Advice needed on buying train tickets

I usually drive everywhere, so I've no experience at all of buying train tickets, but we've decided to got Edinburgh in May on the train, so I could do with some advice.

When is the best time to buy tickets to get the cheapest deal?

Which is the best (cheapest) web-site?

Do you book seats or just get a ticket and take your chances?

Numpty questions I know, but I am that numpty.

Thank you in advance.

 

My experience is about 3 months before mate. Use Trainline.com and use their best fare finder.

You can reserve a seat, forward/backwards facing with or without a table if you're early enough. Then you collect at the station or pay extra to have them sent out.

 

I use trainline never had a problem - make sure you reserve though - last train I saw going to Edinburgh looked like it could have been on its way to Delhi - jammed packed!!

 

See what two singles would come to rather than a return. Booked a ticket for someone for today, Sheffield to Durham - open return fare being quoted £110, but going through thetrainline, booking two singles - £44.50!!

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

 

Am I doing something wrong?

Just tried a practice run on thetrainline.com for return tickets from Leeds to Edinburgh and they're quoting me about £400. Is that how much trains are nowadays? It looks like I might be driving after all.

 

Depends how far away you're trying to book.

Try this - http://www.thetrainline.com/farefinder/

You can get it for about £30 each, each way from Sheffield with plenty of notice.

 

It's scandalous though the hoops you've got to jump through just to try and save a few quid on the train.

 

Agree. With work they usually end up costing >£100 each way if I go to London.

 

That definietly doesn't sound right mate. When are you travelling? Does it have to be from Leeds? You might find it cheaper from Doncaster with East Coast. That's who I normally use to go to Edinburgh

 

Agree with Mickey about the two singles rather than return if using the trainline, we've been up and down the east coast mainline a fair few times over the years and this has always been cheaper in my experience.

You might also try pricing those singles up directly via the East Coast website (or whichever operator you may have in mind) as I've sometimes found they can be a little bit cheaper again given you're buying them directly from the operator. Three months in advance was the earliest you could book in advance online but that might have changed.

Either way hope you enjoy yourself mate.

 

I booked tickets from Barnsley to London last night to travel today... £68 in first class including tube travel (2 singles)

key is to search "off peak" times, so avoid between 6-8am and 4-6pm.

Just done a search for tomorrow and you should be able to get it for around £110.

The Trainline is the best ive used, but they do charge a booking fee of £1.50.

 

Best way is to register with East Coast on their website. You then have the facility to get an alert when cheap tickets for a particular journey become available (as folk say it's about three months in advance but you can't miss the time if you sign up for the alert).

 

As Dys sez - watch times and dates - you get stung for travelling at peak times.

I've just trialled your journey and got it at £184 return for you both.

I was registered with great Northern - the old franchise - they used to e-mail me with offers for certain dates etc.

Once got all't lads from Donny to Newcastle return for about £12 each for a weekend at races.

 

I just did a quote on the first weekend in May from Doncaster and got £192 each for super off peak return as the cheapest, so that could be the standard fare. So you probably aren't too far off at the moment.

The farefinder has significantly cheaper fares, but only 3 months in advance (so start of April is the latest), and that looks a lot cheaper so you might need to look in a month or so...

 

Try East Coast ive just looked and its £109 return from Doncaster. But that was travelling the 1st week in April try in a couple of weeks to book for May

 

I'm going in May, but I just put some dates in for the end of March to see what sort of prices they were charging. Using that fare checker that Dyson has just linked to there were some cheap outgoing trains if we set off much later than we would prefer, but all the return trains on the Sunday were well over £100 a ticket whatever time of day.

 

Blaydon good deal that EN.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

That doesn't sound right to me. If you're going in May the tickets might not be available yet, i think you can only usually book 12/13 weeks in advance. Dependingon who you're travelling with have a look at either the GNER or Cross Country website to see what they say.

You might do well have a look at how much 2 singles cost, sometimes it can be cheaper than getting a return. Also with advance ticket you have to use that train otherwise the ticket isn't valid and you get charged again.

All unnecessarily complicated, i think Barnsley FC must have devised the train ticket system.