My husband and I are traveling to London for 3 nights at the end of August and another brief 2 nights at the end of our travels. We have certain things that we definitely want to see, but now I realize there is a London pass that we could do purchase ahead of time to “save money”. This does not get us into the Churchill war rooms, but it does get us tower of London, hop on hop off bus, boat, ride, and many other attractions. However, we can not book a specific time for the tower of London with the pass, which we were definitely planning to do. If you’ve used the pass or decided against one, I would appreciate your thoughts on it. Thanks!!
Posted by
Preston UK
1232 posts
The London Pass is usually very poor value for most people.the HOHO bus is also really not a good idea in London. The traffic is consistently very slow which me@ns the buses take ages to get around. If you get off you might have to wait ages to get back on again and they may arrive full. The public transport system is much quicker and cheaper to get around and the regular buses can give you some 3xcellent views if you pick the right routes.
Posted by
London
358 posts
You would just walk up at the Tower, booked slot not required
Chances of you getting value from three days is very low, and not without having to really rush between places. Their site is good at showing the price comparison
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3895 posts
Decided against using it because it was not really going to save us any money.
It would have added a "hassle" factor of trying to cram too many sights into one day to make it pay off.
It's easy to get into the Tower of London without any pass.
Just walk up when they open, buy a ticket, walk in.
If it makes you feel better about getting a ticket, you can buy ahead of time here on their website:
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.06yrvd
Many of the best things in London are free.....museums, a walk along the river, etc.
In my opinion, the pass you're talking about is not necessary or beneficial to tourists in London.
Get an Oyster card (from an ATM-like machine at any tube station--put 20 pounds on it) and you can ride the riverboats just by tapping that card as you get on. Tap out as you get off the boat. Uber/Thames Clipper boats are the best.
Any pass is just an item over-hyped and over-advertised to tourists.
We've even had people come on here to this forum to advertise it, but that is a no-no, as advertising however cleverly disguised is not allowed by forum rules.
Best to book you own tickets, using the attractions' websites.
This allows you to choose the time of your ticket; which I would always choose "as soon as they open".
That goes for Churchill War Rooms, too.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thank you so much for your responses and tips. Helped make the decision easier!!
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
The only way to know for sure is to list what you want to see and then price the admissions out. I have saved money using the London Pass in the past but I priced it out in advance before purchase.
Posted by
Washington DC
28247 posts
I think it's probably harder to make the London Pass pay off than most other big-city passes because you do have the magnificent free/donation-requested museums to consider--the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Gallery, etc. Trying to group the sights covered by the pass into the days of pass validity, irrespective of their physical location in such a large city, would add complexity to your sightseeing plans.
Consider London Walks as a means to see some less-visited streets in neighborhoods of you choice. The tours last about 2 hours, are conducted by licensed guides who delivery accurate material in an engaging manner, and they cost only 15 GBP each.