Buying train tickets - are places beside NationalRail.co.uk ok?

Nationalrail.co.uk is the official portal for all train operating companies’ tickets.

Without knowing the times you are searching it isn't really possible to investigate the differences. Note though that National Rail doesn't sell tickets, they send you off to the site of the operator (s).

The absolute top whack for this journey in standard class is £132.20 for an Anytime single. Two of these approximate to the $322 figure. What Omio is selling will be some form of Advance so tickets restricted to the specific itinerary (possibly more than one ticket too).

Consider a Two Together Railcard as well.

You wouldn't use National Rail anyway as that just directs you to the relevant train company. National Rail themselves do not sell rail tickets.

I can not see where $322 comes from. The Anytime Single standard class is £132.20 and Off Peak Day Single is £125.10. If we use a £1= US$1.25 that £132.20 is US$165.25 so even $188 on R2R/Omio feels high.

I have just looked on National Rail and those are the fares I am seeing there, so not sure where you see $322.

Anytime 1st class is £211.50= US$264.35.

Those are the most expensive fares for the route.

But if you split the fares (and avoid Advance Fares for now)-
Anytime Day Single MiM to London Paddington is £46.80
Off Peak Day Single (all trains except, on weekdays before 0930 and 1700-1900) London Kings Cross to Attleborough £54.40. Total £100.20, saving £32.

Then pay your own tube fare across London

But that £54.40 London KC to Attleborough can be further reduced by taking the small time penalty of travelling from Liverpool Street to Cambridge and splitting the fares.
Cambridge to Attleborough is £21.80 Off Peak Day Single and London Liverpool Street to Cambridge is £25.10 Off Peak Day Single (any time after 0930 on weekdays). But also, even in the evening Peak Advance Fares of £21.40 are usually available until 1 minute before departure. At 1638 tonight an advance fare is still there on the 1726 and 1731 trains LLS-Cambridge- peak of the evening peak fares.

Do split advance fares for a few weeks time MiM to Paddington, London Liv Street to Cambridge and Cambridge to Attleborough and it should come to £28 + £8 + £21.80= £58 + your tube fare.

All those prices can be further reduced by 34% using your TwoTogether Railcard.

Personally I always use Northern Rail, which always has the best fares. That website works fine for people in North America.

RS is correct in saying that www.nationalrail.co.uk is the place to look for train fares/schedules but what he does not tell you is that on certain routes, it is cheaper to split the fare. Many Brits are aware of this and know where to do splits for journeys they make on a regular basis. Using the train company’s own websites will also not show places where splitting the ticket works out cheaper. However, that is not to say that you should avoid such sites as they are fine if no split results in the best fare.

So, how are foreigners to work all this out? Fortunately, there are some sites that do it for you BUT they charge a commission on the amount saved. These 3 sites are worth checking out:>
https://www.traintickets.com/?/
https://www.thetrainline.com
https://beta.trainsplit.com

Stuart - almost certainly the price Andrea has seen is for two fares, which is what national rail would show if she asked for two tickets.

I use Trainline to see if there is a split save savings. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to buy the tickets in sections rather than as a single ticket.

I buy my tickets on the Trains for Wales app. I have it, it has convenient pdf delivery or you can download to a wallet. I've never been to Wales. Hey don’t charge fees and sell all rail company tickets.

If you are travelling with one other adult, it might be worth getting the Two Together railcard. Download to your phone. It costs £30 and saves 1/3 off both your fares.

Personally, I always use Trainline. It knits together routes among the various companies across the UK and it's much easier, IMHO, to use. I have used Omio in countries that Trainline doesn't cover but they are more expensive.

I have bought all recent train tickets on the Uber app because they are offering 10% back in credit which you get after completing the journey. The app is very easy to use and doesn’t charge fees.