If you’ve ever traveled by train across the U.K. before, you were probably taken aback by how shockingly expensive one-way fares were.
Unlike the European mainland, where you can get dirt-cheap deals sometimes for as low as $10, even when booked relatively early, train journeys between major cities like London and Edinburgh can cost a whopping upwards of $100.
There’s this running joke that it’s actually cheaper to fly out from Britain to Spain to meet your friends there for the weekend, than it is to just get the train down to London. It’d be hilarious if it only wasn’t 100% true.
This is not the end of market monopoly across the British rail system… yet, but there might be a way to travel around Great Britain without being depleted of all your heard-earned vacation dollars (on tickets alone).
Here’s How You Can Travel Britain While Not Going Broke
Rail Europe, one of the largest booking platforms for European railt ravel, has just integrated the BritRail Pass into portfolio, making it a lot easier for customers to book the train pass.
At its most complete, the BritRail Great Britain Pass will allow you to travel across the entire National Rail network. This means you can hop and off National Rail trains all day long, from England, to Wales, to Scotland.
Northern Ireland, the fourth U.K. territory, is not included.
The pass is also valid traveling from airports to cities, like the Heathrow Express, the Gatwick Express, and Stansted Express. It doesn’t stop there: sleeper services, like the historic Caledonian Sleeper, connecting London to Scotland, are included, too.
The BritRail Great Britain Pass can be purchased with multiple duration windows, ranging from 3-day to month-long access:
How Does The BritRail Great Britain Pass Work?
In practice, if you book the 3-day pass, you get 3 days of unlimited travel during a month, starting from the day of activation of the pass.
Unless you’re off on a sabbatical and traveling Great Britain extensively for a month, chances are the 2 or 3-day, or if you’ll be city-hopping extensively, the 8-day pass will prove to be more than enough.
For the 2-day deal, the starting fare is only £96 (British pounds), or roughly $128 in U.S. dollars.
Even if you’re only leaving your London base for one or two days to visit a historic city like Bath or York, and returning, that’s probably significantly cheaper already than booking separate roundtrip tickets.
There are 2 BritRail Passes to pick from:
- A Consecutive Pass: valid for a set number of days in a row. E.g. if you start using your 4-day Pass on a Monday, it will be valid until Thursday.
- A Flexi Pass: your travel days don’t need to be consecutive necessarily. If you book a 2-day Flexi Pass, you get 2 days of unlimited travel over a one-month period.
What Is The Difference Between A Consecutive And A Flexi Pass?
Basically, the Consecutive Pass is the right option if you’re taking several day trips from one city, and you want to see a lot of different places within a short period of time.
It’s the best alternative to renting a car.
On the other hand, the Flexi Pass is tailor-made for slow travelers, who aren’t necessarily in a rush to see the whole country, and will be based somewhere temporarily (be it London, Manchester, or Edinburgh) while taking spontaneous day trips out.
How Much Does The BritRail Great Britain Pass Cost?
Consecutive Pass (Adult Standard, 2nd Class)
- 2 days: $126
- 3 days: $188
- 4 days: $233
- 8 days: $338
- 15 days: $503
- 22 days: $629
- 1 month: $743
Flexi Pass (Adult Standard, 2nd Class)
- 2 days in 1 month: $165
- 3 days in 1month: $246
- 4 days in 1 month: $307
- 8 days in 1 month: $437
- 15 days in 2 months: $649
Discounts Available
Check if you’re eligible for these discounts prior to booking:
- Travelers aged 16-25 are eligible for a 20% reduction on their fare
- Children under 5 can already travel on any British Rail train
- Children aged 5-15 can travel for free accompanied by a passholder parent
- Senior travelers aged 60 and older get a 15% discount when booking
- Groups of 3-9 people can save up to 20% when traveling together
On top of that, between January 1st and February 28th, or November 1st and December 31st, customers can get up to 20% off the regular price as well.
We’re no longer in the low season, but in case you’re planning on visiting Britain next winter, you should keep that in mind.
Regional Passes Are Available
Aside from the GB-wide Great Britain Pass, Eurail is now commercializing several regional passes, which cater to travelers who will focus on specific areas or nations within Britain, like England, Scotland, or South West and South Wales.
These are:
- The BriRail England Pass
- The BritRail Sotuh West & South Wales Pass
- The BritRail Spirit of Scotland Pass (Standard Class only)
- The BritRail London Plus Pass
Get Your UK ETA For Travel To Great Britain
Traveling to the United Kingdom soon?
You should know entry rules have changed for American travelers: from now on, as a U.S. passport holder, you must apply for a mandatory travel authorization before arriving to Britain.
Don’t even try and board your flight without it: airline staff won’t let you through.
