Vacation In Great Britain

If you are planning on planning a vacation in Great Britain and need information about the islands then you should travel to some of the most beautiful resorts.

Visiting Great Britain was quite a success. The island had plenty to offer and it was impossible to experience it all in a week

Discover Britain’s rich cultural heritage, lush green pastures, fascinating cities and scenic coastlines – all within a striking distance of each other. It’s hardly surprising why this tiny little country has been one of the most popular holiday destinations for people from all over the world.

Great Britain is an island off the north-west coast of continental Europe that includes the countries of England, Scotland and Wales. With a population of nearly 59 million people and almost 5 million households, it’s one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. The country covers a land area of 130,374 sq mi (337,220 km2)— nearly twice the size of the US state of Montana—acking lots to see and do for those who want to visit.

Vacation In Great Britain

Planning a trip to the United Kingdom (UK) probably seems pretty easy. The language is almost never a problem, the visa requirements are not particularly onerous for vacationers from North and South America, Australasia or Europe, and there’s a good choice of ways to arrive and get around.

And, you know, it probably is as easy as all that. You could pop over to London and take a few day trips in the immediate area, then spend a day or two venturing a bit further afield—to Oxford or the Cotswolds or Stratford-upon-Avon and, hey presto, what a great vacation you’ve had.

But whether you buy your vacation basics online for yourself or use a travel agent to book a tour, a little advance planning can open your eyes to corners of the UK you never even heard of, let alone thought of visiting.

It’s all a matter of asking yourself the right questions. Considering who you really are (from a travel perspective at any rate) and what you really enjoy seeing and doing can turn an okay trip into a great one.

But where do you start? The 10 questions that follow should help keep your vacation planning in sharp focus.

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Who Is Going?

Unlike some vacation destinations that are more suitable for couples than families, or older than younger people, the United Kingdom has something for everyone. It’s just a question of choosing wisely for your party. Time to zero in on your travel profile.

Are you:

• A couple planning a romantic trip? Think about romantic things to do and see, the best places to smooch in Britain or some very nice spots to pop the question.
• A family traveling with children? Young and old will enjoy all the treasures on the Harry Potter trail, the fun at Legoland Windsor, the farm holidays, family cycling, and camping trips. The UK has one of the world’s best (and its first) safari parks. And there’s even a rich family schedule at the world famous Edinburgh Festival.
• A large group? Plan a trip for a sports team, a hiking party, a group of cyclists, a clan reunion, a class trip by checking out hostels or the new, more glamorous “poshtels.” Or consider large vacation rentals; there are some remarkably luxurious homes, suitable for a big family reunion, that are good value on a per person basis.
• Outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure? The UK’s varied national parks have some of the best free hill walks, mountain hikes and sheer cliff climbs in the world. Go fossil hunting on the Jurassic Coast and check out the surf on the beaches of Cornwall. Some of the UK’s most remote parks in England, Scotland and Wales are now registered as world-class Dark Sky Reserves where you can go star gazing in blissful peace. And if it’s an adrenaline rush you’re after, check out the Northern Hemisphere’s fastest zip line in Wales.
• Millennials and party animals? The UK has some of the best rock and pop festivals in the world and almost every UK city worth its salt has great clubs and venues for live music and hot DJs.
• Mature and looking for peaceful surroundings? Try one of the UK’s lovely country house hotels, where accommodations range from traditional to modern boutique, where spa retreats and pools are common and where the food is almost always superb.
• Pet owners? Learn about the UK Pet Travel Scheme that makes it easier than ever to bring the family pet along on your travels.

Being clear about exactly who is going to the UK—to the members of your party, yourself, or your travel agent—narrows the infinity of choices and makes planning your UK trip that much easier.

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How Much Can You Spend?

How much will a vacation in the UK cost? There’s no upper limit and minimums depending on the season, the last minute deals you can find, where you are starting out from, and so forth. Consider these prices as approximate guidelines.

Getting There

The round trip fare for two people flying to London from an East Coast USA departure point varies from about $1,200 to more than $4,000 depending upon the time of year.

• How to save: The price of some package tours (including car and hotel) can be less than booking a flight alone. Most of the big transatlantic operators, including American Airlines, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic, offer good value packages. Before you book a hotel, flight, and car separately, spend some time searching for cheap packages.

Getting Around

Renting the smallest car with a manual transmission will cost between $350-$500 for a couple of weeks. To that, add the cost of gasoline and you’ll see that renting a car, in a country with excellent trains and public transportation, may not be such a good idea.

You can save by using other ways to get around. Take the Underground in London, try Britain’s rail services, and take the train. For total freedom, buy a BritRail pass. Even cheaper: hop on a bus.

Accommodations

The average price of a night in a UK hotel in 2020, was just under £100—but the average price of acceptable hotel accommodation in most major cities was still above £100, with London and Edinburgh leading at about £200. Check out some of these ideas on how to save on accommodations. And if your aim is London, have a look at some cheaper places to stay just outside the capital.

Food and Drink

Expect to pay a minimum of £25-£30 per person per day. If you’re really on a very tight budget, these are some ways to save on food and drink.

Admissions

From £10 to £25+ per adult, per attraction. You can save a great deal by buying a UK discount pass. Some of them are only available to overseas visitors and are remarkably good value.

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How Much Time Do You Have in the UK?

Trying to fit too much into your UK vacation is bound to leave you feeling rushed and unsatisfied. But you probably don’t cross oceans very often so you will want to make the most of the time you have. Consider these planning approaches.

The Short Break

If you have a week or less, you could either:

1. Plan a two-center vacation: You might visit two cities that you find interesting—London and Edinburgh or London and Glasgow are popular combinations—or plan a short city break with some adventure at the beach or in a national park. 
2. Use a city as a hub: If you base yourself in one of the UK’s main urban hubs you can explore it and take one or two-day trips to nearby towns or scenic regions. Most UK cities are well connected, by bus and rail, to their surrounding region.

If you make your hub city or your vacation centers places with good international airport connections, good rail hubs, and good road connections for venturing further afield, you’ll have more stress-free time to spend on your vacation. These locations are all well connected:

• London
• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Glasgow
• Edinburgh
• Manchester (handy for Liverpool too)

The Longer Vacation

If you have two weeks or more… You should have plenty of time to visit one of the UK’s leading cities and do some touring as well. You might:

• Try using several cities, in different parts of the UK as a base for further exploring. Combine London with York and Edinburgh, for example, Cardiff with Birmingham and Manchester or Glasgow. There are loads of opportunities for exploring historic sites, family attractions, castles, and stately homes within an easy train or car journey of most UK cities.
• Spend a few days in a city and then take off on an in-depth exploration of a region. Some adventurous fell walking in the Lake District, for example, combines well with the UK’s indie music city, Manchester. Edinburgh or Glasgow pair well with Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. London makes a good partner for some time spent exploring Suffolk—the England of dreams, and East Anglia.
• Take on a long distance hike, cycle or mountain bike trek along one of the UK’s national paths, like The South Downs Way or the 7stanes Trails.

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When Do You Want to Travel?

The UK has pretty much a two-season climate. Spring and autumn are both just brief, passing hints of summer and winter. Which of the two main seasons you choose will influence the price you pay and what you’ll be able to do.

Visiting the United Kingdom in Summer

Summer is the high season. Prices for accommodation, flights, and local tours are at their most expensive. If you come in the summer—essentially from May through mid-September—here’s what that premium price will get you:

• Very long days so more time for touring and outdoor activities. Through mid-August, it will be light enough to be outdoors until after 10 p.m. in some parts of the country
• English gardens at their best and open longer hours
• The Edinburgh Festivals
• Glastonbury and lots of other music festivals

Visiting the United Kingdom in Winter

Prices are lowest from mid-October to the end of March, but the days are also shortest. In mid-winter, lights may be on all day in bad weather. Sunset before 5 p.m. is typical of December and January.

If you enjoy indoor activities, shopping, museums, theatres, dining out, and nightlife, you can save a bundle and have a very good time in the United Kingdom in the winter. Here’s some of what you can look forward to:

• European-style Christmas markets all over the country
• The best and the newest theatre in all the big cities
• Bargain rates or bargain breaks at hotels and other accommodations
• Wonderful Christmas choir concerts in the UK’s historic cathedrals
• Fire festivals in England and Scotland
• Hogmanay, Beer Festivals, and Up Helly As a Viking festival all over the place.

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Where Do You Want to Go?

People sometimes forget that there’s a lot more to the UK than England. This is, after all, a United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. And each nation of the UK has its own distinctive personality.

England

Probably the most varied of the UK’s nations, England offers urban lifestyles, country living, empty beaches, rugged coasts, national parks, historic touring, markets, shopping, lakes, hikes, riding, cycling—a kind of United Kingdom in miniature.

Scotland

Scotland is the emptiest of the nations of the UK with great, beautiful stretches of highlands, dramatic lochs, rolling borderlands and upland moors. It also has two of the UK’s most exciting cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and some of it’s wildest holiday celebrations.

Wales

Wales is more rural than most of the UK. It has storybook pretty valleys and wonderful areas for walking. In Snowdonia, it has the highest UK mountain outside of Scotland as well as several brilliant waterfalls and cascades. In 2017, the view from the top of Snowdonia was voted the best view in Britain in a survey of 3,500 visitors. And, if you like castles, this is the place to be. Wales also has gorgeous beaches and miles of protected, heritage coastline. If you tour and visit local pubs, you are likely to hear Welsh spoken as a first language in parts of North Wales.

Northern Ireland

Belfast is experiencing a cultural revival and Northern Ireland is finally being discovered by visitors. Ulster, as it is also known, has lovely, rural landscapes, dramatic coastal features like the Giant’s Causeway and some of the UK’s oldest historic monuments. It has maintained an open border with Eire (the Republic of Ireland), but following the U.K.’s official withdrawal from the EU (Brexit), this open border policy may change.

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What Do You Like to Do?

Are you outdoorsy? A history or literature buff? Mad for shopping and pampering? Maybe you like museums? The beach? Wonderful scenery to photograph?

The nice thing about the UK is that it has all the variety you might expect of a country with its rich and long heritage. Yet it’s all packed into a relatively small land mass. With so much within easy reach, you could drive yourself mad trying to do and see everything. Far better to plan your trip around one or two kinds of activities you really enjoy.

Outdoors and Active

There are plenty of opportunities for hiking, cycling, riding, sailing, and more adventurous sports like hang gliding, scuba diving, and spelunking. Here are a few ideas:

• Scenic walks and rugged hikes around Balmoral
• Exploring UK national parks
• Diving shipwrecks in Scapa Flow

Shopping, Clubbing, Dining out

You’re not just limited to London and its high prices. Here’s just a sampling of what else is available:

• Birmingham—A shoppers paradise with a hot music scene
• Liverpool—The Beatles hometown and a historic maritime center
• Manchester—Clubland and indie music central. Plus two great football teams.
• Discount designer shopping
• Leeds’ Glamorous Shopping Arcades

Heritage

From castles, stately homes, museums, and historic gardens to literary icons of the English language, you are never far from the UK’s rich cultural heritage.

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What Kind of Accommodations Do You Prefer?

To some degree, where you decide to stay on your first or your fiftieth visit to the UK will be a matter of price. But there are other things to consider when you are choosing the kind of accommodation you’ll opt for in the UK. The way you travel (tour or stay put) the amount of do-it-for-yourself you’re up for, the way you do or do not make friends on vacation are all factors. So what kind of digs will you choose?

Hotels

If you are touring, staying one night here, one night there, a cheap chain hotel might be an adequate and reliable choice. On the other hand, if you are looking for a luxury or romantic experience, fine dining, bags of charm, a country house hotel might be a choice that provides indulgence for less than you might pay for similar luxury in a city.

Vacation Home Rentals

Vacation home rentals are great for independent travelers who like to cook their own meals, come and go as they please. They’re also a good and money saving choice for families and groups. And these days, there a lot of amazing, historic vacation rentals available—Agatha Christie’s summer home, for example, or a 14th-century hall house hidden behind brambles worthy of Sleeping Beauty.

Hostels

Like a friendly environment and a chance to meet lots of people? A hostel (or these days, a “poshtel”) might be just the trick; they’re a lot more comfortable, clean and convenient than you might think. Or, if you are ready to graduate from couch surfing, Airbnb is just as popular—with just as many opportunities and risks—in the UK as it is in most other countries.

Bed and Breakfasts

B&Bs can offer great breakfasts, warm and friendly hosts, good locations and loads of charm without massive expense. But choose wisely. A grim B&B with an intrusive or unpleasant landlady can be dire. The AA—The UK Automobile Association—publishes an authoritative guide to the best B&Bs.

House Swap

House swap to live like a local for free. It’s safer and easier than ever before. And there is house swapping choices in all the cool places.

Camping

If you like living under canvas, there’s no shortage of camping opportunities in the UK. There is both wild (tent) and caravan (RV) camping all over the UK. Many RV parks are open year round.