Flexipass or Consecutive Pass?  Do you qualify for discounts off the standard pass price?

We help you answer these and other questions in this article.

Britrail Pass Fares and Choices What are your choices and costs?
	Train tickets no longer look like these tickets, dating back as much as 50 years. Nowadays you have a rich range of choices of fares and passes to help you get the most affordable and appropriate type of tickets for your travel. Part two of a two part series on Britrail Passes - part one discusses the underlying choices you make in selecting a Britrail pass.

Should you choose a Flexipass or a Consecutive Pass?  What are the cost implications?  And can you get a discount off the standard price of a Britrail pass?

This article helps you understand the exact details of the pass options open to you and to choose the best pass for your travels and your budget.

Pass Duration Choices

This might seem like a simple issue, but even with this simple issue, you have lots of choices and different approaches for how to use your pass.

Passes have two measures to them - a number of days of validity, and a number of travel days allowed within this validity period.  There are two different types of pass.

Consecutive Day Passes

This type of pass gives you so many days of unlimited train travel, starting from any day of your choice, and then running consecutively, whether you travel on those days or not.  In other words, the number of days of validity and the number of days of travel are the same.

These passes run for 4 days, 8 days, 15 days, 22 days and one month, and of course, the longer the pass, the more expensive (even though the cost per day drops).

These passes are also available in both first class and second class.

Flexipasses

The other type of pass recognizes that most people are not traveling by train every day.  More commonly, you might have a travel day, then a day or two in one place, then another travel day, another day or two in that next place, and so on.  This means, if you are using a consecutive day pass, you are paying for days of travel that you aren't using.

And so there are what are termed Flexipasses, that allow you so many days of travel, to be taken as and when you wish, during a certain extended period of time.  These are available in three durations, giving you either 4, 8 or 15 days of train travel over a two month time period.  These are also available in first and second class.

In theory, most people's travel plans are better reflected in a Flexipass than a consecutive pass.  However, because you're more likely to use all the travel days in a Flexipass than a regular pass, the cost per day of a Flexipass is higher than the cost per day of a regular pass.  And if you end up with perhaps a need for 5 travel days in ten days elapsed time, it might be cheaper to buy an 8 day regular pass and perhaps one regular ticket than to buy an 8 day Flexipass.

Age Issues

In addition to regular adult passes, there are also senior citizen passes and child passes.

First, the very good news.  Children under five can usually travel for free.

Children aged between 5 and 15 (inclusive) can travel at half the adult pass prices.

Youths aged between 16 and 25 (inclusive) get a 20% discount off the adult pass prices.

Senior citizens - people aged 60 and over - get a 15% discount off first class passes but no discount off standard class passes.

People Traveling Together

When more than one person is traveling together, you might be eligible for some extra savings.

Family Discount

One adult or senior traveling on a pass can get a child pass for free for one child (5 - 15) traveling with them.

Small Group Discount

Groups of three to nine people traveling together can qualify for a 50% discount off the pass costs for the third through ninth people if all people are traveling together.

Guest Discount

This allows a UK resident to travel with you, and both of you will then get a 25% discount off the passes you purchase.  One guest pass can be purchased for each regular pass.

Seasonal Discounts

It is common to have pass prices discounted for travel in November, December, January and February.  The discount is usually about 20%.

Pass Prices

Here is the current pass pricing, as of May 2008.

Britrail Consecutive Pass Pricing - Standard Class - US dollars

Britrail Consecutive Pass Pricing - First Class - US dollars

Britrail Flexi Pass Pricing - Standard Class - US dollars

Britrail Flexi Pass Pricing - First Class - US dollars

Britrail ENGLAND only
Consecutive Pass Pricing - Standard Class - US dollars

Britrail ENGLAND only
Consecutive Pass Pricing - First Class - US dollars

Other Pass Products

Visit this site for pricing on other pass products such as the Britrail Scottish Freedom Pass, the Britrail London Plus Pass, and the various other pass products.

Where to Buy

A number of different companies sell Britrail Passes.  Rail Europe is probably the leading such company.

All seem to sell the passes at the same price, and they must be purchased prior to your travels - they are not available for sale in the UK.

See also Part One

In the first part of this two part article we discuss whether you should get a Britrail Pass or not and the range of pass types and choices open to you.

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Originally published 9 May 2008, last update 30 May 2021

You may freely reproduce or distribute this article for noncommercial purposes as long as you give credit to me as original writer.