SA Footy

I am considering a trip to England next feb/march

Can someone enlighten me on the best places to stay whilst there. Reasonably cheap, but not a back packer hostel?

Reasons for mainly to visit of course, but to see my footy team play at their home ground as the major thing which is in london
be in London for a week or so, might head as far north as Newcastle, across to Liverpool. Maybe a visit to wales.
Are trains the cheapest way to get around? or hire a car?

any help is great thanks

I was there in July and found the Travel Lodge hotel chain to be reasonable. Not sure on the star rating. But it is essentially a bed and a bathroom.

Most major towns have one. Stayed in on in Bath, Nottingham and London (Kings Cross)

Don't discount the bed & breakfast either.

Yep, travelodge are sound, you'll do well with them, Holiday Inn and Jurys inns are also good, reasonably cheap chain hotels that are in most major cities.

Cheapest way to get around by far is on buses, national express and megabus are the 2 major companies, all trips are very cheap, rarely more than 20 quid. Most recent one I had was London to Cardiff and it only cost me about 11 pounds.
You'd think trains would be cheap but they're not, it's often cheaper to fly between UK cities than get trains.

Yes Travelodge are generally clean and tidy and good value for money. They are usually very close to main roads and have associated food outlets.
However, such outlets can make almost any food at least semi-tasteless...

I drove approximately 1500 miles around the UK in 2011 (after I'd done a 12 day bus tour) and mostly used the Travelodge chain.
Otherwise, The Parks Motel in Sheffield was nice, and I stayed in a 16th century Inn in Thetford for a reasonable price one night

London hotels are usually expensive - and poky if you are booking a single.
I'd originally booked 2 nights in London after the bus trip but wanted to extend for 2 nights more.
So, the first day back I checked out a few other hotels in the Kensington area and struck a better deal with a neighbouring hotel for the extension - they'll bargain if they have empty rooms.

If you are looking to economise a bit the Enterprise Hotel in the Hammersmith/Earl's Court area isn't bad.
Just watch them if you ask the desk to call you a taxi - they call a mate with a Mercedes who tries to charge like a wounded bull - instead of a licensed cab.
He and I compromised on the fare after some heavy discussion because I had to be somewhere and didn't have time to demand they call a genuine cab.

Car rentals can be pricey but Enterprise Car Rentals in Hammersmith are reasonably well priced compared with the big names.
I hired a Peugeot 107 for 21 Pounds a day where Avis and Hertz wanted 75 Pounds for a VW Polo.

But Avis will bargain too - before the Peugeot I had an Audi A3 Turbo Cabriolet from Avis for two days at 75 Pounds a day, when they normally want 135 for it.
Apparently it was sitting there un-booked when I called because it was a manual and everybody who'd rung wanted an automatic.

Premier Inns are affordable and offer a meal deal (dinner & breakfast) with the room also. If you book before going over they can be at low as 29pound per night for the room.
Automatic cars cost the earth to hire so go manual. Someone I know actual figured out it was cheaper for them to buy a cheap car and sell it just before flying back home. just make sure it's got enough tax on it for your stay
If you are interested in seeing old Heritage Trust places then join the Australian National Trust here and get in for free or discounted prices over there, just check which Estates are run by the Trust over there

I used a site like www.hostelworld.com, you can select the type of accommodation and the area you're looking for.

jump on tripadvisor. i used it almost exclusively when travelling 6 weeks through europe last year, and it is awesome, for both accommodation and finding out what is good to go and see

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotels-g1 ... otels.html

another tip - sometimes B&B style accommodation is cheaper than a 3 star hotel, and quite often is much better. i didnt stay in a B&B in London, but in scotland i did, and most places would be considered 4 star. sometimes you get your own ensuite or sometimes you might have to use the one down the hall but we always had good experiences if we chose using tripadvisor.

do I need a special passport for the UK?

Or will a normal one done at the post office be suitable ?

Bully wrote:do I need a special passport for the UK?

Or will a normal one done at the post office be suitable ?

Is that a serious question?

yes

never travelled anywhere so have no idea

If you don't intend on working, they just stamp your Aussie passport with a tourist visa upon your arrival.

thanks Q, all I wanted to know.

no need for smart arses like others -

pompy wrote:
Is that a serious question?

Passport is your identity card. Entry permit into a country is called a visa. Most Western European countries grant tourist visas automatically upon arrival in the country. Other countries require you to apply for a visa first, best to check but for the UK and the schengen zone (most of Western Europe) you don't need anything

Bully wrote:thanks Q, all I wanted to know.

no need for smart arses like others -

pompy wrote:
Is that a serious question?

Mate, I thought you were the one being a smart arse asking if u need a 'special passport'.

Bully, I recommend rail travel in UK for comfort and convenience. It's a terrific network and you can get virtually anywhere but I wouldn't call it particularly cheap. Make sure you book tickets in advance on-line or buy a rail pass for a specified period.
If you rock up at Kings Cross station and ask for a ticket to a northern city e.g. Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle it will cost heaps. Last year I was silly enough to not pre-purchase a train ticket and got stung for £126 pounds one-way London to Leeds! If I'd pre-booked it would've only cost £40.

Coaches are very cheap but are not all that pleasant. They are also painfully slow going into London. They're OK on the motorway but once you hit the traffic it's a crawl all the way to the terminal.

It's a cracking atmosphere at the Premier League football though. You'll love it.

yeah I am looking forward to it. Hope Arsenal Australia has some tickets for me to purchase