# UK trip planning - a question



## Luanne (Apr 1, 2010)

Trip to UK is booked for July. Have flights and lodging. Now I have a question. Is it better/cheaper to buy things like train tickets, Oyster card, any admission stuff ahead of time? I think I heard, or read, somewhere that it's cheaper to buy the train passes, or tickets here rather than waiting until we get to the UK. Dd said we can get the Oyster card there, and probably should wait. I think the only train we'll be taking is from London to Liverpool and back, and it looks like I can buy it online and change the date/time if needed. I know the dates we'll be going, but not exact times.

TIA for any input.


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## Carolinian (Apr 2, 2010)

UK train tickets are cheaper ahead of time, but make sure you do not use a US-based service like RailEurope, which will charge you more.  Buy them online from a site based in the UK.


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## Timeshare Von (Apr 2, 2010)

We didn't do the rail when we were last there on a TS vacation, but we did buy the Heritage Pass in advance which provided great discounts on admissions to many of the things we were planning to see and do over our two weeks there (one in Scotland and the other in England).

Here's a link to the article I wrote on the subject:  http://www.igougo.com/story-s132611...s_Making_the_Most_of_Your_Vacation_Money.html .


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## Luanne (Apr 2, 2010)

Carolinian said:


> UK train tickets are cheaper ahead of time, but make sure you do not use a US-based service like RailEurope, which will charge you more.  Buy them online from a site based in the UK.



I'd been checking Britrail.  I think that is based in the UK.  It's where we purchased dd's rail pass when she went to the UK last year.


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## Cotswolder (Apr 3, 2010)

Try either of these.

http://www.thetrainline.com

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk


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## Carolinian (Apr 4, 2010)

Luanne said:


> I'd been checking Britrail.  I think that is based in the UK.  It's where we purchased dd's rail pass when she went to the UK last year.



I was not familiar with that site, but in looking it up, it really pushes rail passes which are only availible to non-residents, so I would strongly suspect that it is not based in the UK.  If the site address ends in ''co.uk'' then it is a strong bet that it is in the UK, but if it ends in ''.com'' it may or may not be.


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## "Roger" (Apr 10, 2010)

As mentioned above, you can buy advanced rail tickets far more cheaply.  As Carolinian notes, British Rail appears to offer passes and they are an expensive alternative. If you are just taking the one train journey, better to just settle on a time.  (If it is a matter of taking the train the same day that you fly in, they have options that allow to take a different train if your plane is delayed that are at no extra cost.)

I have used the national rail site that Cotswolder links to.  They do have "anytime" ticket options, but you do pay a hefty price for that. (Sometimes I use the national rail site to first establish which of the British train lines goes to where I am thinking of going and then go to that train line's own site.  Sometimes you will see extra options pop up.)

Sometimes there are very good bargains on advanced first class tickets, but only in limited numbers. He who hesitates is lost. (Usually, tickets first become available twelve weeks in advance.)

Heritage is just one of a number organizations that offer passes to multiple sites.  There is also the National Trust and English Heritage.  Whether any of these passes are worth while depends upon where you are going and what happens to be in the area.  I tend to use National Trust and just decide that there sites are where I will go.  (They have wonderful country estates often with good lunch rooms on site.)  You need to look over the sites offered by any of these organizations and decide ahead of time if paying the pass is better than just paying individual entry fees.


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