Essentials for Visitors
Emergency and other useful information for visitors to London and the rest of the UK.

Emergencies
Electrical & electronic equipment
Money
Valued Added Tax
Tipping
Health
Water
Sanitation
Self catering
Driving
Embassies

Emergencies: for police, fire or ambulance phone 999 but this is an emergency number only.

Electrical and electronic equipment: The UK uses 220 volts AC so if your equipment uses 110 volts, you must use an adaptor. Remember, also, that the plugs in the UK are 3 pin ones, not 2 pins.

Money: 100p (called pence, pennies or pee) equal £1. Coins are: £2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p - the last is worth so little that people can hardly be bothered to bend down to pick it up if they drop a 1p coin.

Common Bank Notes: £50, £20, £10, £5

ATMs (called Cashpoints here) are common all over the UK, make sure you can use your cards to draw money in Europe.

VAT: This stands for Value Added Tax and is applied to almost all goods and services. The prices you see on goods usually include VAT, if they don't it will say something like "plus VAT"). The rate is 17.5% of the base price of the article or service but there are ways non-residents can reclaim it on some items. Check out the official HM Customs & Excise site for more information on reclaiming the tax.

Tipping: It is customary to tip taxi drivers, hairdressers and hotel porters (bellhops). 10% to 15% of the price for the first two would be OK, for hotel porters, anything under £1 would be an insult. You won't have to worry about tipping porters at railway stations because you won't find any. Instead, use the trolleys. In restaurants, before tipping the waiter, check whether a service charge is added to the bill and, if it is, you don't need to tip. If it isn't and you particularly want to thank your own waiter/waitress, it is better to give them cash, again 10-15% of the bill, rather than adding the amount to the credit card. In some cases this goes straight into the owner's pocket and the waiting staff only receive a percentage.

Health: Residents of the Euopean Union (EU) are eligible to use the UK's National Health Service free of charge. All other visitors should take out health insurance.

If you do get ill or have an accident that is not serious enough to call 999 for the emergency services, you can visit the nearest hospital with a Casualty Department (Emergency Room). Expect a long wait!

Drugstores are called chemists in the UK.

Water: It's OK to drink the water in London or any other part of the UK.

Sanitation: Don't believe any stories about the UK not having proper flushing toilets. Everywhere you go you will find them. Some public toilets are excellent, others are not. They are usually good on major mainline stations like Paddington or Waterloo although you will have to pay to use them - usually 20p (100p = £1). Other good clean toilets can be found in department stores, big hotels, some pubs, restaurants, etc.

Self-Catering: If money is no object and you are staying in a self catering apartment in Central London, you can shop for food in Harrods or Fortnum & Mason. If you are on a budget, try supermarkets like Safeway, Tesco, Sainsbury or Waitrose. You will be able to buy most of the standard things you are used to at home although they might have different names here. If you just can't live without your favourite breakfast cereal or brand of coffee, check the supermarkets online shopping pages to see if it is sold here in the UK.

Driving: In the UK we drive on the left.

Never park on double yellow lines or a single red line painted at the edge of roads. You should also never park on the zigzag lines either side of pedestrian crossings. You can park on a single yellow line at certain times, usually after 6pm and before 8am, but check on the street signs before leaving your car. In Central London, you might just pick up a fixed penalty ticket for illegal parking but your car is quite likely to be clamped or towed away. A parking fine would cost at least £30 and recovering a towed away car costs at least £105 plus the fine.

Zebra crossings - white and black stripes painted across the road. Pedestrians have right of way on these crossings and you must stop for people crossing.

Roundabouts - vehicles on roundabouts have right of way.

Embassies: Most embassies are located in Central London. Here are links to a few.
American Embassy
Canadian Embassy
French Embassy
German Embassy
Italian Embassy

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Copyright © 2002 by Carol Fisher. All Rights Reserved

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