Traveling England: My Top Ten Tips

Back from England and finally given the chance to really think about all that took place within those six weeks. The good, like walking through Hyde Park, visiting the Iffley Road Track, and having High Tea at the Pump Rooms in Bath, and the bad, such as being charged £20 for forgetting my rail card, getting sick from Indian food, and being stuck in Birmingham for three days. So after all that has happened and everything I've experienced from my stay in England, here are my traveling tips for visiting the UK.

(In no order of importance.)

1. Keep the change – You'll never know when you'll have to use the restrooms, and you never know when it's going to be a pay toilet. Train stations will usually charge you, as well as parks and malls. There's a good chance you can find somewhere else to go, but when in doubt, carry at least 40p on you.
2. Always look out for cars…always – In America, pedestrians have the right of way. In England, it's cars. And some drivers have no problem trying to beat you to it (yes, even if that means you might get run over). So be wary of cars whenever you're crossing any street. British drivers are not always the nicest!
3. Keep an eye on the clock – In America we're use to malls staying open until 9pm and we have the convenience of 24-hour stores. But unless you're in London, expect most stores to close around 5:30pm to 6pm and some grocery stores staying open until 9pm or 10pm. But when in doubt, try to get to the store early.
4. Using public transportation: Trains
1) Buy a rail card and always keep on you – A rail card is a little photo ID card you can purchase for £26 and it will give you 30% off on all train ticket purchases. So if you plan on using the trains a lot, I would definitely recommend buying one. You will also need a passport size photo of you. They have photo booths at the train stations where you can buy the photo (they print off 5) for £5. For more information check it out at railcard.co.uk. Also, if you order tickets using a rail card you MUST keep this card on you whenever you're on the train! I forgot mine before leaving for Liverpool but my friend assured me they never check for it. That was a lie. I was charged for the difference of my train ticket and also charged a £20 fee. So buy one and don't forget it!
2) Purchase tickets at the station, NOT online – Online is convenient but it will cost you. My friends and I discovered after a few weeks of using the trains that by purchasing tickets online we were being charged for two singles instead of a round trip. Meaning we were almost paying double for our trips! Also, online will charge you £3.50 to use a credit card for payment. My recommendation is to know the dates, times, and train stations you want to travel to (double check which stations you want because some cities have multiple stations) and then buy them in advance at the train station. You can check out train schedules and prices at thetrainline.com.
5. Drink tap – Purchasing soda at a restaurant isn't what you normally expect at home. For starters, the glasses are usually smaller, or they come in the option of regular or large. Which should give away my next reasoning – refills, at least free ones, are hard to come by in England. In fact, I don't think I found a single restaurant where refills were free. With that said, drink water. And make sure you order tap.
6. Peace sign isn't always peaceful… - In some parts of Greece and Italy it is offensive to give a thumbs up, how you present "peace" with your hands can go different ways. If you do the peace sign with your palm facing out, it means exactly what you're trying to convey (which I'm assuming is peace). But if you face your palm toward yourself, it is another form of giving someone the middle finger. So unless you want to tell someone to double eff off, make sure your palm is facing out. Or just don't make that sign at all.
7. Be polite – I think in America we have this mentality that we're not afraid to piss someone off (especially if they're pissing us off). And I love that. But overseas I tried to be on my best American behavior. Not all Brits are nice, but most will try their best to have manners towards you. I suggest doing the same (especially because customer service over there isn't as great as it is in the states…they're not going to kiss ass to make you happy).
8. Staying in Touch: The Options
1) If you're going to be in England for a longer stay, such as six weeks, I recommend purchasing the cheapest pay-as-you-go phone you can find, and I recommend buying that phone from T-Mobile. While I was over there they had this great international deal. All I had to do was text INT to 441 and I was now only paying 5p per minute to the USA and texts cost 15p. They had other costs for other countries but the USA was my only concern. So if you plan on making a lot of calls back home, I suggest this deal. But…
2) Skype-To-Go – Another great deal with making phone calls back home is to set up a skype to go number. You need to have skype credit or a monthly subscription (both are pretty cheap) set up in order to set up a number. Here's how it works. You sign in to skype, skype gives you a number, you store the number in your phone, and when you want to call someone back in the states, you simply call the number and choose the contact you wish to call (you can store numbers for skype to go on the skype website). How does this save money? When you call skype, you're calling a local number. Skype takes care of the international part, and calls the person you're contacting from a local number. So you're both being charged for making local phone calls instead of international. An important thing to note: BE CAREFUL IF YOU'RE USING AN INTERNATIONAL PHONE. My friend was charged $600 from Verizon because he was using skype-to-go to call his girlfriend. Why was he charged so much? He was using an international phone, so his number was a US number, but he set up skype-to-go with a UK number. So even though his girlfriend wasn't charged anything (because she was being connected to a local number), he was charged a whopping $600 because every time he called skype-to-go he was technically calling internationally. So if you're using skype-to-go, be careful. Check out more at skype.com.
3) Skype – Not the most reliable for phone calls (it cut me out a lot), but it's definitely the cheapest option. My boyfriend and I both have skype so we could do skype video chats (which are free). It was a great way to stay in touch.
4) International Calling Card – Another option to skype-to-go would be purchasing a cheap cell phone and then an international calling card. I don't have any recommendations on this, but if you're looking for an alternative to skype, I would say this would be your next best bet.
9. Watch your bag – It's pretty simple but you'd be surprised how many of my friends had things stolen just because they trusted the wrong person or were naïve enough to think that no one would touch their stuff. If you have something you don't want to get stolen, either leave it at home, keep it on you, or watch it with a close eye.
10. TAKE IT ALL IN – England is a beautiful country, and while I didn't get to visit Wales or Scotland, I've heard great things about both. There is so much to do and see, my six week stay was almost not enough. Take photos, keep a journal, record videos…whatever it takes to remember your time spent. Do the stereotypical things we all think of (drink tea instead of coffee, go inside a red telephone booth, ride on a double deck bus). Learn the history and the culture. Get to know the people. However long you're in England, enjoy every single minute of it. It's a wonderful country I would recommend anyone to visit.

Sometime in the near future I will provide a blog of recommendations on places to visit and things to do, and what I enjoyed most about England. But right now I'm in Pittsburgh and have another beautiful place to take in before I head home tomorrow. Hopefully, whoever may come across this blog, these tips will provide some use.

Cheers.