What is the railways 2FOR1 scheme?

Essentially, lots of local rail operating companies in the UK sponsor the 2FOR1 scheme to encourage people to travel to attractions all around the UK by train, including London.

How it works

By presenting your printed voucher at the ticket desk of the attraction together with a valid rail ticket two people can gain entrance for the price of one adult.

The coupons are freely available, you can download and print them from the promotional website, the only limit being that you can only download up to 3 vouchers per attraction for up to 6 people, at any one time. Additionally you can add as many attractions as you like.

To access the vouchers, you’ll first need to sign up on the 2FOR1 website website. Alternatively, you can grab the vouchers directly at train stations, but remember that they often limit their supply, and you might not find the specific voucher for the attraction you want.

For some of the most popular attractions in London, you can now buy 2FOR1 admission tickets in advance on-line from within the promotion website. You must bring a printed voucher with you along with your valid train ticket to qualify for the promotion. Currently, they do not accept vouchers shown on a mobile device.

Which attractions support the scheme?

Although they set up the promotion assuming most participants will be from the UK making day trips from their home, nothing stops overseas visitors from taking advantage. The hurdle for most visitors is the requirement for a valid train ticket, along with printing out a voucher if you have not planned your trip before leaving home.

It can be a bit confusing for the first time visitor to the UK. Airport trains from Gatwick and Stansted Airports do qualify if bought from the railways, but the Heathrow trains, the Heathrow Express and TFL Rail Heathrow do not. London Underground tickets also do not qualify you for the scheme.

You must have a valid train ticket for the day you visit the attraction. A standard open return ticket normally spanning a month covers all the days between the outward and return legs of the ticket for 2FOR1. A single ticket is valid for 2FOR1 just on the day of travel. Brit Rail passes are also valid.

If you are using the train coming into London to qualify for this promotion you will probably have separate tickets for outward and return legs of your journey.

Caution

It is essential that you do not go through the automatic ticket barrier at the London terminus as the barrier will gobble up your ticket and not return it. You will need the ticket when you present your credentials at the attraction you want to use 2FOR1 with. Use the manned exit instead, retaining your ticket.

More about National Railways into London

More about London Suburban Railways

London Travelcard qualification

If you don’t have a train ticket, then the Travelcard London public transport pass is the way to qualify for the promotion. Nearly every visitor to London will have to buy a Travelcard or Oyster public transport pass to get around.

The question of which, Travelcard or Oyster is very complex – but the savings you can make using a Travelcard with 2FOR1 admissions will far outweigh any savings of Oyster over travelcards just for the transport.

However, not any old Travelcard will do to qualify for 2FOR1, the key requirement is you must purchase from the railways, (not from the Underground).

• To qualify you must purchase the Travelcard from a railway station in London. Such travelcards have the rail logo on it like the image right.
• travelcards bought from any other outlet are not valid. Oyster Cards are not valid either.
• You can buy travelcards from the ticket offices of the following mainline rail station ticket offices: Paddington, Marylebone, Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Waterloo and Victoria. Travelcards sold at airports and underground stations or other agents including on-line are not valid for 2FOR1.
• You can buy travelcards for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 1 year durations. Full details are at our Travelcard page. If you buy a 7 day or a 1 month Travelcard you will need a railway photo ID card. The railway ticket office will issue this free of charge, but you must bring along a passport size photo.

Travelcards & zones 2025

In 2015, authorities withdrew 1 day Travelcards for zones 1-2; the cheapest Travelcard is now a zone 1-4 Travelcard (£16.60 in 2025).

The daily cap on the alternative transport pass, an Oyster (in zones 1-2) is £8.90. Therefore for 1 day, if you are staying in zones 1 or 2 (which nearly all visitors do) you are paying a premium of £7.70 for buying a 1-day Travelcard to qualify for 2 FOR1 over an Oyster Card that is not valid for 2FOR1. So do factor this price penalty into the savings you are making on the tickets.

Other points about the 2FOR1 promotion

• The vouchers you print from the website (link at top of page) have expiry dates. The promotion is long standing but attractions supporting do come and go.
• You can print as many vouchers as you like from the website, the only limit being that you can only download up to 3 vouchers per attraction for up to 6 people, at any one time. You can though add as many attractions as you like. Stations often have vouchers too, but they may not have the vouchers you want so it’s best to print from the website.
• Vouchers are normally for walk-up standard admission, not fast track tickets – though do read each promotions detail page to understand exactly what is on offer. There are now a few attractions in London where you can book 2FOR1 tickets in advance from within the promotion website.
• By 2FOR1 it means that two people can enter the attraction whether they be adults, children or seniors for the price of one adult admission – though again do read the detail page of each offer.
• Each person covered by the voucher needs a valid rail ticket or Travelcard as detailed above.
• When you print the voucher from the website you will be asked things like travel date, station from which travelling, address etc. Don’t get hung up about it, if the date or station proves to be incorrect it doesn’t affect their acceptance.

2FOR1 advance online booking

Bookings can be taken in advance 2FOR1 tickets for a few of London’s main attractions (The London Eye, The London Dungeon, SEA LIFE London Aquarium, Madame Tussauds London, Shrek’s Adventure! London) avoiding lengthy queues on the day.

You purchase your tickets to these attractions direct from the 2FOR1 website (banner link at top of page), not through the attraction website or a third party.

On the 2FOR1 page for the attraction instead of selecting the 2FOR1 voucher menu option, you instead select the Buy Online option. If you are not already registered you will have to register for 2FOR1.

After you select the buy online option, the system will typically provide you with a unique promotional code, switch you to the attraction’s own website, and guide you through a special ordering process.

Most of the busiest attractions available this way prompt you to select the day you want entrance and the entry slot (often a 30 minute window of time).

You pay for the tickets there and then. Note – you will still have to show your qualifying rail tickets on arrival.

Acceptance of rail tickets for 2FOR1 qualification

Whether or not your train tickets are accepted for 2FOR1 is a major talking point for our 2 for 1 discussion page.

The promotion was designed with the English domestic traveller on a day trip or weekend break to London in mind, the point being to encourage people to travel to the attraction by train instead of taking the car and/or London Underground.

Precise rules beyond a simple return (round trip) train ticket to a London terminus railway station are not set out and attractions do vary widely with the degree of scrutiny checking the rail tickets and their interpretation of the rules. Make no mistake you will not have problems with a straight forward return (round trip ticket) into London, this includes the airport trains from Luton, Gatwick, Stansted and Southend Airports.

The issue arises for visitors who do not naturally require a rail ticket or a railways issued Travelcard for their travel needs in London and still try to qualify for the scheme at as little expense as possible. Our discussion page addresses the most common questions on this, but at the end of the day, the person selling you the ticket has the final say on whether they accept your railway tickets for the promotion.

Which tickets are valid for 2FOR1?

 

As a quick overview the following types of tickets are valid for the 2FOR1 promotions, it is worth noting our above comments about how sometimes this results in confusion for overseas visitors who are looking for the cheapest way to qualify for the scheme. Use these as a guide and check our FAQ if you are still unsure.

These are currently the tickets valid for 2FOR1, some of which will not be applicable for the overseas traveller:

• National rail orange paper tickets including Advance, Anytime, Off-peak, Super Off-Peak and travelcards purchased from a National Rail station only.
• Brit Rail passes
• Print @ home or Mobile tickets (m-tickets) for travel on National Rail services (these are the tickets that show the National Rail logo).
• Carnet tickets, Season tickets, Annual Gold cards, Gold record cards and Train company issued smartcards.

These are currently the ticket types advertised that cannot be used for 2FOR1:

• Oyster Cards
• Freedom Passes
• Contactless payment cards or mobile payments
• Transport for London issued Travelcards, including those bought on visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk
• Heathrow Express and Heathrow connect tickets
• Stansted Express and Gatwick Express in-flight or mobile tickets (where National rail logo is not shown – this can be confusing as these tickets can be used, as can be found on their respective sites, having a ticket with the National Rail logo on is key here)
• Digital tickets without the National Rail logo
• Eurostar tickets
• The London Pass
• MegaTrain tickets
• London Underground issued tickets, including Travelcards

The London Pass – the other Sightseeing Pass for London

The London Pass is a flat rate sightseeing pass to many (but not all) of London’s main attractions. You can buy a London pass for 1, 2, 3, 6 or 10 day durations. Furthermore it gives you entry into around 80+ London tourist attractions. Additionally, some attractions you will get fast track entry.

Additionally, you can choose to include a Visitor Oyster Card for convenient public transport access while exploring London.

You have the option to have the London Pass sent directly to your home for an extra shipping fee, or you can pick up the tickets in London at no additional cost. The collection location is conveniently situated just off Trafalgar Square, which is considered the heart of London.

More about London Pass

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