If you’re in London and want to tackle the most famous attractions of the city? London Pass helps you to take in many of the cities landmarks, while cutting the cost. But is it worth the cost? Here’s what you should know.
We’ll be real. London can be an incredibly expensive place to spend your time in. As someone who grew up living in London and has been living in London for the last couple of years – we can definitely bet on that.
While some of the biggest sites offer free entry (mostly museums), many others come with hefty entrance fees each of which adds over several days.
There’s no need to cry over your cuppa tea though, there are some canny methods to cut down on your costs during a trip to London and the London Pass is one of the options.
What’s the London Pass?
The London Pass can be described as a card that gives you access to many of London’s top attractions over a period of between one and 10 days.
In addition to entry free to more than 80 places as well as free entry to more than 80 attractions London city pass comes with added features like a detailed guidebook and a hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
In the end, if you’re searching for London attractions tickets that combine attractions, the London Pass is a great choice since it gives you access to hundreds of London icons for a fixed cost.
How Much Does London Pass Cost?
The London Pass price depends on the length of time you plan to use it for.
One of the greatest things about this London sightseeing pass is whether you’ve made one-stop stop in London or you are planning an extended stay, there will be the option to suit your needs.
For London one day pass for one day, the price is £75 (for an adult) (£55 per child) However, the cost per day is significantly lower the longer you use it for.
What’s included with the London Pass?
There are more than 80 London pass-holder attractions, making it one of the most generous London visitors passes.
We love the fact that the pass includes both well-known tourist attractions such as the Tower of London, as well as quirkier places to explore in London such as Old Operating Theatre Museum. Old Operating Theatre Museum. As well as attractions in central London, there are others farther out for instance, Wimbledon and Windsor Castle.
There’s a wide variety of options, so this package will appeal to a variety of different people.
Inclusions London Pass attractions
The complete list of attractions that are for free are:
View from the Shard. View from the Shard
Tower of London
Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
Thames River Cruise
Windsor Castle
Westminster Abbey
London Bridge Experience and London Tombs
Tower Bridge Exhibition
London Zoo
Kensington Palace & The Orangery
Hampton Court Palace
ArcelorMittal Orbit
Arsenal FC Stadium (Emirates Stadium)
Apsley House
Banqueting House
Beefeater Gin Distillery Tour
Benjamin Franklin House
The best walk tour in the LDN around Royal London
Cartoon Museum
Chelsea Cinema
Chelsea FC Stadium Tour
Chelsea Physic Garden
Chislehurst Caves
Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms
City Cruises
The Courtauld Gallery
Curzon Mayfair Cinema
Curzon Soho Cinema
Eltham Palace
Estorick Collect of Modern Italian Art
Eton College
Fan Museum
Foundling Museum
Guards Museum
Handel House Museum
Household Cavalry Museum
HMS Belfast
The Imperial War Museum London (entry to one exhibit)
Jason’s Canal Boat Trip
Jewel Tower
Kew Gardens
KIA Oval
London Bicycle Tour Company
London Canal Museum
London Motor Museum
London Museum of Water and Steam
London Legends Walk
London Transport Museum
London Wetland Centre
Lord’s Cricket Ground
The Monument
Museum of Brands, Packaging, and Advertising
Museum of London Docklands (with guidebook)
Museum of Rugby
National Gallery (entry to one exhibition)
National Theatre Backstage Tours
Old Operating Theatre Museum
Pollocks Toy Museum
Queen’s Gallery
Queen’s Ice & Bowl
Renoir Cinema
Royal Albert Hall
Royal Mews
Royal Observatory Greenwich
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
The British Museum (entry to one exhibition)
The Postal Museum
Exhibition and Tour
Southwark Cathedral
Tate Britain (entry to one exhibition)
Tate Modern (entry to one exhibition)
Wellington Arch
Wembley Stadium Tours
Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
Wimbledon Tour Experience
As you can see, there is a great selection. There are some major attractions that aren’t included, however. For example, if you want the London Pass for the London Eye you’ll be disappointed – unfortunately, this attraction is not included.
You also get a free hop-on-hop-off bus tour that will take you to numerous of the spots listed, and also one hundred and fifty-five pages of a guidebook full of travel advice.
In default, the London Pass does not come with transport for free, besides the hop-on-hop-off bus tour. However, there is an add-on option available to get the Oyster (transport) cards which is loaded to carry credit throughout your trip.
It’s important to remember that travel included in London Pass is not unlimited. Although it is convenient to buy your card, and then travel in tandem, there’s not a great cost savings to travel.
We don’t think it’s worth getting the Oyster option included in the London Pass unless you really want to for convenience.
You can purchase an Oyster card (get the regular one, not the visitor’s one) with the help of a £5 money deposit (which you will get back when you return the card at the conclusion of your trip) at any underground station including Heathrow Airport and just top it up with the funds you need.
Furthermore The Oyster card is also subject to a daily capping fee anyway and varies according to the number of zones you travel to and whether you travel at peak or off-peak times. For Zone 1, the daily limit for 1 costs £7.40 or £35 per week. This is a lot less expensive than the one offered with a London City Pass.
What’s the difference between London Pass and the London Explorer Pass?
Another very popular London visitor’s pass is called one of the London Explorer Pass. It is possible that you are trying to decide which is the most suitable alternative.
The two pass types operate differently. While the London Pass is based on the number of days (with unlimited attraction) The London Explorer Pass is based on the number of attractions available, however it is more generous with the time frame.
You can purchase either two, three 4, 5, 6, or 7 day attraction card. There is no need to think about which attractions you want to visit ahead – just use the credits you have earned at your leisure.
There are over 20 attractions included with the pass. These are:
1-day Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus tour
Arsenal Stadium Tour
Banqueting House
Body Worlds London
Chelsea FC Stadium Tour & Museum
Churchill War Rooms
Coca-Cola London Eye
Cutty Sark
Dreamworks Tours Shrek’s Adventure!
Hampton Court Palace
HMS Belfast
Kensington Palace
Madame Tussauds
Planet Hollywood
Royal Albert Hall
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Observatory Greenwich
SEA LIFE London Aquarium
Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition and Theatre Tour
St Paul’s Cathedral
Thames River Cruise 24 Hour Hop-on and Off, Hop off Sightseeing Tour
The London Dungeon
Tower Bridge Exhibition
Wembley Stadium Tour
Westminster Abbey
Like you see a significant difference between London Pass and the London Explorer Pass is that the London Explorer Pass includes the London Eye.
Another distinction between the two passes is that the time limit is much more flexible. There are 30 days after the day initial activation of your London Explorer pass to use all the credits.
Also, is the London Pass Worth Getting?
It is a must if you are looking to tick off some major items during your time in London.
We are in love with this city however, we have to admit that London’s top attractions cost a lot. That’s the reason London combination tickets can be such an attractive option.
Not only can they reduce your money (more on that in the near future) However, it’s nice to have prepaid for as many of the attractions possible to avoid having to fret about pricing for each attraction individually.
It’s never easy to determine whether each attraction is worth it – with the London Pass, you just pay one time and you are able to enjoy an array of fantastic attractions. In actuality, it’s an excellent way to motivate yourself to get out and see as much of the city as possible.
Plus, as a general rule, the London Pass does offer great value for the money. If you can get entry into some of the top London attractions when you purchase a combo ticket, you’ll save a lot.
Even if you’re only intending to visit a few of London attractions, the discounts can be very beneficial. For example you can enjoy the View from the Shard alone is about half the price of a one-day ticket, at around £22.