Page 16 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Great Britain

14 BACK ROADS GREAT BRITAIN

Telephone System charges will be. Great Britain is part of
Telephone service is provided by the GSM system – US phones need to
British Telecom (BT). Phone numbers be tri-band or quad-band and have
in Great Britain have an area code of international roaming activated to
four or five digits beginning with “0”, operate here. Check with your supplier
followed by a local number. When before leaving. If you plan to make a
dialling within the country, use the full lot of calls, consider buying a cheap
area code. When dialling from abroad, “pay-as-you-go” mobile in the UK.
drop the initial 0. When calling within Above Foreign newspapers for sale on a
the same area code on a landline, you Internet and Mail Services newspaper stand
only need to dial the local number. Most hotels and guesthouses have
To call Great Britain from abroad: internet access, while nearly all coffee Passports – a prepaid currency card.
first dial your country’s international shops and restaurants have Wi-Fi. These can be loaded with money
access code, followed by the country Moreover, you will find Wi-Fi in an before travelling and used in shops
code for Britain (44), and the local area increasing number of public areas. and ATMs abroad. They are available
code (minus the initial 0), and number. The national postal system is Royal from Thomas Cook, Travelex and
Public pay phones take either Mail. In addition to main post offices, various banks. Most airports have
coins or phonecards. These are the there are sub-post offices in shops foreign exchange counters, but it is
cheapest way to make calls and you and newsagents throughout the easier to use a debit or credit card to
can buy cards at newsagents country, where you can send withdraw cash from one of the many
and post offices in various packages as well as letters ATMs or “cashpoints” around. Check
amounts. International and cards. You can also with your bank or card provider what
phonecards can be an buy stamps at many they will charge you for using your
even cheaper way to call newsagents. First-class card abroad. Cirrus and PLUS are
abroad. Making calls from mail within the country widely used in Britain.
your hotel room is generally takes 1–2 days. Allow 3–10 Major credit cards including Visa,
expensive, as most hotels Symbol for a Tourist days for international air Mastercard and American Express are
add a surcharge. Check Information Point mail, depending on the accepted at most hotels, restaurants,
charges at the reception final destination. Post boxes shops and petrol stations, but you
before using the phone. are painted red. may need cash in some pubs, small
Peak period is Mon–Fri 7am–7pm. shops, guesthouses and B&Bs. Credit
Both local and international calls are Banks and Money card companies are increasingly
cheaper after 7pm and at weekends. Sterling is the currency in Great Britain. vigilant against fraud, so it is wise to
There is a charge for using Directory One pound is divided into 100 pence. let them know you will be using the
Enquiries, but you can look numbers There are £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100 card abroad, so that they don’t put a
up for free on the Internet. Calls to notes, and 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, block on its use. It is also a good idea
mobile phones are more expensive. £1 and £2 coins. Scotland issues its to carry a different card for back-up.
Numbers beginning with 0845 are own bank notes, which are usable in Great Britain uses the chip-and-pin
charged at a local rate and 0870 at England. But some shops south of the system, which requires the purchaser
national rate. 0800 and 0808 numbers border won’t accept them, so it’s best to enter the card’s pin number rather
are toll-free. Avoid numbers beginning to ask for change in English notes if than a signature. An increasing
with an 09 prefix – these cost up to you’re nearing the end of your stay. number of places now also use a
£1.50 per minute. Traveller’s cheques are a safe way no contact system, though for this
Mobile phones are convenient but to carry money abroad, but they method of payment there is often a
it’s worth finding out what the roaming have been largely replaced by Cash set maximum amount per transaction.

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