Is the London Pass Worth it? Analysis & Easy Calculator

One of the most popular questions in London travel planning groups is: “is the London Pass worth it?”

Because I’m a nerd who loves nothing more than calculations and spreadsheets, I’m here to answer that question. 

There are two types of the London Pass, so I’m comparing them to see if either are a good choice for you.

I’ve also made a simple calculator for you to examine exactly how much you could save, and whether the London Pass is worth it for your trip.

What is The London Pass?

The London Pass is a pre-paid pass from Go City that gets you into London Pass attractions. Through the app, you can enter every attraction on the list with a tap of your phone. 

You still need to pre-book attractions that require it.

This is a popular option for London tourists who want to save money. But does it actually save you money?

London Pass Types

There are two types of the London Pass: the Explorer Pass and the All-Inclusive Pass.

1. London Pass Explorer Pass

The Explorer Pass is based on the number of attractions you want to see. You can pick anywhere from 2 to 7 of the included attractions.

It’s valid for 60 days from first use, so it might be good if you’re coming and going from London.

You still need to pre-book many attractions even if you have an Explorer Pass, including the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, The View from the Shard, and more. 

2. London Pass All-Inclusive Pass

The All-Inclusive pass option lets you choose how many days you want to be able to access the attractions. So if you pick a 5-day pass, it’s valid for 5 days (including the first day you use it).

The pass is activated the first time you use it, and the clock starts ticking.

Unlike the Explorer Pass which comes with a set number of attractions, the “All-Inclusive” pass comes with a set number of credits. I’ll explain this further down – it’s a bit confusing.

The London Pass Price

How much you’ll spend on the London Pass depends on the type of pass you purchase. Let’s look at both types in detail.

1. Explorer Pass Prices

The Explorer Pass is more expensive the more attractions you want to see.

To see two attractions (within 60 days) is £54, to see 3 is £74, and so on. It’s a bit cheaper for kids.

Examples of £54 2-Attraction Pass:

• If you see the Tower of London, a normal ticket costs £33.60. If you see Westminster Abbey, a normal ticket is £19.00. That adds up to £53.60, so you haven’t saved anything.
• But if you book a Hop-on-Hop-off bus tour for £41, and the Tower of London for £33.60, you’ve spent £74.60 and saved about £20.

London Pass Explorer Pass Cost Per Day

Per attraction, it doesn’t look so attractive, at least for the lower number of attractions. The cost per attraction is much higher for smaller passes, and much lower for bigger passes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Key Takeaway: Only book the Explorer Pass if the cost per attraction you will visit is higher than the cost per day above. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2. All-Inclusive London Pass Prices

The second variety of the London Pass is the “all-inclusive” version.

Similar to the Explorer Pass, the more expensive the pass, the better value.

But let’s look at the cost per day.

All-Inclusive London Pass Cost Per Day

If you want a 2-day pass it works out to £57 per day, a 3-day pass is £43 per day and so on.

The best deals are for longer passes, as you can see in these calculations. The cost per day is much higher for shorter passes, and much lower for longer passes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Key Takeaway: Only book the All-Inclusive London Pass if the cost per day for the pass is less than you would spend each day on the included attractions. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Use my calculator below to find out what this total is.

All-Inclusive Pass Credits Explained

When you choose the London Pass all-inclusive option, it comes with a tricky credit limit. Each pass level has a different number of credits allowed.

1 credit equals £1 toward the regular entry fee. So if the entrance fee to The Tower of London is normally £40, that uses 40 of your credits.

It’s basically a way of capping your “all-inclusive” pass, but quite honestly I don’t think any tourist would be able to realistically hit this limit when so many popular attractions are not included in the London Pass.

Do you need to worry about the credit limit? Probably not. But it’s worth noting.

London Pass Attractions: What’s Included?

Many popular London attractions are included in the London Pass (see the full list here), but many are not.

Some notable attractions included in the pass – that are quite expensive on their own – are the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, The View from the Shard, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the hop-on-hop-off (“HoHo”) bus.

But some other expensive London attractions, notably the London Eye, Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studios, Madame Tussauds, the Churchill War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, the London Dungeons, and many more are NOT included in the London Pass.

It’s worth noting that most of the top-visited attractions in London do not require an entry fee or a pass, because they are all free museums.

The Best London Pass Attractions

In my opinion as a Londoner who has done it all, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace, Kew Gardens, and the Royal Observatory are the top attractions included in the London Pass.

Others included that are also very good are: Windsor Castle, The Queen’s Gallery, the Royal Mews, The London Transport Museum, and the Cutty Sark.

Major Attractions NOT Included in the London Pass

There are several major attractions that aren’t included in the London Pass. These are just some of the post popular ones that London tourists might want to take note of:

If you’re thinking of purchasing the London Pass, keep in mind that these will be additional expenses if you also want to see these.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Key Takeaway: You may want to consider tallying up all the attractions you DO want to see, and figure out how many of them are included in the London Pass, or use my calculator below. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Is The London Pass Worth it? Pros & Cons

As a Londoner, these are the most notable pros and cons of the London Pass. Consider these before buying.

1. Pro: You Might Get Fast-Track Entry

You do get to skip the line if you have a London Pass on some attractions. But Go City isn’t terribly transparent about what the fast track options are.

The busiest attraction – The Tower of London – does not have a fast track entrance.

2. Con: Many London Pass Attractions Aren’t Near Central London

Some of the biggest and most impressive attractions included in the London Pass aren’t close to Central London, where – as a tourist – you’ll spend most of your time.

Choose your London Pass attractions carefully: these attractions are not near Central London (Travel times listed are by train from King’s Cross Station):

• Hampton Court Palace – 1 hour outside Central London
• Windsor Palace – 90 minutes
• Kew Gardens – 1 hour
• RHS Garden – 90 minutes
• Eltham Palace – 1 hour
• Royal Air Force Museum – 45+ minutes
• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir – 45+ minutes
• London Museum of Water & Steam – 1 Hr 20 min

If you’re getting the London Pass specifically to see one of these attractions, take into account the travel time it will take to get there.

You’ll miss out on other attractions that are in Central London if you spend significant travel time on these, especially if you only have a 1 or 2 day pass.

3. Pro: Some Pricey Attractions Are Included

The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the HoHo Bus are the big ones that cost a good chunk of change for tickets.

If you’re buying the pass for these expensive attractions, it might be worth it.

4. Some London Pass Attractions Are Misleading

Some attractions are mysteriously on this list of London Pass attractions, even though they are free to enter.

Many, many London museums are free! These include many that are “included” in the London Pass:

• Natural History Museum
• Design Museum
• Museum of London Docklands
• Guildhall Art Gallery
• Royal Air Force Museum
• National Maritime Museum
• Queen’s House

If you click through and read the fine print, you’ll see that you get a guidebook to these museums with the London Pass, worth a whopping £5-6.

Don’t go to any of these museums simply because they are included in the London Pass. They are all fantastic, but London is chock-full of over 55 FREE museums.

Go to the ones that interest you the most!

Other London Pass “attractions” that don’t make sense: the advertised “bicycle hire” on the pass. You can hire a bike on almost any street of London from £1. Don’t use your London Pass for this.

As for movies, roller skating, mini-golf and bowling, these are great if you want to entertain your kids. But you’re in London – one of the biggest and most interesting cities in the world. Use your pass for something London-y!

5. Con: You Still Have to Book Ahead

Just because you have the London Pass doesn’t mean you don’t have to book a time slot.

With the very popular attractions – like the Tower of London and the View from the Shard – make sure to book well before your trip to avoid disappointment.

During summers and holidays, these book up very quickly.

Is the London Pass a Good Deal? Use My Calculator

Now that we’ve taken into account the pros and cons, looked at pricing, and seen what’s included, we can finally answer the question: “is the London Pass worth it?”

I’ve made a calculator just for you to see if the All-Inclusive Pass is a good buy.

London Pass Calculator (All-Inclusive Pass)

If the total attraction price was more than the London Pass price, then there’s a good chance the London Pass is worth it for you.

If the total attraction price was less than the London Pass price, then you may not need the London Pass and may save more money without it.

Is London Pass Worth it? Final Tips

If you’re waffling back and forth about the London Pass, I would personally skip it.

There’s so many cool things to do in London that aren’t included – you may limit yourself to what you’ve already paid for if you purchase the pass.

Don’t miss out on the coolest London attractions on your once-in-a-lifetime trip just because you feel tied down to a pass you purchased.

However, if you know exactly which attractions you want to visit, know they are included in the London Pass, and know you will save money, it’s a great buy for you!

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