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Is the All Line Rover worth it?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2024
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UK Rail and Trains
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I bought a similar pass for foreign tourists back in 2019, but it was much cheaper (USD 333 ~ GBP 250 for 8 days).
I'm not sure if I broke even on it versus individual tickets, but the appeal for me was flexibility. Just stumble into the next outbound train in the direction I was going.
You might check if there are a cheaper version with narrower coverage if it suits your needs; I think it was significantly cheaper to leave Scotland and Wales off the tourist versuon.
Thanks for the reply. How did you find getting on trains without a seat reservation? Did you have trains you couldn’t get on because they were full or did you pay the extra for a seat?
If you travel outside of rush hours, you'll normally be fine for seats.
Normally seat reservations come free with booking a ticket ahead of time (with the trade-off that the ticket is often less flexible).
Look into how the ALR works with sleeper trains, as that could save you a packet on hotels (plus it means that you can avoid going along the same section twice while conscious)
Personally...I'd say that I could spend the £400 better on individual tickets, especially if booked ahead. But I probably wouldn't want to spend 7 days solidly on the trains, whereas you might!
Railforums are a great resource on this, this thread may be of interest: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gb-rail-rover-tips-advice-all-line-rover-or-regional-rovers.236862/
I had no trouble because I was traveling at Random Tourist Hours, likely missing peak times.
I paid £20 extra for an a-la-carte first class upgrade on one trip (Swindon-Plymouth) because it was suggested by the family members I was visiting, and in retrospect, I'd rather have the money.