Language: English is the official language, though visitors will be astonished by the variety of regional accents.
Currency: The currency is the pound (GBP), which is divided into 100 pence. ATMs are available in all towns and Visa, MasterCard and American Express are widely accepted; visitors with other cards should check with their credit card companies in advance. Foreign currency can be exchanged at bureaux de change and large hotels, however better exchange rates are likely to be found at banks. Travelers cheques are accepted in all areas frequented by tourists; they
are best taken in Pounds Sterling to avoid additional charges.
Time: Local time is GMT (GMT +1 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 230 volts, 50Hz. Flat three-pin plugs are standard.
Communications: The international country dialing code for UK is +44. The outgoing code is 00, or 048 for Northern Ireland, followed by the relevant country code (e.g. 001 for the United States). There are a wide range of city/area codes in use. Mobile phones work throughout the country; the network operators use GSM 1800 networks, which may not be compatible with some dual-band US cell phones. Internet cafes are available in major towns and cities, train stations and airports.
Duty Free: When arriving from a non-EU country, travelers can bring the following goods into the UK tax or duty free: 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco, 4 liters of still table wine, 16 liters of beer, 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs or 2 liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other alcoholic beverages of less than 22 per cent volume, £340 worth of all other goods including perfume and souvenirs. When traveling from another EU country to the UK visitors do not have to pay tax or duty on goods purchased in said EU country provided tax was included in the purchase price, the items are for personal use and have been transported to the UK by the visitor, and do not exceed 3200 cigarettes, 400 cigarillos, 200 cigars, 3 kg of smoking tobacco, 110 liters of beer, 10 liters of spirits, 90 liters of wine and 20 liters of fortified wine. Note: Visitors arriving from Estonia may carry 200 cigarettes or 250g of smoking tobacco and those traveling from Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia may bring 200 cigarettes.
Tourist OfficeUnited Kingdom Tourist Office: +44 (0)20 7808 3864 (London) or www.visitbritain.com
EmergencyEmergencies: 999
Embassies
British Embassy, Washington DC, United States: +1 202 588 6500.
British High Commission, Ottawa, Canada: +1 613 237 1530.
British High Commission, Canberra, Australia: +61 (0)2 6270 6666.
British High Commission, Pretoria, South Africa: +27 (0)12 421 7500.
British Embassy, Dublin, Ireland: +353 (0)1 205 3700.
British High Commission, Wellington, New Zealand: +64 (0)4 924 2888.
United States Embassy, London: +44 (0)20 7499 9000.
Canadian High Commission, London: +44 (0)20 7258 6600.
Australian High Commission, London: +44 (0)20 7379 4334.
South African High Commission, London: +44 (0)20 7451 7299.
Irish Embassy, London: +44 (0)20 7235 2171.
New Zealand High Commission, London: +44 (0)20 7930 8422.
