London Transportation
 

I came across a web site that offers a "London Pass" card that states you get travel in Zones 1 & 2 and free entrance into all of the major sites and then discounts on restaraunts. It costs $170 dollars for 6 days. Should I even consider buying this or am I better of just paying for transportation and entry fees when I arrive?

My Mom and I used the London pass in 2002. It was great. We got the 6 day pass too. The only draw back for us is that in order to get our moneys worth we were a lot busier than we wanted to be. We only realized that we had fun once we got home :)

I have been back since and chose not to get one. I figured out all the places I wanted to visit and what the cost was and it was not much of a difference. If you plan on seeing "everything" then it is a good value. Just check it out before you buy. Also remember that most museums in London are free.

I am planning my 4th trip this Nov-Dec. I have found this travel talk site wonderful. Do lots of searches and you will find answers to your question and many others you may have.
Susan

If you're not planning on visiting too many of those attractions and transportation is your primary need, you might consider just purchasing a 7 day visitor travelcard.

I agree with the others.

Go online to see what the weekly travelcard for Zones 1 & 2 are, and find out exactly what attractions have the free entrance and if you want to do them.

Because, on its own, I'd estimate you're paying about $150 more than the transportation part of that pass.

This is one that gets aired again and again on here. I think the consensus is that this Pass isn't a particularly good deal. Most museums are free, you can get travelcards at a much better rate direct from London Transport, and to get the benefit of the discounts you have to go to places you might not want to go to. They have to make money somewhere - so by definition there's some mark up on what you can do for yourself.

www.tfl.gov.uk for info on travelcards.

A 7 day zone 1&2 travelcard currently costs £20.20, which is approximately $36.00. This is really good value (I use one myself every day!) compared to buying individual tickets (particularly since the machines never bloomin' well work!).

With regard to what you want to see/do, you'll be able to find out the prices from the internet - and then I guess it's up to you to work out which way is better value.

A word of warning, however, London is hideously expensive so if you can ever save money, do it, but I suspect that there are many companies out there who are running little scams that prey on people's worry about the cost of visiting.

(Oh to be less cynical!!)

Have a great trip though!

London doesn't have to be "hideously expensive" if you take advantage of the many free activities including museums, and buy the right travelcard after you get there (most visitors need only Zone 1, for which a 7-day travelcard costs a few pounds less than Zones 1 & 2).

As Patrick said, there are plenty of past threads -- just do a search for "London Pass."

For the first time visitor, the London Pass might actually be a pretty good deal as it gives free entrance to many of the top expensive sights in London (Tower of London, Hampton Court, St. Paul's, Windsor Castle, Kew Gardens) and avoids the queues at some places although I never found that to be necessary.

I purchased a 6 day pass at 1/2 price for trip to London in August (unfortunately the offer has expired but I found it on the www.visitlondon.com website, there is a 12.5% offer on there now) and used it to visit all kinds of places that I wouldn't have seen had I not purchased it like the Banqueting House and the Royal Mews.

But to save money at full price you really have to do the math before you purchase, we would not have saved money on my husband's 3 day pass had it not been 1/2 price. It's not as good of a value as the Museum Pass in Paris nor does cutting the queues really add that much benefit.

I got the pass without transportation, I didn't see any benefit to getting the transportation as it wasn't 1/2 price. You can get a weekly travelcard for zone 1-2 once you get to London.

I would recommend purchasing a 7-day bus pass for £9.50. Not only do you have not have to be concerned with zones, the Tube is full of hallways and stairways and you miss all the glorious scenery all about, best enjoyed from front seats on the upper deck of a bus. The bus stops are far closer to all destinations as well. (Not to mention significantly lower possibilities of pickpockets.)

Most museums are free, anyway. And, you can find out on the web the admission prices of all the non-free sights you plan to visit - for comparison purposes. Does that pass REALLY include ALL the "major sites"?

Go to the London Transport website and print out the Key Bus Routes map.