London attraction passes compared
Merlin combos, the Explorer Pass and the All-Inclusive Pass. The break-even for each.
London has three main ways to buy attractions in bulk, and the right one depends on how many things you will do and how fast. Here is how they compare.
Merlin combination tickets
Merlin owns the London Eye, Madame Tussauds, SEA LIFE, the London Dungeon and Shrek's Adventure, and sells them in pairs and triples at a discount. The Eye plus Madame Tussauds combo costs about what the Eye alone costs on the door. Visits can be on different days. Best for families doing two or three of those specific attractions.
Go City London Explorer Pass
Choose a number of attractions, from two to seven, from a list of over ninety, and use them within sixty days. Includes the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the Shard, the London Eye on most versions, a Thames cruise, Kew Gardens, the Zoo and many tours. Best for a relaxed trip with one big attraction a day, or for people making several visits to London over a season.
Go City London All-Inclusive Pass
Unlimited entry to the same list for one to ten consecutive days. Best for intensive first visits doing three or more attractions a day. The two-day pass for a weekend and the three-day pass for a long weekend are the value picks.
The break-even
The Tower of London is about £35, Westminster Abbey £30, the Shard £32, the London Eye £30 to £40, a cruise £20. Three of those in a day is over £90, which is where the All-Inclusive one-day pass wins. Two big attractions a day over three days favours the Explorer.
What is free anyway
The British Museum, the National Gallery, Tate Modern, the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are all free. Do not buy a pass to see them. Plan the paid attractions around them.
Our recommendation
Weekend, first visit, energetic: the two-day All-Inclusive. Longer stay, slower pace: the three or five-attraction Explorer. Family who mainly wants the Eye and Tussauds: the Merlin combo.
