The London Pass: the best sightseeing value for a family in London

As you start planning your trip to London with your family, how do you decide what attractions to see and which to skip?  Is it worth the money to go to as many places as possible?  How can you get the most bang for your buck?  Enter the London Pass.

What is the London Pass?

The London Pass is a program that allows you to buy credits to see over 80 attractions around the London area for a specific amount of days.

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How does the London Pass work?

Pick the number of days you wish to use your pass.  You can choose any number of days 2-7 or a 10 day pass.

FYI, you have to use the pass in consecutive days, so make sure to plan accordingly. 

Within those days you can choose the different attractions you wish to visit.

At the entrance or ticket window of each attraction, just show your pass.  We had printed our’s, but you can also save it on your phone.  The pass often allows you access to audio guides at the various attractions and discounts at the gift shops.

Although it says on the website that most places do not require pre-booking, I’d double check with the vendor directly to make sure of this.  If you are traveling with a large family group, make sure to check with tours or smaller venues to make sure they can accommodate your group.

How to make the most of your pass

With over 80 options, its hard not to over-schedule or feel overwhelmed with all the options.  Don’t forget travel time from each place to the next attraction.  Here are some tips to help use the pass most efficiently.

• Plan to see attractions that are near each other at the same time.  For example, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge are super close to one another, so make sure to hit them at the same time.

• Use the transportation attractions to get from one place to another.
• The Hop on Hop off Bus tours allow you to go from various attractions around the city.  There are two bus tours available through the London Pass.  You will need to pick one and stick with it throughout the day.  When planning your day, go to each bus tour’s website and check out the different bus routes.  Cross reference the London Pass attractions with the various stops on each route.  Then you can plan which bus company and which routes fit your sightseeing needs.  Just beware that the bus tour can take a long time due to the traffic in London.
• Also, use the Thames River Uber water taxi.  This is a great way to get from one end of the city to another and see the city in a unique way.  We used the Golden Tours Hop on Hop off bus tour to get from the Big Ben/Parliament area to the St. Paul/Globe Theater area.  The next day we used the Uber water taxi to go from the Tower of London to the London Eye, which was the closest stop to the London Bike Tour location.

Left: Golden Tours Hop on Hop off Bus tour rolling through Piccadilly Square.

Above: The Thames River Uber Boat is a great way to get the most out of your London Pass and save on transportation.

• Choose the pricey attractions on the Pass to get the most bang for your buck.  If you’re trying to decide between which tour to take from the many listed on the London Pass attractions page, and you are trying to be the most cost effective, choose the London bike tour valued at £38.95 over the Brit Icon Tour valued at £15.00.

Al a carte vs. London Pass

On our trip we were only able to see 6 of the 80 attractions on the London Pass in two days, but even with such a small amount we saved a lot of money.  Here is a breakdown of the attractions, the individual prices, what we spent on the London Pass, and the price savings comparison.

Attractions

Prices al a Carte

Westminster Abbey:

Golden Tours Hop on Hop off bus tour:

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater:

Tower of London:

Thames River Uber boat:

London Bike Tour:

Total:

Family pass (1 adult/1 child) x2 +1 child = £61

Family pass (2 adults/2 children) + 1 child = £97.20

*(2 adults/3 children) £81.64

-(2 adults/up to 3 children) £82.10

2 adult single tickets: £7.70×2 + 3 children £3.85×3= £26.95

Family tour £160

£508.89

London Pass for 2 adults and 3 children:

Savings:

£366

£142.89

As you can see, even with going to only a few attractions, the London Pass saved our family quite a bit of money.

It was also super easy to use.  We had our QR codes saved to our phones, but we also printed the tickets out on paper, just in case.  For each attraction we just showed the pass at the entrance.  There was never any question about payment and we never had trouble getting in to the attractions we wanted.

I did contact the London Bike Tour Company to ask about availability since we had a group of seven people.  We also had a young rider.  My daughter was 6 and although she’s a proficient bike rider, I didn’t want to surprise the company with an underage rider and be turned away.  The company was extremely helpful.  We did have to pay a little extra for a family tour versus an adult tour, but it was still more reasonable than taking a tour without the pass.

So don’t be afraid to contact the vendors directly and ask for help.  Most of the time, they are happy to help and super accommodating.

As you plan your awesome England vacation, don’t forget to consider the London Pass.  And if you’re traveling to other towns in the UK or other major cities abroad, see if they have city passes as well.  We went to York during our England trip, and they had the York Pass.  There are city passes for over 30 major (and some not so major) cities world wide.

What are your favorite London attractions?

Let me know in the comments below.  If you found this helpful, don’t forget to share!

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Kyleen Bontrager, the Bonnie Traveler

Kyleen is a wife, homeschool mama, lover of teatime, and passionate traveler.  Having lived on 3 continents and visited +32 countries, she helps others enjoy memory-making experiences for multigenerational travel.  Ready for a bonnie adventure?  Let’s go!

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