Buckingham Palace tour tickets

Hi Carla: Last year I purchased a ticket to visit Windsor Castle and to climb the Round Tower from the Royal Collection Trust. They mailed the tickets to me. However, this was done way in advance of my trip because the demand for the Round Tower tickets - that part of Windsor Castle was/is open only two months out of the year - was very high and I did not want to miss out on this part of the castle. Have a good trip.

I know that you can get tickets to the Royal Mews on-line at the British Tourism site (http://www.visitbritainshop.com/usa/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=us_brand) Costs are the same as buying on-site. You pay via credit card and a voucher is e-mailed to you a minute or two later. You just need to print it and bring it with you. I'm not sure if you can get tickets to other parts of the palace from the site (e.g. the state rooms), but it's worth checking. Good luck!

I guess I should have specified that I will be purchasing these tickets from the official website run by the Royal Collection Trust since that is the only place I know of that does the advance tickets of the inside Palace tour. Their website does not indicate prior to purchase how you actually obtain the tickets once you buy them.

Carla, I purchased the ticket including the State Rooms, the Queens Gallery and the Royal Mews online. I received an email instructing me that my tickets will be available for collection at the Ticket Office on Buckingham Palace Road when I arrive for my visit. I don't go until Sept so I don't know the rest of the story yet!! There might have been an option for home delivery but I thought it would be easier to just collect there.

Pam - that is the same type of ticket I will be purchasing. I thought all the tour tickets were time specific, but then I read some comments here on the Traveler's Helpline that the "Royal Day Out" ticket is not time specific but is good for any time during that day. (The comments were from a couple years ago so I don't know if that is still accurate.) Thanks for the info about being able to pick up the tickets in person; that's just what I needed to know!

Yes, you must pick the tickets up. It took us a while to find that ticket office too, and eventually I sent my husband ahead because I had a sore Achilles tendon. Therefore, I'd say you should try to map out the location of the ticket office in advance.

Thanks Christina. I wondered if it would be easy to find or not. I arrive on a Thursday so my walking around in the sunlight time that afternoon was going to be devoted to finding the ticket office!! Carla, I think the only part of the 3 areas that has a time assignment is the Queens Gallery. It has been 25 years or so since I was in there and I remember it being small so figure they really limit the number of people in there. The Royal Mews and the State Rooms do not have assigned times. I believe I also read that at the exit to each area you can have your ticket stamped to convert it to a year's pass with no extra charge. I thought I might do that in case I wanted to swing back thru there another time during my visit.

Christina - I will need to do a little more research before we arrive. If the only part of the tour that has a time attached to it is the Queen's Gallery, we probably need to start the tour there. I will also need to find out the exact location of the ticket office so we don't waste a lot of time looking for it like Christina. When in September are you going? We will be doing the Palace tour on September 23.

I booked the Queens Gallery for I think 930 (may be the opening time I don't think I saw any earlier times) so I could see that then take my time seeing the other ones. There are free guided tours of the Mews and I am aiming for the 11 o'clock one, but that timing is flexible if I am absorbed in the Gallery. I am not really scheduling anything else that day to allow it to unfold. I will be there Sept 6, I think...the Friday after Labor Day. I also wanted to try to see the Pompeii exhibit at the British Museum, but I am not sure when I can fit it in!!

My info is 5 years old, but..the tix office was to the left of the palace as you face the front. At that time, the staterooms had an entry time as well and they do not tolerate tardiness. We got caught in the changing of the guard crowd, which is very thick after it disperses. So, just be aware of that.