United Kingdom
Getting there
LONDON
London now has 5 airports worth considering, depending which part
of the city (or surrounding area) you are heading to:
Heathrow (25km west) is served by hundreds of airlines
(including most national carriers), and is the busiest passenger
airport the world. The
Heathrow Express train
whisks you into London Paddington in about 15 minutes but it's
quite expensive; a much cheaper and slightly slower alternative is
the Heathrow Connect (25
minutes into Paddington). There are underground (Tube) links into
London too, as well as a airport-to-hotel minibus shuttle service
called dot2dot (costing about half
the taxi fare); also coach services (mostly
National Express) to
cities across the south.
Gatwick (50km south) is the 2nd busiest airport, and the hub
for most charter flights ex UK, as well as some low-cost carriers.
The Gatwick Express train
shuttles straight into London Victoria in about 30 minutes; there
are stopping trains too (slower and cheaper), which also serve the
south coast (Brighton etc) and south west (Reading etc).
Stansted (50km northeast) is London's 3rd airport, and very
popular with low-cost carriers, including
easyJet and
Ryanair etc. The Stansted
Express train runs into London Liverpool Street in 45-60 minutes,
stopping at various stations en route; and there are coaches via
northeast London to Victoria, as well as trains direct to East
Anglia and the Midlands.
Luton (50km north) is London's 4th airport, used by an
increasing number of low cost carriers, including
easyJet,
Ryanair,
Air Berlin,
Norwegian,
Transavia,
Air Italy,
Wizzair etc. Transport connections
into London and other towns are less good.
London City (15km east) is a small single-runway airport
handy for city-centre to city-centre flights, and popular with
business passengers. It has excellent links into the City, London's
financial centre.
SOUTH WEST
Bristol is the busiest airport in the south west. It's a
regional hub for easyJet and
Ryanair, who between them cover
most of Europe; it's also served by some minor European airlines
(Brussels Airlines, KLM Cityhopper, OLT from Hamburg) and
transatlantic carriers (Continental).
Exeter is a major hub for
Flybe, which has routes to/from
most European countries, and also has links to the Scilly isles
with Skybus and to Canada with
Air Transat. If you're heading
to Devon or Cornwall, it's probably the best placed airport.
Plymouth is the base for
Air Southwest, which flies
to some UK airports and a few continental European ones too. It's a
very handy arrival point for Cornwall.
Newquay is a small but growing airport in Cornwall, with
links to UK regions and Ireland with
Air Southwest, to the Scilly
Isles with Skybus, to Spain with
Ryanair, as well as a few other
links.
SOUTH EAST
Southampton is a good alternative to Gatwick if you're
visiting the south coast from Spain, France, Germany or Ireland,
all of which are served by Flybe,
as are various UK airports.
CENTRAL ENGLAND
Birmingham is the regions' busiest airport, and the hub for
bmibaby, which serves most
European countries. It is also used by
Flybe (a scattering of European
destinations), Monarch (a
charter/scheduled carrier serving classic holiday/Med
destinations), Thomsonfly
(ditto), Ryanair (but not a
major hub of theirs) and a few national carriers.
East Midlands is well placed for Derby, Leicester and
Nottingham, which are all within 30km, and is served by
Ryanair,
bmibaby and various charter
companies.
WALES
Cardiff is the country's only international airport, and a
handy entry point for south Wales. It's served by
bmibaby,
Flybe,
Thomsonfly and
Thomas Cook, with
the majority of routes serving Mediterranean holiday spots
(Alicante, Palma de Mallorca etc) and nearby city breaks
(Amsterdam, Edinburgh etc).
Another option for southern Wales is Bristol – see
above.
For northern Wales, Liverpool and Manchester are the nearest
airports – see below.
NORTHERN ENGLAND
Options include Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, Leeds/Bradford,
Humberside, Newcastle, Durham Tees Valley and Robin Hood Airport
(Sheffield/Doncaster). Most of these operate charter flights to
popular European destinations, domestic flights to major UK
airports, as well as connecting flights (via Amsterdam, Frankfurt,
Paris etc) to the rest of the world. Try the following airlines for
the airports shown (B=Blackpool, L/B=Leeds/Bradford etc):
Jet2 B, L/B, M, N
KLM DTV, H, L/B, M, N
Flybe L/B
bmi DTV, L/B, M, N
bmibaby DTV, L/B, M
Eastern Airways H, L/B, N,
DTV, M
easyJet RHA, L, N
Ryanair B, L/B, N
Wizzair L
SN Brussels Airlines M,
N
SCOTLAND
It can take longer than you think driving from southern England to
Scotland, and driving around Scotland, so consider some of these
options: Glasgow International is the country's busiest
airport, with links to most of Europe and some long-haul
destinations. Airlines include
easyJet, charters like
Thomsonfly,
Thomas Cook, plus a
smattering of national carriers (including
British Airways from London and
Logan Air, which codeshares
with Flybe/British Airways for Scottish regional flights).
Glasgow Prestwick (45km south) is a major hub for
Ryanair and is also used by
Wizzair. Trains and coaches link to
the city centre, but not very frequently.
Edinburgh is the country's 2nd airport, with good
connections across Europe. Airlines include
easyJet,
Ryanair,
Flybe, and a smattering of national
carriers (including British Airways
from London).
Aberdeen has good connections to English airports with
Flybe and
Eastern Airways, and a few
links to the Med, northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Inverness is handy for the north, with routes from England
(easyJet,
Flybe,
British Airways), Ireland
(Aer Arann) and Scottish regions
(Logan Air, which codeshares
with Flybe/British Airways, and Inverness-based
Highland Airways).
back to topGetting Around
CAR HIRE
If you want to hire a car to see this green and pleasant land, we
recommend
Holiday
Autos who are usually the cheapest. Don't forget to drive on
the left, and to observe speed limits (70 miles/hour on motorways,
30 miles/hour in built-up areas) - as there are increasing numbers
of roadside cameras.
If driving into central London, you will need to pay the daily
'congestion charge' (if hiring a car, ask about this in
advance).
INTERNAL FLIGHTS
British Airways flights connect the major cities (London,
Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh etc), while budget
carriers Ryanair and Easyjet are also useful if travelling from the
southeast (Stansted/Luton) to Scotland (Prestwick, Edinburgh) or
northeast England (Newcastle).
BY TRAIN
For cheapest fares, try and book your ticket as far in advance as
possible, using
thetrainline.com or
nationalrail.co.uk.
Finding the cheapest fare can be astonishingly complex - it may
even be 2 singles. Some routes, especially down the west of England
(e.g. Bristol to Leeds / Newcastle), are run by
Virgin Trains. If your
train arrives over an hour late, you are normally entitled to
compensation, but you will have to fill in a form with details and
tickets, and give a UK address for the refund.
GETTING AROUND LONDON
By Tube (Underground)
Get an Oyster card at any tube station - it will cost you a few
pounds but you will quickly recoup this, as journeys cost are
almost half the normal cash fare (the shortest journey now costs
over £3 if you pay cash) (in 2009). If you are staying for a
while and have a UK bank account, you can arrange an auto top-up
when your fare credit gets low, using the
Oyster website.
By taxi
By day, hail a black cab - the distinctive black car which seats up
to 5, and where journeys are metered. On busy evenings and late at
night, it may be easier to call a minicab (ordinary car, with
licence) - in which case you should check the fare before setting
off.
By bus
There are still some red double decker buses, though they are no
longer not the classic, jump-on 'Routemaster' model which made them
famous. Sitting on the top deck is a great way of seeing the city.
There are also some night buses on popular routes (preceded by 'N')
if you need to get home cheaply after about 11.30.