Great Britain Rail Passes and Train Tips from Rick Steves

BritRail Spirit of Scotland Pass: Covers most trains in Scotland. This pass offers either 4 days of train travel within an 8-day window, or 8 days of train ... ForCOVID-19TravelandRSToursinformation, seeourFAQ. Home /TravelTips /Transportation /Trains&RailPasses /GreatBritainRailPassesandTrainTips Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Share ByRickSteves ArerailpassesagoodvalueforGreatBritain? SinceBritain'spay-as-you-gotrainticketsaresomeofthemostexpensiveinEurope,railpassescanpayforthemselvesquickly,especiallyifyoutravelbetweenLondonandScotland.(Ifyou'remakingonlyafewtripsandcancommittodatesandtimesinadvance,lookintoBritain'sadvance-purchasediscountsonpoint-to-pointtraintickets,whichcouldconceivablysaveyoumoneyoverapass—justdon'tbetooquicktodismissthehop-on,hop-offconvenienceofapass). HowdoIseewhetherarailpassmakessenseformytripinparticular? TrainFares:GreatBritain Mapshowsapproximatecosts,in$US,forone-way,second-classtickets.Forfirst-classfares,add50percent. Usethismaptoaddupapproximatepay-as-you-gofaresforyouritinerary,andcomparethatcosttothepriceofarailpassforthenumberofdaysyouexpecttospendonthetrain.(Dashedlinesshowbusconnectionsanddottedlinesshowferryservices,neitherofwhicharecoveredbyrailpasses.) Also,followthelinksbelowfor: •Moretipsforfiguringoutwhetherapassmakessenseforyourtrip •Thebasicsonchoosingamongrailpasses •Moretipsonhowtosavemoneybyfine-tuningyourrailpass •Fare-estimatemapsoutsideBritain •Answerstofrequentlyaskedrail-passquestions WhataremyoptionsforrailpassesthatcoverGreatBritain? Britain-specificrailpassesaren'tyetbackonsalehere,butshouldbeavailablelaterin2022—watchthisspace. Buy BritRailPass→keydetails Buy BritRailEnglandPass→keydetails Buy BritRailLondonPlusPass→keydetails Buy BritRailSouthWestPass→keydetails Buy BritRailSpiritofScotlandPass→keydetails Buy BritRailCentralScotlandPass→keydetails Buy BritRailScottishHighlandsPass→keydetails EurailGlobalPass(33countries)→readmoreaboutthispass Extratip:BritRailpassesofferdifferentdealsforkidsandyouthsthanEurail-brandpasses,plusanoptionofgroupdiscounts(detailsbelow). WhatdorailpassescoverinBritain? Passesincludetravelonnearlyalltrainswithinthegeographicalareasthattheycoverincludingairportshuttletrainsto/fromLondon'smainairports(theHeathrow,Gatwick,andStanstedExpress).Exceptions: "Heritage"railwaysaren'tcoveredbyanypasses(butBritRailpassesdogetyoua20percentdiscount,whichdoesn'tuseacountedtraveldayonaflexipass) Eurostartrainsto/fromParis,Lille,orBrusselsaren'tcoveredbyBritRailpasses(butarecoveredbytheEurailGlobalPass,thoughrequiredseatreservationsstillcostextra) Somepasseshaveafewadditionalrestrictions(seethekeydetailsforeachpassbelow). DoIneedtomakeseatreservationsonBritishtrains? Forthemostpart,withanyBritRailpassyoucanhoponmostBritishtrainswithjustyourpassinhand.Itcanbesmart,however,toreserveaseatforweekendtravel,whentrainstendtofillup.SeatreservationscanbemadeforfreeatanystaffedstationinBritain. Ifyou'retravelinginBritainwithaEurailGlobalPass,youdoneedtoreserveaheadforcertaintrains.Reservationsarealmostalwaysfree,easytomakeatthestation,andusuallydon'tneedtobemadeallthatfarinadvance—butthelistofBritishtrainsrequiringreservationsislong:alltrainsoperatedbyCrossCountry,Virgin,EastMidlands,GrandCentral,GreaterAnglia,GreatWesternRailway,HullTrains,LondonNorthEasternRailway,andtheTransPennineExpress.High-speedSoutheasterntrainsrunningto/fromLondonSt.Pancrasrequireapaidseatreservation. Onovernighttrains,abunkinatwinsleepercostsabout$75.OvernightjourneysbegunonyourBritRailpass'sfinalnightcanbecompletedthedayafterthepassexpires(onlyBritRailallowsthistrick;thisdoesn'tworkifusingaGlobalPass).Overnightreservationscanbemadeatanytrainstationorbeforeyouleavehome(UStel.866-274-8724). Anytipsforbuyingpoint-to-pointtrainticketsinBritain? Ifarailpassdoesn'tpenciloutforyourtrip,youmaybeabletoshaveoffthecostofyourtrainticketswithsomeofthesetips: Advance-purchasediscountscanbeahugesavings.Forexample,aLondon–Edinburghone-waytripatthefull("Anytime")fareisabout£140,butadvanceticketsareusuallyaround£25–40,withthelowestratesellingoutfirst.Generally,theearlieryoubook,thebetterdealyou'llget.Advancediscountticketsgetsnappedupparticularlyfastinsummer.Theycanbebookedfromonedayto12weeksahead,havelimitedseatavailability,arenonrefundable,andhaveexchangerestrictions. Off-peakdiscountsapplyafter9:30a.m.,andround-tripoff-peakticketsmaycostthesameasone-waytickets.Off-peakfarescanbepurchasedupuntilthedepartureofthetrain. ChecktheNationalRailsiteforallticketprices,rules,andtobuyonline,orcall+448457484950for24-hourinformation(they'llgiveyouanothernumbertopurchasetickets).Forcreditcardapprovalonline,itmayhelptoenteraBritishhoteladdressorpostalcode(notfordelivery).Pickupreservedticketsatanystaffedtrainstation. Youths(ages16–25)andfull-timestudents(withISICcard)cangetathirdoffmosttrainticketsbybuyinga16–25Railcard(£30).NotvalidontheEurostar,noronsomeweekdaymorningcommutertrains. Seniors(60andolder)cangetathirdoffmosttrainticketsbybuyingaSeniorRailcard(also£30).NotvalidontheEurostar,noronsomeweekdaymorningcommutertrains. Couples(oranytwotravelcompanions)cangetathirdoffmosttrainticketswithaTwoTogetherRailcard,aslongasthey'rebothpresent(£30;bothtravelers'photosrequired).NotvalidontheEurostar,noronsomeweekdaymorningcommutertrains. FamiliescangetathirdoffmosttrainticketswithaFamily&FriendsRailcard(also£30),whichallowsadultstotravelathirdcheaperwhiletheirkidsage5–15get60percentoffmosttraintrips.NotvalidontheEurostar,noronsomeweekdaymorningcommutertrains. Alsoseeourgeneraltipsforbuyingpoint-to-pointtickets. WhatifIneedhelpwithmyRailEuropeorder? AllordersforpassesandticketsarefulfilledbyRailEurope(notbyRickSteves'Europe).Forcustomer-servicequestions,contactthemonline(orcall8006228600,butexpectlongwaitsandperiodsofunavailabilityatthecalldesk)—andkeepinmindthatrefundoptionsarefairlylimited. BritRailpasses:Keydetails BritRail-specificdeals: Groupdiscountsofaround20percentareavailableforthreeormorepeopletravelingtogetheronBritRail-brandpasses.Thisdealcannotbecombinedwiththe"FamilyPass"deal. Kids5–15travelfreeonmostBritRailpasseswitheachadulttravelingwithanindividualadult-orsenior-ratepass—onechildperadult;you'llneedtospecifywhichchildwithwhichadultwhenordering(additionalkidspayhalftheadultpassprice,andkidsunder5rideforfree).This"FamilyPass"dealisn'tavailablewithScotland-onlypasses.Foradultstravelingwithkids,thisdealmakesitcheapertogetindividualpassesratherthanagroup"saver"passthatincludesthekidsastravelers.Whenordering,enteroneadultandonechildintotheshoppingcart,thenmark"yes"for"Iseveryoneinyourpartytravelingtogetheratalltimes?",thenfollowthe"continueshopping"linkifyouhavemoretravelerstoaddtothesameorder. Youthpassesareavailablefortravelersunder26(whereasEurail-brandpassesgrantyouthdiscountsforanyoneunder28). Overnighttrainsarecountedaccordingtothe"7p.m.rule." SpecialEurailpromotionaldealsdon'tapplytoanyBritRailpasses.   BritRailPass:CoversEngland,Scotland,andWales. BritRailEngland:CoversallofEngland;doesn'tcoverScotlandorWales. BritRailLondonPlusPass:CoversmosttrainsinsoutheastEngland.Whilethispassisavailableinbothfirstandstandardclass,manytrainsinitscoverageareahavenofirst-classcars. BritRailSouthWestPass:CoversmosttrainsinsouthwestEngland,butonlythoseoperatedbyFirstGreatWestern(thoughnoteastofPortsmouth),SouthWesternRailway,andHeathrowExpress(butdoesincludetheNewport–Cardiff–SwanseamainlinetrainsinWales).Whilethispassisavailableinbothfirstandstandardclass,manytrainsinitscoverageareahavenofirst-classcars. BritRailSpiritofScotlandPass:CoversmosttrainsinScotland.Thispassofferseither4daysoftraintravelwithinan8-daywindow,or8daysoftraintravelwithina15-daywindow.Availableinstandardclassonly.Notvalidontrainsthatdepartbefore9:15a.m.Monday–Friday.CoversCaledonianMacBrayneandStrathclydeferryservicetopopularislands;otherbonusesincludeadiscountonsomeP&OferriesandCitylinkbuses.Thispassoffersnochild,youth,orseniordiscount. BritRailCentralScotlandPass:CoversfrequentservicebetweenEdinburghandGlasgow'sQueenStreetStation(notGlasgowCentral),somenearbyside-trips(seecoveragemap),andtheGlasgowUnderground.Thispassisprevalidatedatthetimeofpurchasefor3consecutivedaysoftravel(andcannotberefundedafterthatplannedtraveldate).Notvalidontrainsthatdepartbefore9:15a.m.Monday–Friday.Doesn'tincludeanytraveltotheHighlandsorislands.Thispassoffersnochild,youth,orseniordiscount. BritRailScottishHighlandsPass:Coversselectedtrain,bus,andferryroutes—generallythoseconnectingGlasgowandpointsnorthwitheachother,butnottrainsbetweenGlasgowandInverness,norferriestopointsbeyondMullorSkye,nortrainsarrivingintoAberdeenorInvernessbefore9amonweekdays.Validfor4daysoftravelwithinan8-daywindow,andavailableonlyinstandardclass.Thispassoffersnoseniordiscount.  RailEuropeCart Relatedarticles HowtoChooseAmongRailPasses LookingUpEuropeanTrainSchedulesandRoutesOnline Train-FareMaps:HowMuchWouldYouPayWithoutaPass? UsingYourRailPass RailPassFAQ GetRailPassInfo&TrainTipsSpecificTo... Austria Balkans Baltics Belgium Croatia CzechRepublic Denmark Finland France Germany GreatBritain Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Buypoint-to-pointtickets Lookuptrainschedules