liverbird

I have friends visiting from the US in August, a mum & 2 teenagers, & they have asked me about travel passes, & despite searching on the net, I'm not coming up with much.
They will be here for 3 weeks, half in London, then they will be spending the remainder of the stay in Edinburgh, hoping to travel from there to other areas in Scotland. They are on a small budget, so need cheapest possible options.
I'm not sure if there is some sort of public transport pass for them, or whether they need to book individual tickets for each journey from each rail company. I think the best option in London seems to be the Oyster card, but apart from that, I'm struggling- help!!
Many thanks,
JJ.

Palenque

If mainly basing in London and Edinburgh and going perhaps between them a BritRail Pass may not be the best idea - it is the only travel pass that would cover all of England and Scotland - but it depends if they are going back to London or flying out of Edinburgh and exactly how old the teens are - if they are 15 or under they would get a FREE BritRail Pass to match what the adults buy - and there is also the Party Pass where, say they are over 15, the first two adults pay full price and the 3rd thru 9th persons traveling on the pass pay only 50%

So it is these two aspects of the pass that may well make it viable - but it also depends on whether they want flexibility to hop on any train anytime - for that the BritRail Pass - if going both ways London back to London and some day trips from each base by rail would probably be cheaper than fully flexible tickets bought at stations once there - fully flexible tickets can cost a fortune IME

Anyway all the fares are at www.nationalrail.co.uk and you will see some deep discounted online fares for say London to Edinburgh but they require purchase far in advance and cannot be changed nor refunded - and they are not always available on every train so some flexibility may be required as you fit your train to the cheap fares when they are available.

So if they want to book far in advance they may find that the cheapest way - so just have them or you go to www.nationalrail.co.uk abd put in the ages and numbers of travelers and see what is possible and then compare to pass prices. Passes are not sold in British train stations so get them before leaving.

Some great web sites that give lots of objective info on rail travel in Britain and passes are: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

They would look at the BritRail Flexipass - good for a certain number of days at your chosing when you buy the pass over a 2-month period - the flexi aspect of the pass.

tod

I totally agree with Palenque about booking in advance - it is definitely the cheapest way that I found.
It ties you down to certain days and times but I find that a comforting factor. You know exactly where and when you will be at XYZ so the worry factor of not getting a seat is removed.

On one trip we made to Manchester from London we had tickets but NO seats! Eventually we just sat in seats with reserved notes on them and got lucky because a lot of those seats weren't taken up anywhere along the journey. So don't think they automatically give you a seat with the purchase of a last minute ticket.
I'm not vocating that this will be the case on routes which aren't busy - like from Edinburgh to other towns in Scotland but I would definitely not leave home without a discounted train ticket from London to Edinburgh.

lincasanova

www.megabus.co.uk and national express have very cheap bus fares if budget is of utmost importance.

flanneruk

If budget is paramount, there is no one cheapest option. They have to research each bit .

The likelihood is, though, that:
- for intercity travelling within Scotland, based on Edinburgh, a CityLink Explorer Pass (for medium distance buses) may well be a better solution than trains. http://www.citylink.co.uk/savings.php They need the Edinburgh Transport site separately to see what they need for local travel in the city and its immediate suburbs.
- Trains may not be the cheapest option between London and Scotland: they need to look at megabus and low-cost flights as well
- Within London, I'm not sure Oysters ARE best. Paper Travelcards offer much the same price for travel, but add 2 for 1 deals at most paid-for attractions. You can't hang around on this: whichever option they choose, the kids probably need a concession card for cheaper travel, and they usually need to be ordered some weeks ahead. www.daysoutguide.co.uk for details of the 2 for 1 offers: the TfL site for pass and Oyster costs, and for details of child concession fares anbd ID cards

liverbird

Thank you all so much, this is exactly what I was looking for(but couldn't find!!)
Palenque, the info on the BritRail flexi pass was terrific, as was all your great information, & tod & Lincasanova, thank you also for your helpful input. I'll pass it on to my friend, I'm sure it will be a huge help.
Flanneruk, thanks for the info on transport in London, that was especially helpful as I'm actually going there for a week in August myself-the first time I've been in 14 years, & was getting very muddled re Oyster cards etc. I'm still confused!!

Thanks again,
JJ.

Palenque

Yes buying a ticket at the station does not come with a seat reservation i believe - has been the case anyway but you can make a seat reservation - often free i think if done at least by the previous day - in Standard Class (2nd cl) on the Kings X to Edinbrugh line even though there are two trains most hours i would advise a seat reservation if in 2nd cl - but not in 1st class - in decades of first-class travel (with BritRail Passes) i have yet not to find ample first class open seats - often many.

Palenque

Caledonian Sleeper trains | ScotRail
And they can even hop the overnight Caledonian Sleeper train from various parts of Scotland to London or vice versa - and if you and your kids have never taken an overnight train it could be a memorable unique part of your trip - if you had a railpass it would pay for the basic rail fare but you'd have to pay extra for the sleeping berths - you could get a 4-person berth or two two-person berths.

Buy train travel tickets for the ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper Trains, overnight train services operating between London Euston and Scotland.
www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html

Book your overnight Caledonian sleeper train tickets for overnight travel from London Euston to the Scottish Highlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.
http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledonian...ok-online.html

Palenque

If they have time they could take the East Coast route up to Edinburgh and the West Coast mainline back down from Glasgow/Edinburgh to London - scenery is quite different and there are neat places to stop on each route.

On the East Coast route is York, one of the finest cities in all of Europe IMO not just England - at least they could do a few-hour stop there (put luggage in station locker)

On the West Coast route is the fabled Lake District.

alanRow

Buses in Edinburgh - www.lothianbuses.com. You can get a £3 all day ticket from any Lothian Bus, but if staying in the centre of Edinburgh you shouldn't need it as most attractions are in walking distance (admittedly in many case UPhill)

jon_rwr

For the dates when the (much) cheaper Advance tickets begin to become available, for forward travel dates, use this address:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_..._horizons.html

jon

liverbird

Thanks so much Palenque for your fabulous ideas, I never even thought of the sleeper, what a great experience it would be, especially for the kids. Also a great idea to travel to & from London on different coastlines- they would see so much more of the UK, albeit fleeting, but still it would give them a good insight.
Thanks to alanRow re buses in Edinburgh too, & jon for the link to the national rail site. I notice prices are creeping up now, so decisions need to be made sooner rather than later!

It's all been so helpful, many thanks,
JJ.

Palenque

I notice prices are creeping up now, so decisions need to be made sooner rather than later!>

If taking only a few trains then the online advance discounts are a good idea but if taking several then strongly look at the BritRail Pass - simply because it can be daunting to book so many far in advance tickets and plans may change once there, etc. Again the beauty of a pass is that you can just hop on any train anytime- just show up at the station. And again if the teens are 15 or under they get a free pass to match what the adults buy.

I would strongly advise first class in either case for a family of 4 - yes it costs more but you get so so much more for it IME - can just hop on with a pass and always find IME four seats together, etc. 2nd class (Standard class) is IME nearly always jammed up - for a once in a lifetime trip spent the extra money and have a much much more leisurely ride IMO.

dominicbond

Regarding London travelcards. Probably best to buy weekly paper tickets from National Rail stations if they wish to avail of the 2 for 1 offers. Otherwise buy an Oystercard for £3 refundable deposit and put the required zones on the card as "weekly travelcards".
Children under 18 travel free on buses (and half price on tubes) when you purchase a discounted Oystercard for £5. http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/englis...h-children.htm https://photocard.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/got...itor&from=home . This should be organised as soon as possible to save them paying adult fares.

More info here http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard.htm
2 for 1 offers - http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/attrac...or1london.aspx

liverbird

Thanks again Palenque, I will pass on all info & they can decide what's best for them, don't know if they'll be able to afford first class though! They're leaving it very late to finalise plans IMO.
Thanks to dominicbond also, those links are great, not only for my US visitors, but for when I visit London in August. Every other site for travel cards has been so confusing, but the londontoolkit one is very easy to follow. As I'll be there for a whole week I thought the Oyster card would be my best option, but in fact, thinking the weekly paper card might be better. With all the 2 for 1 offers, it will probably be better for my visitors also.

Thanks again,
JJ.

Palenque

Regarding London travelcards. Probably best to buy weekly paper tickets from National Rail stations if they wish to avail of the 2 for 1 offers.>

Or if they are landing at Gatwick Airport simply buy a round trip train ticket (paper) to any station in London and then they can use the ticket for 2 for 1 entry like dominic says and forego the necessity to get a paper TravelCard and just get the no-brainer Oyster Card.

Palenque

From Heathrow they can buy a round trip paper ticket on the Heathrow Express or the Heathrow Connect (about half as cheap and not much longer) to Paddington and use it for 2 for 1 until they go back to the airport. But buying a paper Travel Card may be better if Heathrow Express or Connect is not in their plans.

liverbird

Palenque, you are a gem!! So much info for my friends, they were thrilled with the links I've sent so far, so will add your latest advice. They now tell me they want to do the Cotswolds, Stratford & other places, so the 2 for 1 offers sound ideal.
Thanks again,
JJ.

Palenque

National Rail Enquiries - 2FOR1 London Attractions
There are over 100 fantastic 2FOR1 offers at top London attractions, ... Here we have great 2FOR1 deals ranging from London Aquarium through to ZSL London ...
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times....ne-london.html

2 for 1 i believe but am not sure applies only to London attractions - those listed in above link - for anyone with a paper train ticket or London TravelCard.