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England question
Anybody know if I need a passport to take the chunnel to France? I'm coming from America and am spending my time in England. I'm not really interested in seeing much of France, maybe a day at most. But I do want to ride the chunnel and I could than say I've been to France. Americans view of the french, right or wrong, is very rude and arrogant. England is the country I want to see. It is Americas Mother Country and our main allie. Sometimes it seems like our only allie. Can't depend on France or Canada anymore. Anyway, Americans Love the Brits.(is the term "Brits" okay or would it be considered rude?)
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Oh, and by the way, Brits is fine. As Hollywood is fond of using your enemy of the moment as the villain in films )checkout the phoney accents in the Die Hard movies and the wicked Frenchman in SWAT) it seems that the only people you now want to take the p155 out of are the British and the Chileans - us because we are the only ones who won't complain and the Chileans becasue you know they will and you don't care.
Sorry everyone else - could not resist the moment to educate an innocent yank in the ways of the world
Hello again!
I think that Mushroom25 has largely answered your question about cheap flights but I'll just add the following:
As Mushroom25 states, the airline to choose for budget flights between London and Edinburgh is Easyjet. They fly to Edinburgh from three of London's five international airports. These are Luton, Stansted and Gatwick. Their fares never go as low as Ryanair's do but they still have some bargains. I just checked a random date in July, flying from Gatwick. You can get a return flight (including taxes and charges) for roughly the equivalent of $100.
Although my choice of the date was random, my choice for the airport wasn't. Gatwick Airport has its own rail station and it's roughly half-way between London and Brighton, so it's only about half an hour away from either. This could be another good reason for considering staying in Brighton.
Incidentally, if the idea of travelling to Dublin appeals to you, I've noticed that Ryanair fly from Gatwick to there. (For the random date which I chose, the fare offered was �0.24 [40 cents] each way but taxes and charges brought the return fare up to roughly the equivalent of $60.
Thanks once again for your kind comments. If you keep posting the questions, I'll keep answering them!
Chris
I think that Mushroom25 has largely answered your question about cheap flights but I'll just add the following:
As Mushroom25 states, the airline to choose for budget flights between London and Edinburgh is Easyjet. They fly to Edinburgh from three of London's five international airports. These are Luton, Stansted and Gatwick. Their fares never go as low as Ryanair's do but they still have some bargains. I just checked a random date in July, flying from Gatwick. You can get a return flight (including taxes and charges) for roughly the equivalent of $100.
Although my choice of the date was random, my choice for the airport wasn't. Gatwick Airport has its own rail station and it's roughly half-way between London and Brighton, so it's only about half an hour away from either. This could be another good reason for considering staying in Brighton.
Incidentally, if the idea of travelling to Dublin appeals to you, I've noticed that Ryanair fly from Gatwick to there. (For the random date which I chose, the fare offered was �0.24 [40 cents] each way but taxes and charges brought the return fare up to roughly the equivalent of $60.
Thanks once again for your kind comments. If you keep posting the questions, I'll keep answering them!
Chris
dingbat- Man you sound like a very angry person. You need to lighten up dude. I got through the first line of your post and stopped reading. I said nothing that should offend you. I don't want to visit France and thats it. My opinion! I can't go everywhere in 20 years so France has been excluded. This site is for travel questions etc. If you want to argue with people go to another site. I didn't read your post and if you post again I won't read those either so lets try to move on, OK? Thank You,
I look forward to my trip to England and I thank all the people that have given me some great advice and would love to have some more. If the people Great Britain are as nice as the Brits that have been giving me advice my trip should be wonderful. (but I'm glad dingbat is in France) :-) Look forward to having some of strong English beer and checking out the English chicks. I think you call them birds in England?) I'm referring to women. See you soon....
Me again!
I think you must be in some sort of hippy time warp, Vitobn!
If you refer to young women in the UK as 'chicks' you might find that this will be accepted as some sort of strange American lingo. However, if you refer to them as 'birds', you'll either be laughed at for being 40 years out of date or, more likely, you'll be roundly condemned by both men and women for your lack of 'polical correctness'!
Chris
I think you must be in some sort of hippy time warp, Vitobn!
If you refer to young women in the UK as 'chicks' you might find that this will be accepted as some sort of strange American lingo. However, if you refer to them as 'birds', you'll either be laughed at for being 40 years out of date or, more likely, you'll be roundly condemned by both men and women for your lack of 'polical correctness'!
Chris
Buenchico, Man I hope I'm not overwhelming you with questions but you seem to know a lot about Great Britain. The day trip to Dublin sounds inviting, especially for 2 cents. Since I would only be there for one day because I want to see as much of England as possible, where do you suggest I go in Dublin? Thanks
One more thing, About how long in advance do I need to get airfare for 2 cents? thanks again
Buenchico- Man I hope I�m not overwhelming you with questions but you seem to know a lot about Great Britain and are making my trip much easier. You mentioned a day trip to Dublin for 2 cents. How long in advance do I need to buy airfare at that price? How would I purchase tickets at that price in America? Should I fly there from London or York? I really want to spend most of my time in England so since I�ll only be there for the day, where do you suggest I go? People have been telling me to go to Edinburgh. Since I�ll be spending my first week in York and second week south of London, , another place a lot of people are telling me to go, what would be the best way to get to get to Edinburgh? bus, train, plane, subway etc.? How far is it from York?
I thank you for all the help. Maybe we could hook up for some of that strong English beer and you could introduce me to some fine English chicks. I believe you call them �birds� in England. I�m referring to women� I can�t wait to go there. I�ve worked hard my whole life to retire young and travel. I am 51, I have plenty of money, nothing but time, and hope to travel for the next 20 years� God willing. I know I said this before but, England is a great country with a lot of similar beliefs as far as politics and freedom goes as America. My country based our whole political and legal system on England. All educated Americans feel �very� close to the country that helped make America. If it wasn�t for England there would be no USA. I�m excited and proud to go to England and represent Americans in a positive way and show them the Love we have for them and their country. Thanks again
I thank you for all the help. Maybe we could hook up for some of that strong English beer and you could introduce me to some fine English chicks. I believe you call them �birds� in England. I�m referring to women� I can�t wait to go there. I�ve worked hard my whole life to retire young and travel. I am 51, I have plenty of money, nothing but time, and hope to travel for the next 20 years� God willing. I know I said this before but, England is a great country with a lot of similar beliefs as far as politics and freedom goes as America. My country based our whole political and legal system on England. All educated Americans feel �very� close to the country that helped make America. If it wasn�t for England there would be no USA. I�m excited and proud to go to England and represent Americans in a positive way and show them the Love we have for them and their country. Thanks again
(3-part post):
Hi, once again.
The first thing to say is that although I recommended Gatwick Airport for flights to Edinburgh (and that advice still holds true), I've realised that it's probably not much use for day trips to Dublin. This is because the earliest you can arrive (using flights to/from Gatwick) is 1115 and the latest you can leave is 1910. Allowing for the time it takes to get to and from the city centre (plus check-in time for your return flight), this doesn't really allow enough time for you to explore the city.
Stansted Airport makes far more sense. There are flights every hour or two. You can leave earlier and come back later but you need to be aware that Stansted Airport is about 45 minutes (by train from Liverpool Street station) north of London. This makes it easily accessible if you're staying in central London but not so practical if you're staying in Brighton. (Allowing for time to get across London, Stansted Airport is at least two and a half hours away from Brighton station).
If we go back to assuming that you'll be staying in central London, Stansted Airport is easily accessible and the fares to Dublin can be really cheap. As I've said, those 2 cent fares don't include taxes and charges but all of the fares which follow are fully inclusive.
Hi, once again.
The first thing to say is that although I recommended Gatwick Airport for flights to Edinburgh (and that advice still holds true), I've realised that it's probably not much use for day trips to Dublin. This is because the earliest you can arrive (using flights to/from Gatwick) is 1115 and the latest you can leave is 1910. Allowing for the time it takes to get to and from the city centre (plus check-in time for your return flight), this doesn't really allow enough time for you to explore the city.
Stansted Airport makes far more sense. There are flights every hour or two. You can leave earlier and come back later but you need to be aware that Stansted Airport is about 45 minutes (by train from Liverpool Street station) north of London. This makes it easily accessible if you're staying in central London but not so practical if you're staying in Brighton. (Allowing for time to get across London, Stansted Airport is at least two and a half hours away from Brighton station).
If we go back to assuming that you'll be staying in central London, Stansted Airport is easily accessible and the fares to Dublin can be really cheap. As I've said, those 2 cent fares don't include taxes and charges but all of the fares which follow are fully inclusive.
You ask how far ahead you have to book to get the really cheap fares. This is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions. Ryanair fares vary day by day (and sometimes hour by hour!). Generally, you get the best fares by booking early and by travelling mid-week. (Tourists and people visiting their families fly at the weekends. Businessmen often fly in one direction on Mondays and return on Fridays).
To give you some idea of the inclusive fares, I've checked on the prices for every Wednesday for the next month or so:
17/05: Flying out really early (0610) you can get a return fare of �48.88 (about $90) but taking the next outbound flight (0810) rases the return fare to �73.88 (about $140).
24/05: Even though this is in the near future, all flights in both directions are (before taxes and charges) just 1p (2 cents) each way. This gives an inclusive return fare of �16.63 (about $30).
31/05, 07/06 and 14/06: The fares are the same as for 24/05 (i.e. nominally 2 cents each way or, in practice, about $30 return).
I can't guarantee that you'll always get fares like those with Ryanair but the Stansted-Dublin route usually has plenty of bargains available. (Note that the cheap fares are only available online. Telephone bookings can be substantially dearer).
Where to go in Dublin? If you take the express bus from the airport into the city it drops you off by the starting point for the open-top guided bus tours. I try to avoid these in many cities but I recommend the ones in Dublin. They operate on the usual 'hop on, hop off' principle so you can choose where to visit. Personally, I'd suggest getting lunch in the Temple Bar area, preferably at somewhere like Gallagher's Boxty House:
http://www.boxtyhouse.ie/
I also think that the Guinness Brewery is worth the money, if only for the views from the top of the building and the free pint of the 'black stuff' that's included!
http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/home/home.a sp
Other than that, I'd 'play it by ear' and see what takes your fancy. It might be some of the historic sights, it might just be exploring the shops or relaxing in the parks (or the bars!). It's up to you.
Don't worry about overwhelming me with questions. I enjoy answering them (but don't expect a response for the next few hours because it's after 2 a.m. here and I'm off to bed!).
Chris
Buenchico- Man you�re a lifesaver dude. I am so lucky to have found this web site that led me to you. Thanks, Thanks, Thanks..
I apologize for not being up to date on English slang. All I have to go on is movies and listening to English Rock Stars talk. In the USA the term �Chicks� has been used for a long time. It is not only used by old X hippies like myself but is also used by the young. It is in no means considered rude or disrespectful in America. Women are chicks and men are dudes. It�s only slang and means nothing but slang. But the slang word that has survived the longest in America, for 6 decades or more, is the term �Cool.� Cool is cool��. When in England I�ll try to update my English slang vocabulary. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
Re day trip to Dublin. Great idea. But do your research re costs. Ryanair has good deals but you pay taxes. I recently did a day trip from Heathrow - �50 on the day (inc taxes), but could have been less if prebooked. Got early flight and the Air Coach (more expensive than bus but faster when time is limited) to Grafton Street. http://www.aircoach.ie/
I was having coffee in Grafton Street at 9.05 and had a full day of shopping, lunch and sightseeing. I would recommend start at Trinity college, walk up Grafton Street towards St Stephens Green (lovely at lunch). At either you can get on the hop-on hop-off bus - certainly worth it. I would get off at Guinness go to the view bar, make sure it drives through Phoenix Park. Then go back to Grafton Street and go to sample guinness down Baggot Street - Toners or O'Donoghues. Before catching Air coach back I would go down Dawson Street and have a drink/pub meal in either (or all) of Samsara, CafeenSeine or Ron Blacks. All are worth just going into to see as are beautiful old buildings modernised wonderfully. My favourite is still Cafe en Seine, lovely for coffee, snack, people watching. As a 'chick' on my own had no problem sitting on my own there. If you are into art the National Gallery is very near and very good (esp the Jack B Yeats, good cafe). When ready to leave, hop on your bus back to airport. No luggage so do automated check in/boarding pass. But leave sufficient time to go through security as it is tight - and you'll prob be caught up with all the business commuters. Have to take off shoes, belts, etc. Good duty free there for guinness products. Worth the trip. Edinburgh also a beautiful city, go by train to see some of the English countryside. Enjoy. (oh and don't call us 'birds' except with tongue firmly in cheek!)
(Yet another multi-part post!):
I'm back agin!
Because a couple of our previous posts crossed, I think that I might have already answered some of your questions but I'll try to fill in some of the gaps:
First of all, to give you a sense of scale, York is about 200 miles north of London and Edinburgh is about 200 miles north of York. If you want to visit Edinburgh from London, then the Easyjet flights from Gatwick Airport probably make most sense. If you go from York, you'll have to go by train because there's no air service from there. The rail journey from York takes about 2 hours 40 minutes. A walk-up return 'Saver' fare is �66.50 (about $120) but if you pre-book you can get fares as low as �11 each way giving a return fare equivalent to about $40.
I'm back agin!
Because a couple of our previous posts crossed, I think that I might have already answered some of your questions but I'll try to fill in some of the gaps:
First of all, to give you a sense of scale, York is about 200 miles north of London and Edinburgh is about 200 miles north of York. If you want to visit Edinburgh from London, then the Easyjet flights from Gatwick Airport probably make most sense. If you go from York, you'll have to go by train because there's no air service from there. The rail journey from York takes about 2 hours 40 minutes. A walk-up return 'Saver' fare is �66.50 (about $120) but if you pre-book you can get fares as low as �11 each way giving a return fare equivalent to about $40.
You can check train times here:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
You can also pre-book your tickets through that site. National Rail doesn't sell the tickets directly, so you'll be asked to select a vendor. The logical one to select for York to Edinburgh is GNER because they're the company which run that service. When you get to the GNER site, you'll be asked how you wish to receive your ticket. The postal options don't seem to allow for international sales but you can select the option which allows you to collect your tickets from York station. (The system e-mails you a reference number. You go to the ticket dispenser at the station and insert the debit/credit card which you used to book the ticket. Just type in your reference number and out will pop your tickets).
If you'd prefer to take the flight from London's Gatwick Airport (which is roughly mid-way between London and Brighton), you can book here:
http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp
EasyJet is a 'ticketless' airline. i.e. you just print off your booking details from your PC and take this printout to the check-in desk. (Check-in desks close exactly 30 minutes prior to the departure of the flight. Easyjet recommend allowing 2 hours for check-in but, in practice, an hour should be fine). NB: Although you don't need a passport to visit Scotland you WILL need it, for ID purposes, to check-in for EasyJet flights.
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
You can also pre-book your tickets through that site. National Rail doesn't sell the tickets directly, so you'll be asked to select a vendor. The logical one to select for York to Edinburgh is GNER because they're the company which run that service. When you get to the GNER site, you'll be asked how you wish to receive your ticket. The postal options don't seem to allow for international sales but you can select the option which allows you to collect your tickets from York station. (The system e-mails you a reference number. You go to the ticket dispenser at the station and insert the debit/credit card which you used to book the ticket. Just type in your reference number and out will pop your tickets).
If you'd prefer to take the flight from London's Gatwick Airport (which is roughly mid-way between London and Brighton), you can book here:
http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp
EasyJet is a 'ticketless' airline. i.e. you just print off your booking details from your PC and take this printout to the check-in desk. (Check-in desks close exactly 30 minutes prior to the departure of the flight. Easyjet recommend allowing 2 hours for check-in but, in practice, an hour should be fine). NB: Although you don't need a passport to visit Scotland you WILL need it, for ID purposes, to check-in for EasyJet flights.
For those really cheap flights to Dublin, you need Ryanair. Their website is here:
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/
Ryanair operate the same ticketless system as Easyjet, so you'll have no problems booking flights from your home PC. Note that the minimum check-in time for Ryanair flights is 40 minutes. (Once again, allowing two hours is recommended but one hour should be sufficient). If you can get to an internet cafe, when you're in the UK, you can also check-in online up to 72 hours before your flights. That assumes that you've only got hand luggage but, of course, that's likely to be the case for a day trip. (Make sure that the internet cafe has got a printer connected to the PC because you'll need to print out your boarding passes).
As I've previously stated, Ryanair's flights from Gatwick Airport aren't really suitable for day trips. They also fly from London's Luton Airport. This is north of London and served by a (fairly slow) rail service which runs from Brighton and through the capital. Once again, however, I don't think that the times are particularly suitable for a day trip. By far the most suitable flights are from Stansted Airport. This is easily accessible from central London but you'd need to allow plenty of time to get across London if you're coming from the south of the city.
The Irish immigration authorities don't require vistors travelling from the UK to show their passpports but you WILL need your passport, for ID purposes, when you check-in for, and board, Ryanair flights.
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/
Ryanair operate the same ticketless system as Easyjet, so you'll have no problems booking flights from your home PC. Note that the minimum check-in time for Ryanair flights is 40 minutes. (Once again, allowing two hours is recommended but one hour should be sufficient). If you can get to an internet cafe, when you're in the UK, you can also check-in online up to 72 hours before your flights. That assumes that you've only got hand luggage but, of course, that's likely to be the case for a day trip. (Make sure that the internet cafe has got a printer connected to the PC because you'll need to print out your boarding passes).
As I've previously stated, Ryanair's flights from Gatwick Airport aren't really suitable for day trips. They also fly from London's Luton Airport. This is north of London and served by a (fairly slow) rail service which runs from Brighton and through the capital. Once again, however, I don't think that the times are particularly suitable for a day trip. By far the most suitable flights are from Stansted Airport. This is easily accessible from central London but you'd need to allow plenty of time to get across London if you're coming from the south of the city.
The Irish immigration authorities don't require vistors travelling from the UK to show their passpports but you WILL need your passport, for ID purposes, when you check-in for, and board, Ryanair flights.
For rail services to Paris (and also to the beautiful cities of Lille and Brussels) you need to pre-book with Eurostar:
http://www.eurostar.com
Eurostar offer a similar means of ticket collection to that used by GNER. (i.e. you go to the ticket machine at Waterloo International station and insert the debit/credit card you used to book the tickets online. Just type in the reference number which you received when you booked and you'll get your tickets). The minimum check-in time is 30 minutes although, unlike the airlines, they'll normally let you through if you're a few minutes late. (They actually sold me a ticket 12 minutes before departure on one occasion. I still had time to check-in and go through the security and immigration checks). The view from the train, for most of the journey, isn't particularly interesting - you're in the Channel Tunnel for about 20 minutes - but it's still a great service which travels at 300km/h (=186 mph) for most of the journey.
http://www.eurostar.com
Eurostar offer a similar means of ticket collection to that used by GNER. (i.e. you go to the ticket machine at Waterloo International station and insert the debit/credit card you used to book the tickets online. Just type in the reference number which you received when you booked and you'll get your tickets). The minimum check-in time is 30 minutes although, unlike the airlines, they'll normally let you through if you're a few minutes late. (They actually sold me a ticket 12 minutes before departure on one occasion. I still had time to check-in and go through the security and immigration checks). The view from the train, for most of the journey, isn't particularly interesting - you're in the Channel Tunnel for about 20 minutes - but it's still a great service which travels at 300km/h (=186 mph) for most of the journey.
Just a thought for the Eurostar service: The fares aren't particularly cheap so you might want to stick with Standard Class travel. If you fancy something slightly better, however, you could check to see how much extra it is to travel Leisure Select. (You can choose Standard in one direction and Leisure Select in the other, if you like). You get First Class seating with a meal thrown in. Although the food is served 'airline style', it's still quite good. (Breakfast, on the outbound service, is a pleasant light meal but dinner, on the return, is much better - if only because of the free champagne!).
Going back to UK rail services (and a 'sense of scale') you might find it useful to download the GB Rail map from here:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/maps/n etwork_rail_maps.htm
(You might also find the 'London & the South East' and/or the 'London Connections' maps useful).
OK, I reckon that'll do for now but I'm sure that you'll have more questions :-) Don't hesitate to ask!
Chris
Going back to UK rail services (and a 'sense of scale') you might find it useful to download the GB Rail map from here:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/maps/n etwork_rail_maps.htm
(You might also find the 'London & the South East' and/or the 'London Connections' maps useful).
OK, I reckon that'll do for now but I'm sure that you'll have more questions :-) Don't hesitate to ask!
Chris
That excellent post from Maimai wasn't there when I started to compose my previous set of ramblings (which shows just how long those ramblings took to put together). I'll happily endorse everyhting said there about Dublin.
My thanks also go to Maimai for reminding me that there are cheap flights from Heathrow Airport (Terminal 1) to Dublin. Heathrow is west of London, just 15 minutes away from Paddington station. Maimai didn't state which airline was used but I'm guesing Bmi:
http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/splash.aspx
I've just checked flights for a random Wednesday in July. Flying out at 0700, you arrive at 0815. The last flight back is at 1955, arriving at 2115. Those flights have fares of just �5 ($9) each way but, by the time you add in the taxes, the return fare is �43.75 (about $80).
The minimum check-in time for these flights is 40 minutes but I'd recommend aiming for double that (which means an early start for that 0700 flight!)
Check-in is by an automated system similar to that used by GNER and Eurostar for issuing tickets. (i.e. put your credit/debit card into the machine and enter the relevant information to get your boarding pass printed out).
Chris
My thanks also go to Maimai for reminding me that there are cheap flights from Heathrow Airport (Terminal 1) to Dublin. Heathrow is west of London, just 15 minutes away from Paddington station. Maimai didn't state which airline was used but I'm guesing Bmi:
http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/splash.aspx
I've just checked flights for a random Wednesday in July. Flying out at 0700, you arrive at 0815. The last flight back is at 1955, arriving at 2115. Those flights have fares of just �5 ($9) each way but, by the time you add in the taxes, the return fare is �43.75 (about $80).
The minimum check-in time for these flights is 40 minutes but I'd recommend aiming for double that (which means an early start for that 0700 flight!)
Check-in is by an automated system similar to that used by GNER and Eurostar for issuing tickets. (i.e. put your credit/debit card into the machine and enter the relevant information to get your boarding pass printed out).
Chris
