London Pass

What are the attractions you wish to see? Remember virtually all of the museums are free including The Tates, V & A, British Museum, the Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Nat'l History Museum, Imperial War Museum, Sir John Sloane Museum, National Martime Museum. Also free the Changing of the Guard, Horse Guards Parade and the British Library, The latter is home to the Sir John C. Ritblat Gallery,http://www.bl.uk/whatson/permgall/treasures/shake.html one of my favorite spots to visit in London. The Tower of London, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, St, Paul's and the Churchill War Museum are not free. I'd not get the pass but go with the 2 for 1 7 day travelcard that is only available at a city center rail stations. If you are coming from Heathrow into Paddington Station you can buy it there.

Most people find the London Pass to NOT be a good option. You have to 'do' too many things in one day to make it viable and then there is now a 'limit' on how much you can 'spend' on your pass on any day- so you have to be careful how you combine the places. AND their travel option is awful- not a value at all. Check the 2-for-1 offer on the Days Out web site http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ It is a scheme by the UK rail companies. If you purchase a 1 or 7 day paper travel card FROM A NATIONAL RAIL STATION (not from a tube station) you can use the 2 for 1 deals at lots of place. Just print the vouchers you are interested in before you go if you can as the rail stations are sometimes out of the brochures.
The travel cards are good in zones 1 and 2 (unless you pay for more zones) for the tube and all zones for the buses. If you are not interested in the 2 for 1 deals then just get an Oyster Card and load some Pay-as-you-go cash on it and possibly a 7 day travel card on it.

I did some research and found the pass would be worth while for us. So it all depends on what you want to see. Here is my break down, so maybe it will help you. Below are the places we want to see which has an entrance fee per person and a line we can skip: Westminster Abbey: 16.00 Churchill War Room: 16.00 St. Paul's Cathedral: 14.50 Tower of London: 18.00 Shakespeare's Globe: 11.50
Windsor Castle: 16.50 and we figure we will prob. drop in and out of places just because we can so that will add more to the total. Total cost = 92.50 We bought a 3 day Adult pass which at the time with promo code came down to = 66.60 So we saved 25.90 Which we applied towards our 7 day zone 1-2 travelcard which comes on the Oyster. But we are young (26 - 31) and we walk a lot, our style of traveling some people call it "insane." Since you are elders, I say skip it and just chill and look for 2 for 1 deals or tours which they transport you which may be easier on your knees.

I have purchased the pass a couple of times... but not always. The first time I visited - I purchased the pass - I didn't know about the time it takes to visit just a few places (so I felt rushed to get my money's worth). My last trip, I took my mom to London in July and I purchased the pass. The main reason, my mom is 65 years old and I knew she would hate to wait in long lines. So it was worth it to skip the lines and not worry about admission fees. Regardless, you will not get your money's worth. I always use the Oyster Card. It's easy to use and you can add funds to it easily.

Just saw this on Trip Advisor " 7 day paper travelcards Apr 24, 2012, 12:36 PM
Spotted a notice in my local train station stating ' From 20th May , all paper 7-day travelcards require a photocard. We will not be able to issue 7-day travelcards without a photocard'. Anyone wanting a paper 7-day travelcard will need to provide a passport size photograph for the photocard." Thought you'd want to be prepared.

Thank you for all your suggestions.
Linda