Travel to the UK. Discover Albion

How to Plan Travel to the UK

Last Updated: October 15, 2023By Tags: , ,

If you’re thinking about travelling to the UK to take in the history and heritage, this article will give you some tips and pointers for a successful trip. The UK is very tourist friendly and a great place to visit with so much to see and do within a fairly compact area. With a bit of research, it’s very easy to plan travel to the UK.

This post assumes that you will be visiting the UK after things return to some sort of normal following the pandemic. If you visit sooner, please check whether the attractions, hotels, pubs etc. are open before you arrive.

How to plan travel to the UK. Discover Albion

For the best chance of good weather, travel between May and October. The climate in the winter tends to be cold and wet with some snow (although mostly in the North of England and Scotland).

We recommend doing some detailed planning before you book your trip so you know where you need to go and stay. Some historic attractions have restricted opening times, so these should be checked as part of your plan; for example, Buckingham Palace is usually only open to visitors between July and September.

Visa Requirements for travel to the UK

If you are a citizen of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several other countries, you should be able to visit the UK as a tourist for up to 6 months without needing a visa. Check the UK Government site to confirm.

Arriving in the UK

Airports

There are 26 international airports in Britain:

London Heathrow is Britain’s (and Europe’s) busiest international airport and most intercontinental flights and many European flights will arrive here. As it’s the busiest, it has the highest landing fees, so you may be able to get a cheaper flight to a different airport such as London Gatwick, or Birmingham.

If you’re not planning to visit London on your trip (maybe you’re just going to Scotland), a flight to an airport closer to where you are staying (if possible) should work out cheaper overall.

Channel Tunnel

If you are visiting Western Europe before you come to Britain then an option is to take a high speed Eurostar train direct from France or Belgium through the Channel Tunnel to London St. Pancras International station.

Alternatively, if you are driving from Europe, you can use the shuttle trains through the tunnel which you can drive on to. This is a quicker option than using a cross channel ferry from France. See the Euro Tunnel website for details.

Ports

There are several ports around the country that have direct ferry services from places like France, Ireland, Spain, Belgium and Scandinavia. A list of ports and services can be found at the Direct Ferries website.

Getting around in Britain

Public Transport

Britain has a good public transport system compared to, say, most of North America. However, coverage is patchy especially for local journeys in rural areas and in small towns, so it’s best to check before you book your trip.

London

Greater London has by far the best public transport system in the whole of the UK. Transport for London (TfL) co-ordinates and controls the Underground, some other rail services and all the red buses.

London uses a zonal system for fares with many of the major attractions in Zone 1 in the center.  You can find an Underground/Rail map here showing the fare zones as well as other system maps to download. Note that the services of the main line suburban rail companies within Greater London are also included in the zonal fare system.

For day trips to London, a one-day Travelcard will probably be the best option as it gives unlimited daily travel on most public transport within London. See this Tfl page for details of these and other fares. If you’re travelling into London by rail from a town within the South East of England, you can often buy a combined day return and Travelcard ticket.

For longer stays in London, the best option will probably be to buy a Visitor Oyster Card before you arrive. This is a smart card that allows you to pay for all public transit journeys within Greater London. It can be topped up online using a credit card and has a daily cap so you won’t pay more than the cost of a Travelcard. A Visitor Oyster Card also gives you access to some special offers and discounts. Details can be found here.

If you’re planning to visit several attractions during your stay in the city, then buying a London Pass and Oyster Card combo may be a good option. A London Pass gives you access to many great historical places such as the Tower of London and Windsor Castle.

Public Transport in the rest of Great Britain

Trains

Britain’s main line railways are run by several different companies. Turn up and go fares are usually the most expensive, so, if possible, it’s recommended to buy your tickets online in advance and travel off-peak (outside of the weekday rush hours).

Apart from the London Underground, the Glasgow Subway and private tourist lines, Britain’s railways are owned by National Rail. A system map for the whole country can be found here. National Rail franchises the routes to private companies who then run the services. You can find details of services and buy tickets on several websites including National Rail and Trainline.

If you are planning to travel around Britain by rail for a few days then it will probably be worth buying a BritRail Pass before you arrive. These are available for the whole of the country or for specific regions and for different periods of time. See the BritRail website for full details.

Buses

Outside of London, services tend to be best in the larger centers of population, especially in the big cities like Leeds and Manchester. Rural areas and small towns are often poorly served so it pays to check before your trip. The best place to check for services is with the Traveline website.

Long Distance Coaches

Coaches can be a much cheaper alternative to the train. Most large towns and cities are connected. By far the largest coach operator in the UK is National Express.

Air

Although the UK is a relatively small country, there are some internal flights. Check the airports listed above for details. The two largest low-cost carriers, easyjet and Ryanair offer some services.

Renting a Car

You may prefer to rent a car when you come to Britain. However, if you are spending most of your trip in the London area, it’s not recommended. The Capital gets very congested, even at weekends; parking is difficult to find and expensive and you will need to pay the Congestion Charge in the center.

Outside of London and the other big cities, renting a car is often a good option. However, if you have never driven in the UK, here are some things to consider:

  • As long as you have a full driving license with at least 12 months left before expiry, you can normally use it to drive in the UK as a visitor, but check with your car hire company to see if you need an International Driving Permit.
  • Insurance in the UK is compulsory so you will need it when renting a car. If you have a credit card that includes motor insurance then it will be better than adding this (expensive) option to the rental agreement. But it’s advised to check exactly what’s covered by your card as well as the length of time of cover. You may have to purchase some additional cover.
  • Most of the rental fleets consist of cars with manual gearboxes as they are what people normally drive in Europe. So, if you are used to driving an automatic shift, make sure you specify this when ordering your car.
  • The British drive on the left-hand side of the road.
  • Vehicles in Europe tend to be smaller on average than in North America. Large SUVs and trucks are not as common and most people drive small cars. Off the main highways, roads tend to narrower and parking spaces smaller, so we would advise hiring the smallest car you feel comfortable with.

You may find this UK Government booklet about driving in Britain useful.

Where to stay

If you are visiting the UK for 7 days or more, then we recommend renting a cottage or apartment (in the cities) rather than staying in a hotel. This will normally work out cheaper, especially if you buy food from supermarkets rather than eat out in restaurants every day.

Once you have decided on which part of Britain you want to visit; find a cottage or other property to rent in that area. There are several companies offering cottage/house rental including:

There are also some other companies with cottage listings.

If you prefer to stay in a hotel or if you are travelling around, then using sites like Expedia or Booking.com are probably the best bets to find good priced hotels.

Where to eat

The UK has a great selection of restaurants and pubs that can cater for all budgets. You can use sites like The Fork and Squaremeal to find ones that suit you. You can also find good pubs by using the What Pub Directory. Use the filters to select pubs that offer lunchtime or evening dining.

Exploring the UK’s Heritage and History

Britain is packed with castles, palaces, stately homes, old inns, ancient towns and picturesque villages. Here are some useful websites to help you plan what to see.

We hope you have a great trip.

About the Author: Alistair McGowan

Originally from London with roots spread across the British Isles, Alistair is a genealogist who also runs the Bespoke Genealogy website. Now based in Canada, he gets back to the UK frequently (pandemic permitting)

Leave A Comment

you might also like