Like others on Rick's South England tour, I need to make my way from Heathrow to Canterbury. I've read through the handful of topics on this issue on the forum, but my question is whether it's better to reserve a seat on the National Rail in advance (i.e., before departing the States) or purchase them upon arrival at the train station. I realize it's cheaper to purchase in advance, but if my flight is delayed and I miss my scheduled train departure, am I out of luck? Or will I be able to use the tickets on a later train? Thanks for your help!
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8578 posts
I don't see any advantage or disadvantage to pre-purchasing tickets. A quick check at the National Rail website shows the price for an all day off-peak ticket tomorrow and an all day off-peak ticket in 2 months are the same. This type of ticket will allow you to go on any train during off-peak hours that day.
If I am missing something, I am sure someone will let us know.
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2557 posts
An Off-Peak ticket from St Pancras > Canterbury West is £37. You can buy that ticket now or on the day at the station; the price is the same. These tickets don't sell out and are always available (as are Anytime tickets).
Advance tickets start from £14 so quite a difference. Advance tickets are booked for specific trains, and like their name says you must book in advance, but if you miss it you can’t use it on a later train so you would have to buy an Off-Peak ticket. That’s the chance you take!
My choice would be the Advance ticket. But I'm not you, and you may think in the context of the overall cost of your holiday it's a saving that you are prepared to forgo in exchange for the convenience of taking any train when you arrive at the station.
Posted by
OP
Oakland, California
64 posts
Thank you both, Carol now retired and ramblin' on. I so appreciate your help in explaining how the system works. For some reason, this information wasn't apparent to me upon first visiting the National Rail website, but upon revisiting, the various ticket types now make sense.