edit Great Britain Travel Guide

Each of Britain's four nations has many attractions of its own, so browse the individual regions for more info:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Visa Requirements

You don't need a visa if you are an EU citizen or from the following countries: USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa.

Customs and Immigration

When you arrive, expect to be asked by the Immigration Officer to demonstrate that you have a) a return ticket to leave the UK, b) a valid address at which you will be staying in the UK and c) sufficient funds with which to support yourself during your stay.

By plane

London Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest international airport.

By car

The Channel Tunnel has provided a rail/road connection since 1994. Shuttle trains carry cars from Calais, France to Folkestone, the journey taking around 40 minutes. Fares start at £49 one way and can be booked on the Eurotunnel website: http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/

On arrival at Folkestone, you can drive on to the M20 motorway which heads towards London. Car ferries also operate to many parts of the UK, see 'by boat' section. drivers entering Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland will usually find they have done so without noticing. There are no border controls and only the major roads will display signs stating that you are leaving one country and entering the other. It should be noted that road signs in the Republic of Ireland are in kilometres while those in Northern Ireland are in miles so it is advisable to take note of the differences in signs and road markings when driving in border areas.

By boat

There are a large number of ferry routes into the UK from continental Europe. Newcastle serves a route from Bergen in Norway and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Harwich has ferries from Esbjerg in Denmark, Cuxhaven in Germany (put out of operation in November 2005) and Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands. You can also sail from Rotterdam in the Netherlands or Zeebrugge in Belgium to Hull, or from Rotterdam to Rosyth (near Edinburgh). There is a regular connection between Ramsgate and Oostende in Belgium. There are 4 sailings a day and prices vary between 50 euro to 84 euro.

Dover is one of Britain's most popular passenger ports with sailings from Zeebrugge, Dunkerque and Calais in France. The Dover-Calais route is particularly busy, with three companies competing and up to 50 sailings per day. The Ferry between Dover and Calais costs around £12-18 each way if on foot or bicycle, and around £80 for a car, although big discounts are available if booked in advance or with special offers.

On the south coast, Portsmouth serves ferries from Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg, St. Malo and Bilbao in Spain and there are speedy services between Dieppe and Newhaven. The other route from Spain is Santander to Plymouth, Plymouth also has ferries from Roscoff.

From Ireland, ports of entry include Swansea, Pembroke, Fishguard and Holyhead. There are sailings from Dublin to Holyhead, Mostyn and Liverpool. [NB:The service from Swansea is suspended until 2008 when the company will acquire a new ship]

From Iceland, the Faroe Isles, Norway and Denmark, a passenger ferry sails into Lerwick.

By train

From Belgium and France

Eurostar services run between London's Waterloo Station and Ashford in Kent and Paris (Gare du Nord), Lille and Brussels through the Channel Tunnel. Journey times average two hours forty minutes from Paris. A second class return from Paris to London costs between €85 and €230, although it can be cheaper to fly from London to Paris using a low-cost airline (but bear in mind that the journeys to the airports will cost an extra €40-60). There are a limited number of direct services from other destinations in France also. From Wednesday 14 November 2007 the London terminus of the Eurostar service will be moved to the newly reconstructed St Pancras Station.

The main benefit of using the Eurostar is that it runs between the central zones of its destination cities, removing the necessity of accessing the relevant airports on the outskirts of cities (potentially very time-consuming!), and of undergoing several uncomfortable modal changes.

From The Netherlands

Stena Line (Hook of Holland to Harwich)Combined train and ferry tickets are available to travellers from stations in the Netherlands to Train Stations in East Anglia, Essex and East London. This service may be more useful alternative to Eurostar for travellers from Northern Europe, or for those wishing to travel to East Anglia. The interchange between the ferry terminal and the train station at both ports is very simple and user friendly. Express Trains from Harwich International, are timed to meet the ferry and allows a simple transfer to London Liverpool Street. The Dutch Flyer website only gives prices for tickets purchased in Great Britain, it does however give timetable information.

From the Republic of Ireland

Cross Border Rail Services From Dublin in Ireland, the Enterprise takes just over 2 hours to Belfast and Irish Rail is advertising return tickets from €36.50 (November 2006).

Ireland to Great Britain Services Combined Rail & Sail tickets are available from Ireland and Northern Ireland to any railway station in Great Britain. Tickets can be bought from the railway company and ferry operators in Ireland, with a price of €35 to €41 one-way (January 2007); actual price depends on origin and destination, but (London-Dublin via Holyhead is €41). Fares are slightly higher during July and August. Virgin Trains may be offering advance-purchase tickets from London to Dublin from £32 return, although these are hard to obtain and only possible for journeys starting in Great Britain. It is also possible to cross from Southern Ireland into South-West Wales on a Stena Line ferry which is met by a train on each side. The stations are immediately next to the mooring point.

Economy

Banking

Currency

The currency throughout the UK is the pound (£). You may also hear the slang term quid for pounds.

Credit Cards

Tax

Tipping

Shopping

Although shopping in Britain can be expensive, it is generally regarded as a world-class destination for shoppers both in terms of variety and quality of products, depending on where and what you buy. Fierce competition has brought prices down considerably in the food, clothing and electronic sectors. Prices do vary and it is always worth visiting the various retail stores as bargains can often be found. Avoid buying from the tourist areas and stick to the High Street shops or the many 'out-of-town' retail parks where prices will be considerably cheaper.

Costs

Holidays and Celebrations

Language

English is spoken throughout the country, although some accents and dialects might be difficult for some Americans to understand. Welsh is widely spoken in Wales, particularly in North Wales, while Gaelic can be heard in the Scottish Highlands and islands. However, almost all speakers of these languages are fluent in English.

Despite jokes and stereotypes, British cuisine has improved greatly over the past few decades. Restaurants and supermarkets in the upper/middle range have consistently high standards, and the choice of international dishes is the best in Europe.

Types of Restaurants

Larger towns have a range of restaurants to suit most tastes and you will find a very broad range of different cuisines, because Brits are very open-minded and love food from all over the globe including India, China, Thailand, France and Italy.

Balti - One of the most popular types of restaurant in Britain is the Indian restaurant. Most common in certain areas of large cities and not often found directly in city centres or other tourist traps, Indian restaurants serve cuisine commonly known to their customers by the generic term "curry". Common Indian restaurant dishes include Chicken Tikka Masala, Prawn Biryani and the incredibly spicy Vindaloo (of Portuguese origin). A recently fashionable version of curry is known as "balti", possibly named after the metal bowl the food is cooked (and served) in. Balti cuisine, and a number of other commonly served dishes such as the ubiquitous chicken tikka masala, originated in the UK though it is clearly based on food from the Indian subcontinent. Birmingham in the Midlands is considered the balti capital of the UK as this dish was conceived there.

Types of Food

• Black Pudding - a sausage made of congealed pig's blood and rusks cooked in an intestine. Available in all over the UK but a speciality of the north of England and the Black Country.
• Cornish Pasty - beef and vegetables baked in a folded pastry case. Originally a speciality of Cornwall, but now available throughout the UK. Usually very good in Devon and Cornwall, but can be of variable quality elsewhere. The variety sold in a plastic wrapper in places like petrol (gas) stations and motorway service stations are well worth avoiding.
• Deep Fried Mars Bar - Orignally from Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, but now available in other parts of Scotland.
• Haggis - a mixture of sheep innards and oatmeal boiled in a sheep's stomach. Available widely, but a speciality of Scotland. Also available in many supermarkets, where it appears that many sheep have plastic stomachs - although the contents are often quite reasonable.
• Lancashire Hotpot - a hearty vegetable and meat stew. A speciality of Lancashire, but available throughout the UK.
• Laverbread - a puree made from seaweed, rolled in oatmeal, lightly fried and generally served with bacon rashers, though can be prepared as a vegetarian dish. Available in Swansea and West Wales.
• Oatcakes - this speciality of Stoke-on-Trent, North Staffordshire and Derbyshire is a large, floppy, oat-based pancake, eaten hot with a savoury filling. Not to be confused with the Scottish oatcake, a sort of biscuit.
• Potato Bread - a mixture of potatoes, salt, butter and flour. A speciality of Northern Ireland, which when added to a Full English Breakfast (alongside Soda Bread) forms an 'Ulster Fry. This is also known as Potato Cakes in England and Tattie Scones in Scotland.
• Yorkshire Pudding - a savoury side dish made from unsweetened batter. Squat and round in shape - often served with a roast dinner (consisting of roast potatoes, roast beef and yorkshire puddings). Originally a speciality of Yorkshire, but a popular side-dish throughout the UK.

Etiquette

Waiters generally expect a 10-12.5% tip and in most places you get directly charged for the service. The service is average and you should keep your expectations at the same level.

Drinks

The pub (public house) is the most popular place to get a drink in the UK. Even small villages will often have a pub, serving spirits, wines, beers, cider, and alcopops, accompanied by crisps, nuts, and pork scratchings.

The UK offers a wide variety of hotels rated on a scale of stars, from 5-star luxury (and beyond!) to 1-star basic. There is also a vast number of privately-run bed and breakfast establishments (abbreviated as "B&B"), offering rooms with usually a fried 'full English breakfast'. Alternatively you can rent a private house which is let as a holiday home; many such holiday homes advertise on a wide variety of free websites or adverstise on their own websites. Good deals can usually be found by using a search engine for "self-catering holiday accommodation".

Budget travellers can opt to stay in a youth / backpackers' hostel

• YHA England and Wales: http://www.yha.org.uk/

• Scottish YHA, Email: reservations@syha.org.uk, website: http://www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/web/site/home/home.asp
  

• HI Northern Ireland: http://www.hini.org.uk/

There are also many campsites, with widely varying levels of facilities.

Phones

The UK's calling code is 44.

Internet

Internet access is widespread. Internet cafes can be found in cities and large towns, check the city pages for detail.

Crime

Emergency

Call 999 or 112 (EU-wide).

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Gays and lesbians

Illicit drugs and prostitution

Smoking

By plane

By train

By car

By bus

By thumb