Driving in the UK: Car Rental and Travel Guide

If you’re planning a road trip in the UK, there are a few things you need to be aware of. This article will cover some key points, including car rental and self-driving tips.

Route planning

Use Google Maps for route planning. You can use the uc browser red apricot plugin to access Google Maps. One important thing to remember: always check the official website of each attraction. You can find the official website through Google.

Hotel booking websites: booking\agoda\ctrip\airbnb
Booking and Ctrip prices include taxes; agoda prices don’t include taxes and you will only see the total price during the booking process. The actual price is basically the same as the previous two websites. However, the quotes on the three websites may vary slightly, so it is recommended to compare the prices of the three websites after selecting a hotel. Airbnb is a homestay, where local residents rent out their apartments daily, which is a good alternative to hotels. Parents can cook their own meals. Hotel check-in time in the UK is after 3:00 pm. You usually cannot check in before 3:00 pm. 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm is the hotel’s room cleaning time.

Driving tips

Navigation: Google Maps (Backup: maps.me. It is recommended to download maps to your phone in advance. In areas with poor signal, such as England, where you cannot connect to the internet and Google Maps is unusable, you can rely on maps.me, which has already downloaded the maps.)

Car rental websites: Ctrip, Qyer, and major rental car company websites. Most websites offer free Chinese GPS if you rent a car 10 days in advance, but I rented a car too late and didn’t have time to get it.

Rental fee + Fuel cost: Car rental 12 * 401/day. Car rental 550.26. Deposit 250. I forgot to record the fuel cost, but each time it was about 10 pounds, I filled up the tank about 10 times, so the total cost is roughly estimated at 1500 yuan.

Vehicles: Most small vehicles in the UK are diesel. The dashboard shows miles, and the bottom shows kilometers.

Driving in the UK: Driving in the UK is not much different from driving in China, just follow these two points:

1. Drive on the left side of the road, overtake on the right side. If you think the car in front of you is driving too slow, move to the right lane to overtake. After overtaking the car you want to pass, immediately return to the driving lane. You cannot occupy the overtaking lane for a long time. Remember to signal left and right turns.

2. The only difference between British roads and roads in China is that there are many roundabouts. When looking at navigation, be sure to count how many exits you need to take. Otherwise, you will be confused. I always thought I had a good sense of direction, and I didn’t count the number of exits when driving in China, but I looked at which direction it was from a distance. I thought it would work in the UK, but my arrogance led me to take the wrong exit several times, so I had to count the number of exits. British drivers are very good at giving way. If you want to overtake, signal right and the car in front of you will not accelerate, they will even slow down slightly to let you overtake smoothly. The cars on the right overtaking lane will let you go first, they won’t fight for the lane with you, and after you overtake the car in front, return to the driving lane, the cars behind you will continue to overtake you. Whether you are lost or something, as long as you signal, the vehicles will generally give way and let you change lanes first. British drivers drive fast. Our speed of 120 kilometers per hour is basically overtaken all the time, but my parents wouldn’t let me drive fast, so let it be.

Other things to note: You will often encounter roadworks in the UK, where two-lane roads will become one lane. At this time, temporary traffic lights will be set up at both ends of the repair section, just follow the lights. When driving in the UK, as long as you pay attention to “giving way,” there will be no problem.

Refueling: Make sure your car uses diesel or petrol (usually diesel), take the correct fuel nozzle from the dispenser and put it in the car to refuel. The process is the same as in China. After filling up, go inside to the counter, tell the cashier which dispenser number you used, and the cashier will tell you how much to pay. You can pay at the counter.

Returning the vehicle: The deposit will be unfrozen after 4 weeks of returning the car, ensuring that you have no traffic violations.

Parking:

1. City public parking lots. You can search on Google, for example, search Oxford parking. It will search for parking lots, which belong to different companies or institutions. Their official websites will provide detailed information about parking times, fees, etc. Generally, it’s a certain amount per hour, a certain amount for 2-x hours, a certain amount for overnight parking, or a maximum parking time. The cost is a few pounds per hour.

2. Hotel parking lots. Generally, hotels do not have their own parking lots. They all cooperate with other parking lots, and there will be parking discounts for hotel guests. When booking a hotel, I paid attention to the parking lot, and all the hotels I booked said they had parking lots, but for the entire trip, almost all the hotels cooperated with other parking lots, and they were not very close to the hotel.

3. Roadside parking lanes. On non-highway sections of long-distance roads, there are often parking areas (areas extending out from the roadside as a lane), with a sign P (some have no sign). There will be reminders of the distance to the parking area while driving, such as 100, 50, just pay attention to the road signs, and you won’t miss the parking lane due to speeding.

How to pay for parking: Small outdoor parking lots: After entering, park your vehicle first. Then go to the automatic payment machine, select the duration you want to park, such as 1 hour or 4 hours, then insert the amount shown on the machine. The self-service printer will print out a card showing your entry time and parking duration. Place this card under the windshield of your car. This way, the management staff can use this card to determine if your parking is illegal, overdue, etc. The automatic payment machine will post the fee schedule, such as how much for how long. Make sure you keep the card safe, don’t lose it like I did, it fell under the car’s windshield and I had to buy a new one. -_-!! Large indoor parking lots: When you enter, you will receive a coin. When you want to leave, go to the payment machine or the staff to swipe the coin to pay. After paying, insert the coin into the machine at the exit, and the barrier will open.

Attraction selection

Travel guides on well-known travel websites in China: For example, our beloved Qyer. I also highly recommend using TripAdvisor, which lists attractions by ranking. TripAdvisor’s Chinese name is Dao Dao Wang. It’s basically the Yelp for travelers around the world. TripAdvisor is very popular in the UK, and some hotels and restaurants will post TripAdvisor signs. You can totally refer to everyone’s ratings, reviews, etc. on TripAdvisor to find out what attractions there are in a city.

Attraction opening hours: It’s recommended to check the official website for the opening hours of each attraction before visiting. The opening hours for each month and each attraction may vary slightly. Castles sometimes rent out to private events, and are therefore not open to the public, but they will announce it in advance on their official website. Therefore, I highly recommend checking the official website for opening hours before visiting. As the opening hours of each attraction may vary depending on the month, etc., the time mentioned in this travelogue is for reference only! You can also find other information on the official website, including attraction maps, etc.

Attraction ticket prices: The official website clearly lists the prices. Museums are generally free. Attractions usually have joint tickets with many other attractions, such as annual or lifetime unlimited visits. You can find detailed information on the official websites of each attraction, and choose to purchase according to your personal situation. You must check the official website of each attraction.

Breakfast: It’s recommended to have breakfast at the hotel. Lunch: It’s recommended to refer to popular restaurant recommendations on TripAdvisor.

Tax refund

Tax refund receipts: When you buy something, tell the cashier that you want a tax refund, they will give you a form, sign it and fill in the product information. You’re done with the cashier’s part. You need to fill out the rest of the form later. You can choose to receive a cash refund or a refund to your card, select and fill in your card number, etc. on the tax refund form. Tax refund location: At Heathrow Airport, there is a corner on the far left of the arrivals hall. -_-!! Just give the forms to the staff, they will check if the information is complete.