Why Most People Get Their UK Vacation Plans Wrong And How To Fix Them

The United Kingdom or UK is the land of many of our forefathers, and we continue to be fascinated with it. As many as 80 million Americans are reputed to have some degree of English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish ancestry. Add to that desire that we speak the same language and share many cultural trends and it’s a very easy vacation destination. So where do you begin with planning a vacation? Here is some handy information to help you start the process.

Basics of the UK’s geography

The United Kingdom is correctly referred to as Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It’s comprised of 4 countries in essence: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England, Scotland and Wales are all located on the same island, and Northern Ireland is across the Irish Sea and shares an island with the Republic of Ireland or ROI for short. The ROI is a totally separate country and sovereign nation. Bloody wars have been fought down the centuries between the English and the Irish so don’t insult the Irish by lumping Ireland in with the UK. They fought hard for their independence! London is the capital of England, Cardiff the capital of Wales, Edinburgh the capital of Scotland and Belfast the capital of Northern Ireland.

How big is the UK?

In comparison with the US, the United Kingdom is very small. California alone is double the size of the entire UK. That said, you need to be realistic about what you can accomplish during your vacation. The UK has a decent railway system that can help you get around, but if you want to venture outside of the major cities a car could well be essential. For example, it’s 420 miles from London to Edinburgh - a train will take around 4.5 hours and a drive around 7.5 hours in good traffic. Consider using a combination of train and car rental to max out what you can see.

What are the must-see cities, towns and attractions?

You might never be able to combine all of these on one trip, but here are some of the top tourist destinations:

• London - Houses of Parliament, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Covent Garden
• Edinburgh - Edinburgh Castle and The Royal Mile, Edinburgh Festival (August only)
• Cardiff - Cardiff Castle, Cardiff Bay
• Belfast - Titanic Belfast, Lyric Theatre, Grand Opera House
• Stratford Upon Avon - the home of Shakespeare
• Bath - historic Georgian and Roman spa town
• York - walled city founded by the Romans
• Liverpool - home of the Beatles
• The Lake District - area of outstanding national beauty in northern England
• The Highlands of Scotland - area of outstanding national beauty in Scotland

Any other tips?

If you don’t want to take a train for your travels around the UK, use Google maps to calculate routes and driving distances. That way you’ll know if you are being overly ambitious with your plans.