We are traveling to England in April and would like to use the train system to get to various destinations rather than rent a car. I was looking up train schedules and cost and found the BritRail pass. Has anyone used this? It seems like it may be a good way to travel. What was your experience using it? Is it really an unlimited rail pass for the days you buy it for, meaning we can travel anywhere using the pass? We are planning on getting an 8 day pass. Thank you for your time answering all my questions!
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4037 posts
Most, maybe all, train questions will be answered here: www.seat61com
The only way to decide if a pass can be worthwhile is to start the other way around -- test the costs of point-to-point tickets, then see if they add up to more or less than a pass.
Posted by
2399 posts
For short journeys - it is usually best to pay on the day. For longer journeys, you will find cheaper fares by pre-booking specific trains in advance. (11 weeks out is when the cheaper ‘Advance’ fares get loaded). Britrail Pass is generally not considered to be good value for money.
Also consider a Railcard >https://www.railcard.co.uk (You can get it when you arrive & make Advance bookings on the assumption that you already have it). Note that most Railcards are not valid before 9.30am on weekdays.
Some journeys can be cheaper by splitting the ticket at places where your train stops - even though you don’t get off - unless changing en-route. See >https://www.traintickets.com
Posted by
United Kingdom
119 posts
The link in the first post doesn't work, try the one below.
The Britrail pass is not available to people who live in GB we cannot buy It, so locals cannot give feedback, but seat61 has good knowledge and does give good advice.
Posted by
Washington DC
27062 posts
You may get more specific feedback here if you tell us where you plan to travel in England and over how long a period--though I believe if you're willing to buy date/time-specific tickets in advance (those will go on sale soon), those prices will beat the cost of a rail pass very handily.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5326 posts
The prices are usually significantly cheaper and more flexible than the equivalent Rover product available to UK residents, but even so they only really come into their own for people with a lot of long distance rail travel especially in peak time. So if you are a late riser in particular you might struggle to make it pay.