go to the Tower of London as it is one of the more pricey attractions. If you buy it on the internet from the USA you also get a free travel card which is good for I think 6 zones on tube, busses etc. You can buy a London Pass in London but it doesn't include the travel card. One more benefit is that with the London Pass you don't wait in ticket lines. It all depends on what you want to see as compared to the list of attractions covered by the card. They have a website that outlines everything in detail. It worked for us but it was our first trip to London and we wanted to see all the touristy places. We had a great time.

Tricia, what website did you use to get your London Pass?

Oops!! I meant to say VICKI, not Tricia. Sorry....

As of Dec 1st most Museums in London, especially ,will be free so take that into consideration when buying passes

The London Pass web site is, strangely enough, www.londonpass.com.<BR><BR>One thing that the site does NOT make clear is that when you buy the pass in the UK (it's available at tourist info booths in train stations, etc.), it does indeed come without the travel card but also costs far less. We decided to buy daily family travel cards and it cost much less that way.<BR><BR>Every person's itinerary is unique. The only way to figure out whether a pass like the London Pass is worth it TO YOU is to cost it out. We enjoyed the Catamaran Cruisers ride to Greenwich and our free Teddy bears from Hamley's.<BR><BR>Most of the places that are now free (V&A etc.) weren't on the London Pass to begin with.

Forgive my ignorance but could someone explain just what a Londonpass is. I gather it is some kind of discount card. Also www.londonpass.com doesn't seem to be correct as it doesn't have anything to do with London. Any other ideas as to the correct website name?

I'm headed to London myself and am wondering if the museums that became free as of Dec. 1 will be free from now on or for a limited time. Anyone know about that?

Tricia,<BR><BR>By the way, you can look at the london pass by accessing [http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/pa...ravel_card.htm ] There are easier sites to get to, but that's the only address I could find right now.

Don't let anyone tell you you get a "free" travel card w/ the London Pass. The cost of a 6 zone travel card is definitely built in. Since the vast majority of tourists need only zone 1 cards, the extra you get w/ the London Pass is pretty useless.<BR><BR>Add to that the fact that most museums and galleries in London are free, the London Pass isn't a real bargain.<BR><BR>Alex - the London Pass is a card you can buy in the US including a transport pass or in London without the transport pass. It works sort of like the Entertainment Books in the US - a long list of sites, etc. that the Pass gets you in to. On the surface it looks like a huge bargain - but only if you go to a LOT of the commercial tourist attractions.

I have to agree with Janis on this one. After I found out that a lot of museums were going to be free, there were very few charging places left. <BR><BR>But I've heard that the tube/bus pass isn't that much of a bargain either. Here's a question: Is it cheaper to get the 6-day (zone 1) pass or just buy day passes when you get to london? I haven't hammered that figure out yet but I heard from a friend that it was cheaper to get a day pass. Any advice?

Jess,<BR>Are you a late riser? The daily pass is only good after 9:30AM and there are restrictions on its use during afternoon rush hour. If you're not in a morning rush it might be suitable. The weekly pass is a bargain, both costwise and from the standpoint that it's usable at any time of the day.

The ticket sellers at the tube stops are very courteous and helpful--even to the point of telling us we really didn't want the tickets we thought we needed but explaining that another selection was more economical. This happened at two different stations, one in Zone 1 and one outside it. So, my advice is to just ask when you buy.

Aren't the London Travel Card and the London Pass two different things? We were planning on buying the Travel Card, because we thought it would give us more value for the money. We don't think we'll have time to see enough sites to make the London Pass worthwhile. We were told to buy it before we leave, so we won't have to mess with a picture. Am I all wrong about this?

<BR>I agree that you don't need a London Pass now that the great museums are free.<BR><BR>Jess: In busy weeks I buy the 7 day pass for zones 1 and 2 at 19 pounds, with no time restriction. Otherwise I buy one-day travel cards for zones 1 and 2 at four pounds each, but cannot start on weekdays before 0930. No card has any restriction on afternoon rush hour travel. The weekly card needs a passport photo.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to London.<BR><BR>Ben Haines<BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR>

The museums will be free henceforth. This does not include private museums just the National Museums.

This by far has to be my favorite website. Everyone's so helpful. <BR><BR>Wes- I'm not normally a morning-person, but have gotten used to waking up early for my job. But I don't necessairly want to restrict myself just in case I want to wake up early and do something at some dreadful hour (I can't imagine why...but you never know).<BR><BR>Ben- If I get a weekly pass, should I try to get it now or do I have to wait until I get to London? And a passport picture? Do you mean getting another picture? <BR><BR>I remember both of y'all have helped me in the past and have given me great direction. Y'all have given a non-native Texan girl a lot of good advice. Thanks!

Jess,<BR>You don't need a passport picture, merely a recognizable passport sized picture. Many of the underground stations have photo booths where you can get a photo suitable for the pass. If you've got a recognizable portrait in an existing photo you can cut it to passport photo size and use that instead. In any case, get the pass when in London.

Thanks Wes! I was really starting to worry about buying it in time to get it sent to me. Now that's one less thing to worry about.