Travel to England

Flying to England

Flights to England are well served by the major global airline carriers and the country is extremely accessible by air. National carrier British Airways (www.ba.com) flies long haul routes from many of the world’s destinations including New York, Tokyo and Shanghai and Sydney. Other airlines, including Virgin (www.virginatlantic.com) and Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com) also run regular transatlantic flights. Short haul flights from mainland Europe are served by a plethora of low cost airlines including Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) and easyJet (www.easyjet.com) who as well as flying to London, also fly to regional bases Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham International.

Airport Guides

Flight times

From New York: 6 hours 30 minutes

From Sydney: 23 hours 15 minutes (including stopover)

Air passes

The Europe Airpass from Star Alliance (www.staralliance.co.uk), the Visit Europe air pass available from Oneworld (www.oneworld.com) and the Go Europe pass from SkyTeam (www.skyteam.com) allow air travel across a variety of European destinations including the UK.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to England by Rail

There are connections to London, Ebbsfleet (Kent) and Ashford (Kent) from major cities all over Europe through the Channel Tunnel with Eurostar (www.eurostar.com).

England's rail network (tel: +44 207 278 5240; www.nationalrail.co.uk) serves all main cities in the UK mainland. Rail services are operated by numerous private companies. Routes tend to radiate from London.

There are rail services to Fishguard (Wales), Holyhead (Wales) and Liverpool (England), from which travellers can catch ferries departing for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Rail passes

Walk-up railway fares can be expensive, especially if travel is at peak times, so travellers may find better value in buying a rail pass. The InterRail Global pass (www.interrail.eu) allows travel to 31 countries including the UK. Travellers may choose between travelling over a consecutive period of time, or on a set number of days within a given time period. Eurail (www.eurail.com) also offers a variety of passes for train travel around Europe as well as accommodating travel within the UK using a BritRail pass.

Driving to England

England is accessible from mainland Europe by road via the Eurotunnel (www.eurotunnel.com) which connects Calais in France, to Folkestone on the south coast. Coach services from all over Europe connect to the UK this way, with many offering express and stopping services throughout England and the rest of the UK. The main operator, National Express (tel: 0871 781 8181; www.nationalexpress.com), provides nationwide coach information. It is also easy to drive across in your own car for a fee – note that passage through the Eurotunnel does not entail driving through the actual tunnel. Instead the car is transported on a train which then makes the crossing. Travel time is approximately half an hour.

Getting to England by boat

England is accessible via ferry across the Channel or the North Sea, from several countries on the coast of mainland Europe. Most common departures are from France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Cruise ships

Cruise ships tend to call at cities on the south coast of England, from April to September, with popular ports of call being Southampton, Falmouth, Plymouth, and the Channel Islands. Numerous companies including P&O Cruises (www.pocruises.com) Swan Hellenic (www.swanhellenic.com) and Fred Olsen (www.fredolsencruises.com) run cruises incorporating the UK and mainland Europe.

Ferry operators

Major ferry operators P&O Ferries (www.poferries.co.uk) and Brittany ferries (www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) run regular routes from England to France and Spain. DFDS Seaways (www.dfdsseaways.co.uk) travels from Esberg in Denmark to Harwich, while Stena Line (www.stenaline.co.uk) sails from Hook of Holland to Harwich. Most of the main operators also run routes between Ireland and England.