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Save/ShareHere are four ways to save on trains in Britain.
Forget Britrail.com. It's the main US travel agency website, and it charges a "one size fits all" fare for any given journey. Its rates rarely seem to bear any relation to real U.K. fares. For example, London-York is always $198 return at Britrail.com when the cheap Advance fares start at about $22 each way on U.K. websites, which you can use just like Britons do. For example, you can check train schedules and buy fares at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
[UPDATE 5/13] National Rail's site (note it has a .co.uk ending, not a .com ending) won't sell tickets. But once you've planned your trip, go to www.raileasy.co.uk, which charges a small booking fee (of about $2 to $6, varying by what you buy). I recommend the site because it will accept U.S. credit cards (unlike many other British booking sites). The site will also let American visitors collect tickets at stations, either from the ticket office or self-service machines. RailEasy is just fixing their site so that overseas visitors are specifically prompted to select the ‘collect at station’ option.
Rail passes aren't a good deal for the typical traveler's agenda. Consider buying point-to-point tickets instead. Here are examples of non-refundable Advance fares bought from www.raileasy.co.uk. London-York from about $22 each way. London-Bath starts at about $19. London-Edinburgh starts at about $28. Book ahead. As a rule, you can book up to three months in advance.
Overnight it. Yes, you can do London and the Highlands of Scotland in the same trip without stress or high cost. Take the traditional Caledonian Sleeper from central London to Edinburgh, Inverness, or Aberdeen. A bed in a two-berth compartment starts at about $156 one-way, including breakfast. It'll save a hotel bill. Learn more at seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm.
Take the scenic route. You can travel direct from London to Edinburgh in four-and-a-half hours. But changing at Leeds and Glasgow takes you over the wild and remote Settle & Carlisle Line, one of Britain's most scenic. That route will take you 7-8 hours to Scotland, but costs no more than the direct route—if you buy an Open or Saver ticket (instead of a so-called Advance ticket). Get your bearings at the National Rail website
*(Rates quoted in this blog post may change at the time of your booking because of the shifting exchange rate.)
Mark Smith, blogging from the UK, for our Affordable Europe series.
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With all due respect, you can have a lot of difficulty picking the tickets up if you do not have a UK address. They are NOT going to be mailed to the US! The smarter way to do it is to plan your trip so that the first part is stationary ie. you stay put in London for example, and while you are there, you buy the tickets locally that you will need for the rest of your trip, If you have the time to do that and if you are familiar with British Rail enough to create a proper itinerary, then you can save money, no question about it!
Posted By Katharine Lancy on May 1, 2008, 1:46 PM
National Rail's website allows you to print your ticket on your own home or office printer. So you don't need to have your ticket mailed to you in the 'States or to your hotel.
True, complicated journeys may still require a paper ticket. So there will be some exceptions--in which case you need to allow time to book the tickets during your first days in London.
Thanks for posting your comment!
Sean,
Blog editor
Posted By Sean on May 2, 2008, 10:50 PM
We are planning a trip to Great Britain 9/5-9/15/08. We will stay with friends in Manchester a few days and plan to take the train to London for a few days, returning to Manchester for 2 days before flying home. What should we plan to see? Hotel deals in London? Any info would help.
Marianne
Posted By Marianne on May 5, 2008, 12:22 PM
We bought our tickets (London to Edinburgh) in advance through National Express online and picked them up at the Kings Cross station when we arrived. Picking the tickets up was easy, there was a kiosk in the station that printed out your ticket with credit card validation. It was much like the airport kiosks that print your ticket. We got a bargain by booking each way individually instead of round trip.
Posted By Laura on May 5, 2008, 1:51 PM
Try seat61.com. It has all the info or links, rest of Europe too and even outside Europe.
Posted By Roger A.C. Williams on May 5, 2008, 9:15 PM
What about Japan rail passes purchased in the US for use in Japan are they worht it?
Posted By Louis on May 6, 2008, 12:48 PM
Marianne, check out www.premierinn.com. Hotels right on the South bank close to everything go for around 100 pounds. Many other hotels charge at least that much without the great location. Go to www.visitlondon.com for one-stop place to get ideas on what to do.
Posted By Susan Patrick on May 6, 2008, 8:32 PM
As an American living in the UK, I can tell you that using NationalRail.com is often a frustrating experience, and friends who have tried to buy tickets from outside the UK have even more difficulties. Without a UK postcode, the site often stalls and won't let you do anything. www.raileurope.com doesn't always have the cheapest prices, but I've gotten good deals and at least they will mail you the tickets.
Posted By Ellen on May 10, 2008, 7:50 AM
Anyone travelling to Britain over any university break can stay at University residences. For example London School of Economics have single rooms for around 40 pounds per night. Rooms go quickly though so you have to book in advance.
Robin in Australia
Posted By robin hagedorn on May 13, 2008, 12:28 AM
www.nationlrail.co.uk (it’s.co.uk, NOT .com) is the official National Rail Enquiries website, and it’s pretty good and easy to use. It won't sell tickets, but at the end of an enquiry, it offers to hand you over to a choice of vendor, who will.
The problem is that none of these vendors (almost all of which are powered by independent train ticket retailer TheTrainLine.com, even those branded as official individual train company websites) will accept non-UK credit cards, or send tickets outside the UK. Until, that is, the latest retailer came on the scene. www.raileasy.co.uk charges a small booking fee (£1-£3) but will accept non-UK credit cards, and will let overseas visitors collect tickets at stations, either from the ticket office or self-service machines. They originally told me they'd send tickets abroad, but stopped doing this recently after such a high proportion of even registered overseas mail went astray. They're just fixing their site so that overseas visitors are specifically prompted to select the ‘collect at station’ option.
Interestingly, the above correspondent
I direct Americans to use the official site instead: nationalrail.co.uk
Posted By Mark Smith on May 13, 2008, 11:25 AM
We enjoyed our stay at Rhodes Hotel. It is near Paddington station, clean and comfortable, good breakfast,and friendly owners. Very convenient for both London and trips to country from Paddington station.
Posted By Lynn on May 14, 2008, 12:46 AM