This section covers just the basics on traveling in England (for much more information, see Rick Steves’ England). You can find free advice on specific topics at www.ricksteves.com/tips.
For currency, England uses the British pound (£), also called a “quid”: 1 British pound (£1) = about $1.60. One pound is broken into 100 pence (p). To convert prices in pounds to dollars, add about 60 percent: £20 = about $32, £50 = about $80. (Check www.oanda.com for the latest exchange rates.)
The standard way for travelers to get pounds is to withdraw money from ATMs (which locals call “cashpoints”) using a debit or credit card, ideally with a Visa or MasterCard logo. Before departing, call your bank or credit-card company: Confirm that your card(s) will work overseas, find out the PIN code for your credit card, ask about international transaction fees, and alert them that you’ll be making withdrawals in Europe. To keep your valuables safe, wear a money belt.
Dealing with “Chip and PIN”: Much of Northern Europe (including Great Britain) is adopting a “chip-and-PIN” system for credit cards, and some merchants rely on it exclusively. European chip-and-PIN cards are embedded with an electronic chip, rather than the magnetic stripe used on our American-style cards. This means that your credit (and debit) card might not work at automated payment machines, such as those at train and subway stations, toll roads, parking garages, luggage lockers, and self- serve gas pumps. Memorizing your credit card’s PIN lets you use it at some chip-and-PIN machines—just enter your PIN when prompted. If a machine won’t take your card, look for a machine that takes cash or see if there’s a cashier nearby who can process your transaction. The easiest solution is to pay for your purchases with cash you’ve withdrawn from an ATM using your debit card (Europe’s ATMs still accept magnetic-stripe cards).
Smart travelers use the telephone to reserve or reconfirm rooms, reserve restaurants, get directions, research transportation connections, confirm tour times, phone home, and lots more.
To call Great Britain from the US or Canada: Dial 011-44 and then the area code (minus its initial zero) and local number. (The 011 is our international access code, and 44 is Great Britain’s country code.)
To call Great Britain from a European country: Dial 00-44 followed by the area code (minus its initial zero) and local number. (The 00 is Europe’s international access code.)
To call within Great Britain: If you’re dialing within an area code, just dial the local number; but if you’re calling outside your area code, you have to dial both the area code (which starts with a 0) and the local number.
To call from Great Britain to another country: Dial 00 followed by the country code (for example, 1 for the US or Canada), then the area code and number. If you’re calling European countries that have phone numbers starting with 0, you’ll usually have to omit that 0 when you dial.
Tips on Phoning: A mobile phone—whether an American one that works in Great Britain, or a European one you buy when you arrive—is handy, but can be pricey. If traveling with a smartphone, switch off data-roaming until you have free Wi-Fi. Pay phones are relatively easy to find in Great Britain, but they’re expensive. You’ll pay with a major credit card (which you insert into the phone—minimum charge for a credit-card call is £1.20) or coins (have a bunch handy; minimum fee is £0.60). You can buy international phone cards, which work with a scratch-to-reveal PIN code at any phone, allowing you to call home to the US for about a dime a minute (these also work for domestic calls within Great Britain). However, since you’ll pay a big surcharge to use these cards from pay phones, they’re cost-effective only if used from a landline (such as the one at your B&B) or a mobile phone. For much more on phoning, see www.ricksteves.com/phoning.
To ensure the best value, I recommend reserving rooms in advance, particularly during peak season. Email the hotelier or B&B host with the following key pieces of information: number and type of rooms; number of nights; date of arrival; date of departure; and any special requests. (For a sample form, see www.ricksteves.com/reservation.) Use the European style for writing dates: day/month/ year. For example, for a two-night stay in July, you could request: “1 double room for 2 nights, arrive 16/07/13, depart 18/07/13.” Hoteliers typically ask for your credit-card number as a deposit.
Know the terminology: An “en suite” room has a bathroom (toilet and shower/tub) actually inside the room; a room with a “private bathroom” can mean that the bathroom is all yours, but it’s across the hall. A “standard” room could have two meanings: Big hotels sometimes call a basic en-suite room a “standard” room to differentiate it from a fancier “superior” or “deluxe” room. At small hotels and B&Bs, guests in a “standard” room have access to a bathroom that’s shared with other rooms and down the hall.
In general, hotel prices can soften if you do any of the following: stay in a “standard” room, offer to pay cash, stay at least three nights, or travel off-season.
The traditional “English Fry” breakfast, which is usually included at your B&B or hotel, consists of juice, tea or coffee, cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, a grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, and sometimes black pudding. If it’s too much for you, only order the items you want.
To dine affordably at classier restaurants, look for “early-bird specials” (offered about 17:30–19:00, last order by 19:00). At a sit- down place with table service, tip about 10 percent—unless the service charge is already listed on the bill.
Smart travelers use pubs (short for “public houses”) to eat, drink, and make new friends. Pub grub is England’s best eating value. For about $15–20, you’ll get a basic hot lunch or dinner. The menu is hearty and traditional: stews, soups, fish-and-chips, meat, cabbage, and potatoes, plus often a few Italian or Indian- style dishes. Meals are usually served from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 20:00, not throughout the day. Order drinks and meals at the bar; they might bring it to you when it’s ready, or you’ll pick it up at the bar. Pay as you order, and don’t tip unless there’s full table service.
Most pubs have lagers (cold, refreshing, American-style beer), ales (amber-colored, cellar-temperature beer), bitters (hop-flavored ale, perhaps the most typical British beer), and stouts (dark and somewhat bitter, like Guinness).
By Train and Bus: Great Britain’s 100-mph train system is one of Europe’s best...and most expensive. To see if a railpass could save you money—as it often does in Britain—check www.ricksteves.com/rail. If you’re buying tickets as you go, you’ll get the best deals if you book in advance, leave after the morning rush hour (after 9:30), or ride the bus. Train reservations are free and recommended for long journeys or any trip on Sundays (reserve at any train station before 18:00 on the day before you travel). For train schedules, see www.nationalrail.co.uk; for bus and train routes, visit www.nationalexpress.com. Long-distance buses (called “coaches”) are about a third slower than trains, but they’re also much cheaper.
By Car: A car is useful for scouring the remote rural sights of the English countryside. It’s cheaper to arrange most car rentals from the US. For tips on your insurance options, see www.ricksteves.com/cdw, and for route planning, try www.viamichelin.com. Bring your driver’s license. Speedy motorways (similar to our freeways) let you cover long distances in a snap. Remember that the English drive on the left side of the road (and the driver sits on the right side of the car). You’ll quickly master England’s many roundabouts: Traffic moves clockwise, cars inside the roundabout have the right-of-way, and entering traffic yields (look to your right as you merge). Note that “camera cops” strictly enforce speed limits by automatically snapping photos of speeders’ license plates, then mailing them a ticket.
Emergency Help: To summon the police or an ambulance, call 999. For passport problems, call the US Embassy (in London, tel. 020/7499-9000, www.usembassy.org.uk) or the Canadian High Commission (in London, tel. 020/7258-6600, www.unitedkingdom.gc.ca).
Theft or Loss: To replace a passport, you’ll need to go in person to an embassy or consulate (see above). Cancel and replace your credit and debit cards by calling these 24-hour US numbers collect: Visa: tel. 303/967-1096, MasterCard: tel. 636/722-7111, American Express: tel. 336/393-1111. File a police report either on the spot or within a day or two; it’s required if you submit an insurance claim for lost or stolen railpasses or travel gear, and can help with replacing your passport or credit and debit cards. For other concerns, get advice from your hotelier and see www.rick-steves.com/help. Precautionary measures can minimize the effects of loss—back up your photos and other files frequently.
Time: England uses the 24-hour clock. It’s the same through 12:00 noon, then keep going: 13:00, 14:00, and so on. England, like the rest of Great Britain, is five/eight hours ahead of the East/ West Coasts of the US (and one hour earlier than most of continental Europe).
Holidays and Festivals: Great Britain celebrates many holidays, which can close sights and attract crowds (book hotel rooms ahead). For information on holidays and festivals, check Britain’s tourism website: www.visitbritain.com. For a simple list showing major—though not all—events, see www.ricksteves.com/festivals.
Numbers and Stumblers: What Americans call the second floor of a building is the first floor in Europe. Europeans write dates as day/month/year, so Christmas is 25/12/13. For most measurements, Great Britain uses the metric system: A kilogram is 2.2 pounds, and a liter is about a quart. For driving distances, they use miles.
This Snapshot guide is excerpted from the latest edition of Rick Steves’ England, which is one of more than 30 titles in my series of guidebooks on European travel. I also produce a public television series, Rick Steves’ Europe, and a public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves. My website, www.ricksteves.com, offers free travel information, a Graffiti Wall for travelers’ comments, guidebook updates, my travel blog, an online travel store, and information on European railpasses and our tours of Europe. If you’re bringing a mobile device on your trip, you can download free information from Rick Steves Audio Europe, featuring podcasts of my radio shows, free audio tours of major sights in Europe, and travel interviews about England (via www.ricksteves.com/audioeurope, iTunes, Google Play, or the Rick Steves Audio Europe free smart- phone app). You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
Tourist Information: www.visitbritain.com
Passports and Red Tape: www.travel.state.gov
Packing List: www.ricksteves.com/packlist
Travel Insurance: www.ricksteves.com/insurance
Cheap Flights: www.kayak.com
Airplane Carry-on Restrictions: www.tsa.gov/travelers
Updates for This Book: www.ricksteves.com/update
If you’d like to share your tips, concerns, and discoveries after using this book, please fill out the survey at www.ricksteves.com/feedback. Thanks in advance—it helps a lot.