The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Scottland and Northern Ireland. These are located about 25 miles off of mainland Europe, just west of Western Europe. It is between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France. The country is connected by a tunnel under the English Channel to France. The UK is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon in the United States. The climate in the UK is temperate and moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic. More than one-half of the days are overcast and rain characterizes many of the days throughout the year, although less frequent during early summer months. If you plan on travelling to the UK, it is highly recommended that you take into account the climate, particularly if your travel plans include many outdoor activities.

Country Map of the United Kingdom

Here's a clever trip tip: Buy your street and highway maps for the United Kingdom before you depart. With a map, atlas, street guide or excursion guide in hand, you'll be able to know where you're going before you get there! Rather than spending precious vacation time hunting down a store that sells maps and then trying to figure out where things are, we think Trektools can get your UK vacation off on the right foot. They've got more maps than you could possibly find at most UK bookstores and you won't have to start your trip by being lost.

Speaking of planning ahead, you can't beat the convenience and security of having a cellular phone for the United Kingdom with a UK phone number. Imagine having the benefits of local cellular service such as low rates and unlimited free incoming calls from anywhere in the world—any time of day or night—just like one of the locals! Cellular Abroad offers prepaid rental phones for the United Kingdom as well as our Talk Abroad rental—a prepaid international roaming phone—good for use on multi-country trips. (The Talk Abroad™ offers free incoming calls in over 20 countries!) You can also purchase an United Kingdom phone and SIM card package for better value on long trips (or if you or a friend are frequent overseas travellers). Of course, you can also buy a Talk Abroad™ international roaming phone and SIM card bundles. Finally, if you already own an unlocked GSM world phone, you can pick up an United Kingdom SIM card or Talk Abroad SIM. Either way, you'll be able to give out a European number to friends, family and colleagues back home before you leave. To learn more about GSM phones, prepaid SIM cards and how they can both save you a lot of money and keep you connected while you're abroad, go to our Start Here page or check out our FAQs.

For more United Kingdom trip-planning resources, visit our United Kingdom hotels, United Kingdom car rentals and United Kingdom Cellular Information pages. Here is a British Pound to US Dollar converter.