Visiting the UK: the essentials international travellers ask us about

Before you fly: the UK ETA and your passport

Since 25 February 2026 the UK fully enforces its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA): airlines will not board you without one. Most visitors who do not need a visa — the EU, the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and around 80 other nationalities — need an ETA, including babies and children and anyone passing through UK border control in transit. British and Irish citizens, and people who already hold UK permission to live, work or study, do not.

• Cost and validity: £20 per person; lasts two years or until your passport expires, for stays of up to six months.
• How to apply: the official UK ETA app or gov.uk online form. You need the passport you will travel with, a face photo, an email address and a card. Decisions usually arrive by email within a day, but allow three working days. Third-party sites charge more for the same thing.
• eGates: passport holders from the EU, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the USA can use the automatic gates from age 8 (8–17s with an adult, minimum height 120 cm). Everyone else queues for a Border Force officer, which is where the 45–90 minute waits happen on summer mornings.

Your RushXO driver tracks the flight, not the queue: 60 minutes of waiting after landing is included, and if passport control runs long, message us on WhatsApp +44 20 8888 9988 and the driver stays.

Arriving at a London airport: what to expect

London has six airports and the arrival sequence is the same at all of them: passport control, baggage reclaim, customs, then the public arrivals hall. Heathrow (Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5) and Gatwick (North and South) are the big two; Stansted and Luton are the low-cost bases 35–40 miles out; London City is small and 20 minutes from the financial district; Southend rarely sees international flights now. Our hubs cover each one: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City.

• Customs: walk through the green channel if you are within the personal allowances (200 cigarettes, 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of still wine and 4 litres of spirits, plus other goods up to £390). Meat, dairy and most plant products from outside the UK are not allowed.
• Wi-Fi and money: all London airports have free Wi-Fi. Airport bureaux de change give the worst rates in the country; use a card or draw pounds from a LINK cash machine in town instead.
• Meeting your driver: with meet & greet, the driver is inside the arrivals hall holding a board with your name, from the moment your flight lands. You are walked to the car; the fare was paid when you booked, so there is nothing to settle. See how meet and greet works at Heathrow.
• Connecting between airports: there is no direct train between Heathrow and Gatwick. Allow four hours between flights and read the connection time guide.

Money: pounds, cards, cash machines and tipping

The currency is the pound sterling (£, GBP), in notes of £5, £10, £20 and £50 and coins from 1p to £2. London is close to cashless: Visa and Mastercard work everywhere, American Express in most places, and every bus, Tube gate, café and market stall takes contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Contactless card taps are capped at £100; phone payments are not.

• Cash machines: most are free to use (look for “free cash withdrawals”); the ones in convenience shops and airports may charge £1–3. If a machine or card terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, decline and choose pounds — the “dynamic currency conversion” rate is always worse.
• Prices include VAT (20%). Great Britain no longer offers tax-free shopping refunds to visitors; the price on the tag is the price you pay.
• Tipping: restaurants add a 12.5% service charge in London or expect about 10%; pubs and cafés, nothing; hotel porters £1–2 a bag; black-cab drivers, round up. A pre-paid RushXO transfer needs no tip — the fixed fare is the whole price.
• Booking from abroad: our fares are in pounds and charged by card at booking on the booking page, so the number you see is what your bank is charged, with no cash needed on arrival.

Phones, SIM cards and staying in touch

Check your roaming plan before you land. Many EU operators still include the UK in their allowance since Brexit, but not all; US, Canadian and Australian plans usually charge a daily fee. A UK SIM or eSIM (EE, Vodafone, O2, Three, giffgaff, Lebara) costs £10–20 for 30 days of data and is sold at WHSmith and vending machines in every arrivals hall; eSIMs can be bought and installed before you fly.

• The UK country code is +44; drop the leading 0 from a UK number. Our line is +44 20 8888 9988 and WhatsApp +44 20 8888 9988 works from any country at no international cost.
• Free Wi-Fi covers all airports, most cafés, hotels and Elizabeth line stations, but not deep Tube tunnels — download your maps and tickets first.
• Emergency numbers work from any phone, with or without a SIM: 999 or 112.

Plugs, clocks, driving on the left and other practicalities

The UK uses the three-pin Type G plug at 230 V / 50 Hz; phone and laptop chargers are dual-voltage, so you only need an adaptor, sold at every airport and pharmacy. London is on GMT in winter and BST (GMT+1) from late March to late October — the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October 2026.

• Traffic drives on the left. Look right first when crossing; London paints “LOOK RIGHT” on the kerb at busy crossings for exactly this reason.
• Tap water is safe to drink everywhere. Pharmacies (Boots, Superdrug) sell most everyday medicines; pharmacists give free advice.
• Shops open roughly 9–19:00 Monday to Saturday and 11–17:00 on Sundays (large stores are limited to six hours on Sundays by law); supermarkets and pharmacies stay open later. Smoking and vaping are banned indoors in public places.
• Weights, distances and speed signs are in miles; temperatures in Celsius; dates written day/month/year.

Getting around London (and when a car makes sense)

Tap in and out with any contactless bank card or phone on the Tube, buses, the Elizabeth line, the Overground, DLR and most trains inside London; you do not need to buy a ticket or an Oyster card, and fares are capped each day and each week. The Oyster vs contactless vs taxi guide has 2026 fares, caps and the Heathrow peak-fare trap.

• From Heathrow: the Elizabeth line reaches Paddington in about 35 minutes and the Piccadilly line is the cheap option at 50–60 minutes to the West End. Gatwick: Thameslink and Gatwick Express to central London in 30–45 minutes. Stansted and Luton: express trains of 45–50 minutes plus a shuttle at Luton. London City: DLR.
• Black cabs can be hailed in the street and take cards; private hire cars like ours must be pre-booked and cannot be hailed. Never accept a ride from anyone approaching you in an arrivals hall — read our guide to airport touts and unlicensed cabs.
• A fixed-fare car earns its keep for families with luggage, groups of three or more, arrivals after 23:00, cruise-ship connections, and days out that trains do not reach: Windsor, Legoland, the Harry Potter studio tour, Bicester Village, National Trust houses. Every visitor guide gives the price, the time and the honest comparison with the train.

Travelling with children and luggage

UK law says children must use a child seat until they are 12 years old or 135 cm tall, but licensed taxis and private hire vehicles are treated differently: if no suitable seat is available, children under 3 may travel on the rear seat without one, and children of 3 and over use the adult belt in the rear. We would rather fit the right seat — ask for an infant, child or booster seat when you book and we confirm availability, or bring your own and the driver will fit it.

• Luggage: a saloon takes two large suitcases plus hand luggage; an estate three; an MPV six passengers with their bags; an 8-seater for larger groups. Tell us the passenger and bag count and we send the right vehicle, so nobody rides with a case on their lap. See Heathrow with children and group transport.
• Buggies, wheelchairs and mobility aids travel free; tell us at booking so the boot is clear.
• Jet-lagged children: the driver meets you inside the hall and walks you to the car — no shuttle bus, no car-park trek.

Health, safety and emergencies

Dial 999 or 112 for police, fire or ambulance; 111 (phone or online) for urgent medical advice that is not an emergency; 101 for non-emergency police. Emergency treatment in a hospital A&E department is free for everyone, but visitors are charged for treatment beyond that unless covered by a reciprocal agreement (EU visitors: bring your EHIC or GHIC). Travel insurance is strongly advised.

• London is a safe city by world standards; the common problems are phone snatching from bike riders on busy pavements, pickpockets on crowded Tube platforms, and ticket touts. Keep phones away from the kerb and buy attraction tickets only from official sites.
• Only ever get into a car that is either a black cab you hailed or a private hire vehicle you booked in advance. Your RushXO confirmation gives the driver’s name, the car and its registration — check all three.
• Pharmacies, supermarkets and most shops are open on Sundays; hospitals and A&E are open 24 hours. The NHS visitor page has more for visitors.

Opening hours, public holidays and weather

UK public holidays this season: Friday 25 December and Monday 28 December 2026 (Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, so the holiday moves), then Friday 1 January 2027. On Christmas Day there is no public transport at all and almost everything is closed; Boxing Day runs a reduced Sunday-style service with many engineering closures. Pre-booked cars run as normal — the Christmas and New Year travel guide has the detail for every day.

• Museums are mostly free and open around 10–18:00; royal palaces and paid attractions close earlier in winter, so check the operator link in each guide before you set out.
• London weather is mild and changeable rather than extreme: 2–8°C in winter, 18–25°C in summer, rain possible in any month. A light waterproof beats an umbrella on the Underground escalators.
• Big diary dates for 2026/27: Bonfire Night (5 November), the Lord Mayor’s Show (mid-November), Christmas lights from early November, New Year’s Eve fireworks (ticketed), the London Marathon (April), Trooping the Colour (June) and Wimbledon (late June/July). Book cars early for all of them.

Official sources worth bookmarking

• gov.uk: Electronic Travel Authorisation — apply, check eligibility, transit rules.
• gov.uk: bringing goods into the UK — what you can bring in.
• Transport for London fares — fares, maps, planned closures.
• Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City — live arrivals, terminal maps, meeting points.
• Visit London — the official visitor site for events and openings.
• NHS: visiting England — medical help while you are here.
• Met Office — forecasts you can trust.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an ETA to change planes at Heathrow?

Only if you pass through UK border control (for example to collect bags and re-check them, or to change terminals landside). If you stay airside on a through-ticketed connection you do not, but check with your airline, because some transfers at Heathrow and Gatwick are landside.

Can I pay for everything in London with a card from home?

Yes. Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, and phone wallets, are accepted almost universally, including on all public transport. Tell your bank you are travelling, and always choose to pay in pounds rather than your home currency when a terminal offers the choice.

Is there Uber in London and is it cheaper than a pre-booked car?

Uber operates in London as a licensed private hire operator. For a family with luggage from Heathrow it is often similar money to a fixed fare in daytime and more expensive with surge pricing at peak times, and it does not include meeting you in the arrivals hall or waiting through a passport queue. See Heathrow transfer vs Uber.

Which side of the road does the UK drive on?

The left. As a pedestrian, look right first at every crossing; as a passenger, you will board most cars from the kerb side, which is the left.

Do I need cash for tips?

Rarely. Card terminals in restaurants offer a tip or a service charge is already on the bill. A pre-paid RushXO transfer does not require a tip.

Can I drink the tap water in London?

Yes, everywhere in the UK. Restaurants must give you free tap water if you ask.

What happens if my flight is delayed and my driver is booked?

Nothing you need to do. We track the flight number on your booking and re-time the pickup; 60 minutes of waiting after the new landing time is included. If passport control is unusually slow, message us on WhatsApp and the driver stays.

Do you provide child seats?

Yes, on request at booking, subject to availability; we confirm before the journey. In a licensed private hire vehicle children may legally travel without one if none is available, but we would rather fit the right seat.

Last reviewed 9 September 2026. Prices, opening hours and transport details change; check the operator links above before you travel, and treat fares shown as indicative until confirmed at booking. See our pricing and sources policy.