GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
The national airline British Airways (BA) (Internet: www.britishairways.com) offers numerous connections from German, Austrian and Swiss cities. (For detailed information, see the relevant section for the individual parts of the country)
Flight times
Frankfurt – London: 1 hour 25 minutes; Frankfurt – Birmingham: 1 hour 40 minutes; Frankfurt – Manchester: 1 hour 40 minutes; Frankfurt – Belfast: 4 hours 15 minutes (with a stopover); Düsseldorf – Glasgow: 3 hours;
Vienna – London: 2 hours 05 minutes; Vienna – Birmingham: 4 hours 15 minutes (with a stopover); Vienna – Glasgow: 4 hours 30 minutes (with a stopover); Vienna – Belfast: 6 hours 10 minutes (with a stopover);
Zurich – London: 1 hour 40 minutes; Zurich – Birmingham: 1 hour 50 minutes; Zurich – Manchester: 2 hours 05 minutes; Zurich- Glasgow: 4 hours 20 minutes (with a stopover); Zurich – Belfast: 4 hours 25 minutes (with a stopover); Geneva – Manchester: 1 hour 55 minutes
Departure fee
Air Passenger Duty “(APD): Departing passengers aged 16 and over in Economy Class, departing passengers aged 12 and over in Business and First Class.
Arrival by car
There are hardly any border formalities at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Long-distance bus: Eurolines buses (Internet: www.eurolines.com) travel to and from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Timetable and tariff information is available from the British Eurolines general agency (National Express, Internet: www.nationalexpress.com) or the Eurolines agencies in:
Germany (Deutsche Touring GmbH, Am Römerhof 17, D-60486 Frankfurt / M. Tel: (069) 79 03 50. Internet: www.eurolines.de),
Austria (Eurolines Austria – Blaguss Reisen GmbH ; Internet:www.eurolines.at/de) and
Switzerland (Alsa + Eggmann; Internet: www.alsa-eggmann.ch).
Arriving by train
Trains to Dover and Newhaven ferry ports depart from Victoria Station (London), and to Weymouth and Portsmouth from St. Pancras (London); Special trains to Harwich Ferry Terminal run from Liverpool Street Station (London).
Continuous connections in passenger traffic with Eurostar trains (Internet: www.eurostar.com) between Paris (Gare du Nord) or Brussels and London-St. Pancras, between London and Lille and London and Brussels-Midi / Zuid. Travel time between Brussels and London is 1 hour 51 minutes, between Paris and London 2 hours 15 minutes and between Lille Europe and St. Pancras 1 hour 20 minutes.
From various European cities, including Cologne, Düsseldorf, Aachen, Geneva, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and London, there are connections with the Thalys high-speed trains (Internet: www.thalys.com) to Brussels-Midi.
There are three Thalys sales points in Germany:
– Thalys Store & More Cologne, Bahnhofsvorplatz 1, 50667 Cologne, (opposite the main entrance to the main train station), Tel: (0180) 500 90 73. Internet: www.voyages-sncf.eu. There you can book primarily tickets for the Thalys from Cologne, as well as all SNCF and Eurostar train tickets to London.
– Thalys Store & More Düsseldorf, Heinz-Schmöle-Straße 12 (entrance Bertha-von Suttner-Platz opposite the main train station), 40227 Düsseldorf.
– Thalys Store & More Aachen in Aachen Central Station.
From Brussels, the Eurostar (Internet: www.eurostar.com) continues to London St. Pancras. There are also boarding options in Lille on the Brussels-London route, some connections in Calais on the Paris-London route and on the British side in Ashford.
There are also good connections (even at night) from Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Ashford and Edinburgh. Fast EuroNight connections via Germany and France to Vienna.
There is a Thalys ticket sales point in Cologne Central Station. A Rail Europe sales point that sells tickets for the Eurostarsold, is located in front of Cologne Central Station (Tel: (01805) 21 82 38).
Eurotunnel (Internet: www.eurotunnel.com) transports cars, buses and motorbikes, caravans, commercial vehicles (120 vehicles per train) and cyclists, upon reservation, between Calais and Folkestone. There are up to 4 departures per hour between Calais and Folkstone every day. Trucks are transported in special shuttle trains. Travel time from terminal to terminal 35 minutes, from freeway to freeway approx. 1 hour.
Rail passes
InterRail: Children (4-11 years), young people (12-25 years) and adults (from 26 years) who have had a permanent residence in Europe, the CIS or Turkey for at least 6 months can use InterRail.
The InterRail One-Country Pass is available for travel in almost 30 European countries including Macedonia and Turkey and is valid for 3, 4, 6, 8 days within 1 month in one country. Children aged 4-11 travel at half the adult price.
The InterRail Global Pass enables travel through several countries and is offered with different validity periods. Either 5 days out of 10 days total validity or 10 out of 22 can be selected. A continuous period of 22 days or 1 month is also possible.
Arrival by ship
According to mathgeneral, there are numerous ferry connections between the British Isles and mainland Europe, Ireland and Scandinavia:
Ferries to / from and within southern England
Brittany Ferries (Internet: www.brittany-ferries.com): Portsmouth – Caen, Portsmouth – Cherbourg, Portsmouth – Le Havre, Poole – Cherbourg, Plymouth – Roscoff;
Condorferries (Internet: www.condorferries.fr): Cherbourg – Poole, St. Malo – Portsmouth, St. Malo – Weymouth;
DFDS Seaways (Internet: www.dfdsseaways.de): Dunkirk – Dover;
P&O Ferries (Internet: www.poferries.com): Portsmouth – Bilbao, Dover – Calais;
Red Funnel Ferries (Internet: www.redfunnel.co.uk): Southampton – Isle of Wight;
DFDS Seaways (Internet: www.dfdsseaways.de): Dover – Calais;
Transmanche Ferries (Internet: www.transmancheferries.com): Dieppe – Newhaven;
Wightlink (Internet: www.wightlink.co.uk): Portsmouth – Isle of Wight, Lymington – Isle of Wight;
Ferries to / from East England
DFDS Seaways (Internet: www.dfdsseaways.co.uk): Harwich – Esbjerg, Newcastle – Amsterdam;
P&O Ferries (Internet: www.poferries.com): Hull – Rotterdam, Hull – Zeebrugge;
Stena Line (Internet: www.stenaline.com): Harwich – Hook of Holland, Harwich – Rotterdam, Killingholme – Rotterdam;
Ferries to / from the north of England
DFDS Seaways (Internet: www.dfds.co.uk): Newcastle – Amsterdam (Ijmuiden);
P&O Ferries (Internet: www.poirishsea.com): Liverpool – Dublin; Stena Line (Internet: www.stenaline.com): Fleetwood – Larne; Belfast – Liverpool; Ferries to / from Wales Irish Ferries (Internet: www.irishferries.ie): Holyhead – Dublin, Pembroke – Rosslare; Stena Line (Internet: www.stenaline.com): Holyhead – Dublin, Holyhead – Dun Laoghaire, Fishguard – Rosslare;
Ferries to / from and within Scotland
Caledonian MacBrayne (Internet: www.calmac.co.uk): Ferries to Arran, Barra, Benbecula, Bute, Coll, Colonsay, Cowal, Cumbrae, Gigha, Harris, Iona, Islay, Kintyre, Lewis, Lismore, Mull, Raasay, Skye, Small Isles, Tiree, The Uists, Iceland.
Orkney Ferries (Internet: www.orkneyferries.co.uk): Orkney – 13 smaller islands;
P&O Ferries (Internet: www.poferries.de): Cairnryan / Fleetwood – Larne;
Stena Line (Internet: www.stenaline.com): Stranraer – Belfast;
Ferries to / from the Channel Islands
Condor Ferries (Internet: www.condorferries.co.uk): Poole – Jersey, Poole – Guernsey; Portsmouth – Jersey, Portsmouth – Guernsey; Weymouth – Jersey, Weymouth – Guernsey; St. Malo – Jersey, St. Malo – Guernsey.
Ferry Online provides information about other ferry connections (Internet: www.ferryonline.co.uk).