UK and Ireland Train Travel

[Gold60]

Hi All,

Just chasing general, as opposed to specific, information on the above. i am using Seat61 and other resources for specific planning purposes.

Basically, do many people use Rail Passes, Rover Tickets and similar when doing shortish and not frequent trips in the UK and Ireland? I am leaning towards just buying point to point tickets - in advance if possible.

i will travel on these journeys - Belfast to Cork; then Cork to Limerick; Limerick to Galway; Galway to Dublin and then a Rail/Sail to London. I will have a break of two or three days in each city.

Ii will then do London-based day return trips to Grantham, Dunstable (near Luton) and then to SE England - Kent basically.

any ideas please ?

TIA

 

[VPS]

Hi - don't know much about Ireland tickets but use UK rail frequently.

I find it cheaper to buy point to point tickets and buy in advance and be flexible in timing. I travel from London to Crewe and my friends are always amused at how low I can get a ticket because I'll just choose the cheapest for the day.

Also for some longer journeys if you pick the right time you can often get first class for not much more than standard. It is often cheaper to go on a slower train than an express.

If you are over 60 you can buy a card that will give you discount tickets in the UK - I can give you more details if you like.

Last minute fares and peak hour are usually ridiculously expensive but it depends on when you will know you will be travelling

 

[OZDUCK]

I used information from "The Man in Seat Sixty One" The Man in Seat Sixty-One - the train travel guide... to plan my Spanish train trips and the information provided was very accurate and useful. I have seen others recommended him on this site. He has a sections on both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Plus detailed information about rail/ferry routes across the Irish Sea.

 

[Mr_Gimlet]

I find it cheaper to buy point to point tickets and buy in advance and be flexible in timing

Yep, pretty much my approach. @Gold60, only a couple of points to add.

First, for ease of ticket management, you might want to look at purchasing through a central vendor like Loco2 (my favourite for Europe) or Trainline. There are sometimes minor benefits buying direct - like free wifi on Virgin that may or may not work - but having all the tickets in one app can be helpful.

Second, read Seat61 for the rail-sail: there are some tips and tricks to get the lowest joined up fares.

 

[OZDUCK]

Yep, pretty much my approach. @Gold60, only a couple of points to add.

First, for ease of ticket management, you might want to look at purchasing through a central vendor like Loco2 (my favourite for Europe) or Trainline. There are sometimes minor benefits buying direct - like free wifi on Virgin that may or may not work - but having all the tickets in one app can be helpful.

Second, read Seat61 for the rail-sail: there are some tips and tricks to get the lowest joined up fares.

I used Loco2 for a number of my trips in Spain and everything went fine.