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London Pass --- any comments
Has anybody optioned for the London Pass? and if yes, was it worth it? Did attractions treat you as well as the cash-paying customers?
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"Did attractions treat you as well as the cash-paying customers?" If you get the London Pass you ARE a cash paying customer. All of the covered sites get a % of your fee - they love the London Pass.
But that doesn't mean it is a good deal for most visitors. Sure, a LOT of places are covered -- that is what looks so enticing. But in the limited period covered by your pass you are only going to get to a handful of them. So you are paying to be able to go to a ton of places, but would likely only get to a few. Besides most of the museums and galleries in London are free so if you go to a few of those (British, V&A, National Gallery, Tates, Imperial War, etc, etc) and even 3 or 4 covered by the London Pass -- you will have spent more than the value received. Plus many of the covered properties are not places you should waste your time (like the London Dungeon) And the transit portion of the Pass isn't much of an advantage - it might save you a dollar or two over a full week. But there are many transit options available only on London that would probably save you more . . . . . |
In fact..they treat you better..you avoid the queues :)
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Author: PalQ
Date: 08/07/2005, 10:25 pm London Pass Data: Things covered: Tower of London (L13.50) L=pounds or about $24 St Paul's Cathedral (L7) ($12.50) Shakespeare's Globe Exhibit & tour (L8.50) ($15) Windsor Castle (L12) ($22) Hampton Court (L11.80) $22 Kew Gardens (L8.50) $15 HMS Belfast (L7) $13 Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum (L6) $11 Wimbledon Tour Experience (Lup to 13.25) (up to $$24) Cutty Sark (L4.25) $7.50 Eton College - Windsor (L3.80) $7 Vinopolis-City of Wine L12.50 ('free admission to classic tour') $22.50 Kensington Palace and Orangery L10.80 $19 Royal Mews - buckingham pal (working stables with Queen's horses and royal carriages- L5.50 $9.50 Catamaran Cruises on Thames L4.50 to 9 ($7-16) London Bicycle Tour L15 $27 Jason's Canal Boat Trip up to L7 $13 Queen's Gallery (Buckingham P - world class collection of Old Masters)- L7.50 $13.50 and many more lesser museums and sights Free Mobile Phone for 5 days - you pay for calls Plus discounts of about 15% on Original London Walks, restaurants, theatres, etc. London Pass Prices (Raileurope) 3 cons days $85 6 cons days $120 child 5-15 $56 and $76; under 5 free London Pass Prices in UK (free pickup at BTA on Regent or else mailing fee applies 1 day L32 ($58) 2 day ?? 3 day L52 ($94) + $9 above RailEurope 6 day L72 ($130) + $10 higher than RE 1 and 2 day passes not available from RailEurope Whether the pass is good for you or not depends of course on what you want to see - but with steep prices for Tower, Windsor, kensington, Globe theatre, etc. can quickly become viable and then you may see some things you wouldn't normally do, like the Royal Mews stables, Vinopolis, etc. If taking boat or bike tours even more viable. London Passes can be bought same day it seems at BTA on Regent street Passes bought thru RailEurope have to be picked up either at BTA or at Eurostar arrivals at Waterloo Station (longer hours than BTA and always open when trains arrive, even on Sunday, except Christmas Day VS GREAT BRITISH HERITAGE PASS things this pass covers in duplicate with London Pass (see above list for entry prices in Tower of London but only 50% discount St Paul's Cathedral Queen's Gallery Royal Mews stables Hampton Court Windsor castle Globe theatre tour and exhibit Kensington Palace no other things under London Pass above are covered by Heritage Pass, which, however, does cover hundreds of expensive entries throughout the UK - Edinburgh Castle, Stonehenge, Shakespeare Properties in Stratford, Warwick Castle and on and on also special entry lines at Windsor and other mobbed places so you abort the ticket line Heritage Pass Prices: (RailEurope) 4 days (consecutive) $50 7 days $75 15 days $95 1 month $130 Heritage Pass Prices in UK - pick up at BTA in London or hefty mailing fee applies: 4 day L28 ($50.40) 7 days L39 ($70) 15 days L52 ($94) 1 month L70 $127 Most London museums are free so not a factor with passes though LondonPass does cover entrance to some special exhibits at British Museum and National Gallery. WHERE TO BUY In UK BTA Regent st - limited hours may be closed Sundays IN US RAIL EUROPE (prices about the same as UK but you need not track down the BTA to exchange your voucher, you get the pass which is activated at your first museum - I recommend using BETS (800-441-2387), a RailEurope agent for their competence and the fact that they don't charge some of RailEurope's mailing fees. Note: I've had several Heritage passes from BETS and used them extensively - went into many more things that i would have if i was paying for each. On sale in UK is also English Trust Heritage passes but though these can be a great deal they do not cover nearly all the places the Great Britain Heritage Pass does - such as many castles and stately houses. If you google The London Pass you'll come up with the official London Pass web site that lists all the benefits and current prices (vs the $ depends of course on exchange rates - i used $1.80 to 1 pound - a favorable rate i think when all the charges are factored in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: PalQ Date: 08/04/2005, 04:18 pm According to a London Underground chief the fear outpaces the real threat of being involved in terrorism incidents - you'd have a great chance of being killed on the highways than in the Tube. So this is seemingly an irrational fear - you have more chance of being killed on the way to the airport than on the Tube. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: jgg Date: 08/04/2005, 06:15 pm Pal Q - Thank you so much for all that information. I appreciate it very much!! I'm sure others on this board will find it invaluable as well, saving many time and energy. Just want to clarify - The Great British Heritage Pass DOES include Stonehenge, Warwick, etc. and the London Pass DOES NOT. Thank you again! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: janis Date: 08/04/2005, 07:52 pm One thing to consider re the London Pass. Many people look at that massive list of attractions and think it MUST be a bargain. It sort of overwhelms you with quantity. Say you were trying to decide between a 3 day LP @ £52 or a 4 day GBHP @ £28. In 3 consecutive days you are not going to make it to more than 5 or 6 of the LP sites so having a huge list of sites is sort of overkill. W/ the 4 day GBHP you might get to 6 or 7 sites and maybe have to pay for one which would have been covered by the LP. But the GBHP costs £24 less - so in actuality it is usually the better bargain. Or if you are deciding between a 6 day LP @ £62 or a 7 day GBHP @ £39 - you get one additional day for £33 less. Again - even if you have to pay for one or two attractions you are usually still money ahead w/ the GBHP. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: PalQ Date: 08/05/2005, 11:02 am THE SHORT OF IT To many first-time tourists either pass will be a good deal: These musts are covered by both: Tower of London $24 ($12 50%off with Heritage pass) St Paul's Cathedral $12.50 Kensington Palace $19 (spectacular collection of Princess Di's many gowns and wedding dress) Windsor Castle $22 Eton College - a di reigueur Windsor Castle add on = $7 Shakepeare's Globe Theatre Tour and Exhibiton= $15 Total= $100 ($88 heritage pass) I would highly recommend all the above for any first time visitor and you may well use the passes for other things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Marbie Date: 08/07/2005, 11:25 pm Another advantage was that we got to go to the front of some very long lines. Ticket sales at Warwick Castle saved us 30 minutes;and Ticket sales at Edinburgh castle most ofsaved us an hour!! Just go to group sales and they processed us to the front of the line when they heard we had the GBHP!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: PalQ Date: 08/08/2005, 11:01 am Yes the value of the pass is not just monetary - i also aborted long ticket lines at Windsor castle as with the pass i just flashed it and entered. |
Marbie - I'm curious - when did you go to Warwick Caslte? I was there in April 2004, with GBHP in hand, and saw no special line or window for pass holders or group sales, so had to wait in the same long line as everyone else. Add to it that it was Easter Monday and therefore even busier than usual. However we still enjoyed Warwick quite a lot.
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