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.

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:

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).

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.

What is not included in the London 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.

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

What is not included in the London Explorer Pass?

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.

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?

What is not included in the Royal Palaces 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.

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?

What is not included in the Magical London Pass?

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.

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.

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.

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: 11 Best Day Trips from London.