UK Travel Guide 2026: ETA £16, Contactless Everywhere, Oyster, Drive-Left, Tipping 12.5%
The one UK travel guide that actually explains the £16 ETA (mandatory since 2025), why contactless bank cards replaced Oyster for most visitors, how the London tube fare cap works, driving on the left, and the tipping conventions that trip Americans up.
Published July 28, 2026·18 min read
Summary
Everything a first-time visitor needs for a 2026 trip to the UK: £16 ETA before you fly (mandatory since 2025), tap your contactless bank card straight onto the Tube gate (Oyster no longer necessary), drive on the left, tip 10–12.5% at restaurants (check for included service charge first), and skip roaming with an EE- or Three-backed eSIM. Everything else is just weather.
The UK ETA: £16, mandatory, before you fly
Since April 2025, virtually every visa-waiver visitor needs an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)before boarding a flight or ferry to the UK. It replaced the informal "just turn up" regime and is now non-negotiable.
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Fee | £16 (raised from £10 on 9 April 2025) |
| Where to apply | Official UK ETA app on iOS/Android (fastest) or gov.uk/apply-for-an-eta |
| Validity | 2 years or passport expiry, whichever comes first; multiple entries up to 6 months each |
| Who needs one | All visa-waiver nationals (Canada, US, Australia, NZ, Japan, Korea, Singapore, UAE, EU/EEA, and more) |
| Exempt | Irish citizens; British/Irish dual nationals; anyone with a UK visa, settled status, or right of abode |
Approvals usually arrive within minutes but the Home Office says allow up to 3 working days. Apply at least a week before you fly. Third-party "visa assistance" sites charge extra — use the official app or gov.uk directly.
Source: GOV.UK — Apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). Fees and eligibility change; verify at time of booking.
Money: contactless everywhere, service charge already included
The UK moved to contactless-by-defaultyears ago. Visa/Mastercard tap, Apple Pay, and Google Pay work at pubs, buses, black cabs, corner shops, parking meters, farmers' markets, even church collection boxes. American Express is patchy at small shops. Some small merchants have card-only signs; others have cash-only signs. Both exist.
Cashis the fallback for cash-only pubs (mainly in rural Scotland and Wales), tips at cash bars, and the occasional bring-your-own-cash establishment. Withdraw £50–100 from a high-street bank ATM — free from Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Halifax, Santander. Avoid independent ATMs (labelled "Cashzone," "NoteMachine") — they charge £1.85–2.50 per withdrawal.
VAT is 20% on most goods and services (5% on some), included in the sticker price. Tax-free shopping was abolished on 1 January 2021 — tourists no longer get VAT back on retail purchases (this is a major UK-specific rule; it still exists in the EU).
Tipping:10–12.5% at sit-down restaurants, but check the receipt first — most restaurants now add an "optional service charge" of 12.5%. If it's already there, don't double-tip; ask to have it removed if service was genuinely bad (the "optional" is real, not vestigial). No tip at pubs when ordering at the bar; small tip if food is brought to your table. Round up for cab drivers.
London transit: tap and go, forget Oyster
For a first-time visitor to London, the rule is simple: tap your contactless bank card or phone directly on the yellow readerat Underground gates, buses, DLR, Overground, Elizabeth Line, and most National Rail services in Zones 1–9. TfL charges Oyster fares, applies the same daily and weekly caps, and settles in your card's currency (some cards add a foreign-transaction fee — a fee-free travel card is the cheapest option).
| Journey | Contactless / Oyster fare | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Any bus ride | £1.75 flat | Hop off within 60 min on a second bus for free (Hopper fare) |
| Tube Zone 1 single (peak) | £2.90 | Off-peak: £2.80. Peak = weekdays 06:30–09:30 & 16:00–19:00 |
| Daily cap Zones 1–2 | £8.90 | Cheaper than a paper Travelcard; auto-applies on contactless |
| Weekly cap Zones 1–2 (Mon–Sun) | £44.70 | Only auto-applies on contactless if you tap with the SAME card all week |
Buying tip: stick to onephysical card or one device (phone or watch) for the whole trip so the weekly cap counts your journeys together — mixing physical card and Apple Pay from the same account can split your journeys into two "cards" and lose the cap.
Fares above are current at time of writing; TfL adjusts annually. Verify at tfl.gov.uk/fares.
Airports and airport transfers
| Airport | To central London | Recommended transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow (LHR) | 45–60 min | Elizabeth Line (~£12.80, 40 min, tap card) or Heathrow Express (£25+, 15 min to Paddington) |
| Gatwick (LGW) | 30–60 min | Gatwick Express (£22, 30 min to Victoria) or Thameslink (cheaper, ~£12) |
| Stansted (STN) | 45–90 min | Stansted Express (£25+, 50 min to Liverpool Street) or National Express coach |
| Luton (LTN) | 50–90 min | Luton Airport DART shuttle + Thameslink (~£18) |
| Manchester (MAN) | City centre 20 min | Airport train to Manchester Piccadilly (~£5) |
Driving: left side, English licence OK, congestion charges in London
- Drive on the left. Steering wheel on the right, gear stick on your left. Automatic rentals cost more and are less common than manuals — book automatic explicitly if you can't drive stick.
- Licence: a valid overseas licence in English (or with an IDP) is fine for tourist stays up to 12 months.
- London Congestion Charge: £15/day inside the Congestion Zone Monday to Friday 07:00–18:00 and weekends 12:00–18:00. Pay via TfL online or app within 3 days.
- ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone): covers all of Greater London. £12.50/day for non-compliant vehicles. Most rental cars meet the standard — verify at pickup.
- Speed limits: 30 mph built-up (20 mph in many boroughs), 60 mph single carriageway, 70 mph motorway. Cameras are everywhere.
- Roundabouts: give way to traffic from your right (i.e. already in the roundabout). Indicate before you exit.
- Fuel: unleaded (petrol) or diesel. Card at every pump.
- Motorway service stations are frequent on M-roads — every 20–30 miles.
British phrases and courtesies
British English is not Aussie English or American English. A few of the differences that matter for tourists:
Cultural norms visitors get wrong
- Queueing is a religion. Skip the line at a bus stop, chip shop, or bar and someone will call it out. The queue is sacred.
- Order at the bar at pubs, not at your table. Pay when you order. Bring the drinks back to your table. Food orders can go to the bar or (increasingly) via QR code — check the menu.
- Stand on the right on escalators so people can walk on the left. In the Tube, ignoring this rule marks you instantly.
- Small talk about the weather is genuine social lubricant, not chit-chat to be short-circuited.
- Don't compliment the food loudly at a small restaurant — excessive American-style effusion reads as strange. Quiet appreciation is the norm.
- Northern Ireland vs Republic of Ireland is a real border. NI is in the UK (pound, ETA rules apply); Ireland is not (euro, its own visa regime). Crossing the land border between them is invisible but jurisdictions change.
- The Royal Family as a topic: locals are more sceptical than international tabloids suggest. Read the room.
Staying connected: EE / O2 / Vodafone / Three
Four networks: EE (best 5G coverage, part of BT), O2 (part of Virgin Media O2), Vodafone UK, and Three (merged with Vodafone in 2025). EE has the widest 5G footprint; Three historically offers cheap larger data buckets on prepaid. Coverage in Scottish Highlands and rural Wales thins on all networks.
For most visitors, a travel eSIM is dramatically cheaper than home-carrier roaming (US$10–15/day) — a 10 GB plan runs around US$10–18 for a week. Install on Wi-Fi before you fly. Keep your home SIM in for calls and OTP codes over Wi-Fi Calling. See the UK eSIM vs roaming breakdown for the maths, or the UK eSIM buying guide for plan picks.
Practical odds and ends
- Plugs: Type G (three big rectangular pins, unique to UK/Ireland), 230 V. Bring an adapter.
- Time zone: GMT (UTC+0) most of the year; BST (UTC+1) in summer. Daylight saving changes last Sunday of March and October.
- Emergency number: 999 (police, fire, ambulance). 112 also works.
- NHS 111 for non-emergency health advice (free from any UK number).
- Water: tap water is safe and often served free at restaurants (ask for "tap water" specifically or you'll get bottled).
- Drinking age: 18. ID accepted: passport, UK driving licence, PASS-scheme card. Foreign driving licences sometimes refused.
- Smoking: banned indoors everywhere. Vaping mostly tolerated outdoors.
- Sunday trading: large shops (over 280m²) can only open 6 hours on Sundays. Pubs vary by council.
- Bank holidays shift services — check gov.uk/bank-holidays.
FAQ
QDo I need a UK ETA in 2026?
AMost visa-waiver visitors — including citizens of Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, the UAE, and dozens of others — need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before they fly. It costs £16 (raised from £10 in April 2025), is applied for on the official UK ETA app or gov.uk website, and is valid for two years or until your passport expires. EU/EEA citizens joined the scheme in April 2025. Irish citizens don't need one. Approvals typically arrive within minutes to 72 hours.
QDo I need cash in the UK?
ABarely. Contactless Visa/Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay work almost everywhere — pubs, buses, black cabs, market stalls, parking meters, even church donation boxes. American Express is patchy at small shops. Cash is a fallback for cash-only pubs in rural Scotland or a bring-your-own-cash bar. Withdraw £50–100 from any high-street bank ATM (Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Halifax) on arrival if you want the security blanket.
QShould I get an Oyster card or just tap my bank card in London?
ATap your bank card. Contactless Visa/Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay all work directly on London Underground gates, buses, DLR, Overground, Elizabeth Line, and most National Rail services in London — at the same fare as Oyster, with the same daily and weekly fare caps. The only reason to buy an Oyster is if your bank card charges foreign transaction fees or you want a physical souvenir.
QWhich side of the road does the UK drive on?
AThe left, like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Japan. Steering wheels are on the right. Automatic rentals cost more and are less common than manuals — book automatic explicitly if you can't drive stick. Valid overseas licences in English are accepted for tourist stays. Congestion charges apply in central London (£15/day), and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charges £12.50/day if your rental doesn't meet emissions standards. Most tourists don't drive in London — Tube + train is faster.
QHow much should I tip in the UK?
AAround 10–12.5% at sit-down restaurants (many bills now include an 'optional service charge' at 12.5% — check the receipt before adding more; you can ask to have it removed if service was bad). No tip at pubs when ordering at the bar; a small tip is fine if food is brought to your table. Round up for black cab and Uber. £1–2 for hotel porters. Coffee shops and takeaways: not expected. Tipping is not the aggressive percentage-of-total culture Americans are used to.
QWhat's the cheapest way to get mobile data as a tourist?
AA UK travel eSIM installed on your unlocked phone runs on EE, O2, Vodafone UK, or Three for a fraction of the US$10–15 per day most US carriers charge for a roaming pass. Install it on Wi-Fi before you fly and land at Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), or Manchester (MAN) already connected. EE has the widest 5G footprint; Three offers cheap larger data buckets on prepaid.
Bottom line
Sort the £16 ETA before you fly (official app or gov.uk), tap your contactless card on every Tube gate and bus (skip the Oyster), drive on the left with an English licence (avoid central London by car entirely), tip 10–12.5% at restaurants (check for included service charge), and skip roaming with a Three- or EE-backed travel eSIM. Everything else is just weather — bring layers.