Tourist Passes for England

I am going to be spending 17 days pre cruise in England and Scotland and 7 days post cruise in London. I am trying to figure out which pre-purchased passes make economic or logistical sense. By the way, if it makes any difference, both my wife and I are around 70 so we are both seniors.

I am already purchased a National Trust pass for 2 people at $95 per couple. It covers more than 300 sites.

I am looking at 3 other passes - the unlimited 6 zone London travel card; the London 3 Royal Palace pass, and a 16 day English Heritage pass. I have questions on all of them.

1) The 7 day London Travel Card. As I understand it, this card covers all modes of public transit within London and some environs on zones 1-6. It covers bus and underground service and even some river rides. This pass will cost me $55 per person which is a lot of money. Does it pay? How much does it cost to ride the subway or bus at each zone? If it helps in giving me advice, we will be staying in a B&B in zone 2 so every time I go from my lodging to the center of London or returning to my lodging, I will be having at 2 zone ticket purchase every day for 7 days.

2) The 3 Royal Palace Pass.This covers the Tower, Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. I will certainly be visiting all 3 sites and if we do, we save $15 and also avoid standing in a line to get tickets. This seems like a no brainer or are I missing something.

3) The English Heritage Pass. This is the one that I have the most difficulty figuring out as I already have the National Trust Pass. The National Trust Pass covers 300+ places; the Heritage pass covers 100+ places. There has to be some overlap between the 2 passes although it is hard to figure out how much. Entry to many places in England is pricey so this will affect the value. Also, 3 days of my 17 day England tour will be in Scotland. I know that the National Trust pass is good in Scotland; is the National Trust pass also good in Scotland.

It seems to me as if 1) may make sense; 2) definitely makes sense; and I have no idea if 3) makes sense. These passes get pricey. I have already spent $47 per person for the National Trust pass. If I buy these other 3 passes, it will cost me another $170 per person which is a bunch of money.

Please help me decide.

DON

Lots of questions :) I'll start with the National Trust v English Heritage.

The National Trust is a charity that maintains historic buildings, countryside and coastline. English Heritage is a government funded body that does the same for the National Collection of Historic Properties. The Trust is better known for historic houses and gardens, EH for castles and ruins, but that is quite a large generalisation. As each organisation looks after their own estate, I can't imagine there is much, if any, overlap between the two.

So the only real way to answer your question would be to know which sites you are likely to visit :)

Looking further at the OP, are you absolutely sure the NT Visitor Pass covers the National Trust for Scotland too? Members of the two organisations get reciprocal rights, I'm not sure about the pass for overseas visitors. This comparison table seems to suggest it doesn't:

http://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/articles-and-features/which-heritage-pass.html

On the Travelcard question, your journeys from/to Zone 2 to the centre will cost £4.50 each as a cash fare, so yes the Travelcard will pay. For a seven day stay you are probably better off with a Travelcard rather than an Oyster Card, but do you really need Zones 1-6, which takes you to the outer reaches of the tube? A Zone 1-2 may suffice, paying fares on the occasions you go further out, but again impossible to answer without knowing your proposed itinerary.

On the other hand, the certainty and simplicity of having a 7-day Zone 1-6 could be attractive to you - less worrying about whether your ticket covers a particular journey.

1) There is no need to buy 7 day travelcards in advance. They are cheaper in London, take just a moment to purchase. The clerks speak English and understand American. They accept credit cards and debit cards. As Cotswold Eagle points out, a 1-2 zone travelcard may be enough, although Hampton Court Palace is in zone 6.

If you buy the travelcards from a National Rail station instead of a tube station the travelcards will entitle you to Days Out 2 for 1 discounts. http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ You can realize big savings on expensive, worthwhile attractions such as Churchill War Rooms, Hampton Court Palace, Globe Theatre tours, and St. Paul's Cathedral. You need to provide a passport size (not passport quality) photo for a free rail ID to buy the 7 day travelcard from a rail station. Turn in a Days Out voucher and show your travelcards to obtain the discount.

Looking further at the OP, are you absolutely sure the NT Visitor Pass covers the National Trust for Scotland too? Members of the two organisations get reciprocal rights, I'm not sure about the pass for overseas visitors. This comparison table seems to suggest it doesn't:

 

http://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/articles-and-features/which-heritage-pass.html

The National Trust site suggested that I but their pass through the Royal Oak Foundation in the US. According to their site, you get free entry to many things -

"Join The Royal Oak Foundation

No admission fees. No waiting on lines. Just quick and easy access to the best of Britain!

ALL membership levels provide:

Free entry to over 350 properties of the National Trust of England Wales & Northern Ireland

Free entry to 100 properties belonging to the National Trust for Scotland

Reduced admission price for U.S. lectures, tours and other programs

Tax-deductible member dues"

Note that the fee to join the Royal Oak Foundation is even tax deductible.

DON

1) . Turn in a Days Out voucher and show your travelcards to obtain the discount.

What is a Days Out voucher? Trying to reduce costs when you are doing an expensive trip that involves a 2 week cruise and 24 days on land really gets complicated.

DON

Ah, OK - technically, you haven't bought a NT visitor pass, you have bought a membership of the Royal Oak Foundation, which has arrangements with both the NT and NTS.

To be honest, given you have this, I'd take a long look at what EH properties you might want to visit on your travels, to see if it is worth buying their pass as well. It takes most of us a lifetime to get round the National Trust :)

What is a Days Out voucher? Trying to reduce costs when you are doing an expensive trip that involves a 2 week cruise and 24 days on land really gets complicated.

 

DON

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ You may print off vouchers from the website. Vouchers may also be available in brochures on display at mainline rail stations. It does get complicated.

The Days Out offers are sponsored by National Rail, hence the requirement for rail tickets. Travelcards purchased from National Rail qualify.

If you arrive and depart London by rail, those tickets would qualify, too. Unfortunately, Heathrow trains and Eurostar trains through the Chunnel do not qualify, Gatwick trains and most others do.

Lots of questions :) I'll start with the National Trust v English Heritage.

 

The National Trust is a charity that maintains historic buildings, countryside and coastline. English Heritage is a government funded body that does the same for the National Collection of Historic Properties. The Trust is better known for historic houses and gardens, EH for castles and ruins, but that is quite a large generalisation. As each organisation looks after their own estate, I can't imagine there is much, if any, overlap between the two.

 

So the only real way to answer your question would be to know which sites you are likely to visit :)

I did this. Just to help others, I have attached links to the properties covered by both passes -

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/overseas-visitor-pass/attractions-and-events/sites-that-accept-the-overseas-visitor-pass/

http://www.royal-oak.org/pdf/NTS_PROPERTY_LIST.pdf

http://www.royal-oak.org/pdf/NT_PROPERTY_LIST.pdf

I did a quick check on both lists and as you suggested, there does not appear to be any overlap. Now I just have to plan a 2 or 3 year trip to the British Isles to cover all the sites (LOL).

DON

Zones 1-6 probably wont be necessary unless maybe to and from one of the airports. Would think zones 1 and 2 cover most of the tourist journeys you are likely to make.

Zones 1-6 probably wont be necessary unless maybe to and from one of the airports. Would think zones 1 and 2 cover most of the tourist journeys you are likely to make.

Hampton Court, which the OP intends to visit, is in Zone 6 and several of the National Trust and English Heritage properties in London are outside Zones 1-2.

1) Forget about getting a travelcard in advance. Get an Oyster card at an underground station when you get into London. For your post-cruise week, you can get a 1-week travelcard loaded onto your Oyster card to cover the zones you'll use the most, plus some extra cash to cover any extra journeys you'll be taking - this way you can get a travelcard for zones 1-2 only, and the cash will cover the extra fare necessary to go to Hampton Court in zone 6, for instance. It sounds complicated, but the clerks at the underground stations will be able to figure this all out for you.

2) If you're planning on visiting all 3 places, I agree, it's a no-brainer.

3) There shouldn't be any overlap in NT and EH properties, actually - usually they're one or the other. So, I'll echo those who say it depends on where you want to go. If you can give more details on where you're travelling to (if you've decided yet :D), I'm sure we could give you more specific info.

One bit of advice I would give: don't try to do too much. There really is a wealth of sites to visit, but especially when it comes to stately homes, you want to have time to soak up the atmosphere, walk the grounds... Enjoy what you can do, don't worry about what you can't do.

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You do not have to worry about that.

I do things slowly and absorb atmosphere. It always intrigues me when you see ship tours or commercial tours where you spend 10 minutes in a museum to so one major painting, drive past lots of sites but do not stop, have 20 minutes including the bathroom break for a major historical site and then have 40 minutes at the souvenir ship. In the same place, I do one place in the morning, have a leisurely lunch, and one or 2 things in the afternoon.

DON

1) Forget about getting a travelcard in advance. Get an Oyster card at an underground station when you get into London. For your post-cruise week, you can get a 1-week travelcard loaded onto your Oyster card to cover the zones you'll use the most, plus some extra cash to cover any extra journeys you'll be taking - this way you can get a travelcard for zones 1-2 only, and the cash will cover the extra fare necessary to go to Hampton Court in zone 6, for instance. It sounds complicated, but the clerks at the underground stations will be able to figure this all out for you.

 

I thought that you could use an Oyster card only for off-peak travel. Is that an absolute or can you use it when necessary for on-peak travel but at a higher cost?

 

DON

I thought that you could use an Oyster card only for off-peak travel. Is that an absolute or can you use it when necessary for on-peak travel but at a higher cost?

 

DON

Nope. Your Oyster card is useable at all times; it's the 1-day paper travelcards that can't be used before 9:30 am. The great advantage to an Oyster card is that it will always calculate the lowest fare, so it will always be cheaper than the paper tickets.

Nope. Your Oyster card is useable at all times; it's the 1-day paper travelcards that can't be used before 9:30 am. The great advantage to an Oyster card is that it will always calculate the lowest fare, so it will always be cheaper than the paper tickets.

That is true provided you remember to ALWAYS touch in and touch out (for the Tube). If you do not it charges you for the most expensive journey. The system will cap your daily total to the appropriate travel card amount as well.

Also there are a few little wrinkles you may need to know depending on the journeys you take. Some routes can be done without going through Zone 1 - if that is the case there will be a pink card reader somewhere at the interchange. Touch in at it to show that you missed out Zone 1 and you will get the cheaper fare. Many Londoners are not aware of this (including this one until recently!)

Also there are a few little wrinkles you may need to know depending on the journeys you take. Some routes can be done without going through Zone 1 - if that is the case there will be a pink card reader somewhere at the interchange. Touch in at it to show that you missed out Zone 1 and you will get the cheaper fare. Many Londoners are not aware of this (including this one until recently!)

So true... when I was doing an internship in London I wasn't aware of this at all and only learned about it like 2 days prior to my departure... :(

Nope. Your Oyster card is useable at all times; it's the 1-day paper travelcards that can't be used before 9:30 am.

That's true of Off-Peak One Day Travelcards, but you can buy Anytime One Day Travelcards, which are valid at all times (and of course 7-Day Travelcards, which is what the OP asked about, are valid at all times).

If we were just considering travel I would agree with your suggestion, but as the OP is in London for a week and apparently wants to visit the sights, the 2-for-1 Days Out advantages of buying a paper Travelcard from a National Rail outlet should not be ignored - the savings can easily outweigh any cost of travel from the airport to buy one at a rail station in town.

Some routes can be done without going through Zone 1 - if that is the case there will be a pink card reader somewhere at the interchange. Touch in at it to show that you missed out Zone 1 and you will get the cheaper fare. Many Londoners are not aware of this (including this one until recently!)

That's very good to know. I had no idea, as the times I've used my Oyster card we were staying in Zone 1, so never had that circumstance.

If we were just considering travel I would agree with your suggestion, but as the OP is in London for a week and apparently wants to visit the sights, the 2-for-1 Days Out advantages of buying a paper Travelcard from a National Rail outlet should not be ignored - the savings can easily outweigh any cost of travel from the airport to buy one at a rail station in town.

I've often wondered what the cheapest rail ticket was that you could purchase to qualify for the 2-for-1 specials. I mean, if you can buy a 1-pound ticket to save 5 pounds on admission somewhere, it's certainly worth it, even if you have an Oyster card, right?

If the OP were in London for just a couple of days - and I were sure he was staying near a train station - I would certainly advocate the travelcard-on-National-Rail-paper route, but for a week I still like the ease of the Oyster card. Also, I don't know how many of those admissions would be covered by the OP's passes anyways.

You guys have been a great help in deciphering my London transit options. Many thanks. I have decided to go with the Oyster card. It seems like the best idea.

I do have what I think is the final question and also a suggestion for anyone who is reading this post.

Both my wife and I will be traveling in London. Do we have to get one Oyster card for each of us or can we share a card? The reason I ask is that when we buy a prepaid card for travel in the New York subways, we share a card. I am not sure if it is the same in London.

Now for my suggestion to anyone who is reading this exchange. I was planning to buy the 3 Three Palace Pass from the VisitBritain shop in the US for $56 each which would have saved me some money. Turns out that I can join the Historic Royal Palaces group (http://www.hrp.org.uk for 56 pounds for 2 people which is cheaper than the US cost. I get 5 palaces instead of 3, a 10% discount at shops and restaurants, a book, a subscription to a magazine, and some more goodies. This is a much better deal.

Again, thanks for the help.

DON

One Oyster card each.

 

Now for my suggestion to anyone who is reading this exchange. I was planning to buy the 3 Three Palace Pass from the VisitBritain shop in the US for $56 each which would have saved me some money. Turns out that I can join the Historic Royal Palaces group (http://www.hrp.org.uk for 56 pounds for 2 people which is cheaper than the US cost. I get 5 palaces instead of 3, a 10% discount at shops and restaurants, a book, a subscription to a magazine, and some more goodies. This is a much better deal.

 

Again, thanks for the help.

 

DON

I see they also have a tax efficient US arm for the Royal Palaces Group, which is also good to know. You have done a great job researching your options and with the various passes you have, I think the Oyster is probably best for you :)

One of your 'extra' buildings is the Banqueting House, right on Whitehall in central London (near 'Big Ben' and Horseguards). Do pop in there to see the extraordinary Rubens ceiling - but be aware it often closes in the afternoon (it is used a lot for official and private functions).