More about: London Tourist Cards
London is a high-priced city, with 35 million tourists a year and a lot to see and do. Tourist passes save you time, by avoiding queues, and money, by not having to pay for each ticket separately.
How many London Sightseeing Passes are there?
With so many attractions and sightseeing itineraries available, London has different tourist passes and choosing which one is right for your trip can be complex. I tell you their pros and cons, what they include and how they work:
- London Pass - from $133: It is paid per day and gives you access to more than 80 attractions (recommended for those who want to see the maximum number of attractions during their trip).
- London Explorer Pass - from $89: Paid only for the number of attractions you want to see (recommended for those who only want access to certain attractions).
- Royal Palaces Pass (recommended for short trips and for lovers of the Royal Houses)
- Magic London Pass (Recommended for family trips)
London Pass
The price of the London Pass is based on the number of days of use. The maximum duration is 10 days, but if your trip is shorter you can customize it and pay for a smaller number of days (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 days).
- Pay per day (from 1 to 10) and get access to more than 80 tourist attractions.
- Includes access to the sightseeing bus and Thames cruises.
- Recommended for those who want to visit as much as possible.
You're going to experience London. For real. You have up to ten days ahead of you and you are a tireless tourist, one of those who ends up exhausted every day, and who is interested in knowing the most historical and cultural part of a place with a huge range of options to not lose detail of everything that a destination can offer.
Everything you can visit in London in terms of cultural tourism is within the London Pass, with access to more than 80 attractions and a day tour bus with nine routes and more than 110 stops (which, we recommend you use towards the end of your trip, when fatigue will begin, for sure, to make an appearance).
Why do I like this card?
With this card you save, a lot: time, because it puts you at the fast track entrance to the most popular attractions in the capital and money, because you are not paying for each ticket individually. Plus, it gives you access to special offers at a lot of restaurants, stores, theaters and other entertainment venues.
To give you an idea, with a 6-day adult London Pass, for example, priced at £171, you can visit a number of attractions that if you paid separately would total around £625. It pays off, doesn't it?
What does the London Pass include?
As we have already mentioned, the London Pass gives you access to the sightseeing bus and the cruise on the Thames, but also to many of the most popular attractions in the capital. I list the ones that for me are the most relevant.
- Tourist bus
- Thames River Cruise
- Tower of London
- National Gallery
- The View from The Shard
- Westminster Abbey
- Houses of Parliament
- Churchill War Rooms
- National Maritime Museum
- Tower Bridge
- St. Paul's Cathedral
- Hampton Court Palace
- Kensington Palace
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- London Zoo (in Regent's Park)
- Tours of movies like Harry Potter, James Bond, Sherlock Homes or Bridget Jones
What is not included in the London Pass?
- London Eye
- Madame Tussauds
- London Dungeon
- Shrek Adventure
- Food and beverages, unless otherwise specified
- Gratuities
- Transfers to attractions
London Explorer Pass
Spending four days in London and want to get to the must-sees? The London Explorer Pass is the fastest and most practical way to see the must-see London, because it gives you a choice of the best attractions in the city. Unlike the London Pass, which is organized by days, in this pass you choose by number of attractions to visit.
- You pay only for the number of attractions you want to visit (up to 7).
- Includes access to the sightseeing bus and cruises on the Thames.
- Ideal for those who want to visit the must-see attractions at the best price.
With the London Pass Explorer you will have access to places that you must visit and others that, although not understood as a "must see", can give a different touch to your trip, especially if you go with children.
You can choose between 3, 4, 5 or 7 attractions from its list of the 31 attractions it offers in total. This can save you up to 35% on the standard price of the tickets, always without long lines and with a useful digital guide.
Some of the attractions included in the London Explorer Pass
- London Big Bus sightseeing bus
- Thames River Cruise
- Westminster Abbey
- Tower Bridge
- St. Paul's Cathedral
- The London Dungeon
- Big Bus Tours
- Kensington Palace
- Thames River
- City Cruises Westminster Pier
- City Cruises Tower Pier
- City Cruises Greenwich Pier
- Churchill War Rooms
- Emirates Stadium Tour and Museum
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- Hampton Court Palace
- Royal Albert Hall
- Wembley Stadium
- Royal Botanic Gardens
- Royal Observatory Greenwich
- Chelsea FC Stadium Tour & Museum
- Bridget Jones and Harry Potter Movie Tours
- Florence Nightingale Museum
- The Kia Oval
What is not included in the London Explorer Pass?
- Food and beverages, unless specified.
- Gratuities
- Transfers to attractions
Royal Palaces Pass: Kensington Palace, Hampton Court and the Tower of London
If you are only spending a few days in the English capital or it is the history of the Crown that attracts your attention, this Royal Palaces Pass is a great option for you.
- Recommended for short trips and for lovers of the Royal Houses.
- You have virtually unlimited time (the pass lasts two years) to visit the three most spectacular palaces in London.
Britain's history is deeply rooted in its monarchical tradition and London is proof of that. The capital has dozens of incredible palaces to visit and just walking around the city and finding hundreds of souvenir stores with images of the royals is an example of their importance in society.
With the Royal Palaces Pass you can immerse yourself in the stories and intrigues of some of the buildings that witnessed the daily life, the black chronicle and the art collections of some of the most powerful families in the country. Feel like a king or queen for a day.
What does the Royal Palaces Pass include?
- London Tower: I recommend you start this palatial day exploring one of the most famous fortresses in the world, the Tower of London. Located in the financial and historical center of the city, its famous 'City', this Tower was a symbol of horror for nearly ten centuries, serving as a prison in subhuman conditions to those accused of treason against the king.
- Kensington Palace: towards South Kensington, one of the most elegant and expensive areas of the city, we find the majestic 'Kensington Palace'. This palace attracts much attention because, in addition to its beautiful gardens and halls of the eighteenth century, has been and is a royal residence since the seventeenth century. Currently, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) live there.
- Hampton Court Palace: we finish our journey relaxing in the outskirts of London and getting lost in the incredible hedge maze of 'Hampton Court Palace'. With the air of a fortress, this building is the maximum exponent of Tudor art in England and, although it is in the outskirts of London, it is very easy to reach it on a direct train that leaves every half hour from London Waterloo and whose journey takes 40 minutes.
What is not included in the Royal Palaces pass?
- Gratuities
- Food and beverages, unless otherwise specified
- Transfers to the attractions
Magic London Pass
London is not only history, architecture and museums. As a great city it also offers countless experiences for all ages to enjoy in a different way, especially if you are traveling with children. If you are traveling to the British capital for a maximum of 4 days and want to experience London as a family, the Magic Pass is for you.
- Recommended for family travel
- Includes access to 5 of the best attractions in London, including the London Eye.
Visits to museums, monuments, churches... are exhausting and we know they are not the best place for the little ones to spend their vacations. For them there is a different London, a very fun one, with 5 dream places to discover. Buying it will save you a lot, considering the high price of these attractions, especially to pay for each member of a family, and even more important if possible, you will save time in endless queues.
What does the Magical London Pass include?
- Madame Tussauds London
- The London Eye
- The London Dungeon
- SEA LIFE London
- Shrek's Adventure London
What is not included in the Magical London Pass?
- Transfer to the attractions
- Souvenir photos (which you can purchase at each attraction if you wish)
Is it worth buying a tourist pass in London?
That's a personal answer that will depend, as you've seen, on the type of traveler you are, your budget and your time in the city. But I can give you some very simple advice. Make a list of the attractions you are most interested in visiting and organize them according to the days of travel you have ahead of you and how much they cost separately. That way you will know if it is profitable to take a pass and which of them is the one that includes all of them.
Remember that with tourist passes you can either have a much cheaper access to more than 80 attractions if you want to squeeze London to the fullest, or choose and pay only for a limited number of places because you have fewer travel days and there are some must-see places that you can not miss.
Vicky's Traveller Tip
Make a list of the attractions you want to see and how much it would cost to buy their tickets separately to compare their prices with the passes.
Comparison of tourist passes
- London Pass
- From £96
- Pay per number of days
- Tourist Bus: YES
- Book now
- London Explorer Pass
- From £58
- Pay per number of attractions
- Sightseeing bus: YES
- Book now
- Royal Palaces Pass
- From 80 ¤.
- Pay fixed price for 3 palaces
- Tourist bus: NO
- Magic London Pass
- From £95
- Pay fixed price for 5 attractions
- Sightseeing Bus: NO
How does it work?
The use of each Pass is very simple. When you buy it online, you choose between the different options available, and when you receive it, you can download it to your cell phone and scan it at the entrance to each attraction.
You can buy it at any time: a month or a day before starting your trip, because your card will only be activated once you use it on your first visit. In addition, you will receive a complete digital guide in your language, with information about each place you explore, maps and super useful information.
Other tips for saving money in London
It has always been said that London is an expensive city. And, although the pound has been losing value in recent years, the prices of restaurants, hotels and attractions are quite high compared to other cities. But organizing your trip with time and knowing some tricks, the budget does not have to be a problem.
Use the tourist bus
Whether or not you decide to get a tourist card, the option of taking the tourist bus will save you time and money on transportation, as it takes you directly from one attraction to another without having to pay metro or city bus for each ride. You can read more about how it works in my article on London Hop-On Hop-Off Buses.
Take a cruise on the Thames
The same goes for the Thames cruise: you have several options, from the cheapest to the most premium. The best of all? On the non-stop cruise you can hop on and off as many times as you want to move around the city at your leisure. Read more here: 7 Best Thames River Cruises in London.
To visit the surroundings, a closed tour is the best option
If at some point you are thinking of leaving the big city to visit the English countryside, the most charming villages of the island or the well-known universities of Oxford or Cambridge, the pocket will not be a problem if you do it with an organized excursion with a fixed price. The best excursions are listed in this guide: 9 Best Day Trips from London.