Hello lovely! How has your week been treating you? Since we’ve been in the pandemic, most of us have been looking at alternatives to travel and explore. So lots have taken to travelling around the UK via train, especially if they don’t drive. Train travel in the UK can be extortionate at times, so I have 5 ways to save on train travel as a solo traveller.
5 Ways to Save on Train Travel as a Solo Traveller
Discount Schemes
When I was looking at ways to save money on my train travel, because a girl is on a bouji budget. I was getting frustrated in thinking that, yet again, there’s nothing for us solo travellers. However, I’m happy to report that National Rail does have a discount scheme for us! If you purchase a Network Rail card which has an annual fee of £30, you will be entitled to a 1/3 off train travel within their network. The network is pretty vast so there will be places for you to visit. I went to Whitstable Bay and it cost me under £20 for a return day trip.
You can see what I got up to at Whitstable by checking out my Instagram reel, here.
Book in Advance
Similar to booking cheap flights, the same applies for train travel. Book your tickets in advance and you stand a chance of getting a cheaper train fare. Combine the early booking with your network rail card and you’re winning! Just ensure that your card is in date of the travel, just in case you need to show them proof.
I had a look at Edingburgh from London for trains in October and it worked out to under £40 for a return ticket. So have a play around with dates and prices. The website I use is this one but just remember schedules are out 3 months in advance or thereabouts.
Travel during Off-peak
One of the benefits of travelling solo is you aren’t restricted to school holidays or waiting on someone else to go with. With this in mind, travel off-peak is the perfect opportunity to save some pennies. Also, I’ve found that there are less people to contend with on the trains. It may also be great for hotel stays as they may have cheaper rates.
Sign up for Points
I always go on about points with air travel and the same can be said for train travel. Specifically, travel on the Eurostar. They have a point system called Club Eurostar where you earn 1 point for £1 spent
Ask for Vouchers
Ask your friends and family to purchase the annual network rail card as a birthday or Christmas gift. Alternatively, if you’d like to take the train further afield, like Paris, Amsterdam or Brussels, the Eurostar offers e-Vouchers that are valid for a year. I’d say, put it on your Christmas list for those who want to generously gift you something.
These are the 5 ways to save on travel travel as a solo traveller. Have you tried any of these tips? Let me know in the comments below.
As always, thank you for reading and remember to subscribe to my monthly newsletter for more travel related blog posts.
Until next time, be well! x
