Travel & Entry

Getting to Alton Towers

Alton Towers Resort is located in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside, and don’t be fooled by the park’s name – the entrance to the resort is actually located in the village of Farley (the village of Alton is a mile down the road).

Due to its location the most popular method of getting to the resort, is by car, but there are some other options available. Alton Towers website has up-to-date directions and details about how to get to the park by train, bus or coach.

If you want an overview of the options direct from where you live, you can also plan your journey with Google Maps. Enter your postcode or address to begin:

Sat Nav tips

If you’re using a Sat Nav, the postcode you’ll need for Alton Towers is ST10 4DB. This should bring you to the main entrance, located on Farley Lane.

Due to its countryside location, some of the roads near the park are single track and can be quite treacherous. When you get close to the park you are better to ignore your sat nav and follow the brown tourist signs for the park. These will guarantee you the easiest route to the park.

Parking

Don’t forget you’ll need to pay for parking at the Resort. This can be purchased in advance from the Alton Towers website or on-the-day from the ticket booths or car park token vending machines at the main entrance. We recommend you buy your parking early, to avoid the queues at the end of the day.

Hotel guests staying on site and some annual pass holders are entitled to free parking as part of their package, so make sure you take advantage of these offers if they’re available to you.

You have four parking options, each is well signposted from the main entrance gates:

  • Standard Parking – the main car parks are located near the hotels and are a 5-minute monorail journey from the park entrance. Alternatively, you might prefer the 15 to 20 minute walk to the entrance.
  • Hotel Parking – each hotel has its own specific car park, each within walking distance of the monorail.
  • Express parking – that allows you to park near the park entrance, for a premium price.
  • Disabled Parking – an option available for blue badge holder and charged at the standard.

Tickets

As of 2024, Alton Towers tickets are now priced according to height, with children under 0.9m allowed free entry.

The resort operate a pricing policy based on how busy the park will be. Off-peak days (typically weekdays, outside the school holidays) will offer the best prices if you are able to visit during those times.

The advertised “on the day” price for park entry is the maximum amount you will pay for entry, but booking online in advance will offer significantly lower ticket prices. The further in advance you book, the more you’ll save.

Check the Alton Towers website, for current ticket prices and to book online.

The park offer some good discounts for certain groups, such as their Parent and Toddler tickets, which offer entry for a parent and child at a low price. These are often available on weekdays, and tickets for further children can be added for a further small charge.

If you’re a student, Alton Towers has a partnership with StudentBeans which will offer cheaper tickets if you have an account with them.

Buy one, get one free and other promotions

Alton Towers is well known for their ‘Buy one, get one free‘ offers, promotions in national newspapers and a variety of other ways to gained discounted entry! It is easy to gain discount codes for the park as part of your weekly shop, so keep an eye out for discounts. If you want to get a heads-up on the sorts of products that might include a promotion, have a look at the park’s promotional partner page to see some of the companies Alton Towers works with.

Equally, keep an eye on the Alton Towers Facebook page or other social media platforms for details of promotions, as they can be a great way to visit the park at little or no expense.

One important thing to remember is that any discount is applied to the standard ‘on the day’ price. Any other discounts are excluded, and online prices are not applicable.

If you have a discount site provided by your employer (BT, NHS and Tesco to name a few), it’s worth checking whether you have access to discounted Alton Towers tickets. They’re often available for a few pounds less than the main website price.

Our forum is a handy source of the latest ticket offers, and members will often post about the newest offers and discounts, make sure to check it out.

Buying tickets from online auctions or touts

Stop! Nobody likes a fake! Our best advice is to never buy tickets from touts or from an online auction – you may find yourself turned away at the gates.

Annual Passes

If you’re planning to visit Alton Towers, or multiple Merlin parks over the course of the year, an annual pass might be a good investment. Whilst the initial cost might seem high, passes typically pay for themselves quite quickly once you’ve visited a few times.

Annual Passes can be purchased both online and at the park, and if you purchase your pass at Alton Towers after paying for entry, this fee will be deducted from the total cost of the pass.

Top Tip! Merlin Annual Pass Sales are usually run around January, Black Friday and during the summer, which can mean a significant saving in the cost of a pass – keep your eyes peeled!
Don’t forget! Even as a pass holder, you will still need to make a free pre-booking in order to visit. Pre-booking should be available to pass holders as long as tickets for day guests are available, and often you will find that you will be able to enter without pre-booking, but even so we wouldn’t recommend risking it.

Alton Towers Annual Pass

An Alton Towers Annual Passes allows unlimited access to the park on the majority of normal operating days, as well as a variety of other discounts and perks depending on which level of pass you choose. There are currently two tiers of pass: Silver and Gold.

On dates excluded from the annual pass, you can usually pay a discounted ticket price to visit on these days. The park specific passes offer a discount up to £100 lower than the equivalent Merlin Annual Pass, so even if you attend a few of the excluded dates you can still save money.

For more details about the different passes on offer and the associated perks, check out the park’s Alton Towers Annual Pass page.

Merlin Annual Pass

If you visit Alton Towers as well as the other UK Merlin parks and visitor attractions, a Merlin Annual Pass might be a good option to save you money. There are 4 tiers of Annual Pass, Discover, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The Discovery Pass gives you around 200 dates to visit on off-peak days, right up to Platinum, which has no exclusion dates except for paid events.

Merlin Annual Pass benefits include:

  • Discounts in all non franchised food, drink, and souvenirs (Silver Pass and above)
  • Discounted stays at Resort accommodation (Silver Pass and above)
  • Free parking (Gold pass and above)

The Merlin Annual Pass is valid at all UK based attractions owned by Merlin Entertainments including Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, The Dungeons, SEALIFE centres, and the London Eye to name a few.

For more information on the pricing and benefits structures of the passes, see the Merlin Annual Pass website.

Merlin Pass Monthly Membership

If you’re not a fan of the large upfront cost of a Merlin Annual Pass, you can also pay monthly and still get the same benefits as annual passholders. There’s a small upfront joining fee, and after that a monthly payment for a minimum period of 12 months.

For more information on Merlin Annual Passes or Monthly Membership, including a full list of attractions, benefits, and prices, visit either the Merlin Annual Pass website or Facebook page.