UK, Car or train
 

Is England and Scotland best toured by car or train in terms of price and accesibility. Perhaps a combination? Also, can anyone recommend cheap fares from Miami?

Fodors <BR> <BR>Cities have big parking carges and with difficult or no car access to famous places, so there trains are the best choice. If you've a list of country places that you want to see, and they're off rail, then you need a car -- to explore the Cotswolds for example. But if you're visiting cities and towns and will find enough villages during visits to north Wales, the West of England, Kent, or the Scottish Highlands then trains are still the best choice, for price and access. <BR> <BR>If you'd like to tell me where you're going I could perhaps sketch a set of towns to stay in, and train connections to places you want to reach. <BR> <BR>Welcome to Britain <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

I would agree with te foregoing as far as acessibility is concerned. <BR> <BR>As to cost, 2 can travel more chaeply by train, more by car ( that's a rule of thumb- train deals make make it cheaper for more) <BR> <BR>It's far more relaxing and environmentally friendly. It loses something on flexibility- depends where you want to go. Again, as a rule of thumb, the further from london, the less flexible it is. <BR> <BR>I'll e-mail you with a ready reckoner I did on this last year <BR>

Stewart, <BR> I too am planning a trip From London up through Wales and Scotland . I have done a lot of research on the Web sites as well as travel brochers. One of the best sites on the Web was www.information-britain.co.uk/pass/passs.htm The only wall I have run into is A MAP! I have tried verious areas and to no avail there is no map with the rail given on it. I have ordered a book on Scotland and am due to pick it up today. I will be traveling in late July into mid August. I found the Baedeker's books on the cities very informative and there are maps included. It list sights hotels and resturants. I must say that nothing I read beats this site for information. <BR> <BR> Good Luck <BR> Barbara July

We've done both and overall I think the car was more fun in that we could go when we wanted to and when we wanted to. We simply enjoyed the flexibility of the car but it depends on the person. Driving on the left can be a bit nervewracking and not terribly relaxing, particularly in a large city! <BR>Perhaps you can combine the two - take a train to a larger city and then rent a car for a couple of days in the countryside. Don't know about cheap fares from Miami, check British Airways, Virgin, American, - it all depends on the time of yr. you are going.

Stewart - <BR> <BR>I traveled to the UK last summer and bought a Britrail pass. I traveled to sights around London (Hampton Court Palace), then up to York, Edinburgh and over to Aberdyfi Wales by train. I loved it - got to meet a lot of interesting people on the trains and got to enjoy the scenery versus worrying about what side of the road I should be on. <BR>Martha <BR> <BR>

Hi. <BR> <BR>I have traveled about the UK by car and highly recommend it. It is not tough to get used to driving on the other side (but don't do it if you can't drive a stick shift). <BR> <BR>I have traveled throughout Europe by train, but not the UK. I will say there are tradeoffs, with a train you have much less flexibility but you meet more people. With a car you can go places you will never see by train. <BR> <BR>Expense? depends. My trip to the UK was solo and I kept the car for 2 weeks (I spent the rest of the time in London - carless). I paid roughly 200 bucks a week for the car, got a nice upgrade to a Rover 416i (accidentally, they didn't have the Escort I reserved so I lucked out). The car was lovely. It was through Kemwell Holiday Autos and I have since used them three times, in France. I recommend them. <BR> <BR>So, if you have someone to travel with, it is fairly inexpensive given miles traveled. If you are alone, weigh the costs with what you want out of the trip. <BR> <BR>Good luck and bon voyage!