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London Pass worth it?

I didn't see this mentioned in the Rick Steves London 2008 guidebook, but read about it on Londontown.com. It sounds like it's a good deal if used in enough places to pay for itself. And not to mention skipping the ticket lines. Anyone else get one and if so was it worth it to you?

Posted by
82 posts

How long will you be in London? What attractions do you plan on going? Will you be traveling alone?

Most of the museums are free so I personally don't think it's worth it. It really depends on what you want to do.

Posted by
643 posts

Quite a lot of the sights on our list have an admission fee, we're not going to spend six days just seeing museums. Even if we break even, not having to stand in line for tickets would make sense. I just wanted to know if there was anyone here who had used one and could comment on whether it was a good deal for them or not.

Posted by
1455 posts

Dave, its only worth it if you plan on hitting 2 or 3 sites per day. Its very costly, and really not too many places have lines long enough to consider the pass. Peronally I thought it to be a rip. Don't get fooled by the testimony you see on Londontown or the VisitBritain sites. Of course they want it to sound tempting. I sure fell for it. Three years ago I got the London Pass w/out transport for One day, and used it for the Tower of London, and the attractions within that area. For one day I broke even, but felt obligated to run around like a headless chicken because of the amount I paid.

If you DO decide to get it, skip the transportation. Get your own Travel Card or Oyster Card.

Posted by
8700 posts

Add up the admission fees of the places you plan to visit that are covered by the pass. Compare that total to the cost of a pass. If the pass is less, buy it. If the pass is more, decide if the extra money is worth it to you so you can skip the lines.

Are you planning to buy a travelcard? If so, a PAPER travelcard bought at any National Rail station--not Tube stations--qualifies you for some good 2for1 offers. I don't know if any places covered by the London Pass are included in the 2for1 offers, but you can check it out here. Note that you have to print the 2for1 vouchers at home and take them with you.

Posted by
1 posts

I have used the London Pass several times this year and each time have saved money on sightseeing. In addition, as you are coming from abroad I would recommend getting at least a 2 day pass as it reduces the cost significantly and therefore you save more. Use the london pass website itinerary planner so that you can see for yourself what you will be saving as well as planning your day so that you don't have to travel from one side of London to the other.
What people seem to ignore about the London Pass is the additional offers you are given such as free UK mobile phone rental, discounted theatre tickets, FREE cinema tickets and loads of deals at restaurants, bars and cafes.
Also, in the museums that are normally free you often get given a glossy guide book or audio guide with your london pass... but there are not that many free attractions in London despite what people think!
I thoroughly recommend the London Pass and suggest you purchase a multi-day pass if you are in London for a few days - you save more money then!
The skipping lines thing is great if you are here in school holiday time or over a weekend as the larger attractions do get big queues.
Hope that balances the other arguments slightly!

Posted by
643 posts

Thanks all for your replies. Even if it doesn't save us money, but does save us time, it is worth it. Waiting in line is something I want to avoid as much as I can. We're planning on getting Oyster cards with a 7 day travel card attached to them, so we can easily take the tube and jump on busses. And the extras that come with the London Pass sound great, thanks for mentioning those, Nicole!

Posted by
595 posts

We used the London Pass and found it worthwhile. But we did add up the attractions we wanted to see and determined if they were covered by the Pass. We found the Pass cheaper than purchasing separate tickets and we used some of the food discounts, free stuff discounts and token discounts and river trip discounts included with the pass. Yes, it was nice not to have to wait in the TICKET line, but if you get to your attraction, castle early before 10 am, there isn't much of a line either way. So I would buy the London Pass only if it's cost effective. Their website has a list of what's covered by the pass.

Posted by
643 posts

I did a calculation and found it would cost my wife and I an extra $90 to use the London Pass to get in to the attractions we want to see. Now we have to decide if it's worth it to avoid the ticket lines. We will arrive a few mornings early for certain sights (British Museum, St. Pauls Cathedral, etc) but others we may arrive after lunch, when it is much more crowded. I am thinking it's worth it to save time, even if it's saving 10 minutes in line, that's 10 minutes more we can spend inside enjoying ourselves. And the freebees are nice too!