Hey Folks, travelling to UK for the first time so not sure if its a better way to be economical by driving a hire car or using public transport. Looking to get some tips about activating a Sim card that works in UK while in Australia, so can be used to make calls/Internet when we reach there.
Any tips on accommodation in regards to is it cheaper to stay away in a suburb or near CBD.
Thank you everybody!
Car Driving or Using Public Transport in London/UK Sim Card activation before arrival
Liamhunter on 21/04/2018 - 21:59
Comments
I'd use a car as more convenient and enjoyable, even if a little more expensive.
If going to London, or other big cities can stay on outskirts near a train line, and stay In a hotel with parking and then catch train in every day. If you want to get intoxicated etc in London, or don't want the hassle of getting train in every day, could use a car for some of trip and stay central for big cities
Overall driving is heaps more convenient imho
Forget about driving in London. Even Rest of UK.
Get a centrally located hotel, an Oyster card and enjoy exploring London. You won't enjoy it as much from a car. Car parking is expensive or non-existent, plus you have the London congestion charge.
Oyster card no longer required in London - just use your credit card.
I don't think all non-UK Visa contactless cards work? And some other cards too.
Does anyone have experience with Citibank Mastercard and ING Visa?
Yes - can confirm that ING Visa does the trick!
australian credit cards work. ING, Citibank, 28 Degrees.
Are you travelling alone? Just to give you the numbers:
Before you even take hire car costs and parking into consideration, you'll be paying 11.50 GBP (~$21) for the congestion charge just to drive in Central London's charging zone. Compare that with the Oyster card daily cap, which is less than 7 GBP if you don't leave Zones 1-2, and 11.50 GBP could get you all the way out to Zone 5.
If you never hop on the Tube, your maximum daily transport costs drop to 4.50 GBP (bus/tram only). But I would only ever hop on a bus in Central London when "sight-seeing" to begin with since the traffic is painfully slow. The subway in London is mind-bogglingly frequent to an Australian.
In terms of accommodation, in absolute terms there's cheaper options in the outer zones, but there's no need to if you're not fussy. There's a lot of budget options just south west of Kensington (where the Aussies/Kiwis traditionally stayed). If you're travelling alone and staying in hostels then you've got many centrally located options from Monday to Thursday, but since I'm cheap I stayed in hostels just to the north and western side of Hyde Park (which were filthy). Our dollar is pretty weak against the pound at the moment…
Thank you so much for replying! We are looking to stay in Bedford area which is bit far from central London and there is not frequent public transport in that area.
If there is a congestion charge can we park the car outside of the suburb where the congestion charge start?Of course you can but you shouldn't be surprised to find that a few others have that idea as well. Street parking is at a premium in London and can be very expensive. Better to find a proper car park in one of the suburbs and use public transport from there.
I would stay at least in "Greater London" on the days you want to see London. If you didn't have a car it would cost like $80 return (plus time) for a return train from Bedford so that wouldn't make financial sense anyway. With a car you'll still be taking public transport within London itself so again you're paying extra in time and money for no real benefit (…unless the Bedford accommodation and car were free).
I think you need your overall UK itinerary sorted out so you can then massage it to your needs. One advantage travelling to the UK over the rest of Europe is that prices and deals are all in (real) English so budgeting is much easier.
Its we are visiting just to Bedford for a early morning function, and if we stay at London we will travel to Bedford will be harder. Hence that way. But I appreciate the idea of parking in a parking area, and get train in to London
Do you have family/friends/free accommodation in Bedford?
London is such a wonderful place to visit and explore as a tourist. So much to see and do. You really should consider getting a hotel for a few nights at least in central London. I found Kensington to be a good home base.
I recently used GiffGaff (https://www.giffgaff.com/) for my sim card when I was last in the UK. You can order the sim to an Australian address free of charge and activate it before you leave so that you can just slot it in when you land and be up and running! It's similar to Amaysim in Australia - not got any physical storefronts - all online and runs off the O2 network. And it's very good value for money - 20 pounds gets you unlimited calls/texts and unlimited data (though the data slows down after 9GB used).
Thank you for your reply
cannot enter overseas address, sad
UK or London? Definitely do not drive in London. U.K. you can drive but also very accessible by trains between cities. Or buses if you want a cheaper option.