breaking a journey on a standard off peak train ticket

whitesatin

We are due to go to the Isle of Wight from Hemel Hempstead on Saturday 22nd July. Looking online, it appears that there are significant engineering works that would complicate the journey so we thought maybe we would travel the day before, stay overnight in Portsmouth then travel on by ferry and Isle of Wight train. We will be buying Standard Off Peak Return tickets and using a 2 together rail card.

Our return journey would still be affected by engineering work on the 29th but we would be ok with that.

Reading up, it looks like that we can't break our outward journey and stay overnight in Portsmouth so I phoned to enquire and was told that we can, in fact, break the journey and travel on the next day using the same ticket. I am very confused. Does anyone have any experience of doing this?

Hasbeen

What is your destination station Portsmouth or a station on IofW?

whitesatin

Shanklin is where we will end up

p00hsticks

Apologies if this is where you got your original information, but National Rail Enquiries states that single off peak tickets or the outward part of off-peak returns are only valid until 04:29 on the day following the start of your journey.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

whitesatin

p00hsticks wrote: »

Apologies if this is where you got your original information, but National Rail Enquiries states that single off peak tickets or the outward part of off-peak returns are only valid until 04:29 on the day following the start of your journey.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

Thanks, for that. I have read this explanation a few times and aloud to my husband. Maybe it is us, but I still find it confusing. E.g. how would you know what restrictions are on the ticket until you receive them?

I phoned them again and was told, again, that it will be ok to break this journey and stay overnight at Portsmouth so I think we will just have to take on board what we've been told and go for it.

Bexidecimal

Are you buying open return tickets? It sounds like you are as a standard return would only allow you to return on the same day.

Open return tickets allow you to travel to your destination with in 5 days of the start date and can include a break in journey (That means you can stay overnight). You can then travel back with in a month of the ticket date again with a break in journey as long as you complete said journey by the end of the month period.

Tickets are confusing

jbuchanangb

It hinges on whether you buy an Off-Peak Return or an Anytime (open) Return. With the off-peak return you can break your journey, but all has to be on the same day. With the anytime return you have 5 days to complete the outward journey including the break.

Details should be here

jbuchanangb

I have read on the UKRailForum that an offpeak return allows break of journey as long as the journey is completed by 0429 on the 3rd day. Maybe you should call National Rail Enquiries to check.