Planning Your Dream UK Vacation: A step by step guide

In episode 78 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast Tracy and Doug Collins discuss 10 steps to help you plan your trip to the UK.

They cover topics such as deciding when to go based on seasons and budget, researching destinations and itineraries, checking passport and visa requirements, booking flights and insurance, and planning accommodations and transportation.

Tracy and Doug also offer resources, including a free planning booklet and an itinerary consultation service, to assist you when planning your ideal UK vacation.

Show notes - Episode 78

Transcript

Intro: 0:03

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK Travel Planning website, Tracy Collins. In this podcast, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

Tracy: 0:40

Hi, I'm Tracy Collins. Welcome to episode 78 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. In this week's episode, which is the first of three planning focused episodes, doug hello and I will talk you through 10 steps to help you plan your trip to the UK. By the end of this episode, you will have a roadmap to your trip and know what steps to follow to put together your ideal UK holiday vacation. In the next two episodes, we also share tips on how to plan a UK road trip itinerary and a UK rail itinerary. So whether you plan to get around by road or rail, or perhaps a mixture of both, we have you covered. Also, if you sign up for our newsletter via the link in the show notes, you will receive our downloadable PDF UK trip planning checklist and packing list. Okay, without further ado, here are the 10 steps in our UK planning checklist.

Tracy: 1:30

Okay, so the first step is to decide when to go.

Tracy: 1:33

I know for some of you, when to go might be fixed for various reasons, but if you're flexible, there are some factors to consider depending on the season.

Tracy: 1:41

So, for example, in the summer you get much longer days of daylight, which means that you can do far more, and obviously there are lots of fun things to do in the summer outdoors too.

Tracy: 1:53

Now if you want to go in the winter, you're considering the winter. Obviously the weather is going to be a huge factor to consider. Obviously it's going to be colder and especially further north that you go, you may have snow. It's going to be darker, so the hours of daylight are far less and some things may actually be closed. So things might not be open during the winter season, and also driving is a bit more of a challenge if you're going to go in the winter. So you have to consider those sort of factors. When it comes to thinking about what season suits, you Also consider whether you want to go in low or shoulder season versus the high season, when it is more expensive and certainly far busier, so getting into places could be more difficult. Getting a car higher for the car that you want can be more difficult unless you book ahead of time. Also, you may want to avoid the school holidays in the UK, when it's busy too.

Doug: 2:44

You may want to visit sporting events such as Wimbledon Chelsea Flower Show or the Edinburgh Tattoo, which is in August, or even the FA Cup Final in May.

Tracy: 2:53

Well, yeah, well, I wouldn't, but anyway, so, yeah, so obviously thinking about those sort of factors when deciding when you want to visit the UK. So the second step is to consider your budget. So we would recommend that you listen to podcast episodes 57 about exploring the UK on a budget, and episode 81, which will be out in a few weeks, where I share some of the best things to do in London for free.

Doug: 3:15

And you can also check out our articles on what to budget for accommodation, transportation, food, sightseeing costs and more in London and the UK.

Tracy: 3:25

Now step three is to start researching. So this is the fun one. So I'd suggest that you listen to all of our podcasts and check our website UK travel planning and London travel planning for loads of inspiration. Also follow us on Instagram and join our Facebook groups UK and London travel planning and UK train travel tips, which Doug runs to help your research.

Doug: 3:49

Okay. And then number four is check your passport and visa requirements. Okay, not much fun for this one, really, but it's got to be done. Just check your passport is valid and if you need a visa. Citizens of some countries can stay in the UK visa free for the purposes of tourism for up to six months, but the situation can change at any time, so please check with your local foreign office for latest advice about travel to the UK.

Tracy: 4:17

So at the time of this recording, which is October 2023, the new electronic travel authorization, or ETA, scheme is about to be phased in for some nationalities who do not need a visa to visit the UK, with more nationalities added to the scheme later. The ETA will be electronically linked to your passport. I will add a link to the official UK government site for more information about the electronic travel authorization scheme, or ETA. So step five is to book flights and sort insurance. So what we would say when it comes to booking flights is that you check the best option for you and also it may be worth considering flying in and out of different airports, especially if you are on a shorter time scale and you may want to start in London and, say, fly out from Edinburgh, which we hear about quite often. We also recommend that you take out insurance as soon as you have your flights booked. We never travel without it and you never know when you will need it.

Doug: 5:16

So step six is planning your itinerary. Probably the hardest and most time consuming thing to do when planning your trip is putting together your itinerary. In fact, we could do an entire podcast just on this topic. You will either love it or you hate it, I think, really to be honest. Also, catering for everyone's preferences in the travel party can certainly be a challenge.

Tracy: 5:43

So we do have a five step itinerary planning challenge where I guide you through five stages to planning your itinerary, and it also comes with a free planning booklet which you can download to work through. I will link to that in the show notes, so pop over and sign up for the challenge. It's completely free. We also have extensive resources on the websites to help you plan your itinerary, including road trip and rail itineraries.

Doug: 6:07

Yeah, and our guide to UK train travel ebook is available to purchase. This includes 10 done for you UK rail itineraries. Again, we will link to the ebook in this episode show notes.

Tracy: 6:22

Yes, and you'll also find our 14 day best of Britain by rail itinerary, as heard on the amateur traveler podcast, one of the US's top travel podcasts, and we also offer an itinerary consultation service, so we will help you look through your itinerary. So we do ask that you put together a draft itinerary and then you can consult with myself and Doug and we will chat through your itinerary, make suggestions and tweaks. That will help you to make the most of your time in the UK. And Doug, you look at the trains, don't you?

Doug: 6:56

Yes, I do. I sort of focus on the trains. I love experience behind me for that. So yeah.

Tracy: 7:00

So if you're a bit stuck or you get your itinerary together and you think, oh, I could do with some advice because obviously there's so many places that you can visit in the UK, so many places just in London, so you might be sitting and thinking, oh, I don't know if this works or what could I do to make this itinerary better. Itinerary review service is a great great way to to help you with that, and we've had some fantastic reviews of that. So step seven is to then book accommodation. So start looking at booking your accommodation. There's a variety. Variety of options to suit all budgets and travel styles throughout the UK, including apartments, hotels, cottages, castles yes, you can stay in a castle glamping pods, bed and breakfast and guest houses.

Doug: 7:44

A couple of tips with this. If you are driving, make sure you secure accommodation with ample parking.

Tracy: 7:52

And also if things like air conditioning or access to an elevator is important, then check these when you book, as these cannot be taken for granted in the UK. So step number eight is to book your transport. So if you're planning to hire a car, make sure you book this well in advance, especially if you want an automatic transmission. Also, don't forget to take the Trippi Ammo course if you're from North America, to help you to prepare a drive in the UK. There's more information in the show notes about this excellent resource.

Doug: 8:25

And for train travel. Check our articles about saving money on UK rail travel in terms of tickets and types of passes available. We have an entire section about this, as well as numerous podcasts about traveling by train.

Tracy: 8:38

We also recommend listening to episode 11 of the podcast, where we discuss the various ways to get around the UK, including car, train, bus, ferry and airplane. So step number nine is to book tours, attractions and experiences. Check our guides on the UK travel planning and London travel planning websites, which provide guidance on how far in advance to book certain experiences. I can't stress this point enough. We sadly often hear that people have missed out on things like the Jacobite train, harry Potter studios, even the Skygarden in London, because they've not researched enough about when to book.

Doug: 9:16

Once you know what you want to do and see, we recommend writing a list with the matching relevant information, of when you need to book, especially visiting busy periods.

Tracy: 9:26

Yep, absolutely. Step 10 is to prepare for departure. So this is the exciting point.

Doug: 9:32

Yeah, it is yeah.

Tracy: 9:34

So there's lots to consider in the run-up to your trip. So in the weeks before, make sure that you have your paperwork in order, for example your driving license.

Doug: 9:44

Decide how you will access Wi-Fi, because you will need it. We have an article which details the options.

Tracy: 9:50

Sort out your cash and cards. Ps, don't forget to share your travel dates with your bank. We also have an article about this because we often get people saying that you will not need any cash when you're in the UK. We don't agree with that and we believe that you should have some cash with you, because you never know when you may need it.

Doug: 10:10

And also organize how you will transfer from the airport to your accommodation.

Tracy: 10:14

Then we have articles about how to get from Heathrow, how to get from Gatwick and it get into London, with various options that you can choose from.

Doug: 10:24

And start packing using our packing list, which you will have received when you signed up for our newsletter.

Tracy: 10:29

Yep and make sure that you double check the UK weather in case you need to make some last minute packing changes, because one thing that is predictable about the UK weather is that it is unpredictable.

Doug: 10:42

So lastly, have a great trip.

Tracy: 10:44

Yeah, we would like to wish you a fantastic trip. Don't forget to check out all the resources on the website, continue to listen to the podcast and book a night in re consultation with us. Until next week, though, from Doug and myself happy. Uk travel planning.