London Pass

We will also get a one-day Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour and a HOHO Thames boat tour, plus about $100. total on 2 Oyster cards. So the London card is sounding like a little better value.

Before buying the London Pass, take a good look at the HUGE list of major museums & attractions in London that are free to enter.

Some of the attractions on the London Pass are of very marginal interest.

And I'm not sure how you'll spend that much money on an Oyster card.

I'd honestly take a look at all of the attractions in London and decide what you REALLY want to do, then I'd see how much of that is free, has entry fee but not on pass, and on the London pass, and make up your mind then. There are some other offers as well - like 2 for 1, if I remember correctly. You could always get a shorter London pass, if you think you may be able to see more than 2 sites and get your $$ worth.

That seems like a lot to pay, but the website says it is refundable. You need to add up the cost of the sights offered on the Pass that you really want to see to know if it is worth it. Also consider which ones offer "skip the line" entry as that can be a nice benefit.

That $50 Oyster card is kind of a wash on a 6-day trip, given the daily cap on Pyster cards of £6.60 ( for zones 1-2).

One possibility is to return your current 6 day pass with Oyster and buy the 6 day pass without the Oyster. There is currently a sale for 15 per cent off that pass, so it is 118.50£ p/p. That averages less than 20£ per day. You can buy an Oyster card when you get there. (Oyster cards are not included in the sale because they are run by a different company.)
Or, get a 3 day pass with Oyster at 10 per cent off for 118.90£ . You get 25£ in Oyster credit which can be used any day you are there for transport. If you group your sights with admissions into those three days (including the hop on bus and river cruise) you should easily break even. This is our plan for this summer with passes we bought on sale.

Since you sound a little surprised by the total rate charged on your credit card, I remind you not to fall into the common trap of thinking of GBP like dollars, or even "big" dollars. Typical credit card exchange rates are currently about US $1.30 to the pound (+2% over the rate that banks trade with each other). Since the total you paid looks slightly higher, I'm guessing that you chose to have the cards shipped to you, and/or that your bank adds a processing fee.

The pass looks to me like a bad choice, with or without Oyster. I can't imagine what I'd want to see in London that would cost $80 a day. One of London's advantages is that so many museums and other sights are free. And an Oyster card that you buy separately will simplify using the tube and buses, while saving you money when you ride them more than a couple of times a day.

I would advise returning them if you can.

I think it's only worth it if you are going to visit three places on the pass each day. We didn't use one on our trip and we didn't get to more than two places that would have been on the pass each day. If you aren't wanting to race from attraction to attraction then return them if that's an option. Spend that money seeing attractions you want to see at your own pace.

I am not sure you would be able to return it; because by now, the London Pass company has mailed you a package with your two Oyster cards, brochures, maps, and the pass cards. I assume this package will arrive at your home address within the next several days before you leave for London.

You asked if you should return the Pass or keep it. If you mailed this package back to them, I have no idea if it would be credited back to your credit card. It would be a shame to do this, and not get credit for it.

Why don't you email them and ask if you can return the Passes or not. Ask for instructions on how they want you to do this.

It's totally up to you whether to do this or not.

One comment here. The greatest majority of London museums are free.
They're all great but my favorites are:
The British Museum--you could spend 3 days in here and not see it all.
The Victoria and Albert (The V&A)--one day.
The Museum of London--3/4 of a day.
The National Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery

Top sights worth paying to see include:
Tower of London--£28.00 each adult bought at the gate. £24.00 bought online.
£24.80 each adult bought at the gate if you tell them to exclude the voluntary donation.
Westminster Abbey--£22 per adult bought at the gate. £20 bought online includes fast track entry.
Churchill War Rooms--£19 w/donation, £17.25 without a donation included.
St. Paul's Cathedral--£18 per adult. Or you could attend Evensong in the evening and enjoy the music and a look inside for free.

It's easy to buy your own Oyster card once you get there. We each bought a £40. Oyster card when we got to London, and did not use all of either card.

Thank you so much for all of the great ideas!! I looked at the London Pass website where I purchased the pass a few days ago. Having waited until the last minute to buy it I am supposed to pick up all of the pass paraphernalia at a kiosk in London. So, I am going to return it. Right now I am considering buying the 10 day pass with no Oyster card. It is on sale right now for $174.33 US. If we see two land marks a day it will come out to $8.71 a ticket. Also it is just $22.98 (that's only $5.49 a day!) more than the 6 day ticket so it would allow us to have a couple of rest days within the 10 days. I am still considering it. But on top of the cheap entrance fees we would get a one day trip on a HOHO bus and a Thames cruise. We'll buy an Oyster card separately and get a refund if needed when we leave London. That would make the total cost $348.66 for 10 days (instead of $481.49 for 6 days!) purchasing our transportation separately. Does that sound like a plan? Thanks for all of your help!

We like the London Pass.It is well worth it as you do get the boat tour, Hop On Hop Off, Oyster cards and admission to 60 attractions but here is the really great thing- you get to skip to the front of long lines with its special fast entry feature. You'll also get a nice guidebook and some discounts on other things. I'd keep it.

We purchased the London Pass and found it not worth it! I always read and listen to the advice on this forum. However this time I didn't... and I paid for it. We had plans to see many of the attractions listed. I had a plan, but once there our interests took us in other directions! So unless you are someone who will follow your plan perfectly, don't buy it!

If we see two land marks a day it will come out to $8.71 a ticket

Yes, but if you see two London Pass landmarks a day in order to get value out of it, when are you going to see the fantastic free attractions of London?

I fear you're going to end up visiting attractions that are not all that, simply because you've paid for the London Pass.

Let your sightseeing be dictated by what YOU want to see, not by what's offered by the London Pass.

We have used theLondon Pass twice: once for 6 days and once for 3. We more than broke even in each case, but it required careful planning and execution. One other reason to use it is convenience: not digging for money all the time avoiding lines as it has a skip-the-line advantage.

It's up to you. If it's on sale, depending on your touring style and ability to stay on schedule, it might be worth it. I think for me it would just stress me out to know that in order to break even I have to hit x number of places on the list within the allotted number of days, and am therefore confined to the options on the list.

Then again, I like to hit a few of the major attractions but my main purpose of traveling is to absorb some of the culture and energy of the place that I am visiting. Traveling for me is about freedom, relaxation, and new experiences, not ticking items off a list. We all have our own style and I'm not meaning to put a value judgement on that.

Keep in mind things often don't go completely according to plan and you need to try to remain somewhat flexible. Someone in your party could come down with a cold and not feel so great for part of the trip (like I did) or you could run into transportation issues (strikes, maintenance, construction, etc. - we also ran into some of this on our trip) or weather issues (weather was not an issue for us luckily). Delays and schedule re-arranging is easier to deal with if you aren't needing to make your quota for the day.

If you are convinced the pass is right for you, look at the pass as a convenience to skip lines and for ease of payment. . If you are using cash or charging to a card with exchange fees, it might be worth it not to deal with paying at each attraction. (There were no lines in September when we went and I used a travel credit card with no fees for most of the expenses. So it would not have added convenience for us.)

I would assume +/- £6 per day per person to load on the Oyster card. You can always add value to it at a kiosk if you run out. That isn't likely unless you are going to locations outside of the tourist zone or you mess up and somehow manage to not tap the style both on the way in and on the way out (I think my traveling companion did this once). If you don't tap in and out on the tube you get charged the maximum amount for the day for the most remote zone. You use the card on buses too but only tap when you get on, don't tap when you get off or it will charge your card twice.

We just received our London passes and guide books in the mail today. With the passes there are some advantages beyond free entry to those that charge. For example, the audio guide to the British Museum, the Tate Modern, and National Gallery is free with the pass. They are usually 15£. At other museums that are free you have a choice of a special exhibition or audio guide for free. Many museums offer 10 per cent off cafes and gift shops. May not affect your decision, but it's more information.

Sorry, I meant to say the audioguides were 5 pounds, not 15.

Just wanted to update: But first, thank you to everyone for your helpful advice! We returned our 6 day London Pass and repurchased a 10 day pass. My husband added up the main things we wanted to see and it came to more than double what we paid for the pass (and the second time we purchased the pass it was on sale!) We extended it to a ten day pass so we could see things at a more leisurely pace. I got out the map in the back of Rick Steves 2017 London book and high-lighted everything we had tickets for from the London Pass. Then I used Rick's London book again and looked up the cost of every other site on the list, on the map he provided. (I love that map!!) There were two places on Rick's map that weren't free and weren't covered by the London pass. They were Madam Trussards (??) and the London Eye. Wax figures freak me out so No Thanks! and we already knew the London eye wasn't covered. I think Rick's map has a good mix of everything there is to see in the heart of London. I am very satisfied with the purchase of the London Pass and the purchase of Rick's book which is like having a friend who knows every aspect of London (almost) help you plan your trip.