London Pass with Travel??

Reid, You'd have to look at the list of attractions and their admission prices to see whether or not the London Pass is a good deal for you. Were you planning on seeing the sites they offer discounts on in the first place, will you see enough of them to really save money, that sort of thing. As far as adding the travel, you'd be just as well off by getting an Oyster card since the daily cap on that, £8.00, is the same price as the added travel on a 3-day London Pass. Depending on how many trips you make, and when, you might even be under that price. You would have to pay the initial fee for the Oyster card, but I understand you can get that back before you leave the country. Plus you'll probably need transportation on the 4th day and the London Pass seems to jump from 3 days to 7.

Most people have found that the London Pass is not quite the deal it appears to be. You might want to look inot getting a Travel Card at a National Rail station. This is good on buses and the tube. I think you can get 1 day and 7 day cards. With these card you can access the 2-for-1 deals offered by National Rail. Check their website- these change from time to time. You could use this in addition to or in lieu of an Oyster card. If you re going to be traveling by rail, your rail tickets will also allow you to access these deals- but the tickets must be vaild for the time you plan to use the deal- for example if you are using the Heathrow or Victoria Express upon arrival and departure- save and show both tickets and you can use the 2-4-1 deals.

IMO, the London Pass is not a good deal, especially the travel option. Many major sights in London are free. Others (like the Tower of London) are covered by the 2-for-1 deals you can get by buying National Rail travelcards (as Toni said). For more information, go here.

I've purchased the London Pass in the past and found that I didn't use the "deals" at all. I recommend getting an Oyster card, which is economical and very easy to use on pretty much all the public transportation. I've saved the first card I bought many years ago and simply "top it up" each time I return - and you'll want to return to London!

Reid, It is a very pretty penny. The 2 day pass with travel is currently going for £75 each. Even at today's bank rate that's about $240. It's up to you whether it's worth the frustration to get that refunded. Your agent probably figured the pass would make things convenient for you, or it's a standard add-on for London or something. You would really have to run around to actually save any money with the pass. The attraction section alone costs £59. If you could see The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and Windsor Castle in those 2 days (just listing some of the more expensive attractions), then you would save about £8 each, but you'd end up spending that on the train tickets to Windsor. Of course if your agent passed along a discounted price, then you might just want to keep the passes and use them for the most expensive things you want to see in London. Then use your other 2 days to visit things that are free. We worked a combination like that in 2004 when we visited with our boys. We had a Great British Heritage Pass (which covered more London attractions then) and saw everything not covered by the pass during the first part of the week and went to the pass sights during the second part (and on into the rest of our tour of England). Good luck and best wishes for a happy honeymoon!

Thanks for the offer, Mandy. I have a question for you about http://www.londonpass.com/london-attractions/index.html Why do you list these attractions as free with the London Pass when they are already free without the London Pass? All Hallows by the Tower, Imperial War Museum London, Namco Station, National Gallery, National Maritime Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Air Force Museum, Southwark Cathedral, Tate Britain, and Tate Modern.

Toni's suggestion of the 2 for 1 offers saves most couples more than the London Pass will. http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ Note that rail tickets from Heathrow are not valid for the offer, nor are Eurostar "Chunnel" tickets. I think that the only London attractions that one should pay for on a first time visit of four days are Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Churchill War Rooms, and either Windsor Castle or Hampton Court Palace. Consider paying for guided walks and the theater, too. Spend the rest of your time in pubs and in the free attractions, particularly The British Museum, Imperial War Museum, National Gallery, British Library, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir John Soane's Museum, the Wallace Collection and do-it-yourself walks. If you decide on the London Pass, it is usually 10% off at http://www.visitlondon.com/ The travel option is no bargain, you just get one day off peak zone 1-6 travelcards at no discount, rarely the best option for visitors. OK, I will admit the six day pass offers a saving of £0.40 on a £50.40 7 day zone 1-6 travelcard.

Here is more from my earlier inquiry.. First thanks for all the responses, I sure apreciate them as this will be my honeymoon... Ok now to my point, We booked out whole trip through a travel agent here in the states because we are going to a few places and I wanted it done correctly and was afraid I would screw it up. When I got our itinerary it had things in each destination added that until up to this point I was not worried about...... One of them being this London pass with travel (2day). We are staying at the Royal Horseguards, which I hear is pretty much near a lot of the attractions..... and I also know that a few of the places are free to get in too. So..... I do not know if I should try to get a refund to the amount it cost, which is probably a pretty penny. Mandy has been helpful from the L Pass people, but I just want to make the proper decision..... Any thoughts???? Thanks chip and everyone for your input... I am a first timer abroad and want to do it correctly.... RC

Thank you, Mandy. Why aren't those attractions with free admission to all listed under "Special Offer and Discounts" rather than "Here are all of the Attractions in London you could visit for FREE with a London Pass"? Am I the only one that thinks this is misleading?

Boy, I don't want to get into this one. But it is my experience, for our reading public, that the vast majority of the first time visitors to London, at whom the Pass is clearly aimed, never venture outside zones 1 and 2. I wouldn't say that topping up an Oyster card is particularly difficult. Tap it on the machine, feed it a card or cash. Job done. I agree that listing a load of places as Free where I can, without any problem, just walk in for free too is just a bit edgy (word chosen with care).

Mandy, as I said earlier it is misleading to list attractions as free with the London Pass that are free without the pass. You list 74 attractions that I could "visit for FREE with a London Pass" and 9 of those I can visit for FREE without the London Pass. (The £2.50 admission charge at Southwark Cathedral is a new one on me and not listed on their website.) The London Pass website also says, "As well as free entry, the London Pass allows you to skip long and frustrating queues at the busiest tourist attractions." The London Pass only offers queue skipping at the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, London Bridge Experience, ZSL London Zoo, and Kensington Palace & The Orangery. http://www.londonpass.com/how-it-works/skip-the-lines.html Of these, only the Tower of London is on the list of most visited London attractions according to http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/culture/top-ten-attractions 7 of the top 10 London attractions are free. Only one of the remaining attractions is covered by the London Pass. I maintain that the London Pass offers are misleading.

The Orangery is a restaurant that requires no admission fee. Can you really skip to the head of the queue at the Orangery with the London Pass? Any answer yet to my insurance question, Mandy?

Mandy... Never heard back from you with regards to the zone around Royal horsegaurds where we will be staying and what zones ARE NOT COVERED.. meaning I get 1-6 but what are the other zones...