Cheap Train Fares guide discussion

geordieracer

sdoherty1000 wrote: »

See, what i dont understand is...I always see these signs/ offers for like £10 each way etc etc but i can never find them.

At the minute easdt coast has york to london for £13 but even after reading the t/c I still cant see the £13 fares

thanks

Thats a FROM price. This does not mean all tickets are available @ £13.

They are advance purchase tickets and as such the cheapest and generally get snapped up first - in advance. so there are none left for the route you wish to take on the date you want to take them.

its pretty straight forward

spikejrt

The people who say the cheapest rail fares are never available are probably the same people who say they never see a Travelodge or Premier Inn at 19/29 quid - they just don't book them quickly enough. The cheapest fares are probably allocated to a few for each train so you have to be bloody quick - it is possible though as I have done plenty of 9 quid Bath Spa to London Paddington's or 15 ish quid London King's Cross to Edinburgh.

cookiemom1

Hi there
my oldest daughter is competing in the cheerleading comp in Bournemouth and we are going to travel at the end of June and make it our holiday, we were going to drive and stay overnight somewhere halfway but are now wondering if we would be better off going by train.It would be for 2 adults and 2 children under 16 that would be travelling from Glasgow to Bournemouth has anyone any suggestions ,advice or help for us to get the best deal. ie should we book in advance or wait till last minute etc etc.Is there a family deal or pass ie adults pay full and kids go for £1 or anything . hope you all don,t mind me seeking your advice.:) thanks

sdoherty1000

cookiemom1 wrote: »

Hi there
my oldest daughter is competing in the cheerleading comp in Bournemouth and we are going to travel at the end of June and make it our holiday, we were going to drive and stay overnight somewhere halfway but are now wondering if we would be better off going by train.It would be for 2 adults and 2 children under 16 that would be travelling from Glasgow to Bournemouth has anyone any suggestions ,advice or help for us to get the best deal. ie should we book in advance or wait till last minute etc etc.Is there a family deal or pass ie adults pay full and kids go for £1 or anything . hope you all don,t mind me seeking your advice.:) thanks

A railcard for friends and family would help you alot in this situation.

Livingthedream

cookiemom1 wrote: »

Hi there
my oldest daughter is competing in the cheerleading comp in Bournemouth and we are going to travel at the end of June and make it our holiday, we were going to drive and stay overnight somewhere halfway but are now wondering if we would be better off going by train.It would be for 2 adults and 2 children under 16 that would be travelling from Glasgow to Bournemouth has anyone any suggestions ,advice or help for us to get the best deal. ie should we book in advance or wait till last minute etc etc.Is there a family deal or pass ie adults pay full and kids go for £1 or anything . hope you all don,t mind me seeking your advice.:) thanks

Buy Advance Singles tickets, use this website to see when there released, click 'Find out when to buy advance tickets'

Also buy a Family and Friends Railcard the savings it gives on this journey will outweigh the cost of the card.

Buy the Railcard online here and use the discount Code VUE20 for a 20% discount but it ends at the end of Jan.

One last thing buy from a Train Company ie Virgin Trains unless you have a load of Tesco clubcard vouchers which can be exchanged for travel vouchers on Redspottedhanky (£10 Tesco = £20 rail voucher)

Don't buy from other 3rd party outlets ie trainline as they charge fees

spikejrt

I definetly agree with the bit about the F&F railcard.

I have found Crosscountry trains to be considerable lacking on the advance fares so you may find it cheaper to do Glasgow to London Euston and then London Waterloo to Bournemouth (booking each leg separately) rather than something via Birmingham New Street.

dzug1

ccluedo wrote: »

Hi, looking for a return ticket from Exeter St Davids to Bristol Airport leaving on 14th March by 7.30am latest and returning 28th March after 4.00pm. Best price I see is £39.60 return and wondering if any way to buy it for less
The traveller is over 55 if that helps any?

Thanks

In principle you could buy advance singles each way to Temple Meads and then pay the £10 return on the bus

I can see £11 to and £10 from Bristol at the moment - so £31 total - if you choose the right trains

Alternatively if you only use XC trains there's a slight saving to be had - £28 anytime return plus £10 bus.

Over 55 doesn't help - over 60 might - either though a railcard or use of their bus pass (on the return journey only)

certainlynot

2 People , Durham to The Hawthorns = £87.20p thats with a Disabled ticket on the 25th Feb , return same day . I've been reading about "Split Tickets" but dont really u/stand it . Do i go from station to station or stagger the stations ? . As long as we get there before 3pm , the times not that important , return afer the game , 5pm ish .

certainlynot

sdoherty1000 wrote: »

Looking for cheap fares from York to London on the 23rd (anytime) to London with return on the 25th.

Doesnt matter how many sites i try i cant get it below £90 for 2 passengers

Much appreciated

There is an offer in the Sunderland Echo , you need to collect 4 vouchers (i dont have any) . Just checked them dates and the best i can see is £20 return journey , Out journey is £190 . You can buy 1 way if you have the vouchers .

dzug1

certainlynot wrote: »

2 People , Durham to The Hawthorns = £87.20p thats with a Disabled ticket on the 25th Feb , return same day . I've been reading about "Split Tickets" but dont really u/stand it . Do i go from station to station or stagger the stations ? . As long as we get there before 3pm , the times not that important , return afer the game , 5pm ish .

You've got decently priced advance single tickets for the complete trip - I wouldn't faff about with trying to split - you won't save much if anything and if you don't understand what you are doing things are bound to go wrong

If you delay your return trip you may be able to lower the fare a bit