2 for 1 London discount coupons are one of the most popular ways to save when visiting London as they are valid at many famous London attractions and some restaurants as well. But in order to take advantage of these offers you have to meet a series of requirements that I will explain below.
In order to take advantage of the 2×1 discounts in London, you must present two things at the ticket office of the attraction you are interested in:
- A discount coupon (one for every two people) for the attraction that interests you. You will have to download this coupon online and print it.
- One valid train ticket per person.
What will you find in this article?
- 2×1 discounts in London: How it works
- Advantages and disadvantages of 2×1 discounts
- 2×1 discounts in London: valid train tickets
- How to get the 2×1 discount coupons that you must present at the box office
- Validity of discounts
- Use 2×1 discounts with children
- What if I don’t have a valid train ticket or the attraction I’m interested in isn’t included?
2×1 discounts in London: How it works
The 2×1 discounts in London are associated with the UK National Rail train transport company and can be obtained through the daysoutguide website . Through this website we can download the coupons (vouchers) that we must present at the box office of the attraction we want to go to, and at the same box office we can obtain two adult tickets for the price of one.
In order for the 2×1 discount coupon to be valid, we must present, in addition to the 2×1 coupon, a valid train ticket per person. That is, if you are two people and want to claim the 2×1, both people must have valid train tickets (not metro). If you are going to use travelcard, you will need to present a valid travelcard per person.
Advantages and disadvantages of 2×1 discounts
Obviously, the biggest advantage is that you can save a lot of money, being able to enter two people to the chosen attraction for the price of one.
As drawbacks, I guess the biggest drawback is making sure that the train tickets you are going to present at the attraction are valid. Even so, there are times when the attraction does not accept the 2×1 coupons and you end up buying the tickets at the box office, which are usually much more expensive than buying them online in advance. Another inconvenience is the fact that you have to queue at each attraction and have to present coupons and train tickets, which in low season may not be a problem, but be aware that in summer there can be a long queue. For these reasons, if you are not very clear or do not want to risk it, take a look at the combined tickets for attractions in London or see if one of the London tourist passes suits you. if you want to visit several attractions.
2×1 discounts in London: valid train tickets
It is very important to have a valid train ticket, otherwise they will not accept the coupon at the ticket office. Also, I have to mention that sometimes even with a valid train ticket and correctly printed coupons, the attraction reserves the right to accept the coupon or not, and it is not always possible to get the discount. This often depends on the person who attends you at the box office or the time of year.
Not all London transport tickets are valid for these 2×1 discounts in London. The main requirement for a train ticket to be valid for 2×1 discounts in London is that it must have the National Rail symbol. Normally, when you buy your train ticket at a train station, it will be an orange colored paper ticket. The National Rail symbol is as follows:
Here we tell you which ones are valid:
- Train tickets to get from London airport to the center: If you travel to Stansted, Luton or Gatwick airport to get to central London you can take a train. If you buy a return ticket (round trip) it will be valid for your entire stay in London. For example, if you have the one-way ticket on Monday and the return ticket on Thursday, you can use the 2×1 discounts for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you only have the one-way ticket, it will only be valid for the day it says on the train ticket. If you arrive at an airport and return from another, for example, if you arrive at stansted and return from luton, presenting the two train tickets (the one from stansted and the return from luton) also helps you to take advantage of the offers 2 ×1, as long as both tickets have the train symbol.
- Travel Card: The travelcard is one of the cards that we can use in London transport (for underground, bus, overground and certain trains), but beware, to be valid for 2×1 offers it is necessary to buy it at a station. London train and not in a London tube station. In theory, the travelcard purchased online on this website says that it is not valid, but since it is made of paper and has the national rail symbol, it is sometimes accepted without problems. If you buy the travelcard at a metro station it will not have the national rail symbol and it will not be valid, since when you buy it at a metro station (or overground or DLR) it will be included in an oyster card. It is important to keep in mind that some stations have a metro zone and a train zone, so you must make sure that you are in the train zone if you want to buy a paper travelcard and not in the metro zone.National Rail train stations in London zone 1Detailed information about the travelcard: There is a 1-day travelcard. 7 days, monthly and yearly. If you visit London, it is most likely that you should buy a 1-day or 7-day travelcard to take advantage of the 2×1. Here are some tips:
- 1 Day Travelcard: (Day Travelcard) You can buy the paper London travelcard at any train station. The one-day travelcard that you can buy online before traveling is sometimes accepted at attractions for 2×1 offers, even though they specify that it is not. But keep in mind that the 1-day travelcard does n’t really work out for you when you compare its price to the daily cap of an oyster card, so I never recommend buying a 1-day travelcard. We explain why here in detail: How to choose between an oyster card and a travelcard.
- 7 Day Travelcard : To buy a weekly paper travelcard (7 Day Travelcard) at a London train station you will sometimes be asked for a passport photo and passport (although ID is supposed to be valid too) at the ticket office. They will give you a photocard, a plastic card with your name and photo on it that you can use for transportation, and it will have the National Rail symbol on it. You can use this card for 2×1 offers. On the other hand, if you buy the weekly travelcard in a metro station, they will give you an oyster card with the travelcard incorporated or loaded inside, not valid for 2×1. You can also buy a paper travelcard online.
LIST OF VALID TRAIN TICKETS FOR THE 2X1 IN LONDON
- National Rail train tickets, including Stansted Express and Gatwick Express .
- Travelcard purchased at a train station
- Train tickets that you print at home are valid as long as they have the National Rail symbol. (Including Stansted express and gatwick express that you print at home)
As I have mentioned before, whether or not they accept a train ticket for discounts often depends on the person who attends you at the ticket office.
LIST OF TRAIN TICKETS NOT VALID FOR THE 2X1 IN LONDON
- oyster-card
- visitor oyster card
- Travelcard bought at the metro station
- Heathrow express or Heathrow Connect
- Stansted express or Gatwick express tickets bought on the plane or mobile version (not printed)
- Eurostar tickets
- London Pass
- Any train ticket that does not have the National Rail symbol
How to get the 2×1 discount coupons that you must present at the box office
You need to go to the Daysoutguide website and select the attraction you are interested in with a “claim offer” in the 2×1 section. You must fill out a form in which they will also ask you the day you want to make the visit. Then you must print the coupon (which can be in black and white) and present it at the attraction along with the valid train ticket. It is necessary to buy tickets for the attraction at the box office itself, this offer is not valid when buying tickets in advance online, so it is necessary to queue at the box office.
For detailed information with photos on how to fill out the form to get 2×1 offers, click here: 2×1 Form
If you are more than 2 people, that is, for example, you are a group of 6 people, you will need 3 coupons. Each of these coupons must have a different name – it is not worth a person printing 3 identical coupons.
Validity of discounts
When choosing the attraction you will see a validity date. The most famous attractions, such as the London Eye or the Tower of London, are usually included in the 2×1 discounts during low season, but not during high season such as summer or Christmas…
Use the 2×1 discounts with children
Now it is also possible to use this offer for a child and an adult , in this case the child would enter the chosen attraction for free, but must also have a valid train ticket. This can be useful in the case of having to buy return train tickets from an airport to central London, but if this is not the case, do not forget that children under 11 do not pay transport in central London so it would not be profitable to buy an unnecessary train ticket.
What if I don’t have a valid train ticket or the attraction I’m interested in isn’t included?
If you don’t have a valid train ticket or the attraction isn’t included, then I recommend you take a look at London attraction combo tickets or see if one of the London sightseeing passes suits you if you want to visit multiple attractions.
The biggest advantage is that if you buy a tourist pass or combined tickets you will know for sure that you can access the attraction having saved money instead of buying tickets at the box office, since at the box office the prices are quite more expensive and they may not accept the 2×1 coupon.