Travel to United Kingdom

Flying to United Kingdom

British Airways (www.ba.com) flies direct to the UK from destinations around the world including New York, Zurich, Johannesburg and Hong Kong. Other airlines flying to the UK include Virgin Atlantic (www.virgin-atlantic.com), whose direct routes include flights from New York and Dubai. Low-cost carriers flying to British airports include easyJet (www.easyjet.com), Flybe (www.flybe.com) and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com).

Major airports are: Jersey Airport, Birmingham Airport, Leeds Bradford International Airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, London City Airport, London Heathrow, London Gatwick Airport, London Stansted Airport, London Luton Airport, London Southend Airport, Manchester Airport, Newcastle International Airport, Southampton Airport, Bristol Airport, East Midlands Airport, Norwich International Airport, Isle of Man Airport, Belfast International Airport, George Best Belfast City Airport, Aberdeen International Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow Airport, Inverness Airport and Cardiff Airport.

Airport Guides

Flight times

To London: from New York - 7 hours; Sydney - 23 hours (including stopover).

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to United Kingdom by Rail

Trains meet connecting ferries at Dover, Newhaven, Portsmouth and Weymouth, sailing for Belgium, France and Spain; and at Harwich, sailing for the Netherlands.

Eurotunnel (tel: +44 8443 353 535; www.eurotunnel.com) runs shuttle trains for vehicles between Folkestone in the UK and Calais in France. The journey takes about 35 minutes.

Eurostar (tel: +44 3432 186 186 (customer services) or +44 1233 617 575 (reservations); www.eurostar.com) operates direct high-speed trains from London to Paris and to Brussels. It takes 2 hours 15 minutes from London to Paris and 2 hours to Brussels. Eurostar trains depart from London St Pancras station.

Rail passes

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 29 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 15 days, 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Reductions are available for travellers under 26. Children under 12 are free when travelling with an adult using an Adult Pass. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Voyages-sncf.com (tel: +44 844 848 5848, in the UK; www.voyages-sncf.com).

Driving to United Kingdom

Getting to United Kingdom by boat

Main ports: Dover (www.doverport.co.uk), Harwich (www.harwich.co.uk), Holyhead (www.holyheadport.com) and Portsmouth (www.portsmouth-port.co.uk).

Ferry operators

There are many ports offering ferry connections between the UK and mainland Europe, Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight, the Scilly Isles and the Isle of Man.

UK ferry operators include: Brittany Ferries (tel: +44 330 159 7000; www.brittany-ferries.co.uk); DFDS Seaways (tel: +44 208 127 8303; www.dfdsseaways.co.uk); P&O Ferries (tel: +44 800 130 0030; www.poferries.com); and Stena Line (tel: +44 844 770 7070; www.stenaline.co.uk).