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Point to Point Train Tickets vs a Flexible Pass

Hello Everyone,

I have been reading the forum and learning so much from everyone - thank you.

Our family of 4 (two parents, mid 40's and two teenage boys 15 & 13) will be coming to Great Britain in August. We plan on using public transportation for the majority of our trip and that includes a few train rides. We are now looking for the best advice on ticket buying for the train rides.

While in London (5 nights in an airbnb) we want to take a self guided day trip to Bath by train
A few days later we leave London and will take the Train to Scarborough (we are spending 2 nights in Robin Hoods Bay)
We will then take a train from Scarborough to Edinburgh (4 nights there)

We are fairly certain we are going to rent a car for the return trip to London since we want to spend a few nights in North Umberland and a day at Cambridge before returning the car to Heathrow and spending our last night at a hotel near the airport.

Would we be better off buying advance point to point tickets or a flexible 3 day pass to use over a month?
If we do the point to point tickets would one of those 30 pound family discount cards be worthwhile?
What is the best website to buy tickets and passes from?

Posted by
16895 posts

This mainly comes down to how willing you are to commit to specific travel times in advance. The BritRail pass is fully flexible for 3 travel days in a month ($235 per adult, kids both free, cheaper than buying Off-Peak rate tickets). The Family Card for 30 pounds provides decent discounts without having to book ahead, but booking up to 3 months ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk can be cheaper.