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Are there any coupon codes/ discounts for the London Visitor's Pass?

Are there any coupon codes/ online discounts for the London Visitor's Pass? Great value but whoah is it pricey...$130 for 3 days, on top of a $58 four-day visitor oyster card, not including the $30 Heathrow Connect/ $61 H-express! (Can you tell it's just now sinking in how expensive London is to visit?)

Posted by
33992 posts

Especially expensive if you buy a card to get into places that are free to enter anyway. Virtually all London museums are free to all, every day they are open, not just once a month like in some other cities.

The London Visitor Pass has much less value than a Paris Museum Pass.

Be sure you get true value out of any card, wherever you travel. Add up what savings it truly gives at each place you really want to go,and can reasonably fit in, during the short time the card is valid.

A lot of the time the long list of included places on a card includes lots and lots of places you are unlikely to go, and certainly not in the limited time.

If you get into a few more after all the ones you want to visit it is a bonus, but don't base the value on that.

Posted by
9261 posts

Don't get the visitors pass. Waste of money. Museums are free. Changing of the Guards is free. Evensong at Westminster Abbey is free. Camden Lock, Bourough's, Spitafield's, Nottinghill and Leadenhall markets are free. Can spend hours at each. Visiting Parliment if its in session is free. Instead of the London Pass opt for the 2 for 1 vouchers at the National Rail stations. Your hotel is near Paddington, get them there. Those will work for Tower of London and countless other sites. Review the offerings on the website. Much more cost effective for a 3 days visit. Take a small ID photo with you. Put 20 pounds on your Oyster card. BTW you could opt to take the Piccadilly tube line from Heathrow. Longer in travel time than the Express or Connect and you'd still have the added cost of getting from Victoria Station to your hotel either by tube or cab. Yes, the Express and Connect are pricey but you do arrive in London in less than 20 minutes. As you've booked accommodations near Paddington seems . much more convenient? Weigh that reality against being tired and lugging luggage up and down stairs and escalators via the tube. Your choice, of course. Did you get the RS London guidebook yet? Can truly ease your planning given the excellent insight that is shared.

Posted by
49 posts

My friends and I got the London Pass on our first trip. I don't feel like we got anywhere near our money's worth. Unless you're planning to see many high-price venues (there aren't many of them that you get free with the Pass), not just one or two, you will be better off looking for other deals. We also felt very rushed with the London Pass because of the feel that we needed to get our money's worth. So, instead of really spending time in an important place (such as the Tower of London), we rushed through it and missed a lot. We're planning another trip to London soon, and this time I plan to see the rest of the Tower of London because I missed too much the first time.

Look for a travel card for zones 1-2. That covers an enormous amount of territory, and you're unlikely to leave those two zones except for the airport, where I would recommend just paying the £3 or such for a direct ticket. Go directly to the TfL website http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/london-travelcard/. Whatever you do, don't bother with Heathrow Express.

Also, don't be lured in by the Fast Track that you get either. The lines we skipped with the London Pass looked to be about 5-10 minutes in length (end of May/early June). What, in particular, do you wish to see? That would help to figure out the best plan of action for you.

Posted by
3895 posts

Don't get the London Visitor Pass. You have already received good advice from the above posters. To repeat what has been said, I want to emphasize, many London museums are free.

Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's are free IF you are attending a church service there. You must pay if you go just to look around. But look at the 2 for 1 offers to reduce the price of that.

What has not been mentioned yet is that one of the most fun things to do in London is a neighborhood walk. Walk by the River Thames, or walk around Westminster just looking at all the landmarks. Walk through the parks. This is free. You don't need any London Pass to do this.

One of the best museums in London is the British Museum...free. Enough amazing artifacts to keep you busy for three solid days. You don't need the London Pass for this.

What is your list of things you want to do in London? Have you added up the entrance fees and found the Pass will save you money?

For example, the Tower of London entrance fee is £22.00 for one adult. If you applied the 2-for-1 price, needless to say, that would be the price for both you and your husband to enter. The Tower will take all morning to see properly, perhaps four hours if you take the Beefeater tour, and see every nook and cranny. I recommend going first thing in the morning. You will avoid the crowds that come later in the day.

If the other things you do during your three days are all free anyway, such as museums, you will not come anywhere near the $130 cost of the pass. I assume that's $130 per person for you to both have the Pass?

About their travelcard...remember what Emma said,"virtually all tourist sites are in zones 1 and 2 which you can travel around for less using pay as you go which is capped at £6.40 a day."
When I researched their travelcard, it covers zones 1 through 6, which you don't need if you are going to stay in central London and visit the usual tourist sights.

I found that the London Visitor's Pass and the travelcard they offered were not a good deal for me. I also don't want to rush from sight to sight in London, as though I'm in some sort of race, in order to use the Pass and only see the sights covered by it.

Posted by
16895 posts

London has many more attractions than you have time to see, so you have to be selective! Rick's list of favorite (mostly indoor) sights at http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england/london (and expanded in his guidebook) is a more objective place to start than the materials that come with the sightseeing pass. City walks are also high on our priority list. On the same page link, under "Listen," you can download free Audio Tours for a few museums and city walking routes.