London Pass Review – Is the London Pass worth it?

Disclosure: I may earn a small commission from the companies or products mentioned in this post.

London is a ginormous city with so many fantastic things to see and do. However, many of the top tourist attractions can also be expensive, making the overall cost of your trip really add up. Buying a London attraction pass such as the London Pass can be a great option for many people to save money when visiting London. But is the London Pass worth it for you?

In this London Pass review, I’ll break down which attractions and activities the pass covers, the pros and cons of the pass, the value it provides and who should and shouldn’t consider buying it.

What is the London Pass?

The London Pass is a London attraction pass that, for a one-time fee, gets you full access to over 80 top attractions, museums, tours and river cruises in the capital, as well as exclusive discounts on many others.

There are two different passes available – the London Pass and the London Pass with Oyster Card.

How much is the London Pass (2021 price)?

The price of the London pass depends on the number of days you want it for – with the option of 1, 2, 3, 6 or 10 days – and whether you need the Oyster Card add-on:

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London Pass Review: Pros and Cons

Top Attractions: London Pass vs Buying Tickets Separately

The London Pass includes entry to 80+ top London attractions, amongst the most famous of these being the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle.

Below I’ve outlined some of the most popular attractions, museums, tours and activities available on the pass in more detail, as well as how much they would cost if buying tickets separately.

Top attractions included in the London Pass

10 of the most popular attractions available on the pass:

• The Tower of London
  • Price without pass: Adult £27.50/Child £13.75
  • See the Crown Jewels and meet the Beefeaters at one of the world’s most famous fortresses.
• Tower Bridge Experience
  • Price without pass: Adult £10.60/Child £5.30
  • Explore London’s most iconic bridge, learn about its interesting history, enjoy the panoramic views across the city and walk across the glass walkway 42 meters above the River Thames.
• Westminster Abbey
  • Price without pass: Adult £18/Child £7
  • 1,000+ year old gothic church which has hosted many of Britain’s most significant historic events including the coronation of every King and Queen since 1066 and numerous royal weddings.
• St Pauls Cathedral
  • Price without pass: Adult £20/Child £8.50
  • Impressive Grade I listed Anglican cathedral sitting at the highest point of the City of London.
• The View From the Shard
  • Price without pass: Adult £32/Child £25
  • Enjoy 360° views from the top of London’s tallest skyscraper.

• ArcelorMittal Orbit
  • Price without pass: Adult £32/Child £25
  • Get panoramic views over the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from the viewing platforms of the UK’s tallest sculpture. Upgrade your ticket for £5 when you arrive in order to speed back down to earth on the world’s tallest and longest tunnel slide.
• London Zoo
  • Price without pass: Adult £32.50/Child £21.12
  • Visit one of the world’s oldest scientific zoos in Londons Regents Park.
• Kew Gardens
  • Price without pass: Adult £11/Child £4.50
  • London’s world-leading botanic gardens and UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Hampton Court Palace
  • Price without pass: Adult £24.50/Child £12.20
  • Grade I listed royal palace which was once the home of Henry VIII.
• Windsor Castle
  • Price without pass: Adult £23.50/Child £13.50
  • 1,000 year old royal residence of the British royal family.

Museums included in the London Pass

A few museums you might consider visiting that are included in the London Pass are:

• London Transport Museum
  • Price without pass: Adult £18.50/Child Free
  • The worlds leading museum of urban transport in the heart of central Covent Garden.
• The Queens Gallery
  • Price without pass: Adult £16/Child £8
  • The main public art gallery of Buckingham Palace with works of art from the Royal Collection.
• The Postal Museums
  • Price without pass: Adult £16/Child £9
  • It May not sound the most interesting but is worth a visit just to ride on the unique Mail Rail.

Tours included in the London Pass

The tours and river cruises are some of the best perks of the London Pass:

•  1 Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
  • Price without pass: Adult: £39/Child £29
  • 24-hour access to the Hop-On Hop-Off open-top bus network which takes you around all of the main landmarks with a live guide and commentary.
• Thames River Boat Cruise
  • Price without pass: Adult £20.25/Child £13.50
  • 24-hour access to City Cruises Hop-On Hop-Off boat cruises all the way down the Thames through central London.
• London Bicycle Tour
  • Price without pass: £34.95/Child £28.95
  • Cycle through central London on a 3.5 hour tour with the London Bicycle Tour Company. 
    

Alternative activities included in the London Pass

A few lesser-known activities on the London Pass that often get overlooked:

• Beefeater Gin Distillery Tour
  • Price without pass: Adult £16
  • Take a guided journey through the history of gin in London at their historic distillery.
• QUEENS Skate Bowl Dine
  • Price without pass: Adult £13/Child £12
  • Get a free ice skating session at one of London’s best full entertainment venues, featuring ice skating, bowling, curling, arcades and its own burger joint.
• Curzon Cinema
  • Price without pass: Adult £7.80/Child £5
  • Free movie screening at one of London’s most famous and luxurious cinema brands.

Extra discounts available with the London Pass

• 25% off Discount Theatre Tickets
• 30% off The London Cabaret Club
• 15% off purchases at M&M World in Leicester Square
• Exclusive rate on London Walking Tours
• 15% off a London Helicopter Tour

What attractions are NOT available on the London Pass?

Not all major attractions that you may want to visit are included in the London Pass. Below are the biggest attractions not on the London Pass and their additional entry prices.

The prices below are on-the-day tickets, you can usually save around 20% by booking online in advance.

London Pass Review: Is the London Pass worth it?

So, is the London Pass worth buying?

Price – Calculating Value

With the majority of London attractions costing on average £20-£30 per person, below is what you’ll need to do per day in order to start saving money and make each pass worth buying…

• 1 day pass (£79) – £79 daily value / three or four attractions per day
• 2 day pass (£100) – £50 daily value / two or three attractions per day
• 3 day pass (£121) – £40.33 daily value / around two attractions per day
• 6 day pass (£164) – £27.33 daily value / one or two attractions per day
• 10 day pass (£193) – £19.30 daily value / just one attraction per day

The longer London Pass you get, the easier it is to get value out of it.

Price – Sample Itinerary

Let’s take a sample one-day itinerary to put this into perspective.

If you were to visit the Tower of London (£27.50) and Tower Bridge (£10.60) in the morning, go on a Thames River Boat Cruise in the afternoon (£20.25) and visit The View From The Shard (£32) in the evening, then you would have got £90.35 of value from your £79 pass, therefore saving you money.

Check out longer sample itineraries on the London Pass website here – these are super useful!

Price – Is the London pass worth the money?

Taking all of the above into account, then yes, the London Pass is worth buying if you are either a) planning on seeing a lot of attractions in a couple of days or b) staying in London for a longer period.

Alternatively, if you’re staying in London for a while but don’t want to fork out for a 6 or 10 day pass, you could still always buy a 1 or 2 day London Pass. Fit as many of the attractions as you can into the days you have the pass, then spend the rest of your trip enjoying the city’s cheaper and free attractions.

Convenience – Time-Saving

Saving money isn’t the only benefit of the London Pass. Another great perk is that it also offers skip-the-line tickets for a number of the attractions included.

Many of London’s attractions can get extremely busy, especially during peak summer or on public holidays, so the London Pass can save you time to fit more into your trip.

Convenience – Hassle-Free

Having the London Pass also saves you the hassle of having to get out your credit card or mess around with cash every time you arrive at a new attraction. You also won’t need to worry about keeping track of lots of different paper tickets (or losing them!).

All you need to do is walk in, flash your London Pass and in you go.

This is particularly convenient for families or larger groups travelling together as everyone can take their own pass so that no one person is responsible for everything.

Should you get the Oyster Card add-on?

The London Pass + Transport option is the same as the regular pass, except that it comes with a pre-loaded Visitor Oyster Card that gives you unlimited travel on all London Underground, buses, trams, Docklands light rail, and over-ground trains within Zones 1 – 9 (including Heathrow and London City airports).

If you’ll be using public transport more than a couple of times a day (which is highly likely in London), having an Oyster Card will certainly save you money compared to buying individual tickets for each journey.

However, it’s important to know that the Visitor Oyster Card is geared specifically towards tourists so is slightly different from the regular Oyster Card.

My advice would be NOT to bother with the travel add-on and to purchase a regular Oyster Card once you arrive in London instead. The only reason you might get the Visitor Card is to save a tiny bit of hassle by having it sent to you in advance.

Questions to ask yourself before buying the London Pass

A couple of important questions to ask yourself before buying the London Pass:

What type of trip am I taking?

The first thing to consider is what style of traveller you are.

If you’re someone who simply enjoys strolling around different neighbourhoods, eating at local restaurants and enjoying a few drinks at a rooftop bar with a view over the city, the pass may not be for you.

But if you’re the type of traveller who loves to fill up your days visiting the big tourist attractions and taking guided tours, the London Pass is certainly worthwhile.

What attractions do I want to visit?

Even if you are someone who loves to pack their trip with attractions and activities, the London Pass doesn’t include everything. Be sure to check out the full list of attractions and make sure it covers the type of places you do want to visit.

If you enjoy visiting historical attractions and landmarks, the London Pass has plenty to offer, from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge to many of the city’s most famous historical palaces and churches.

But if you would prefer to spend most of your trip visiting museums and galleries, there’s not much point in getting the pass as most of the top museums in London are already free.

Who should and shouldn’t get the London Pass?

Is the London Pass right for you?

Who should get the London Pass

• You’re a first time visitor to London
  • If you’re visiting London for the first time and want to see as much of the city as possible, the London Pass is a great thing to have, not only to save money but to also help you organise your trip and know what attractions to visit.
• You love visiting popular tourist attractions
  • The London Pass proves the most value when used on the city’s biggest tourist attractions as these usually have the steepest ticket prices when purchased separately. Visiting the big attractions with the pass will end up saving you money in no time.
• You’re travelling with kids
  • The London Pass can prove particularly useful for families. The pass cuts down on the hassle of messing around with money and tickets at each attraction. The pass also includes plenty of kid-friendly attractions such as London Zoo, the Cutty Sark, QUEENS skating and the Cartoon Museum.
• You’re travelling as a group
  • The pass is also great for big groups. If each person has their own pass, it makes it easier to split up to visit different attractions then meet back up at the end of the day.

Who shouldn’t get the London Pass

• You like to travel slowly
  • If your ideal trip involves taking things at a leisurely pace, the shorter passes may be a little too fast for you. Either don’t bother with the pass or opt for 6 or 10 days.
• You’re visiting on a tight budget
  • While the London Pass can save you money, there’s no point breaking your budget in the first place to get it. If you’re visiting London on a backpacking style trip, the pass may not fit within your budget.
• You want a ‘local experience’
  • Most of the attractions included on the pass are very touristy, so if you’re looking for a more authentic and local travel experience then it might not be for you.

Top tips for using the London Pass

Important things to know about using the London Pass:

• Download the app
  • Not only can you use your pass on your phone, but the London Pass app also has a handy map feature to help you plan out your day and see what attractions are nearby.
• Don’t waste the first day
  • The pass counts per day rather than 24-hour period, meaning if you use it on the first evening you arrive in London, this will count as a whole day already used up.
• Don’t forget about the discounts
  • It’s easy to focus on the free attractions on the pass, but don’t forget to check out the discounts too. Some of the discounts are pretty rubbish but others can actually prove great value, such as 25% off London theatre tickets or 15% off a London helicopter tour.

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London Pass Quick Q&A’s

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