My family ticket hack that saves me hundreds – people think it’s a cheat but it’s all above board

I am a mother of three and have saved hundreds over the years buying attraction tickets while on vacation.

I’m sure a lot of people think about going to the club with friends to buy a family ticket as they are generally cheaper.

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Maybe it’s the fear of getting caught that puts people off, but in my experience everything is fine and I’ve never had anyone who works at the attractions ask me about it. After all, families come in all shapes and sizes.

Just got back from a day trip to the Harry Potter Studios near London and my boyfriend and I split a family ticket and each took one of our children which saved over £20.

Tickets for two adults and two children are £183.50 when bought individually, as adults are £51.50 each and children are £40 – but a family ticket for the same people is £160.

Sharing a family ticket is a trick I’ve used many times in the past when visiting attractions large and small.

And it’s not just day passes that it works for – I’ve even owned an annual pass to a local farm with another friend before, saving us up to £45 each by splitting the cost.

A family pass for two adults and three children was £75 so I had one adult seat and two child seats while she filled the others with herself and her son.

One downside to working with friends is that family passes generally cover two adults. So if you have a partner who always goes out on dates, it might not work for you.

But if you’re single or often take your kids out alone, this can be a huge money saver and give you some adult company while the kids enjoy playing together.

It needs to be someone you get along with so you can agree on how to split the cost.

For me, I like to look at individual adult and child fares and do a rough calculation of what the savings per ticket is so that the split is fair, especially when one family benefits more than the other.

Before approaching a friend with the idea of ​​sharing, you need to be pretty sure they’re on the same page as you from the start when it comes to buying a ticket together.

Some people just prefer to do their own thing, which is fair enough.

The most important thing is to check the conditions before you buy and make sure you don’t have to live in the same household, otherwise there could be awkward questions about getting a family ticket if you don’t live together.

Most of the time, however, family tickets cover many different social facilities, so adult siblings or grandparents can be your second adult, as can a family friend.

I’ve done this before for steam trains, softplay, and even cinema.

The best places are those that offer family tickets for two adults and three or four children, as it’s easiest to group together.

But I’ve gotten it to work in other combinations as well. All you have to do is look through all the ticket prices and determine the best value for your money when considering your entire group.

It just goes to show that it’s best to look at the different options available rather than just buying individual tickets.

All the savings add up quickly, and you can make your kids a treat or two on the go by sharing the money saved wisely.

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