Scotland

-> Scotland

Costs, money and banks

Britain is an expensive place to visit. The minimum expenditure, if you're camping, or hostelling, using public transport, buying picnic food and eating in pubs and cafés, would be in the region of £30-40 a day. Couples staying at budget B&Bs, eating at unpretentious restaurants and visiting a fair number of tourist attractions are looking at around £50-60 each per day, and if you're renting a car, staying in comfortable B&Bs or hotels and eating well, budget on at least £80 each per day. Single travellers should budget on spending around 60 percent of what a couple would spend (single rooms cost more than half a double).

Currency

Britain has so far declined to adopt the euro, preferring instead its pound sterling (£), divided into 100 pence (p). Coins come in denominations of 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p and £1 and £2. Notes are in denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50. All English and Scottish banknotes are legal tender throughout Britain, but you may want to get rid of your Scottish notes once you head south of the border as some less worldly traders in England and Wales may be unwilling to accept them.

Currency exchange

Banks or the larger post offices are the best places to change money. Every sizeable town in Britain has at least one of the big high-street banks: Barclays, Lloyds TSB, HSBC, NatWest, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale. Opening hours are generally Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm, though many branches in larger towns open at 9am, close at 5.30pm and also remain open until 3 or 4pm on Saturdays. Outside banking and office hours you're best advised to go to a bureau de change; these are to be found in most city centres, often at train stations or airports. Try to avoid changing money or cheques in hotels, where the rates are normally the poorest on offer.

There are no exchange controls in Britain, so you can bring in as much cash as you like and change travellers' cheques up to any amount.

Travellers' cheques

The easiest and safest way to carry your money is in travellers' cheques, available for a small commission (normally 1 percent) from any major bank. The most commonly accepted are issued by American Express, followed by Visa and Thomas Cook. Neither American Express nor Thomas Cook will charge commission if you exchange cheques at their own offices, but banks charge around 1.5 percent commision. Keep a record of the cheques as you cash them, and you can get the value of all uncashed cheques refunded immediately if they are lost.

It pays to get a selection of denominations. Make sure to keep the purchase agreement and a record of cheque serial numbers safe and separate from the cheques themselves. In the event that cheques are lost or stolen, the issuing company will expect you to report the loss immediately; most companies claim to replace lost or stolen cheques within 24 hours.

Credit and debit cards

Credit cards can be very handy as a backup source of funds, and can be used either in ATMs or over the counter. Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club are accepted in most hotels, shops and restaurants in Britain, although they're less useful in the most rural areas, and smaller establishments everywhere, such as B&Bs, will often accept cash only. You may also be able to make withdrawals using your debit card - your bank's international banking department should be able to advise on this.

Make sure you have a personal identification number (PIN) that's designed to work overseas. You'll find ATMs at most large supermarkets, train stations, motorway service areas, some petrol stations and even in some pubs and shops.

Wiring money

Having money wired from home through a money-wiring company is never convenient or cheap and should be considered a last resort. Fees depend on the country, method of payment and amount being transferred, but as an example, wiring £500 to Britain from the US will cost £20-35, Moneygram and Travelex (Thomas Cook) being the cheaper options.

It's also possible to have money wired directly from a bank in your home country to a bank in Britain, although this is somewhat less reliable because it involves two separate institutions. If you go down this route, your home bank will need the address of the branch bank where you want to pick up the money and the address and telex number of the head office, which will act as the clearing house; money wired this way normally takes at least two working days to arrive and costs around £25 per transaction.

Money-wiring companies

Moneygram tel 0800/018 0104, www.moneygram.com. Money can be wired in twenty minutes from post offices in the UK; a brochure is available at post offices detailing countries where money can be sent and received.

Travelex (Thomas Cook) tel 01733/318922. The cheapest company to approach if you don't need the money on the spot as it takes up to two days to arrive. They can also credit foreign bank accounts for the same fee (up to three days).

Western Union Money Transfer tel 0800/833 833, www.westernunion.com. Money can be transferred in minutes, either by phone or in person from an agency; call for the nearest location.

Youth and student discounts

Various official and quasi-official youth and student ID cards soon pay for themselves in savings. Full-time students are eligible for the International Student ID Card (ISIC), which entitles the bearer to special air, rail and bus fares and discounts at museums, theatres and other attractions. For Americans there's also a health benefit, providing up to $3000 in emergency medical coverage and $100 a day for 60 days in the hospital, plus a 24-hour hotline to call in the event of a medical, legal or financial emergency. The card costs $22 for Americans; CDN$16 for Canadians; A$16.50 for Australians; NZ$21 for New Zealanders; and £6 for UK residents. A university photo ID might open some doors, but is not as easily recognizable as the ISIC, although the latter is often not accepted as valid proof of age in bars and pubs.

You only have to be 26 or younger to qualify for the International Youth Travel Card, which costs around the same as the ISIC and carries the same benefits. Teachers qualify for the International Teacher Card, for the same rates and deals. All these cards are available in the US from Council Travel, STA, Travel CUTS and, in Canada, Hostelling International; in Australia and New Zealand they are available from STA or Campus Travel; and in the UK from Usit Campus and STA.

Several other travel organizations and accommodation groups also sell their own cards, good for various discounts.