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Visit a European Island
The UK is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom and as such benefits from many points of arrival. With over twenty airports, twenty ferry ports and a tunnel under the sea, Britain is only two hours away from mainland Europe and is easily accessible from every continent in the world!
Ferries
You can come to the UK by ferry from Ireland, Spain, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Further services also connect to additional British islands, such as the Isle of Wight and the Channel islands.
The main ferry ports in England are Dover, Fleetwood, Folkestone, Harwich, Heysham, Hull, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Lymington, Newcastle, Newhaven, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Portsmouth Harbour, Ramsgate, and Weymouth. You can reach Scotland via the ports at: Aberdeen, Cairnryan, Rosyth, Scrabster, Stranraer and Troon. Wales is acessible via Fishguard, Holyhead and Pembroke ports, and Belfast is Northern Ireland's main port of arrival from Great Britain and the European mainland.
Connecting journeys:
Visit a map of ferry ports and direct routes to connecting countries
Hire a car at your chosen ferry port
Rail travel from UK ferry ports
Air
London Heathrow is the world's busiest international airport. Gatwick, London City, Stansted and Luton airports also serve the capital. Belfast City and Belfast International airports serve Northern Ireland; Cardiff International serves Wales and Scotland's main airports are at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Liverpool, Manchester, Teesside, Leeds/Bradford, and Newcastle airports cater for the north of England. Birmingham International and East Midlands airports are in central England. In southern England, Southampton is the largest airport, while Exeter, Bournemouth and Bristol airports also offer some international services.
There are good transport services by bus, coach, rail or taxi from all UK airports.
Map of UK airports and direct routes to connecting countries
UK Drivers License information
Tunnel
The Eurostar and Channel Tunnel (chunnel) is the UK's rail link with mainland Europe. Eurostar carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains and the channel tunnel carries motorists and their cars from the UK to France and Belgium in as little as 2 hours 3 minutes.
Citizens of non-European Economic Area countries must complete a landing card before arriving at Eurostar check-in. Landing cards are available from dedicated desks in front of the check-in area and from Eurostar staff. This card must then be handed to UK Immigration staff.
