I’ve visited England twice so far, once with a group and once on my own. I love this country, but there was definitely a bit of a learning curve in figuring out what to do to make my travels go more smoothly! From navigating the tube to figuring out what to do, there was a lot of information to take in, which is why I created this handy guide! So, without further adieu, here are all of my best tips for visiting England for the first time: 1. Invest in an Oyster CardIf you're planning to spend any time in London, you can't go without an Oyster Card. (Okay, you technically can, but you and your wallet will regret it). I spent ages researching the different types of travel passes, so this one point will save you tons of time. There are two types of Oyster cards: one for visitors, and a “standard” one that Londoners use (but is open to visitors, as well). They function sort of like debit cards, on a pay-as-you-go system, and can have more credit added to them at a machine at any station in London. The credit never expires, so I was able to take mine home with me, and can use it again when I go back! Oyster cards can be used for pretty much any transportation around London. They include price caps, which means that you never pay more than a certain amount per day. However, these caps do change depending on which public transportation you use, which “zone” you travel between, and whether or not you’re traveling during the peak hours (6.30-9.30 am and 4-7pm Mon-Fri, when you should avoid public transportation anyways, because it’s mad). Each person needs their own card (you can’t swipe it twice for two people to travel on the same journey). To use an Oyster card, touch the card on the yellow reader at the gates as you enter and end your journey. You don’t need to touch out at the end of your journey on buses and trams. The Visitor Card must be ordered ahead of time and mailed to you at a cost of £3, which isn’t ideal for those of us who sometimes travel last-minute. However, it does offer a few discounts for popular attractions, which you can check out here. For the regular Oyster card, you can pick them up at a variety of places around the city--I picked mine up in Heathrow Airport at a machine, easy as anything. They do cost £5 for your first card (ie. if you’re not topping off one you already have), but you can ask a TfL agent where to get a refund, or go online to apply. If you’re staying in London for 1, 3 or 7 days, you can also add a Travelcard to your Oyster card, which gives you unlimited rides on public transportation within whichever zones you choose. In the end, I chose to pick up a regular Oyster card at the airport and forego the Travelcard, because I was in England for eight days, hopping in and out of London. As I mentioned, London is separated into six zones, with most of the touristy stuff being concentrated in zones 1 and 2. I was lodging in zone 3, and traveling to zones 4 and 6 on several days, which meant cheap lodging but slightly more expensive public transportation. If I had chosen the Travelcard option allowing me to travel to all the zones I wanted to visit, I would have spent more than I did with a regular Oyster card. 2. Don’t Just Stick to LondonLondon is an incredible city (and I just spent my entire first point talking about it), but there’s so much more to England. Three to four days is generally enough time to see the top London landmarks on your list. I try to aim for one to two bigger attractions per day, leaving time for side-ventures. Even if you don’t have a car, the public transportation system in England (and Western Europe in general, in my experience) is pretty stellar, and is absolutely enough to get you to almost anywhere you want to go. There are loads of possibilities for day trips if you want to keep your lodging consistent--two of my favorite short trips are Brighton and Stonehenge/Avebury, but there are countless other possibilities, including Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, and potentially even the Lakes District. You don’t even have to stick to England, if you’re feeling super adventurous -- there are overnight trains to nearby countries, both within the United Kingdom and continental Europe. If you have the time and funds, why not pop down to Paris for a day, or travel north to Edinburgh? 3. Don’t Expect To See It AllComing from California, England seems pretty darn small to me, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty. There’s so much to see that it’s laughable to expect to see all of England in a week. You can’t even see all of London in a week! FOMO (Fear of Missing Out, for those of us who aren’t very good at internet slang) is a real thing, particularly in the age of social media and influencer culture. I grew so stressed before my first solo trip abroad to England because I was afraid that I would be missing out on something, or I would choose “wrong” and waste my time, and so on. I spent waaaay too much time on fluffy blog posts highlighting The Most Instagrammable Spots in London, basically forgetting my entire reason for traveling in the first place--holistic travel, which emphasizes creating connections: with oneself, the community, and the planet. While there's certainly value in those types of articles (after all, it's always nice to visit beautiful places), it wasn't what I wanted to focus on, so although I (mostly) moved away from that mentality before the start of my trip, it was a good lesson in perspective. And I’ll be honest: I did some things that sort of sucked in England. I went to a museum I wound up hating. I dragged my suitcase around Notting Hill because it seemed like a good idea while trip planning, but I couldn’t really appreciate it, because I had just finished fourteen hours of travel, it was late enough in the day that almost everything was closed, and, again, I was dragging a giant, loud suitcase along. It was hard for me to remind myself that that’s okay--particularly because I was on a time constraint, walking around a foreign country I wasn’t sure I would ever visit again, and I really wanted to make the most of my time. But we shouldn’t let our fears and expectations ruin our experience. We shouldn’t let the fear of missing out make us feel like we have to see everything and that we’ve wasted our time if we don’t. We definitely shouldn’t feel like we have to make the most of every second of our trip and run ourselves ragged trying to do it all, because that just leads to burnout. Another essential part of holistic travel is creating joy and wonder--allowing yourself to be amazed by this world, and letting happiness into your life, in whatever way that looks like for you. Tl;dr: Pick what you want to see the very most, and let everything else go. 4. See What You Want To See…not just what other people tell you you should see. This really ties into my last point. If there’s overlap, great! But just because something is popular doesn’t mean you “have” to see it. I’ve been to London twice so far, and I’ve never been to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards, never ridden the London Eye, and haven’t seen the Tower of London. I’m planning my next trip back already, and none of these places are on my list. Why? Because I don’t care! A little harsh, maybe, but I don’t have any interest in seeing any of these things, so why would I spend my limited time doing things I don’t care about, just because it’s popular? Of course, sometimes you end up doing things you don’t want to do (such as when you’re traveling with a group and they all really want to see Shakespeare’s birthplace), and sometimes the touristy things end up being a lot of fun! My point here is: if you know something isn’t right for you, don’t feel pressured into doing/seeing it just because everyone else is. The flipside of this is: sometimes you want to go out of your way to see something really outside of the mainstream radar! I traveled for an hour+ each way to see BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple in outer London purported to be Britain’s first authentic Hindu temple. Why? Because I’m fascinated by religion, and even though I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it or not, I still wanted to see it! It’s not something that will make everyone’s bucket list, but it was something I was interested in, so why not? (And again, even if you end up not liking it, it's okay--forgive yourself and move on). 5. Invest In A Good Public Transit MapIt will save your life. ...no, honestly, I’m only sort of joking when I say that. There are several apps which display the local underground routes and other lines of public transportation in both London and England as a whole. I used several different ones, along with my number-one fave: TFL London’s journey planner, which allows you to find the best route through public transportation, walking or cycling, with the option of selecting which public transportation service you like best. 6. Don’t Just Stick To The TubeYes, the tube (or the underground) is definitely the easiest option to use, given its abundance of maps, but it won’t always get you there in the fastest (or cheapest) way. This is why TFL London’s journey planner really came in handy when I was trying to sort out how to get around, because it would show me exactly where I had to change stops. In conjunction with Google Maps, to show me where I was and where I was going at any given moment, I managed to do pretty darn well (particularly for someone well known for getting hopelessly lost at every opportunity)! There are a variety of hop-on-hop-off passes you can get, from buses to river cruises along the Thames (pronounced Temz). If traveling by train, I highly suggest purchasing your tickets ahead of time, in order to save money. I firmly believe that a car is not necessary to visit England, but they do make certain trips easier. I've written before about the pros and cons of renting a car abroad, but I've traveled around England both with and without a car, and found public transportation to be just as good for taking me almost everywhere, aside from a few hard-to-reach spots. If you do rent, know that if you have a valid North American driver’s license, you don’t need an international one to drive in the UK. Secondly, please remember that cars drive on the left side of the road in the UK. Look to the right before stepping off the curb. 7. Make the Most of Free AttractionsEurope in general is very expensive, and London is definitely one of the priciest cities to visit. But did you know there's a ton of free stuff to do in London? I love museums, and there are SO MANY free ones in London. Some of London’s best (British Museum, Natural History Museum, National Gallery) are completely free of charge, save optional donations or maps. London’s many parks and gardens are also often free, and a nice way to escape the chaos of city life. Richmond Park is a popular destination, or for a mini garden escape in the heart of the city, check out St. Dunstan-in-the-East: a 900 year old former church, destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt, only to be destroyed again during the Blitz in 1941. In 1967, it was given a second chance at life as a public garden near the Bankside walk. There are plenty of free walking or outdoor activities to do, as well, from free* walking tours to touring the street art in Shoreditch. London is very well-known for its markets, too, and although the goods aren't free, you're always free to window-shop (and maybe try some free samples while you're at it to see if you want to splurge). Some popular events such as Evensong in Westminster Abbey are also free (daily except Wednesday, at 5PM on weekdays and 3PM on weekdays). Although you already know my views on it, the Changing of the Guards is also free; it takes place at Buckingham Palace at 10.45AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays (weather permitting) * While there are plenty of free walking tours around, it's always nice to tip your tour guide! 8. Invest in PassesThe London Pass is not something I’ve ever bought for myself, but if you’re interested in touring most of London’s major attractions, it’s essential. It gives you access to a 1-day hop-on-hop-off bus tour, and over 80 attractions, including The Tower of London, The View from the Shard, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, and London Zoo. See the link for a complete list. A British Heritage Pass was something I found incredibly helpful on my first trip to England. It allows you free entry into over 100 historical sites in England, including Stonehenge/Avebury, Tintagel Castle and Dover Castle. If you’re interested in old castles and other historical sites, I cannot recommend this pass enough. 9. The Basic EssentialsFinally, there are a few essentials everyone should know: The emergency police/ambulance number in the UK is 999. A North American cell phone generally won’t work in England, unless you’re lucky enough to have a GSM phone. You can purchase a SIM card, but I found it impossible to find one in California. You can either hunt one down in the UK, or pay extra to set up international service and date through your carrier. Electric voltage is 240v as opposed to North American 120v, and our outlets are shaped differently, so you will need a plug adaptor compatible with both European and US plugs if you want to charge anything. I ordered mine online. August is the busiest month for tourism in the UK, and it shows. Bank holiday weekends and school breaks are also incredibly busy, so unless you like fighting through crowds, it’s best to visit on the fringe seasons. Do not stand on the left side on escalators. The left side is for people in a hurry; if you don’t want to run, stand on the right. And unless you want to anger commuters, keep your bag tucked either directly in front or behind you. Book as much as possible in advance. This will save you time, money, and stress. Tipping is completely voluntary, and not expected in most places England. As I understand it, their servers are paid a living wage, and not reliant on tips to survive, but tips are sometimes added to your check in advance. If you really want to leave a tip for good service in a restaurant (and it wasn’t already added for you), 10-15% is fine. Don’t be too loud. My fellow American friends, this is directed at you. While the English aren’t the quietest folk in Europe, they talk quieter than we do in the States. While the energy in pubs may be a bit different, for the most part, talk quieter than you usually would when out and about. Remember to wear comfortable shoes, and prepare for rain. I didn’t bother bringing an umbrella while I traveled, which was mostly not a problem, but there was one surprise downpour where I sorely missed my hat. And there we have it: the most practical tips for visiting England! Do you have any questions? Any tips for other first-time visitors? Don’t hesitate to share in the comments section! See more adventures!Like this post? 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Hi, there! Call me Kris. I’m a world traveler, author and artist working to showcase the world's beauty and inspire you to find your confidence to see the world!
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