10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO THE UNITED KINGDOM

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With this guide of tips for traveling to United Kingdom We want to help you organize your trip to one of the most visited and complete countries in the world, in which we are safe, you will find everything you are looking for and also, it will exceed all your expectations.
With cities as cosmopolitan as London, postcard landscapes such as those in Scotland or Northern Ireland and towns that seem taken from a story, such as those in The Cotswolds, travel to England or to any of its three constituent nations, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is a success day, whatever the season and whatever the duration of your trip.

Based on the different trips we have made to the country, of which we have written different guides such as the trip to The Cotswolds, the trip to Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge or the travel guide to London, after visiting the city on several occasions, the trip to Scotland and the trip to Ireland, we leave you what we believe, are the 10 essential tips for traveling to the United Kingdom. We start!

1. What is the best time?

Although as in many destinations in Europe we would dare to say that any time is good for travel to United KingdomYes, it is true that it is worth taking into account different aspects, especially climatic, to fully enjoy the trip.

High season (from June to October): this is the most demanded season, due to good weather forecasts, and therefore the most expensive.
Mid season (from March to May, September and October): although prices are lower, the probability of gray and rainy days makes this not the best time to organize the trip to the United Kingdom.
Low season (from December to February): except for the month of December in London, in which Christmas is lived in a very special way, these months are usually cold and gray, so they would be the least recommended for this trip.

2. Entry requirements

If you are a Spanish or European Union (EU) citizen, you only need the ID or passport to enter the United Kingdom, although it is always advisable to carry both documents. Remember that the United Kingdom does not belong to the Schengen area, so you must pass controls to enter the country. If you have another nationality, it is important to check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Embassy to have the data updated.
Remember that due to the current uncertainty with Brexit and the exit of the UK from the EU, it is very important to have the data updated before travel to the UK.

In addition to the documents mentioned, it is very necessary to travel with the European Health Card to have medical assistance if necessary and especially in the United Kingdom and depending on what happens with Brexit, have the best travel insurance for Europe if you want have medical assistance in the best hospitals in addition to having repatriation included if necessary.

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Security

We can say that traveling to the UK is totally safe although as in any destination in the world it is important to do it with common sense and avoid leaving valuables unattended, especially in very touristy and crowded places, in large cities like London, it is advisable to ask in the accommodation if there is any area not recommended, about all at night and if you have rented a car, try not to leave valuables in sight.

Another of the tips for a trip to the United Kingdom is to take a copy of all the important documentation such as ID, passport, travel insurance policy ... etc, in the cloud, so that in case of loss or theft, you can perform the paperwork A much easier way.

Tips for traveling to United Kingdom

4. How to start the trip?

The first and most important thing is to determine if your trip to the UK It will be to visit a specific city or area of the country or to make a route, so that you can know how many days you should have and, above all, what city you should take as your entry and exit door.
In general, London is usually a good gateway, used by many travelers, whatever your decision, we recommend using this flight search engine, with which you can count on the best offers at the best prices.
Once you have the flight, the next point will be to book the accommodation, especially if you are traveling to the United Kingdom in high season. We recommend you check this hotel search engine where you will find the best options at the best prices.
In case you are going to make a route through the country and although it can be done by train or bus, if they are tourist routes, for which we recommend you check prices, schedules and even make the reservation on this page, the most appropriate would be to rent car in the United Kingdom, if you want to visit more accommodated places of the most tourist points, in order to have total freedom of schedules and movements.

And last but not least, when traveling to the United Kingdom it is very interesting to review the tours or excursions you want to do, especially if you are going to do any of the most demanded such as the Harry Potter Tour in Warner Studios or the Excursion to Loch Ness and the Highlands.

You can check and book here the best tours and excursions in the United Kingdom and here the best tours and excursions in London.

Urqugart Castle and Loch Ness

5. Money exchange

The currency of the United Kingdom is the pound sterling (GBP) and currently the equivalence is 1 euro = 0.88 pounds sterling.
Although it has long been considered as the most favorable option and even as the only options the exchange of currency in our home bank or the change in the airport or exchange agencies, with the consequent disbursement of commissions, in many abusive occasions, after many trips, we have chosen to use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones that do not charge commission, keep the current change, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

Remember that when traveling to the United Kingdom, it is also necessary to carry cash to be able to make payments in shops that do not accept cards or for tips and in shops where you do not see much security, it is always preferable to pay with cash.

Pound sterling

6. London

Considered by many as the capital city In addition to one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, London is for us one of the most attractive cities in the world, where we don't lie to you if we tell you, we wouldn't mind living a season.
With neighborhoods full of charm, parks every two steps, beautiful shops, an endless cultural offer and a gastronomic offer that is among the best in the world, London is undoubtedly a success.
If it is your first trip to the city, we recommend you have at least 3-4 days to get to know the places to visit in London as well as all the things to do in London for free.

In addition to these lists, we recommend you to tour the city following these personalized guides for days:

And if you don't want to miss anything and get to know the city to the fullest, be sure to check out the travel guide to London that we wrote after our fourth visit to the city and after spending a month living in Notting Hill, one of our favorite neighborhoods of the world.

In addition to these guides, if you want to know the city at the hands of a guide in Spanish, it is highly recommended to book this Free London tour Free!, Considered one of the best free tours in London, this full London Tour with tickets or this night walk through the current London.

Tower bridge

In addition to these, from London there are some getaways that you can not miss and that are among those that are considered the best excursions and tours in London, among which are:

You can find much more information about the city in the post tips for traveling to London essential.

7. Travel through England

Although there are many travelers who make full routes through England, the most common when traveling to the United Kingdom in this case, is to know the area by making different trips. In our case we have been doing it this way and the truth is that today we can only recommend it because it allows you to get to know the territory in spaces of a few days.
The first thing to keep in mind is that England England is one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom, as we mentioned at the beginning of the post and geographically includes the southern and central part of the island of Great Britain, which also shares space with Scotland and Wales , in addition to almost a hundred small islands.

In addition to the visit to London, which we talked about earlier, other areas that are recommended to visit when traveling to England are:

Stonehenge

Without a doubt, this is one of the most magical places in the country and we would dare to say, of the world and although you can make a getaway to visit only this megalithic monument from London, we believe that the ideal is to make such a wider escape And as we did.
To make this route we recommend an average of 4-5 days and in this case you can fly to Bristol with some low cost company like Ryanair and from there rent a car or by public transport, go to Bath, to the first point of the route, where you can not miss the Roman Baths of Bath and Pulteney Bridge
The next point of the itinerary will take you to visit Stonehenge from Salisbury and then spend the rest of the day in the city, known as being one of the most charming in England.
From here the next and last stop of the trip will be the city of Bristol, which you can meet in one day.

You can learn much more in the Travel guide to Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge.

Although all visits can be done perfectly for free, it can be very interesting, if you do not want to worry about transportation and also go with a guide in Spanish, do any of these excursions:

Stonehenge

The Cotswolds

Known as the English countryside, The Cotswolds is another of the most interesting and recommended getaways if you are traveling to England. In this case we recommend having an average of 4 days, including flights, to know all the most tourist places and as in the previous case, fly to Bristol to go to Los Cotswolds and once there rent a car, this being the best way to know the area, for the freedom of schedules and movements and the absence in many cases, of public transport between the most important points.
The second day of the getaway, you can dedicate it to know Castle Combe, Lacock, Tetbury, Painswick, Winchcombe and Broadway, all of them among the most visited towns of the Cotswolds.
On the third day and last day, you will continue to know English countryside villages such as Broadway, Snowshill, Chipping Campden, Upper Slaughter, Lower Slaughter, Bourton-on the-Water and Bibury, the most beautiful village in England.

You can learn much more about the trip in the travel guide to The Cotswolds in 4 days.

Bibury

Oxford

Although this is not a getaway or route as such, we want to make special mention of Oxford if you are going to travel to United Kingdom, since it is one of our favorite cities in England.
Known for being one of the most famous university cities in the world and for having some of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in the world, Oxford also stands out for having an impressive historic center, where you can enjoy stone buildings and historic pubs, in those that the local environment mixes with the student environment.

This getaway can be done perfectly for free from London, here we tell you how to go to Oxford from London and although it is highly recommended to spend the night in the city, you can perfectly see the places to see in Oxford essential in a single day.

In case you want to know the city without worrying about transportation and with a guide in Spanish, it is highly recommended to book one of these tours:

Oxford

8. Scotland

Although Scotland can be known by public transport, we recommend whenever possible, rent a car to be able to have maximum freedom of movement and thus enjoy the most impressive landscapes, dotted with castles and lakes, as well as cities with exciting stories that we are Sure, they will make you move to another era.
To make a route through Scotland, when traveling to the United Kingdom, we recommend you have 10-15 days and start in Glasgow ending in Edinburgh or vice versa.
Although these are the days we recommend, the route can always be lengthened or shortened, depending on the places you want to see and especially the islands that you want to know among those that we believe is the Isle of Skye.
Starting with Glasgow, we would recommend you to take a route that includes Dundonald Castle, Bothwell Castle, Glasgow and Stirling, the first day of the trip.
On the second day, you can continue visiting Doune Castle, Callender, Trossachs, Balhama, Lomond Lake, Luss, Inverrary and Dunstaffnage Castle to end the day in Oban.
Keep in mind that many of the castles will only be seen on the outside, since we understand that this route includes many of them, and in the end you can end up getting so many visitors.
The third day will take you to Glencoe, Fort Williams, Isle of Skye, Armadale Castle, Neist Point, Dunvengan to finish in Portree.
The next day you will visit Elian Donan Castle, one of Scotland's jewels, Lake Maree and Lake Ewe, Measach Waterfalls and end the day in Inverness.
On the fifth day you will meet Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Fort George, Glenfiddish, Elgin Cathedral and Huntly and on the sixth day you will pass by Aberdeen, Dunottar Castle, Crathes Castle, Fraser Castle, Kildrummy and Balmoral Castle, to finish the Blairgowrie.

Eilean Donan Castle

From here you will continue the trip through Scotland visiting Glamis Castle, Arbroath Abbey, Dundee, St. Andrews and ending in Edinburgh, where we advise you to spend a couple of days knowing the places to visit in Edinburgh essential.

You can follow these optimized guides to get to know Edinburgh:

In case you have some extra day in travel to United Kingdom, we recommend you to do some of the best tours and excursions in Edinburgh

In addition to this it is highly recommended to read the post 10 tips for traveling to Edinburgh essential and the post 10 tips for traveling to Scotland essential.

In case you do not want to rent a car or want to do any of the visits in an organized way and with a guide in Spanish, we advise you to choose one of these options:

9. Ireland

Northern Ireland in addition to the Republic of Ireland, are other recommended destinations if you want to travel to the United Kingdom and know this area, known as the Green Island, for its variety of this tone in the infarct landscapes that dot any route between cities with a fascinating history.
Although you can travel by public transport, although some places do not have very good connections, our recommendation is that you make the trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland, with an average of 10-12 days and with a rental car, making a route circular, since in this way you will have total freedom of schedules and movements, something essential in a place like Ireland.

Our recommendation is to start the route with a flight to Dublin for when you have the rental car go from Dublin to visit Bruna Boine and then go to Northern Ireland, to spend the rest of the day in Belfast, where you can not miss a tour of the Belfast murals and where you can also do this Free tour of Belfast Free !, to get to know the city much better with a guide in Spanish.
The next day will be dedicated to the Carrick a Rede suspension bridge, the impressive Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle to end the day in Derry, where you will spend the night.
If you do not have a car or want to know this area in a more complete way, with a guide in Spanish, it may be highly recommended to book this Excursion to Belfast and the Giant's Causeway or this Excursion to the Giant's Causeway.
The following points on the route of Ireland by rental car are Glenveagh Castle, Assarancagh Waterfall, Glen Gesh Pass, Slieve League, Sligo Abbey and finally Westport, where we recommend you spend the night.

Giant's Causeway

On the fifth day of the trip you will visit the impressive Kylemore Abbey, which we are sure, will leave you speechless, Clonmacnoise and Galway, where in the afternoon you will visit the city and spend the night.
The next day you will spend knowing Dunguaire Castle, the impressive Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, Kilfenora, Bunratty Castle and finally Killarney, where you can spend the night.
On the seventh day you will dedicate it to know the Ring of Kerry, passing through Kenmare, Waterville, Ballinskelling, Portmagee, Caherciveen and Glenbeigh, to finally spend the night in Blarney.
On the penultimate day of the trip you will visit Blarney Castle and Rock of Cashel for the afternoon to go to Dublin, where you can make a route through the places to see in Dublin and start to know the city, where we recommend you spend 2-3 days to know her.

In addition to these places on the list, we recommend you follow the list of places to visit in Dublin and this things to do in Dublin, to get to know the city.

And to make the most of your time in the city, you can follow these personalized guides:

Another recommendation on a trip to the United Kingdom, when you are in Dublin, is to take a guided tour to know with a guide in Spanish the interesting history of the city and its curiosities, being the most recommended this this free tour of Dublin and the free tour of mysteries and legends, included among the best free tours in Dublin.

In addition to this it is highly recommended to read the essential post 10 tips for traveling to Ireland and the essential post 10 tips for traveling to Edinburgh.

Visit the Temple Bar on a trip to Ireland

If you have extra time in the city, we advise you to do some of the best excursions in Dublin, which although they can be done for free by rental car, if you want to opt for a more comfortable option, with a guide in Spanish, it is advisable to book some of these excursions:

10. English cuisine

Although we know that it is impossible to summarize in these lines all the dishes that are included in English cuisine, we do want to leave you with a selection of what we believe are some of the most relevant dishes so that when you travel to the United Kingdom, you can also enjoy this aspect , which we believe, is very important to know a country.

Fish & Chips: possibly one of the best known dishes in the United Kingdom: fish and chips that is originally from Yorkshire.
English Breakfast: although it is not a dish as such, the typical English breakfast is an institution in which you can try eggs, bacon, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes, bread and beans on the same plate.
Haggis: typical Scottish, this dish is made with lamb roasts to which onion and spices are added.
Sunday roast: it is the roast that is served on Sundays. Do not forget to try it in a traditional pub!
Bangers and mash: sausages and mashed potatoes.
Shepard's Pie: minced meat with vegetables and a layer of mashed potatoes that is baked.
Scotch eggs: hard-boiled egg (without shell) that is breaded and fried.

Do not miss the post Where to eat in London: Recommended restaurants, in which we make an analysis of all the restaurants we went to during the time we were in the city.

Gastronomy

More tips for traveling to England

Other of the best tips for traveling to United Kingdom They are:

Although the weather forecast is good, in Ireland it is very common for the weather to change in a matter of minutes, so it is highly recommended to wear warm clothes and dress in layers.
In Ireland it is usually eaten earlier than in the rest of Europe, so restaurants usually also have a shorter schedule. Breakfast is usually from 07:00 a.m. to 09:00 a.m., lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and dinner between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Use the N26 card to pay and the BNEXT card to get money, they will not charge you commission and you will always have the current change. You can find much more information on this topic in the post The best cards to travel without commissions
In Ireland the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50Hz and the plugs are type G.

Do you want to travel to the UK for free?
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