Transport in England - Lonely Planet Travel Information

Getting there & away

London is an international transport hub, so you can easily fly to England from just about anywhere in the world. In recent years, the massive growth of budget (‘no-frills’) airlines has increased the number of routes – and reduced fares – between England and cities in Ireland or mainland Europe.

Your other main option for travel between England and mainland Europe is ferry, either port-to-port or combined with a long-distance bus trip – although journeys can be long and savings not huge compared with budget airfares. International trains are much more comfortable, and the Channel Tunnel allows direct services between England, France and Belgium.

Getting from England to Scotland and Wales is easy. The bus and train systems are fully integrated and in most cases you won’t even know you’ve crossed the border. Passports are not required – although some Scots and Welsh may think they should be!

Flights, tours and rail tickets can be booked online by accessing www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_services.

Travel documents
Sea
Land
Air

Travel documents

Tickets

You can purchase your airline ticket from a travel agency (in person, by telephone or on the internet), or direct from the airline (the best deals are often available online only). Whichever, it always pays to shop around. Internet travel agencies such as www.travelocity.com and www.expedia.com work well if you’re doing a straightforward trip, but for anything even slightly complex there’s no substitute for a real-live travel agent who knows the system, the options, the special deals and so on.

The best place to start your search for agencies or airlines is the travel section of a weekend newspaper. Scan the advertisements, phone a few numbers, check a few websites, build up an idea of options, then take it from there. Remember, you usually get what you pay for: cheaper flights may leave at unsociable hours or include several stopovers. For quick and comfortable journeys, you have to fork out more cash.

Australia & new zealand

The route to England from the southern hemisphere is a very popular one, with a wide range of fares from about AUD$1500 to AUD$3000 return. From New Zealand it’s often best to go via Australia. Round-the-world (RTW) tickets can sometimes work out cheaper than a straightforward return. Major agencies include the following:

Flight Centre (133 133; www.flightcentre.com.au)

STA Travel (1300 733 035; www.statravel.com.au)

Sea

The main ferry routes between England and Ireland include Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire. Between England and mainland Europe ferry routes include Dover to Calais (France), Harwich to Hook of Holland (Netherlands), Hull to Zeebrugge (Belgium) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao (Spain), and Newcastle to Bergen (Norway) or Gothenberg (Sweden). There are many more.

Competition from Eurotunnel and budget airlines has forced ferry operators to offer constant discounted fares, although options vary massively according to time of day or year. The best cross-channel bargains are return fares – often much cheaper than two singles; sometimes cheaper than one single! If you’re a foot passenger, or cycling, you’ve got more flexibility. If you’re driving a car, planning ahead is worthwhile: as well as the usual variants (time of year etc), fares depend on the size of car and the number of passengers. On longer ferry trips, the fare might include a cabin.

Main ferry operators (and their UK contact numbers) include the following:

Brittany Ferries (08703 665 333; www.brittany-ferries.com)

DFDS Seaways (08702 520 524; www.dfds.co.uk)

Hoverspeed (0870 240 8070; www.hoverspeed.co.uk)

Irish Ferries (08705 171717; www.irishferries.com)

P&O Ferries (08705 202020; www.poferries.com)

Speedferries (0870 220 0570; www.speedferries.com)

Stena Line (08705 707070; www.stenaline.com)

Transmanche (0800 917 1201; www.transmancheferries.com)

Another option is www.ferrybooker.com, an online agency covering all sea-ferry routes, plus Eurotunnel.

Land

Bus

You can easily get between England and numerous cities in Ireland or mainland Europe via long-distance bus. The international bus network Eurolines (www.eurolines.com) connects a huge number of destinations; the website has links to bus operators in each country, and gives contact details of local offices. In England, you can book Euroline tickets on the phone or at the website of National Express (08705 808080; www.nationalexpress.com), and at many travel agencies.

Bus travel may be slower and less comfortable than going by train, but it’s usually cheaper, especially if you’re under 25 or over 60. Some sample single fares (and approximate journey times) : London to/from Amsterdam €40 (12 hours); Barcelona €125 (24 hours); Dublin €30 (12 hours). Frequent special offers (called ‘fun fares’) can bring these prices way down, but it’s still worth checking the budget airlines. You may pay a similar fare and knock a large chunk off the journey time.

Channel tunnel services

The Channel Tunnel makes direct train travel between England and continental Europe a fast and enjoyable option. High-speed Euro-star (08705 186 186; www.eurostar.com) passenger serviceshurtle at least 10 times daily between London and Paris (three hours), and London and Brussels (2½ hours), via Ashford and Calais. A new high-speed rail link on the English side will be completed in 2007 and slice another 30 minutes off the journey.

You can buy tickets from travel agencies, major train stations or direct from Eurostar. The normal single fare between London and Paris/Brussels is around £150, but advance deals can drop to around £70 return, or less. Seniors and under-25s get reductions. Bicycles must be in a bike bag.

If you’ve got a car, your other option is Eurotunnel (08705 353535; www.eurotunnel.com). You drive to Folkestone in England or Calais in France, drive onto a train, go through the tunnel, and drive off at the other end. The trains run about four times hourly from 6am to 10pm, then hourly. Loading and unloading is one hour; the journey takes 35 minutes. You can book in advance direct with Eurotunnel or pay on the spot (cash or credit card). The standard cost for a car (and passengers) is around £200 return, but cheaper promotional fares often bring the cost down to nearer £100.

Air

Airports

London’s Heathrow and Gatwick are the two main airports for international flights. Also near London, Luton and Stanstead airports deal largely with charter and budget European flights, while London City Airport specialises in business flights.

Some planes on transatlantic and European routes zip direct to major regional airports like Manchester, while smaller regional airports such as Southampton and Birmingham are served by scheduled and charter flights to/from continental Europe and Ireland.

Heathrow

Some 15 miles west of central London, Heathrow (LHR; 0870 000 0123; www.heathrowairport.com) is the world’s busiest airport, often chaotic and crowded, with four terminals (plus a fifth under construction and a sixth mooted).

If you’re leaving England via Heathrow, make certain you know which terminal your flight is departing from, and allow plenty of time to stand in queues for security checks or get lost in the labyrinth of shops and soulless eateries.

Gatwick

Smaller than Heathrow, but increasingly busy, Gatwick (LGW; 0870 000 2468; www.gatwickairport.com) is 30 miles south of central London, and served by scheduled, charter and budget airlines.

Stansted

London’s third-busiest airport, Stansted (STN; 0870 000 0303; www.stanstedairport.com) is 35 miles northeast of central London, and used mainly by charter and budget airlines – making it one of Europe’s fastest-growing airports.

Luton

Some 35 miles north of central London, Luton (LTN; 01582-405100; www.london-luton.co.uk) is the main base of low-cost airline EasyJet, and also serves charter flights.

London city

About 6 miles east of central London in Docklands, London City Airport (LCY; 020-7646 0088; www.londoncityairport.com) has flights to/from mainland Europe, Ireland and other UK airports.

Airlines

Most of the world’s major airlines have services to/from England, including the following (with their UK contact and reservation phone numbers) :

Aer Lingus (EI;0845 084 4444; www.aerlingus.com)

Air Canada (AC;0871 220 1111; www.aircanada.ca)

Air France (AF;0845 359 1000; www.airfrance.com)

Air New Zealand (NZ;0800 028 4149; www.airnewzealand.co.nz)

Alitalia (AZ;0870 544 8259; www.alitalia.com)

American Airlines (AA;08457 789 789; www.americanairlines.com)

BMI-British Midland (BD;0870 607 0555; www.flybmi.com)

British Airways (BA;0870 850 9850; www.ba.com)

Cathay Pacific (CX;020 8834 8888; www.cathaypacific.com)

Continental Airlines (CO;0845 607 6760; www.continental.com)

Delta Air Lines (DL;0800 414767; www.delta.com)

Emirates (EK;0870 243 2222; www.emirates.com)

Iberia (IB;0845 850 9000; www.iberia.com)

KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines (KL;08705 074 074; www.klm.com)

Lufthansa Airlines (LH;08708 377 747; www.lufthansa.com)

Qantas Airways (QF;08457 747 767; www.qantas.com.au)

Scandinavian Airlines (SK;0870 607 2772; www.scandinavian.net)

Singapore Airlines (SQ;0870 608 8886; www.singaporeair.com)

South African Airways (SA;0870 747 1111; www.flysaa.com)

United Airlines (UA;08458 444 777; www.united.com)

Virgin Atlantic (VS; 0870 380 2007; www.virgin-atlantic.com)

Budget airlines flying between England and other European countries can offer real bargains. Fares vary according to demand, and are best bought online. The only downside is that some no-frills airlines land at minor airports a considerable distance from the centre of the city they claim to serve. The main players are the following:

EasyJet (U2;0870 600 0000; www.easyjet.com)

Ryanair (FR;0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com)

Virgin Express (TV;0870 730 1134; www.virgin-express.com)

To save trawling several sites, services such as www.skyscanner.com and www.lowcostairlines.org have information on many scheduled airlines.

Charter flights are another option. You can buy seat-only deals on the planes that carry tourists between, for example, England and numerous Mediterranean resorts. Contact high-street travel agencies, or specialist websites such as www.flightline.co.uk and www.cheapflights.co.uk.

Canada & the usa

There is a continuous price war on the world’s busiest transcontinental route. Return fares from the East Coast to London range from US$300 to US$600. From the West Coast, fares are about US$100 higher. Major agencies include the following: