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Train Passess London and Scotland

PJlovesscotlandPJlovesscotland Member ✭✭
in Touring and Road Trips
Does anyone have any information on how good Railcard is? Thank you

Comments

  • HorizonsHorizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭
    Yes, good enough to buy if you are taking atleast 1 long distance journey (like London - Edinburgh) or 3-4 shorter journeys (any journey inside Scotland). It costs £30, lasts a year and gives 1/3rd off all rail fares. My in-laws visited us for 2 months and we still made them a railcard, it saved a ton of money. Make sure you are eligible for a railcard though (travelling as a couple / family or are a student).

    To save the most money on rail tickets, search for "Advance" fares on either ScotRail's website or on Trainline. These fares are not flexible (ie fixed time) but are significantly cheaper than buying tickets on the day. Final tip is to buy tickets for individual segments than end-to-end. Example: If you want to travel from London - Elgin best buy the ticket from London to Aberdeen (if there is a direct train) and Aberdeen to Elgin separately instead of getting a ticket from London to Elgin. I explain these concepts in our UK transport guide post

    Finally, I am of the opinion that the Spirit of Scotland travelpass is not worth the cost. Full details here: https://community.visitscotland.com/discussion/548/spirit-of-scotland-travelpass-is-it-worth-it
    I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram

    Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)

    My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside fest)

  • PJlovesscotlandPJlovesscotland Member ✭✭
    Thank you Horizons. I had spoken to you in the spring and you gave excellent advice. We are travelling from London to Edinburgh:  then Edinburgh to Uig on Isle of Skye: I believe we have to take a train to Kyle and then maybe get other transportation from Kyle to Uig.  then Skye to Inverness then Inverness to London. Will this Railcard for my husband and I and our daughter who is eligible for the 16-25 card I believe it is be cost effective and get us all these places? I am a little unsure re: getting from Gatwick to our hotel is that what we would use our railcard for. Also is this all we need to travel or is this a card to get us discounts when we go to the train stations and book our tickets? Thank you so much this is our first trip to Europe and it is a lot of unknowns. We appreciate your help. 
  • HorizonsHorizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭
    The railcard is valid to book tickets for almost all "big trains" (for the lack of a better term) that run across the UK. It does not give a discount for the London Tube for example but yes, from Gatwick station to central London, if you buy a ticket not on the Gatwick express but on a Southern railways train, you will get a discount. You also get a railcard discount when you buy tickets at the station itself, machines have an input field for it and the ticket windows just need to see the railcard.

    Remember that making the railcard is one of the first things you need to do on arriving to the UK. You can do this at any train station with a ticket window, Gatwick is eligible but also depends on the time. You just need a passport photo, time to fill a form and the money.

    Here's the best way to test it out potential savings and eligibility. Go to thetrainline.com In the From field, put in "Gatwick Airport", in the To field put in "London Victoria". Click on the 1 Adult No railcards dropdown, select 2 adults, click on Add railcard, select two together railcard quantity 1 Press Done. Savings will be visible on the right.

    Based on your itinerary, unless you intend to sleep in Inverness, I would go to Glasgow from Edinburgh and take the direct bus from Glasgow to Uig. It will save you many hours if not whole day. Bus timetables and costs can be found on the Citylink website. Alternately, you can take the train from Glasgow to Fort William, take a break and then take a bus to Uig. You'll have to play some timetable gymnastics to figure out timings.
    I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram

    Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)

    My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside fest)

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