Our family 2 adults and 2 kids 10 years and 3 yrs, going to London in Febuary for 5 days.<BR><BR>We plan to tour london, do a day trip to Warwick and Windsor Castles and otherwise stay in london vicinity *unless you have other suggestions...<BR><BR>My question is, which rail pass should I purchase is?

I prefer the zone 1&amp;2 day pass, which is around 5USD and good for tube and busses all day starting at 9:30 am. You can buy them from the machines in the tube stations or at the window.<BR><BR>The weekly passes are similarly priced per day and don't have the 9:30 restriction, but you have to pay for days you may not use it (and have a photo ready for the pass). <BR><BR>I think you just want to buy cheap return (round-trip) tickets for Warwick and Windsor, and use the transit pass for everything else.

With children those ages, your most economical choice for the tube is the daily Family Travelcards. Just ask for zone 1&amp;2 travel cards for two adults and one child (under-5s ride free), this will cost just &pound;2.70 per adult and 80p for the 10-year-old. Family travelcards are available from 9:30 AM on weekdays and all day on weekends.<BR><BR>Regular all-day travel cards are available before 9:30 AM, but do cost more.<BR><BR>I believe Windsor is reachable via the bus/tube system, you'll probably have topay for Zone 6 passes that day (&pound;3.40 per adult, 80p per child over 5). And probably for Warwick, day return train tickets would be cheapest. (Warwick is a very good choice for a day trip for those ages!)

Sheesh, Windsor is definitely nowhere near the tube! (be careful whose advice you take on the board.) Windsor is a 30 to 60 minute train ride depending on which London station you leave from. The family day passes are a good bargain, but they are not &quot;rail&quot; passes. They cover the tube, buses and trains in the zone(s) you select. They do not cover trips to Windsor or Warwick which are outside London. If you were asking which rail pass to use for those trips, cheap day return tickets are probably you best choice. These are offered for travel after 9:30 AM. But also check with the train stations directly after you are in London. Special family excursion tickets are often promoted, particularly on weekends.

Ooops, yes, Windsor is definitely a ride on the train, not the tube! I probably was thinking of the trip out to Hampton Court Palace (bus from Richmond tube station), sorry.

Sorry to criticize your itinerary instead of actually providing help, but are you sure that you want to undertake two day trips to see castles, when you have nonly 5 days in London? There's so much to do in the city proper, it seems a shame to spend so much of your limited time on day trips.<BR><BR>As has been mentioned, Warwick and Windsor are acessible by train, whereas you'll need tube passes (not &quot;rail pass&quot while you're actually in London.

110% agree with Sam. By all means do Windsor - very pretty town, wander over to the Eton Side as well. Fast trains (30 mins) from PAddington to Slough and change to Windsor &amp; Eton Central (easy change) or slow train from Waterloo to W &amp; E Riverside (60 mins). Alternatively Hampton Ct Palace - fast train to Richmond or district line tube(WAterloo 20-25 mins) and then R68 bus direct outsie station(25 mins - nice enough trip). Or train to Hampton Ct - relatively poor service-from Waterloo.<BR>I am sure Warwick would be nice, but there is so much to see and do in London a second castle seems a little wasteful of valuable time. (Now Sam and I will by abused by the Warwick contingent).

Sorry, Nick, but I'm part of the &quot;Warwick contingent,&quot; myself. With kids age 10 and 3, Warwick is probably a better choice than Windsor, despite being a longer trip. Running about the ramparts at Warwick was one of the highlights of our UK trip for my kids.

Thanks so much for the awesome replys...so I'm assuming then to forgoe any of the &quot;britrail pass&quot; information that I keep seeing, would be our best option? Not quite sure what that was all about anyhow! <BR><BR>It sounds like the family 1 an 2 day passes are the best bet. Thank you for the valuable advice.<BR><BR>As for the daytrips. Perhaps you're right. One might be enough. We're still fine tuning the itinerary and weren't certain. We've read the castle description and so far, Warwick sounds like it has more to offer? TO them anyhow, the website talks about a &quot;hunt for a knights helmet&quot;, and a place where the kids can dress up in castle garm? Anyhow...the girls thought that was neat and it was listed as available while we are in london.

Go for the family travelcards, but a weekly version of that might be better value (even if you are only there for 5 days.) Remember, with a weekly version you can travel before 0930, I think. (That is what happens with the normal ones, but maybe the family version is a little different. Check when you buy. Bring a photo of each of you just in case. <BR>Cheap day returns are good for Windsor. With only 5 days, skip Warwick. Windsor is lovely. Hampton Court might even be a better bet.

Family travelcards are available in one-day passes only, not 2-day or weekly. They aer sold from 9:30 on on weekdays and all day weekends. Prices for travelcards for Zones 1 &amp; 2 are as follows:<BR><BR>Family: Adult &pound;2.70, child 80p<BR>Off-peak (i.e., after 9:30): Adult &pound;4.10, child NA<BR>Peak day travelcard: Adult &pound;5.10, child 2.50<BR>7-day: Adult &pound;19.60, child 8.00

Jefnstef, BritRail passes are for the trains. You would need to take a train to get to Warwick Castle and to Windsor Castle. However in the short time you are going to be in England it would make more sense for you to purchase 'cheap day return' point to point tickets at mainline rail stations once you are in London.<BR>The Travel Cards are for the London Underground (Tubes). <BR>Those you purchase at any Tube station once you are in London.