RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted February 3, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2015 I'd be grateful for recommendations on the best way for someone who lives in Germany to book UK rail tickets, for travel on FGW services towards the end of March this year, please. Is it easier for them to book from Germany, via the internet probably, or would it be cheaper for me to buy the tickets for them in the UK and post them out? If booking via the internet is recommended, which website is best/cheapest/most reliable? Would it perhaps be FGW themselves via their own website? Many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigP Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted February 3, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2015 I normally order online (but not too sure how easy that works for people outside the UK). I state collect at departure station but often collect them at other stations a day or two in advance. Its only if you have a problem then you need ot go to the ticket office that you stated collection from. However, I tend not to trust collecting them at our station of Redhill on the day, as quite often most if not all the ticket machines are out of use Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I tend to use East Coast rather than The Train Line or the TOC involved. Had problems with some sites but never any trouble with East Coast. Goes back to when it was GNER and I got them to add a cycle reservation button. A feature the others still do not have. Book in advance, collect at any station with a suitable machine at a time to suit you, and post them to Germany. I do it quite frequently and even buy Oyster cards for overseas visitors. Handy if they have to travel across London. As long as you do not want to change any details it works fine. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium brushman47544 Posted February 3, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 3, 2015 Virgin's e-ticket option is good as you can print the ticket yourself and just take suitable ID or card used with you. If someone else offers this option I would recommend it - unfortunately Virgin only offer it for Virgin Trains and Cross Country services not other Operators. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gribble Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 If booking ahead the advantages are much cheaper tickets, the disadvantage is that the ticket is only valid for the specified train so don't miss it or decide to change your plans! Buying the ticket on the day of travel provides more flexibility and is especially useful if you cant pin down a time to travel, however, the prices are eye watering and can be as much as 10 times more expensive than the cheapest advance tickets. I always use... http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ ...for checking train times. It's the national rail timetable and unlike thetrainline.com it isn't trying to make a quick buck. It will provide fare options and clicking the buy now link will always take you to the relevant TOCs own website to then purchase the tickets. This is great if you don't know which TOC operates a service and of course cuts out the booking fees of the likes of thetrainline.com as the TOCs don't as far as I am aware charge a booking fee. Collect your tickets from a ticket machine at your starting station using a code and the credit/debit card used to make the online purchase. Simple. *gribble* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted February 3, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 3, 2015 Depending how much travel they want to do this http://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/travel-transport/rail-tickets/product/britrail-gb-consecutive-pass.htmlmight be a good option. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted February 3, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2015 I would recommend either the website of the relevant TOC and/or have a look at the DB site and see what it has on offer as it can come up with some good fares (as can SNCB if they are coming Eurostar via Brussels). Obviously I don't need to use UK ticket sites but I do understand that The Trainline does not offer the best bargains and i would suggest, as above, using either the website of the TOC concerned or the National Rail site which Kris gave a link for (and from which it is easy to link to the FGW site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 When travelling from Europe by Eurostar it was impossible to buy a through ticket to my destination (they only allow booking to a limited number of places) and even if you do book a through ticket to one of their destinations you will have to collect your UK tickets from a machine in the UK with your payment card. When flying from Europe with a pre-booked UK rail ticket I still had to pick up the tickets from a main station - I could not collect them from the airport station because there was no machine and no rail booking office just a TFL one. It can take in excess of twenty minutes to collect your tickets from the machine at a busy station. If you need to travel on HS1 within London you will need to be prepared to negotiate with the staff on the barrier to get on the train and out at the other end if you have a London stations ticket that otherwise works on the underground. Not sure what tickets you can get from a foreign travel office because the cost was about 30% more than booking directly online so I didn't. There is nothing easy about buying a UK rail ticket from abroad! It will probably take less time to fly than to arrange and obtain a rail ticket in advance it is sad to say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I would have thought that getting a Britrail pass may be a good option, depending on how much travelling they wish to do. At least you don't have to worry about taking specific trains. http://www.britrail.net/ A Thai friend of mine bought London-Liverpool for £3 each way using the Megabus website, but this value may only be for Stagecoach franchises. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted February 5, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 5, 2015 I stopped using the trainline when they started credit card/booking fees. East coast is an excellent site which does not make stealth charges, its only a quid to have tickets by post and you build up reward points. Having said that, it's soon going to be wiped out by the ever expanding Beardy empire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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