Need advice on train journey with 3 trips.

Moved to Travel

If you buy an open ticket, you should be able to jump off and get back on any train.

Basically I'm going from dorset to basingstoke in the day for college at midday, then afterwards at 8pm going to london for a few days, then need to return, but i'm not sure the best way to do this. Is there are type of ticket that allows you to jump off at one stop to get back on later, or is it just better to buy another ticket.

I was thinking either, get a return to and from london, jump off at basingstoke then buy an extra ticket or coach to london in the evening. It's just such a ridiculous price if you are travelling in the day even more so when you aren't buying a return so I want to avoid that.

Check for discounts before booking. I can say for certain there are no long-standing discounts for media or former Peace Corps volunteers riding on Amtrak, but there are cheaper rates for children, military personnel, AAA card holders, students, seniors and a whole host of other people. The company also frequently has deals on certain lines, and there’s also a guest rewards program that allows you to earn points as you ride (sort of like frequent flyer miles). Check before you book to see if you qualify for a discounted ticket.2. Expect employees to be angry with Amtrak but not with passengers. I don’t know what’s going on at Amtrak’s corporate office, but the employees on the trains are not happy about it. While the staff aboard the Sunset Limited was very polite to the passengers, when passengers voiced concerns or had problems with something on the train, I heard the staff tell them that they should call the corporate office and say something about the issue. The employees would go on to say that they’d tried to address the issue themselves with headquarters, but that “they don’t listen to anything we say.” So expect problems and don’t expect staff on board to be able to do anything about them. And don’t take it personally if they seem overworked or frustrated. It’s not you, it’s the company they work for.

I have an idea - Get a return from Dorset to London, then to get to college, I get a coach as this is cheaper in the day, after college get on the train returning from london then go home.

Dorset -> train -> London
London-> coach -> Basingstoke
Basingstoke -> Train -> Dorset

or

Dorset -> Coach -> Basingstoke
Basingstoke -> Train -> London
London -> Train -> Dorset

So this cuts out the *****y day ticket that's expensive, and allows me to use the return from Dorset to London which is much cheaper than buying seperately. Travelling on the trains at night is always cheaper.

Notional station for Dorset *Dorchester*
Period off peak return to Basingstoke is £46
Dorchester to London via Basingstoke (where you can split your journey to go college without breaking the ticket restriction) and return direct is £66

So if you can get to London for £20 then might be cheaper, but you ain't going to save that much

I can get to london and back for £22, and then just buy a coach ticket for when I go to college in the day, isn't too expensive. If I buy a train ticket to basingstoke in the day it's a fortune, so hence why i'd prefer coach, then when I get to basingstoke, just jump on the train that was going from dorset to waterloo as it's the same route. I use that return ticket to get to waterloo from basingstoke, if I buy a ticket from basingstoke to london it's actually £22 alone, so it would £33 + bus tickets, about £40.

£30 or £40 basically. I would prefer to buy a car anyway.

Do you have a student railcard? You'd get a third off the £66 I mentioned so £44 using the train with a off peak 30day return
If you Google Tickety Split you can see if any other cheaper options.
Southern (for their faults) do cheap advance tickets (from £5) that may be a way of reducing cost on way back