Travel to England :D

[Riyko]

Ok so long story short, this summer i'm going to England for a month or so to meet up with my friend who is getting married there we are picking out a venue for her wedding (i'm here maid of honor and she wants me to help with everything).

Is there anything i should possibly need to know before going there? I'm an american living in canada so i have a US passport.

[snow_girl]

As long as you are there for less then 6 months I can't think of any troubles you would have. When you cross the road, make sure to look in the opposite direction for traffic before you cross!

[leonsfangirl]

I live in England and i can't see why you'd have any problems... besides the we drive on the other side of the road and some slang words for things which can be confusing but nothing major.
Enjoy your visit

[toggle]

Where abouts are you going? Maybe you should keep in mind that if you want to travel anywhere by train or bus, it's cheaper to buy the tickets in advance. You can do this online.

[Jonesonaboat]

Yep I don't see any problems either.
Plus if you're (assuming) staying with your friend then you wont have much to worry about in the form of being on your own. Have fun! Will you be doing any sight seeing while you're here?

[Joyce:)]

Nothing, just have a blast and..bring an umbrella :P

[NaNi]

Nothing, just have a blast and..bring an umbrella :P

This.

I've been to England twice now and it can be really rainy and windy.

[Insanity]

I got back from England a little over a month ago and I found it to be quite different than Australia, I got claustrophobic because I'm used to space and I found the food to be different. I'm a chocoholic and really didn't like the English chocolate, it's quite different from American chocolate too.
I guess the best advice I can give is don't have too many high expectations, I'm sure you'll have a good time but allow yourself to get used to being in a different culture and climate, not to mention jetlag.

[Riyko]

Where abouts are you going? Maybe you should keep in mind that if you want to travel anywhere by train or bus, it's cheaper to buy the tickets in advance. You can do this online.

I'll be in London for about 2 weeks, traveling up north to meet her fiancées family (i don't know where) i'll be there for a week, and my last week will be in Crawley.

Yep I don't see any problems either.
Plus if you're (assuming) staying with your friend then you wont have much to worry about in the form of being on your own. Have fun! Will you be doing any sight seeing while you're here?

I'll be in a hotel the whole time, which isn't too bad, but for 2 weeks of the trip i'll pretty much be by myself playing tourist and doing some sightseeing of course

[nicole]

well if your in London, you'll need to get a tube ticket- so remember to keep some change handy! The tube is actually very easy to navigate once you get the hang of it.

and also, no need to tip, unless you're somewhere really posh.

London is also a very expensive place, so bakeries are your friend for lunch times- usually they are pretty cheap and filling.

If the weather is anything like it as been the last couple of summers, you probably won't need an umbrella lol it's been baking heat the last few years during summer.

You don't need any more forms I think- I wrote out an itinerary with phone numbers and addresses for my SO, when he got to customs, he just gave them that and he got straight through.

[toggle]

Yeah that's a point- I went with my american friend and she got stuck at customs because she didn't know the address of where she was staying. I had to go help her out!

[toggle]

when i say 'i went'- i do actually live here lol, i mean when i came for a visit while i was living in germany

[BoogleBee]

Get an Oyster card!

Or are separate tickets cheaper? I've always gotten an Oyster card when I've been to London. Last time I was there last year was for a week, and my aunt had loaded money onto a temporary Oyster card which expired the day I left. That's just for the time you are in London though I mean.

You'll have an amazing time! I absolutely love England.

[princessmeg1328]

My advice is to make sure you know the addresses for every place you're staying. The landing card asks for addresses, and the people at customs do make sure you have them. If you don't know the exact address, they'll probably let you through anyway (they let me anyway when I went a couple of years ago). Also if you're going to be using a credit card, make sure the signature line is filled out and not rubbed off in places. If it starts showing the word void, you need to get a new one. You won't be able to use it in England if it says void.

[London-FortCollins]

Oyster cards work in two ways.

You either load it with money, this is called "prepay" and glimpse for each journey as you go. Great for if your staying in central London, only for a few days or so.

If your staying a week or longer I would recommend putting a travelcard onto your oyster card. Get a one week travelcard for the zones you will be using, and then get a second weekly travelcard for the same zones the second week. (annoyingly they don't have "2 week travelcards"

Once you have loaded a travelcard, you have unlimited use on all trains, tubes and buses for the zones loaded.

If your staying centrally you will probably only need zones 1 and 2 and this will cost you approximately £30 a week, plus a £3 deposit on the card. (I forget the exact price) if you want PM me the details of where your staying and where your likely to be going and I'll let you know what zones you need and explain it in a but more detail. I can also recommend routes.

London can bs confusing, so I'm more than happy to be a helpful Londoner!

Also make sure you have a copy of your return ticket/itinerary for customs and possibly proof of funding for your trip. As your not staying for a huge amount of time they hopefully won't be as hot on that but you never know.