Britrail Pass - 8 days or 15 days?

Consecutive usually means that the days of travel follow one immediately after the other. On the other hand there is a flexipass where you buy a certain number of travel days per 1 or 2 month period.

However, have you studied the difference in price between a Britrail pass and purchasing train tickets directly from the train operating companies? If you're willing to pick a specific travel time Advance Fare tickets are a great value.

Here is a great website for information about train travel in UK, the Man in Seat 61 -- https://www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm#.VfXAeX0pDMJ

National Rail for trip planning and ticket purchases -- http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

There is no obligation to use the pass every day. However, there will be one day either at the beginning or end which wouldn't be covered by an 8 day pass.

BritRail Passes currently come with one extra travel day, if you complete purchase by September 14, 2017. In that case, the pass will automatically include an additional coupon that covers travel on the 9th day of use there. It starts when you have it activated at a train station. Within the 9-day travel window, nobody is counting how many trains you take.

Based on your earlier posts, I figured you might stay put a day or two in your first and last city, therefore I suggested the 8-day pass to cover your wide-ranging plan. Now, you can get 9 consecutive days for the same price, which sounds like it would cover all possible train travel during your stay.

Thanks. This sounds great, if I understand you correctly. We will stay two nights (2nd and 3rd nights) and two nights ( 6th and 7th nights.) Will we still be able to use the pass after, a day off from riding?

Since you're still confused, let's use some concrete, albeit made-up, examples.

Say you bought a rail pass good for 8 consecutive days, and you choose to begin it on September 9.

1) It is now good September 9 through September 16.
2) Any trains you take on those days are covered.
3) There is no obligation to take trains on any of those days. However, you get no refund for any days you don't use it. In fact, once you've paid for it, you don't have to use it at all. You can use it 0 of the 8 days, 8 of the 8 days, or any number in between.
4) If you don't use it on a particular day, it's still good for all of the other covered days; so, any train you take on September 9 through September 16 is still covered - regardless of when you didn't use it.
5) The pass is not good for travel on September 8 or before, and not good for travel on September 17 or after. This is regardless of what you did with it during the period of coverage; you can't "stretch" it by not using it.

So, the consecutive day kind of pass is good for people who are taking a fair number of trips in a short period of time.

Now, let's say you bought a rail pass good for 8 days in any 30 days (this is called a flexipass), and you choose to begin it on September 9.

1) It is now good September 9 through October 8.
2) HOWEVER, it is only good for 8 of those days during that time.
3) Any use of the pass counts as a "pass day." So, if you use it to take a short ride, that counts as a used day - whether you take 5 other rides that day or none, that day is gone from the pass. Therefore, you want to use it only on days when it makes financial sense. If you're just taking a short trip that costs £5, it doesn't make sense; you would just buy this ticket separately, and save your pass for a more expensive trip. But if you're going last minute from London to Edinburgh (which costs about £150), it makes a lot of sense to use the pass that day.
4) Once you've used 8 pass days, the pass is used up - no matter when that occurs. In other words, if you use day 8 on September 12, it doesn't matter that it was a 30 day pass - it's now finished.
5) If you don't use all 8 days, it still is not good after October 8; again, you can't "stretch" it to last longer by not using it.
6) Just like a consecutive day pass, there is no obligation to use any of it. You can use up to 8 days within the 30 day period, but you can use as few as 0 or as many as 8 during that time. You get no discount or refund for unused days.

So, the flexipass is good for people taking some expensive trips, but not on days close together.

If you know your travel days and times, and can commit to advance purchase non-refundable tickets, you can save a lot of money over a pass. If, on the other hand, you want full flexibility, or if you've left it too late to get discounted tickets, a pass can work well.

To find actual prices for your intended trips, go the official website http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/. If you start entering a city and get multiple options, just choose "All Stations."

Add up the prices for the trips you are definitely taking and the trips you are possibly taking. If it comes to more than, or close to, the price of a pass that covers your days, get that pass. Don't worry about days you're not using it - they are irrelevant. On the other hand, you may not do best with any pass - you just have to crunch the numbers.

Real example: I'm going to Switzerland next week. I'm only there 10 days, but I'm buying the 15 day consecutive pass. Why? Because, in addition to covering my train travel (some of it expensive, some not), it also covers museums - but only on covered days. So, between days of travel and days of museums (with no travel), I will be using it almost every day. The fact that my trip is shorter than my pass is not relevant - it still saves me money. However, for most of my trips, a pass does not save me money (Switzerland is a special case).

Thank you so much! I "get it" now and appreciate your patience.