Cheapest Time To Get Train Tickets.

[webbo3]

Her indoors and myself fancy going to London for the day between the 17th and the 21st July so we are looking for the cheapest way to get return train tickets from Bristol, preferably early am, if not it may have to be the coach from Bristol bus station.

Also which destination is better for looking around London, The Shard, History museum, science museum etc.

Many thanks

[Maydup]

First, check when the school holidays begin and if you can, pick a day before they break up.

[mushroom25]

cheapest advance fare showing today, temple meads to paddington, is £23.00. available on (for example) 0730 and 0830 trains on the 17th. the same fare is available on (for example) 1728 and 1948 on the 17th.
book direct with GWR.com. use your contactless card for journeys on the tube or bus networks and you get the same discount as oyster users.

[jno]

the Shard gives you good views but that's about it; if you've only got a day I wouldn't waste time there. Same for the London Eye. As for the museums, it depends what your interests are. History the British Museum, art the National Gallery, applied arts the V&A, the navy and ships the National Maritime Museum; there's a design Museum, the Clink Prison Museum, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, Natural History, Science - whatever you fancy, the list's pretty long. Touring any of them can take as long as you want (the big ones are free) so don't count on seeing more than a couple.

If you want to know what's on on any given day, check out the Londonist and IanVisits weekly checklists. Also, some plays have matinees if you want to stay indoors and there's something you want to see. Check out the TKTS booth in Leicester Square for cheap tickets on the day.

[Buenchico]

Advance rail tickets are already available for that period. Using Tuesday 18/07 as an example, outbound travel is available for £23.00 at 0700 from Temple Meads (arr. Paddington 0829) and 0800 (arr. 0934).

You can return from Paddington for £23.00 at 2000, arriving into Temple Meads at 2134.

Search here:
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
(NB: Do NOT use third party sites, such as The TrainLine. They can't find you any cheaper fares, they usually add on an unnecessary booking fee and they've been known to issue tickets which simply aren't valid for travel at all).

To travel around London, simply use your contactless debit cards to tap in and out at Tube stations.

If you're big kids at heart, the Science Museum is an absolute must. Note though that you MUST pre-book (free) entry to the museum and, to get the very best from your experience, you might well want to pre-book (paid) admission to one or more of the 'premium' attractions too:
https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
(Note that a 'quick' look around the Science Museum will almost certainly take you at least two hours but many people spend four or five hours there. It's a big place, with lots to see!)

The Natural History Museum is just around the corner from the Science Museum, so many people like to combine the two. Advance booking is, again, essential, with most of the galleries being free to visit but with a charge being made for special exhibitions:
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

The V&A is just across the road from the two museums that I've just mentioned. Admission is free (although some special exhibitions may carry a charge) and you don't need to book in advance:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/

The Shard is ridiculously expensive. The only time that I might consider visiting it would be for a 'special occasion' meal in one of the ridiculously over-priced restaurants there - preferably when someone else was paying!

If you're looking for somewhere cheap to eat in central London, consider Bistro 1 on Frith Street, Soho. Their three-course lunches, for just £16.90 are very good and amazing value too!
https://www.bistro1.co.uk/setlunch/

[johnny.5]

https://book.nationalexpress.com/coach/#/choose-journey?journeyType=single&departureStopId=41000&destinationStopId=57000&departureDate=18%2F07%2F2023&departArrive=DepartAfter&outboundTime=07:00&;returnDate=18%2F07%2F2023&departArriveReturn=DepartAfter&returnTime=00:00&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&euroAdults=1&euroChildren=0&euroSixtyPlus=0&euroInfants=0&ouiAdults=1&ouiChildren=0&usingCoachCard=false&youngPersonCards=0&seniorCards=0&disabledCards=0&;partnerId=NX&campaignId=DEFAULT&request_locale=en&numResults=4

[-SharonA-]

Reminder if you decide to use your debit card to tap in & out, it can only be used for one person. So your wife should have her own debit card to tap in & out.

[-SharonA-]

Also if you love Chinese food, there's a vast array of inexpensive Chinese restaurants in Soho with set menus.

[webbo3]

You all get best answer, thank you so much

[Old_Geezer]

Not done that trip on public transport for decades. But I used to find the coach perfectly ok, and cheaper to boot. Certainly do a little checking and comparing.

[johnny.5]

the coach on 18th July quoted at £7 each way for two people 3 hour journey though

[jno]

yes, for a day trip you might want the quickest trip rather than the cheapest. Trains take less than 90 minutes and at Paddington you can always hop on the Elizabeth line, to a few other stations around London.

[smurfchops]

The best way to see London is one of the open top bus tours, like Big Red Bus. If you have Tesco vouchers you could redeem them for a couple of tickets. Or some of the ordinary red buses I believe go from Marble Arch right through to the Tower of London, check route before you go. Or take the City Cruises (Tesco again) boat trip from London Eye ((or Embankment, across the bridge using your Tesco vouchers). This goes to the Tower, then on to Greenwich,there is a good indoor craft and food market there. I did the boat trip yesterday!