Online reservations with Britrail Pass?

My husband and I are going to England in
September. First time.

Looks as if an 8 day flex Britrail pass ($550 for
the two of us) is cheaper for us than reserving
without it--but is there any way to reserve online
if you have one of those? Or do you have to get
to each train station a day before and try to get
a seat?

Any advice appreciated. We have almost three
weeks. We thought a bit of London, then the
Portsmouth ferry to St. Malo to see Mont
St-Michel, then Salisbury (Avebury! Stonehenge,
too, probably), York, then rent a car and go to
Hexham and do a bit of Hadrian's Walling, then
back to London, with a day trip from there to
Brighton.

Husband is a museum-ship-old-house person. I'm a
hang-around-and-rest-and-just-be-there person, so
compromises are going to be made.

Any free advice welcome.

Bonita

In article ,
(Bonita or William F. Kale) wrote:

My husband and I are going to England in
September. First time.

Looks as if an 8 day flex Britrail pass ($550 for
the two of us) is cheaper for us than reserving
without it--but is there any way to reserve online
if you have one of those? Or do you have to get
to each train station a day before and try to get
a seat?

Any advice appreciated. We have almost three
weeks. We thought a bit of London, then the
Portsmouth ferry to St. Malo to see Mont
St-Michel, then Salisbury (Avebury! Stonehenge,
too, probably), York, then rent a car and go to
Hexham and do a bit of Hadrian's Walling, then
back to London, with a day trip from there to
Brighton.

I haven't done the math in detail, but off the top of my head - if those
are the only trips you're planning you might well find it cheaper just to
buy tickets for the individual journeys. www.thetrainline.com will give
you an idea of prices. There are lots of variables but essentially you can
keep fares low by booking in advance, committing to travelling on certain
trains, and avoiding peak commute hours.

"Bonita or William F. Kale" wrote in message
...
My husband and I are going to England in
September. First time.

Looks as if an 8 day flex Britrail pass ($550 for
the two of us) is cheaper for us than reserving
without it--but is there any way to reserve online
if you have one of those? Or do you have to get
to each train station a day before and try to get
a seat?


There is usually no need to reserve seats on trains in the UK. Unless you
travel at absolute peak times, just turn up 20 mins before departure and
find a place. On London to Brighton there is no seat reservation anyway but
its not needed as there are two express and two slow trains every day.

I think you mean two slow and two fast every *hour* not every day!

If travelling at a "peak" time long distance a reservation might be
advisable. What do I mean by "peak"? Fridays, particularly late
afternoon and particularly between major cites. Then the flow reverses
itself on Sunday. Weekday mornings into major conurbation's and back in
the evenings - people travel anything up to 150 miles by train daily.

In any case, you can get all your reservations at the first station you come
to (well, a few might not be able to help, but most can).

But many trains simply cannot be reserved. As well as Brighton, London /
Portsmouth is non reservable.

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"Bonita or William F. Kale" skrev i meddelandet
...
My husband and I are going to England in
September. First time.

Looks as if an 8 day flex Britrail pass ($550 for
the two of us) is cheaper for us than reserving
without it--but is there any way to reserve online
if you have one of those? Or do you have to get
to each train station a day before and try to get
a seat?

I've travelled on a Britrail pass (1cl) for 14days without any reservations
except the night trips. Just walked on and found a seat.