Train fares

[Ricardothesnowman]

I am looking to go to Edinburgh from the South Coast.
I thought a train would be better than driving.
I tried looking for prices for travel in the summer. The Train line won't give me any prices for then, or and time noet even for next week, it just says no tickets available.
National rail quoted minimum of £184 return.
Can that possibility be correct??
That would mean travel costs of around £800 for my family of 4 for a short 4 night break!
Am I being stupid and missing something obvious?

And to fly will cost 225 each!.
How can people go on holiday? How do you hear of these cheap £50 flights. Where do I find reasonable priced travel?
Can't drive there, my car is too small. I could hire a car for about 250, but I'd still need fuel an an overnight stop.

The best priced tickets go on sale 12 weeks before travel. You’re looking too early.

Maybe look into getting one of those family rail cards that get you a discount if travelling together? Might make it a little cheaper at least.
Also, try split tickets.

Thank you.
I guess I shouldn't book accommodation until I know how much the travel will.cost.
If its that expensive we can't afford to go.

Train tickets are only available three months in advance.

Yes, look out for 'advance fares' appearing as pp said. They are much cheaper but with the caveat you are tied to a specific seat on a specific train - so no flexibility at all.

If your family of 4 includes DC you could look at a family railcard - 1/3 off fares, IIRC - it would pay for itself straight away if you bought it alongside the tickets and you'd have it for future journeys.

There are other types of railcard if you're not eligible for the family one - 'two together' can be used by any two as long as you are both travelling together, or Senior Citizen if you are over 60.

You can get cheaper fares. London to Edinburgh is often about £50 each way with a railcard but can be lower if you book early or opt for a Lumo train which starts around £30 but fewer trains per day. Flying may be cheaper. Dd did a return trip for under £60 at new year.

My friend lives in EDI and they always drove down to the south coast for this exact reason. Takes about 7-8 hours.

Its 3 adults and 1 child. Me, dd (18) her bf(20) and ds 12.

I have a feeling I might have to ask dds boyfriend to pay for himself, which seems rather mean if I invite him.

Try looking at the lner website

Lots of railcard options there.

You and your DD could be the two named adults on a family railcard and could use it (together or separately) at any time you were travelling with your DS.

Or, DD and her boyfriend could get a 'two together' railcard if they are likely to travel together a lot.

Or, DD and her boyfriend could each get a Young Persons railcard.

Oh, that's a thought , they are both at university, there must be some type of student railcard.
You can tell I'm not a seasoned traveller. :)

@Ricardothesnowman

Oh, that's a thought , they are both at university, there must be some type of student railcard. You can tell I'm not a seasoned traveller. :)

There is a 16-25 Railcard - you don't have to be a student to have one - £30 for 1 year or £70 for 3 years; 1/3 off fares - easily pays for itself on a single long journey.

This site explains the different railcards and prices:

www.railcard.co.uk

Thanks Clarice, I'll take a good look at the website

How is flying that much? I've just put the first week of July into Kayak and get loads of LGW-EDI for £60 return. Parking at LGW about £60 for the week. That's £300 for the lot of you.

Getting to Gatwick could be possible. Maybe.
I was looking for Southampton

@Ricardothesnowman

Getting to Gatwick could be possible. Maybe. I was looking for Southampton

That's why! Ryanair and EasyJet fly from Gatters so much cheaper.

a one year friends and famil railcard costs £30 , four adults and four children can travel on it. Third off the adult price, 60% of child fare

Yes, the best option is going to depend on how much any of you are likely to use the cards in the future.

If none of you use the train very much, the most cost-effective option (I think) would be for DD and boyfriend to get a 'two together' card and travel on that, and for you and DS to travel on a Family Railcard - but you might as well name your DD on the Family Railcard as well in case you have future occasion to use it.

If DD and her boyfriend are regular train users, it would make sense for them to get a 16-25 card each as the savings would be huge in the long term especially if they got the 3 year option.

So yes, railcards are your first port of call, and then also set a reminder on your phone for twelve weeks before you want to travel when the cut price advance tickets go on sale.
This is what's available for mid-March for example - there are Lumo tickets available for around a third of the price of the headline price you found.

Friends and Family Railcard will cover all of you. It's £30 for the year but if you have Tesco Clubcard points you can get it for a tenner's worth.

As pp said, you need to wait until 12 weeks before travel for the advance fares. Our trip from Scotland to London in April is costing £148 for 4 return with a Railcard.

There is a low cost London to Edinburgh rail service, cannot recall the name though. So via London may be a cheaper option.

@balalake

There is a low cost London to Edinburgh rail service, cannot recall the name though. So via London may be a cheaper option.

Lumo The trains have got really expensive and there's no logic in how they are priced sometimes. If you can avoid peak times e.g. Friday afternoons / Sunday afternoon then they tend to be a bit cheaper but for a family the cost does add up. I've found it's often cheaper to do the split ticketing thing if your journey uses different train operators e.g. do home to London and then London to Edinburgh BUT you need to watch the connection times! I'd also check hotel prices in Edinburgh as they're rarely cheap and in August the prices go through the roof due to the festivals.

Trains in the UK are very expensive. For four people it is generally a lot cheaper to drive.

Try Lumo