United Kingdom

Visitors who do not need a UK visa, including citizens of the EU, the US, Canada and Australia, must get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) online before they travel. Other nationalities need a Standard Visitor visa. Irish citizens need neither.

ETA

Apply on the official UK ETA app or GOV.UK

Visa-free stay

Usually up to 6 months as a visitor

Passport

Valid for the whole stay

Confirm with

gov.uk/check-uk-visa

London Heathrow is the main long-haul hub, and Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham have many international flights. Eurostar trains link London St Pancras with Paris, Brussels, Lille and Amsterdam, and the trip from Paris takes about 2 hours 20 minutes. From Heathrow, the Elizabeth line or the faster Heathrow Express runs into central London.

Main airport

London Heathrow (LHR)

Other airports

London Gatwick (LGW), Manchester (MAN), Edinburgh (EDI)

The UK is expensive, especially London. Contactless cards and phones are accepted almost everywhere, including buses and the Underground, where daily fares are capped automatically. Most national museums are free. Restaurants expect a 10 to 12.5% tip, often added as a service charge. Advance train tickets and pub meals are the easiest ways to cut costs.

Free museums

Most national museums are free

• Book trains in advance for much cheaper fares.
• Pubs offer good-value meals compared with restaurants.
• Check the bill before tipping, since a service charge is often already added.

Routine vaccines cover a UK visit. Emergency treatment in A&E is available, but visitors from most countries are charged for NHS hospital care, so carry travel insurance. Tap water is safe to drink. For non-emergency advice call 111, and Boots, Superdrug and independent chemists sell everyday medicines. Rain and wind can arrive at any time, so pack layers.

Non-emergency advice

Call 111

• Carry prescription medicines in original packaging with a copy of the prescription.
• Bars must give you free tap water if you ask.

Serious crime against visitors to the UK is uncommon. Pickpocketing and phone snatching happen in busy parts of London, such as Oxford Street, the West End, Westminster and the main stations, and in other big cities. Keep your phone in a pocket on busy streets. Traffic drives on the left, so look right first. Call 999 or 112 in an emergency.

Emergency number

Call 999 or 112 (police, fire, ambulance)

Hot spots

Oxford Street, the West End, Westminster and busy stations

Before you go

Read your government's current travel advisory for United Kingdom

• Check the forecast before hill walking in Scotland, Wales or the Lake District.

London has the widest range and the highest prices; Westminster, the South Bank and Kensington are closest to the sights. Elsewhere, cities and country inns offer better value. Stay in Edinburgh's Old Town or New Town, use Inverness or Fort William for the Highlands, and look for pubs with rooms and B&Bs in the Cotswolds and Lake District.

London

Westminster, South Bank or Kensington for sights

Edinburgh

Old Town or New Town

• Edinburgh fills completely in August; reserve months ahead or base yourself in Glasgow.

Trains link London with most cities in 1 to 5 hours, including Edinburgh in about 4.5 hours, and National Express and Megabus coaches are a cheaper option. In London, tap in and out on the Underground, Elizabeth line and buses. Rent a car for the Highlands, the Cotswolds and rural Wales, and remember traffic drives on the left.

Trains

London to Edinburgh in about 4.5 hours

Car hire

Best for national parks and villages

• The National Rail website plans routes but sells nothing; any operator's website or station machine sells through tickets for the whole network.
• Advance tickets are cheapest but tie you to one train with no refunds, and off-peak fares apply after 9:30 on weekdays and all weekend.
• Railcards cut a third off fares for young people, over-60s and groups.
• From London, Bath is about 1.5 hours away by train and York about 2 hours.
• The Caledonian Sleeper runs from Euston to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William, and the Night Riviera reaches Penzance by 08:00; neither runs on Saturday nights.
• Traveline planners and their regional apps are the best source for local buses in Great Britain, and Translink runs most buses and trains in Northern Ireland.
• Look right first when crossing on foot, and reserve an automatic hire car early, because they are scarce and cost more than manuals.
• The drink-drive limit is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood in Scotland and 80 mg in England and Wales.

Prepaid SIMs and eSIMs from EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three are sold at airports, supermarkets and phone shops, and no registration is needed. Check first whether your home plan already includes UK roaming. Coverage is good in cities and towns but patchy in the remote Highlands.

Networks

EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three

You need

No registration required for prepaid SIMs

British manners lean towards politeness, queuing and understatement. Always join the end of a queue, and say please and thank you. Pubs are a social hub where you order and pay at the bar, and a lot of conversation is about the weather. In Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, never call the whole UK England.

Queuing

Always join the end of the queue