Help finding cheap train tickets from Southampton to London for 1 day of sightseeing

Hi.

 

I'm trying to navigate the process of how to buy cheap return train tickets from Southampton Central to London Waterloo. We will be spending the one day sightseeing...hoping to arrive in London in the morning and catch the return train around 20:30.

 

I'm seeing very high prices when I use the trainline site for 4 adult off-peak return direct train journey tickets on Friday, November 2 (£338 or $605 Cdn). A few months ago when I was looking for tickets from Gatwick to Southampton the off peak fares were so much lower £16 pp (we have since book a private car transfer instead due to luggage issues).

 

Is there a better option for purchasing train tickets to London?

Is it cheaper to just show up at Southampton Central in the morning and purchase return tickets?

 

Where we live the train options are limited to one service provider and one fare type regardless of travel time so very simple...feeling a bit overwhelmed with UK train travel :(

 

All help is greatly appreciated!

Diane :)

You are trying to buy tickets too early, cheap tickets are released nearer the time, usually 12 weeks before travelling.

Hi.

 

 

 

I'm trying to navigate the process of how to buy cheap return train tickets from Southampton Central to London Waterloo. We will be spending the one day sightseeing...hoping to arrive in London in the morning and catch the return train around 20:30.

 

 

 

I'm seeing very high prices when I use the trainline site for 4 adult off-peak return direct train journey tickets on Friday, November 2 (£338 or $605 Cdn). A few months ago when I was looking for tickets from Gatwick to Southampton the off peak fares were so much lower £16 pp (we have since book a private car transfer instead due to luggage issues).

 

 

 

Is there a better option for purchasing train tickets to London?

 

Is it cheaper to just show up at Southampton Central in the morning and purchase return tickets?

 

 

 

Where we live the train options are limited to one service provider and one fare type regardless of travel time so very simple...feeling a bit overwhelmed with UK train travel :(

 

 

 

All help is greatly appreciated!

 

Diane :)

 

 

 

Try setting up a booking alert on Loco2.com. Put in your dates and it will come up saying Alert me when booking opens. The cheap fares are generally at the earliest booking period.

 

By the way, the same is true for Via rail; there are many different rates but cheap fares go fast; if you wait you will pay full fare generally.

 

 

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You are trying to buy tickets too early, cheap tickets are released nearer the time, usually 12 weeks before travelling.

 

I'm currently seeing cheap tickets available up to about 13th September.

Yes, book as soon as your date is released.

Bear in mind that the cheap tickets are only good for the train time that you specify. Miss that train and your tickets is useless.

 

JB :)

Thanks so much for the prompt replies.

I registered on loco2 for the alert.

 

More questions...

 

I hope we will be ok with the cheap tickets as we should have no problem getting to the train stations in time at either end of the journey...I always plan to arrive 30 mins prior to departure.

Are the offpeak tickets the cheapest? I've read that the offpeak tickets are good for any offpeak train. Is this true...just in case we miss the one we planned for?

 

So for purchasing the tickets once tickets are released, is there a preferred method to doing this? direct with train company or via a third party site? Ive only ever purchased tickets for a train in Italy and then I bought in person at the train station just prior to boarding.

 

 

diane

Thanks so much for the prompt replies.

I registered on loco2 for the alert.

 

More questions...

 

I hope we will be ok with the cheap tickets as we should have no problem getting to the train stations in time at either end of the journey...I always plan to arrive 30 mins prior to departure.

Are the offpeak tickets the cheapest? I've read that the offpeak tickets are good for any offpeak train. Is this true...just in case we miss the one we planned for?

 

So for purchasing the tickets once tickets are released, is there a preferred method to doing this? direct with train company or via a third party site? Ive only ever purchased tickets for a train in Italy and then I bought in person at the train station just prior to boarding.

 

 

diane

 

 

 

Loco2 will show you all the various fare options and will explain the terms. Try a sample quote for the same day of the week on a date that is available and see what information it shows

 

 

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You need to be looking in about 4 weeks to seek out 'advance' tickets. These are the cheapest.

 

I would generally use the train operator's website. You need to be careful with some websites which may charge admin fees etc.

 

Alternatively use www.nationalrail.co.uk. You can't buy tickets from there, but the site will direct you to the operator's website when you choose the services you want.

 

As an example of prices I have just done a dummy search for 25 September 2018 and an advanced ticket is £9.10 each way. £18.20 return per person.

Loco2 does not charge booking fees, but you can certainly compare them to the operator’s website. This is a really simple booking; I like the way they show options for complicated routings. (They were great when I booked a train trip in Spain; the Spanish Rail website was useless to me and the explained everything that was on the ticket in Spanish so I knew everything I needed. I gave my explanation sheet to some Americans who didn’t realize that there was a seat number on the ticket.)

 

 

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Hi,

Is there any difference in fares if we buy tickets at the train station, on a weekend. Also, we are looking at going to Bath on Saturday and Stonehenge/Salisbury on Sunday. This is because there seems to be some sort of construction project going on Sunday on the line to Bath. Would we be able to view the Salisbury Church and the Magna Carta later on a Sunday, or would the church only be open for services?

I'm currently seeing cheap tickets available up to about 13th September.

You need to be looking in about 4 weeks to seek out 'advance' tickets. These are the cheapest.

I'm seeing Advance fares right up to the end of the current booking window (20 October), so I wonder whether the OP might want to start looking in a couple of weeks' time.

OP, you were mistaken with your original search, I think. The £338 total is for ‘Anytime’ tickets (can be used on peak time trains such as the early morning services to London). Your timings allow for ‘Off-Peak’, as you said and the total for 4 would be £182.

 

However if you used South Western Railways or National Rail websites, you will see a ‘Groupsave’ price for 4 adults of £120. This will be the cheapest flexible ticket (within off-peak times) for your party. ‘Groupsave’ offers a 34% saving over individual ‘Off-Peak’ tickets for groups of more than 3 adults travelling together.

 

 

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Edited July 30, 2018 by Cotswold Eagle

I hope we will be ok with the cheap tickets as we should have no problem getting to the train stations in time at either end of the journey...I always plan to arrive 30 mins prior to departure.

Are the offpeak tickets the cheapest? I've read that the offpeak tickets are good for any offpeak train. Is this true...just in case we miss the one we planned for?

 

diane

 

 

No, ‘Advance’ fares are the cheapest, as described in other replies. In this context ‘Advance’ is a specific type of ticket; you may be getting confused with buying other tickets (e.g. ‘Off-Peak’) in advance. Numbers of ‘Advance’ tickets are limited on each train, hence the advice to buy early.

 

Yes, an ‘Off-Peak’ ticket can be used on any train in off-peak hours, which is why you pay more compared to ‘Advance’ tickets, which are only valid on the trains you book. There is no price difference in ‘Off-Peak’ tickets buying six months in advance or two minutes before you travel at the station.

 

For this particular journey, I would go with the ‘Groupsave’, which offers off-peak flexibility at a price closer to ‘Advance’ tickets.

 

 

 

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Hi,

Is there any difference in fares if we buy tickets at the train station, on a weekend. Also, we are looking at going to Bath on Saturday and Stonehenge/Salisbury on Sunday. This is because there seems to be some sort of construction project going on Sunday on the line to Bath. Would we be able to view the Salisbury Church and the Magna Carta later on a Sunday, or would the church only be open for services?

 

 

Weekends are off-peak, so the only cheaper tickets than the ones available by walking up at the station would be ‘Advance’ fares, as described above. You don’t state your departure point, so I don’t know if ‘Advance’ would be available - generally only on longer journeys.

 

By Salisbury Church, I assume you mean the Cathedral. It, and the Magna Carta exhibition, are open for visiting from 12 noon on Sundays, but only for a few hours:

 

https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/visit/plan-your-visit

 

 

 

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Thanks Cotswold Eagle!

You are correct...I am getting confused :(. Some days it doesn't take much :)

 

I went to south western railway's website and tried the booking for 4 off-peak tickets for November 2 at the £120.40 price, but if I chose any type of seat preferences I get this message: Please note there are parts of your journey where reservations were not possible. You can buy this ticket without a reservation or you can change your service or ticket selection and try again.

Without selecting a seat preference, I am able to continue the booking.

 

Obviously we would like to have four seats together or close to each other.

How do we do this?

Are some routes just open seating and that's why I cannot put in seat preferences?

Or does that option become available closure to travel dates?

Is Groupsave only available online or would we see the same pricing if we were to buy tickets at SOU on the morning of travel?

 

Thanks for your patience with my questions and for all of your advice.

 

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No seat reservations on South Western Trains. You should have little difficulty finding seating together on off-peak trains, I would think (this is not a route I use).

 

I had another thought - you can buy ‘Off-Peak Day Travelcard’ tickets with Groupsave as well - these include unlimited travel on buses and tubes in London. The price for four is £146, and it may be more convenient for you to have just the one ticket to cover the fare to London and transport in London, if you hadn’t considered that aspect.

 

As far as I know Groupsave is available to buy as a walk up fare - it certainly is on other train companies, but it’s not clearly stated on South Western’s website. You could perhaps email to check?

 

 

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In June, I used southwestrailway.com and booked groupsave adv rate for 4 persons for 35 GBP one way at 4 weeks out. You can get walk up groupsave also--but I like to buy in advance to avoid the line. You cannot get the advance fare day of.

I agree with prior--you'll likely use 5+ GBP each or more in London for transport--get the travelcard--so easy and you can use on any train, plus all tubes, buses, etc.

In June, I used southwestrailway.com

 

 

A valiant effort, but the website for South Western Railway (the current franchise, which took over from South West Trains about a year ago) is http://www.southwesternrailway.com [emoji846]

 

 

 

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that's it. take the CC you use. you have to have it to print your tickets.

take the CC you use. you have to have it to print your tickets.

I'm not sure about that. I bought some tickets a few weeks back for family members who are coming to stay. I went to a ticket machine to print them, and it wouldn't read the card that I'd used. None of the others in that bank of machines would, either. So I asked a member of staff, who told me to put any other card of mine in - and that worked. I suspect that the checking (if there is any) extends only to reading the name on the card. The ticket collection reference is the thing that really accesses the booking.

 

Having the "correct" card is safer. But it sounds to me like it's nothing to stress about if something goes wrong.

 

That all has the same feel as the requirement when booking online to specify which station you're going to collect the tickets from. The reality is that you can collect from any ticket machine in the country that does ticket collection.