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United Kingdom
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Tap your own bank card on every bus and tube gate, and never buy a paper ticket.
Ready-made routes
Know before you go
The practical facts for United Kingdom, at a glance.
Currency
Pound Sterling (GBP)
roughly £0.79 to US$1 — UK prices feel about 25% higher than the number suggests
Tap to pay
Yes, everywhere — and it is the best way to pay for transport.
Power
Type G (three flat rectangular pins)
230V, 50Hz
Tap water
Tap water is safe and free. Restaurants must provide it on request.
Tipping
About 10–12.5% in restaurants, and many bills add a discretionary service charge already — check before adding more. No tipping in pubs when you order at the bar.
Emergency
Police 999 · Ambulance 999
112 · Works with no SIM, no signal
Best months
May–September for daylight and weather; Edinburgh in August only if you want the Fringe
Entry requirements
Not in the Schengen area — a separate entry decision. Many passports need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before boarding. This is a board-or-not requirement: check and apply well before you fly.
Paying in United Kingdom
Yes, everywhere — and it is the best way to pay for transport.
Tap to pay works
Everything: shops, pubs, restaurants, taxis
Buses, directly
Museums and attractions
Carry another way to pay
A few market stalls
Some small B&Bs
Tips at the bar
Tap your card or phone straight on the London reader. No Oyster card is needed, daily and weekly capping applies automatically, and you must tap out again on rail but not on buses.
Apps to download
The apps people in United Kingdom actually use, in the order to set them up.
Citymapper
Free
Critical
Built for London and still the best transport app anywhere — exits, carriages, live disruption.
TfL Go
Free
Important
Transport for London’s own app: authoritative line status, step-free routing and fare caps.
Trainline
Free; small booking fee on some fares
Critical
Intercity rail across a fragmented network of private operators, in one place.
Before you fly
Google Maps
Free
Important
Reliable across the UK, and the offline maps cover rural Scotland where signal drops.
Uber
Free; fares below black-cab rates
Important
Works properly in London and Edinburgh, and is usually cheaper than a black cab.
Airalo
From about $5
Critical
A UK eSIM installed before you fly. Note the UK left the EU roaming zone — an EU plan may not cover it.
Before you fly
Booking.com
Free
Important
Widest UK inventory, and free-cancellation rates matter when rail strikes move plans.
Wise
Small conversion fee
Important
A sterling balance at the real rate — worth more here than in the eurozone because GBP conversion spreads are wider.
Before you fly
Step-by-step setup for each app is in the iPhone app.
First 60 minutes after landing
1
Do not buy a travel card of any kind
Tap the same contactless card or phone on every bus, tube and train. It charges the same as an Oyster and caps your daily spend automatically. Buying a ticket is the most common visitor mistake in London.
2
Tap out as well as in
On the tube and rail, failing to touch out charges you the maximum fare for that line. Buses are tap-in only.
3
Check your eSIM covers the UK
Britain is outside the EU roaming zone. A European regional plan may show no service the moment you land.
4
Confirm your ETA before you fly, not on arrival
The UK is not Schengen and many passports now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Airlines check it at the gate.
Where to stay in United Kingdom
2 cities
London
Enormous and zoned, with the densest public transport in Europe. You will walk more than you expect.
Watch out for
Never buy a paper ticket or an Oyster card as a visitor — tapping your own contactless card is the same price and caps automatically.
Tap in AND out on the tube and rail. Failing to tap out charges the maximum fare for that journey.
Buses do not take cash at all. Contactless or nothing.
Edinburgh
Compact, steep and stone-built, with the old and new towns separated by a valley you cross constantly.
Watch out for
August is the Fringe. The city triples in population and accommodation prices follow — book months ahead or avoid it.
Lothian buses take contactless but give no change if you pay cash. Exact fare or tap.
The weather changes hourly regardless of season. A waterproof layer is not optional.
Getting around
Heathrow → central London
The Elizabeth line changed this — it is now the obvious answer.
Elizabeth line
Tap in with the same card you will use all trip. Runs direct through the middle of the city.
About £12 contactless
30–40 min to the centre
Piccadilly line tube
Slowest but cheapest, and serves central stops directly.
About £5.60 contactless
50–60 min
Heathrow Express
Fastest and by far the most expensive. Rarely worth it now the Elizabeth line exists.
£25 walk-up
15 min to Paddington
Edinburgh airport → city centre
The tram runs straight down Princes Street.
Tram
Stop is directly outside arrivals. Contactless accepted.
About £7.50
35 min to St Andrew Square
Airlink 100 bus
Cheaper than the tram and roughly as quick.
About £5.50
30 min to Waverley Bridge
Taxi
Rank outside arrivals.
£25–30
25 min
London → Edinburgh
Four and a half hours by train, and the train wins on total time.
LNER east coast train
Book 12 weeks out for the cheap advance fares. The east coast route is genuinely scenic.
£35–160 depending how early you book
4 hr 20 min from King’s Cross
Domestic flight
No faster than the train once airports are counted, and it drops you outside the city.
£40–120
1 hr 20 in the air, 4+ door to door
Caledonian Sleeper
Saves a hotel night and arrives in the centre at breakfast. Book well ahead.
£50–200
Overnight
Staying connected
Yes — a carrier-locked phone cannot use a local SIM or eSIM
Airalo
United Kingdom local
5GB · 30 days · US$14
Buy this rather than a Europe plan — the UK is outside the EU roaming zone.
Airalo
Eurolink regional
5GB · 30 days · US$20
Check the coverage list carefully — some Europe plans exclude Britain entirely.
Giffgaff / EE prepaid
Physical prepaid SIM
20GB+ · 30 days · US$20
Gives a UK number, and no registration paperwork is required unlike much of Europe.
When to go
Best months
May–September for daylight and weather; Edinburgh in August only if you want the Fringe
Hardest months
November–January: wet, and dark by 16:00
Languages
English
Getting it right socially
Queue. Cutting a line is the one social offence people will actually confront you about.
Stand on the right on escalators, walk on the left. London enforces this socially and firmly.
Order and pay at the bar in pubs — nobody will come to your table.
"You alright?" is a greeting, not a question about your health.
Ready-made routes
London and Edinburgh in 6 days
6 days · about US$165 a day
Two capitals, one east-coast train, and a contactless card that is also your ticket for the whole trip.
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