UK international travel guide in 2023

UK 🇬🇧

UK is part of Europe with main city at London. It's usually 🌤️ 3.55 °C in UK with a rainfall of 🌧 127.73 mm. Tipping is usually not expected in United Kingdom. Internet speed in United Kingdom is on average 13.9 Mbps. In United Kingdom you drive on the left side. Its Developed country with a population of 65M people. The main currency is Pound Sterling. The languages spoken are English. Automatic teller machines (local name: cash machines) are everywhere in United Kingdom. Current travel safety advice is Exercise a high degree of caution. Get other useful information like socket plugs, SIM cards and emergency numbers.

👍 Developed 🌤️ ~3.55 °C 🌧 ~127.73 mm 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 65M people

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Advice

🛡️ Travel safety

Exercise a high degree of caution

We’ve reviewed our advice for the United Kingdom. We haven't changed the overall level of our advice, exercise a high degree of caution. We now advise you exercise a high degree of caution due to the threat of terrorism. Passenger number restrictions have been implemented at Heathrow airport. Plan ahead before heading to the airport and stay in touch with your airline for the latest information. We now advise: Exercise a high degree of caution in the UK due to the threat of terrorism.

Issue date: July 22, 2022

Weather

🌤️ Temperature

🌧 Rainfall

General

🔌 Sockets

United Kingdom uses 230V, 50Hz with socket and plug Type G.

🌐 Languages

The languages that are typically spoken are English

Money

💱 Currencies Used

United Kingdom uses the British pound (symbol: £), code GBP.Banknotes come in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 pounds. Pound is subdivided into 100 pence. Coins come in denominations of 2 and 1 pounds and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 pence.

💳 Cards

Widely accepted Credit cards are widely accepted within United Kingdom (at hotels, shops, and restaurants, travel agencies, car-rental agencies etc.). Visa, MasterCard and Maestro are the most widely accepted. American Express is less common. Diners Club is pretty rare. Discover, JCB, UnionPay and RuPay are unknown.

🏧 ATMs

Automatic teller machines (local name: cash machines) are everywhere in United Kingdom. Pretty much anywhere you look there will be an ATM. United Kingdom has one of the highest ATM densities in the world.You do not need a chip & PIN card to use an ATM — your standard magnetic card will work fine.

💁‍♂️ Tipping

Not expected, but can leave extra tip Tipping is usually not expected in United Kingdom. However, if you are satisfied with the service provided you can show your appreciation by leaving a small ‘extra’ tip. Receipts might sometimes include a service charge. If there is a service charge there is no need to tip.

Calling

📡 Internet

Internet speed in United Kingdom is on average 13.9 Mbps. WiFi coverage in United Kingdom is very high. Most hotels, hostels, cafes, restaurants and bars have it.

📱 Phones

You can buy a SIM card for about £12.38, which includes 1 GB of data plan. You can choose from 4 telecoms: 3 (Three), EE (Everything Everywhere), O2 or Vodafone. United Kingdom uses GSM mobile networks GSM 900 and GSM 1800. If you don't want to buy SIM card in United Kingdom upon arrival, make sure to check the roaming charges with your telecom provider before your departure so there are no surprises when you return home.

📞 Calling

To call United Kingdom, dial +, then 44 (the country code for United Kingdom), then the area code (without the initial 0) and the local number. For local calls within United Kingdom, start with the area code (with the initial 0). In the case above area code is 121 .

Driving

🛣️ Road rules

In United Kingdom you drive on the left side. Most cars have manual transmission (stick). Unless otherwise posted, the speed limits for cars and motorcycles are as follows: 113 km/h (70 mph) on motorways, 113 km/h (70 mph) on expressways, 48 km/h (29 mph) in all built-up areas and 97 km/h (60 mph) on undivided highways. Left turn on red lights is strictly forbidden unless an additional green semaphore arrow allows it. It is illegal to drive with blood alcohol content higher than 0.08%.

🚦 On the road

Road assistance is available at 0800 88 77 66 (Automobile Association AA) or 0333 2000 999 (RAC). For general news on United Kingdom's traffic use Traffic England, Automobile Association (AA) or Highways England. For news on United Kingdom’s motorways and tolls use M6 toll, Transport for London or UK Toll Roads. Most popular petrol stations in United Kingdom are Asda, Tesco, Shell, Sainsburys, Esso, Morrisons and BP. Petrol (unleaded) gas options are called petrol, Super unleaded (98) or Unleaded (95). Petrol costs about £1.09 per liter.Diesel option is called Diesel.