Arriving In UK
ARRIVING/LANDING IN UK :-
Cheap Cab/Taxi Companies Near Heathrow Airport
020 8577 5050
020 8569 4040
020 8570 3939
020 8423 4444
020 8385 0101
Or you can pre-book one of the pickup cabs at good price at www.eurocarslondon.com
You can call the above taxi nos. from payphone at Airport and wait outside Heathrow Terminal 1,2,3 Departures – thats their fav pickup spot. If you have a mobile handset with you then you can get a Pre-Paid UK SimCard (Lebara/LycaMobile/Vodafone rates are best) at Airport from a Vending Machine/Calling Cards Kiosk. To read more on which mobile phones will work here, scroll down the page a little.
If its your first trip to UK, you would be worrying about the cold and always rainy weather in UK. But don’t pack too much warm clothes as because of lack of significant pollution here, you can really wear same stuff many times. Plus clothes-stores like PRIMARK sell clothes for very cheap price. So better keep your luggage light.
Suggested Clothing:-bring two warm outers (atleast one jacket which can handle water), 2-3 sweatshirts (thick stuff T-Shirts, best for this weather), 4-5 shirts n ties, 2-3 trousers, 2 jeans, one pair of sports shoe and one pair of formal shoes (Shoes are very costly here) and rest you can buy here.
After landing:- Most people land at Heathrow Airport although Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester are also quite common landing options.
From Heathrow (Check Flight Status on all U.K. Airports):–
- Best Option to reach Central london is to Buy an Oyster Card at Heathrow Underground Terminal and Top it up with £7 Credit(Enough for one day). Piccadilly line (usually no service between 12:30AM – 4:00Am) from heathrow takes you to heart of london and with further connections (www.journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk) you can reach almost everywhere within Zone 1-6 of london. There is also a Heathrow Express Service (Oyster not valid) which costs a little more but is the fastest method to reach London Paddington (Zone 1).London’s Major Overground Stations are VICTORIA (For South West England), WATERLOO(For South East England), PADDINGTON (For West England), KINGS CROSS(For North East England & Scotland), LIVERPOOL STREET (For EAST England), EUSTON (For North West England and Scotland). Tickets bought in advance over the net are much cheaper than bought on the spot. Check www.nationalrail.co.uk to plan UK National Rail journeys and to check ticket prices. Don’t forget to Buy a National Rail Network Card (£25 for an year) which gets you 33% discount on any National Rail Offpeak (after 10:00Am) Ticket above £10. You will easily reover £25 or may be more in an year.
- BUS Travel in UK is the cheapest mode of transport.Almost all UK airports have good long-distance BUS Connections to Important cities and Stations. Check http://www.nationalexpress.com to plan your journey. Tkts can be bought on the Heathrow BUS Station or on the bus itself. Although, tickets bought online are much much cheaper than Tkts bought on Spot. You just need the Booking Reference No. to board the bus. Keep it in writing and not just on Mobile as Mobile Battery usually goes off while travelling. Good connections to Victoria, Waterloo, Euston, Birmingham, Coventry etc.
- TAXI – is the costliest mode of transport in UK. Especially the BLACK CABS from the TAXI RANK outside Airports and Stations. Your best bet is to phone a Hired Cab Service located in your destination area. They usually have special rates for Airport Pickups.
- Search for a Taxi Company in your Destination area at http://www.yell.co.uk
- Call atleast 3 of them , and ask them for special rates for heathrow.
- Most of them would want passengers to come out of airport and meet at/around some landmark like signboard/bus stop. Inform this thing about landmark to your guests. Also give your guests the contact no of cab company so they could liase with them when their flight lands.
- If you ask taxi company to wait at Airport in arrival lounge – with a sign in their hand then they will charge you extra for that. Parking at heathrow is quite expensive
Low cost, Prestige VIP Meet n Greet Parking Service At heathrow
Another good + cheap pickup service http://www.airportdirect.org/
If you are Bringing Your Mobile Handset with you..
- Almost all European/SouthAsian (GSM) Mobile phones work here in UK. UK Mobile Networks don’t support CDMA Phones.
- After landing at Airport you can get a Pre-Paid sim-card(Its called pay-as-you-go in UK) from Vending Machines (Like Coke Can Machines) at Airport for £10. All those sim-cards come with £10 calling credit.
Recommended Sims are:-
- Lebara Pre-Paid Sim Has Best Rates for International Calls or Try www.lycamobile.co.uk sim Card. Almost same price as Lebara.
- Vodafone – PrePaid is also a good sime cardNow you can inform people backhome that you reached safely. Don’t use international roaming on your own country’s Sim as it will cost you more than £1.20- £1.50 per minute to make a call to your country . (Note: If you have come here to stay for more than a month, then get a Three network’s skypephone from some mobilephone shop on high-street on pay-as-you-go simcard. Three not only gives maximum UK minutes on pre-paid simcards but if you have skypephone, you can call friends/family with Skype-on-Pc, anywhere in world for free.)
- Get the private hire cab/taxi no.s from information desk. Then call the taxi/cab service from airport. (Note: Taxi Nos for Heathrow Airport are given above), You can also get private-hire cab/taxi numbers from directory services. Open the sim’card’s user guide and find out Contact No of their directory services. That No. will typically start from 118. Ex – 118-118. (Calling mobile network’s own directory services will be cheaper than calling 118-118, typical costs 40-50p per call) Call that directory Service No. and get 2-3 taxi services contact Nos form them. Call the taxi services and ask for special rates for Airport pickup. They should send a taxi right away or in most cases will have a taxi already on way to Airport coming to drop-off some passenger.Note: But If you take the black cabs/taxis from outside Airport then that will cost you much more than pre-hired cabs from your destination town.
Travel Inside London – SightSeeing
Note: To travel on tube and buses in london you will need to buy an Oyster Pay As You Go Card from TubeStation or other TFL ticket Counters. This card will always charge you minimum fare on your local travel in london and so you don’t have to worry about calculating prices and fares of your local travel inside london. If you plan to use National Rail (Overground) to see London/UK during your stay here or if you plan to use Oyster Pay As You Go Card for more than 12days in london then you will save even more if you buy a national rail young person’s (age < 25 yrs) rail card (Costs £25 for an year) from a national rail/overground station and linking it with your Oyster Pay As You Go Card. You will save around £2 on your daily off-preak travel in london and 33% on your off-peak national rail travel outside london. Check this http://IAmNewToLondon.com/tips/TFLOysterFaresJan09Onwards.html to see how much you can save.
Check www.journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk to plan your journey From Point A to Point B, inside london on Train/Tube/Bus/DLR etc. Its a very useful website. It tells you the total expected journey time PLUS the Start and Destination Maps with walking route (If a walk is part of your route to reach an address) in green color.
Note:
- The TransportForLondon Dept runs a very helpful and little known Mobile-SMS service for people lost in london and trying to get to somewhere from somewhere. When you are lost in london, at any time of day or night, type a Text Msg(SMS) on your mobile like “A to B” (Where A and B can be name of Bus Stop/Tube Station/Post Code) to 60835 and in few seconds you will receive back a Text Message from TFL telling you about the best/fastest route to reach your destination. For Ex “Holborn to Baker Street” MORE HERE
- TfL has launched a new service to help you get home. When you’re out and about, just text CAB to 60835 and the telephone numbers of your two nearest (Your Mobile’s Location) licensed minicab operators will be sent directly to your mobile phone.
- If you have a Network RailCard or Student Railcard (Both Cost Just £20/Year), always link it to Oyster to save £1/day on your offpeak pre-paid travel.
Most people don’t know that travel in London is the 2nd costliest part of your expenses after accomodation. Travel per mile in london costs more than travel cost per mile on a CONCORDE plane(now discontinued). Depending on which zone you live in, your monthly travelcard can cost
zone1=£93, zone1-2=£93, zone1-3=£109.10, zone1-4= £132.90,zone1-5=£159.00, zone1-6=£171.30. Students get 30% discounts on travelcards. If you don’t take tube/train to work everyday then your best option is Pay-As-you-Go Oyster Card. It costs less than paper tickets and It will never cost more than one-day-travelcard if you use it for multiple journeys.
Note: You can top up the credit on your Oyster card and check the balance remaining (or see what amounts have been charged) in the following ways:
– by placing it on the Oyster card reader on one of the ticket machines in a Tube station (when you are adding credit, you must finish by placing your Oyster card on the reader a second time)
– by asking at the ticket office of a Tube station
– Auto-Topup – by going to the Oyster card website: http://www.oystercard.com. If you have a credit or debit card you can arrange for your card to be topped up automatically every time that the balance falls below a certain level
The advantages of having an Oyster card are:
– you save time, because you do not need to queue to buy tickets each time you want to travel
– it is simpler
– fares are cheaper if you use an Oyster card
– you should automatically pay the cheapest fare if you make several Tube or bus journeys, even if you change your travel plans
Note that currently only a few of the National Rail stations in London accept Oyster cards. If you plan to use some local London Overground train services as part of your journey it may be cheaper to buy a one-day travelcard (a paper ticket) from a ticket office, because these are valid on trains, bus or Tube services within the zones shown. There are plans to introduce Oyster card readers at all train stations in London in 2009.
Off-peak Travelcards can only be used after 9:30am on Monday-Friday, or any time on Saturday, Sunday or on a Bank Holiday. The Oyster daily price cap is the maximum you will pay if you use your Oyster card to make journeys during the day.
- Cheaper fares are available if you don’t need to travel through zone 1 (the cost depends on the number of zones through which you need to travel), or if you are a child, 16-17 or a senior citizen.
- If you have a Student Oyster Photocard you can buy travelcards for 1 week or longer at a cheaper price. These cost about 30% less than the equivalent adult prices (there are no special student discounts for single or 1-day tickets). Note that these are only available to people who are studying in London and requires a special card (you cannot get a discount with an ISIC or NUS card). For details of how to apply for a Student Oyster Photocard, see: Travel/Transport/London/Guide
- If you have a National Rail Railcard (a Young Persons Railcard or a Disabled Persons/HM Forces/Senior Railcard) and you register this Railcard on your Oyster card (by showing it at the ticket office of a Tube station), your Oyster daily off-peak cap is reduced by about a third. A Young Persons Railcard can be bought by anyone aged 16-25 or by any full-time student (even if you are aged 26 or over), and this railcard also allows you to get a third off off-peak travel on the UK train system. The daily price cap is not reduced if any of your travel is during peak times.
For more details, see: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/singlefares/6769.aspx
SIGHTSEEING IN LONDON / THINGS TO DO IN LONDON
Official London Tourism site here www.visitlondon.com
For Best Price London Theatre, Attractions, Museums and Theme Park Tickets check
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk – 2FOR1 London Attractions (With Train Tickets)
Check www.journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk or transportdirect.info to plan your journey From Point A to Point B, inside london on Train/Tube/Bus/DLR etc. Its a very useful website. It tells you the total expected journey time PLUS the Start and Destination Maps with walking route (If a walk is part of your route to reach an address) in green color.
Note: To travel on tube and buses in london you will need to buy an Oyster Pay As You Go Card from TubeStation or other TFL ticket Counters. This card will always charge you minimum fare on your local travel in london and so you don’t have to worry about calculating prices and fares of your local travel inside london. If your age is less than 25 and you plan to use National Rail (Overground Trains) to see London/UK during your stay here or if you plan to use Oyster Pay As You Go Card for more than 12days in london then you will save even more if you buy a national rail young persons rail card (Costs £25 for an year) from a national rail/overground station and linking it with your Oyster Pay As You Go Card. You will save around £2 on your daily off-preak travel in london and 33% on your off-peak national rail travel outside london. Check this http://IAmNewToLondon.com/tips/TFLOysterFaresJan09Onwards.html to see how much you can save.
If Its your first time in London and you want to see the most of it within one day then best option is to buy a BusTour Ticket. They cover almost all of the important attractions in london and you can getoff or geton the buses at any of their stops. They usually include a free Thames Cruise as well (best part of day trip). Tickets can be bought on Bus but best way to get discount is either book online or from their main ticketing booths at Original London Visitor Centre Trafalgar Square (Charing Cross Station), Whitcomb Street (Piccadilly Circus) or Grosvenor Gardens (Victoria) stops.
Latest of whats happening/to see, in London here
HopOn-HopOff Bustour + Thames Cruise for £20
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk – 2 FOR 1 London Attractions (With Train Tickets)
London Pass – Covers 55 Attractions
The website www.sustrans.org.uk has maps of all local cycle paths!
Click here for Bus Route Maps In London
http://www.railcard.co.uk ( Comprehensive information to save on train travel )
Top 10 things to see in London
Helicopter Sightseeing Flights- London/UK
Current Popular Theatre In London
Note::
- The TransportForLondon Dept runs a very helpful and little known Mobile-SMS service for people lost in london and trying to get to somewhere from somewhere. When you are lost in london, at any time of day or night, type a Text Msg(SMS) on your mobile like “A to B” (Where A and B can be name of Bus Stop/Tube Station/Post Code) and send it to 60835 and you will receive back in few seconds a Text Message from TFL telling you about the best/fastest route to reach your destination. For Ex “Holborn to Baker Street” MORE HERE.
- TfL has launched a new service to help you get home. When you’re out and about, just text CAB to 60835 and the telephone numbers of your two nearest (Your Mobile’s Location) licensed minicab operators will be sent directly to your mobile phone.
To find out any location in UK based on postcode or street name click www.maps.google.co.uk. It also is useful to find out prominent businesses, restaurants, bars, clubs, tourist attractions in london and UK
Click here for Bus Route Maps In London
Click Here For Bus Route Maps in UK (Outside London)
Grab a Pocket Tube Map from any london-underground station and keep it handy.
http://www.londontown.com/TubeMaps/TubeMapLarge.jpg – Best Resolution Tube Map
Some interesting and helpful maps you can order online.
Click www.nationalrail.co.uk Or http://www.transportdirect.info to plan UK National Rail journeys and check ticket prices.
Don’t forget to buy National Rail Card (costs just £25/year) and save 33% on off-peak Rail travel in london/UK.
Important:: Link it to your Oyster Card and save money (Roughly £2/day) on day-to-day travel. Check this http://IAmNewToLondon.com/tips/TFLOysterFaresJan09Onwards.html to see how much you can save.
A great guide for Tourist Accomodation in London/UK
A helpful guide for tips on Transport to/from/within the UK or Europe
Pronounciation
You may well need some tips on how to pronounce London place names.
Gloucester Road – GLOSS-ter Road
Leicester Square – LESS-ter Square
Holborn – HOE-burn, or HOE-b’n
Covent Garden – the ‘o’ is short as in codpiece
Greenwich – GRENNITCH
Dulwich – DULLITCH
Vauxhall – VOX-all
Plaistow – PLAH-stow
Chiswick – CHIZZICK
Putney – The ‘u’ is pronounced as in butter, not as in butcher
Marylebone – Mary-lea-bone (say it fast)
River Thames – River THEMMS
Southwark – Su-therk (su as in subtle)
Some other Attractions:-
- If you are into literarture,books,cinema etc then SOUTHBANK (Near Waterloo/Embankment) is the place to checkout. Its a nice walk along thames. Full of tourists in summer. International food and lively music. Street Performances and decorations. A spot dedicated to skate-boarders.
- A large and lovely used books-stall outside NFT(National Film Theatre) which is kinda heaven for someone into reading books. :)Nearby National Theatre is famous for its performances and festivals
- This thames-walk is also the spot for world famous Thames Fireworks which happen in August/September every Year!.
Tourism Travel Sightseeing in UK
UK Activity weekends backabushxplorers
Anderson Tours – UK SightSeeing
Info about Bus travel in Great Britain Click here
http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/ – Cheapest Online Train Tickets
TheTrainLine.com Another Provider of Cheap Online Train Tickets
http://www.transportdirect.info-Live Bus/Train Departure Times
Check www.nationalexpress.com – Get Around in UK on Bus for as Little as £5
Check www.megabus.com/uk/ – Get Around in UK on bus for as Little as £1
http://www.railcard.co.uk ( Comprehensive information to save 33% on Train travel )
Backpackers Tours of England , Wales, Scotland http://www.roadtrip.co.uk
Scotline tours of Scotland http://www.scotlinetours.co.uk
Visit Scotland – Official Tourism Site of Scotland Click here