Cambridge (UK) in January

[john mccarthy]

My family and I relocating to Cambridge in January for four months.  I'm looking for a furnished place there, in case anyone may know of something.  Also is there a most economical way to convert currency for that length of time?  I'm also wondering if there is some kind of railway/bus pass to travel around the UK for four months or so.  Many thanks!

[Jonathan Hansen]

Hi.

Nationally you probably won't find a bus pass that would suit your needs, however for the rail you should look at a BritRail pass. These allow unlimited travel over a set number of days on the railways. The consecutive pass would allow you to travel for the number of days you purchase day after day and may not be the best suited to your needs. The Flexi Pass allows you to choose the days that you travel, within the period of the validity of the pass. Flexi Passes are available for 3, 4, 8 or 15 days travel in a 2 month period. the travel days do not need to be consecutive. Children under 5 travel free on the railways in Britain and for each adult pass you buy you can get a child pass (5-15 years) for free. If your children are older, Youth Passes (16 to 25 years) get a 20% discount. Alternatively, the 'party' discount gives 50% off for the 3rd thrui 9th passenger. However, remember that everyone must travel together at all times. In addition to this there is curently a promotion offering 20% of the fares for travel in Jan and Feb 2011.

The passes are available in Standard Class (2nd Class) or 1st Class and can only be purchased overseas before you arrive in the U.K. so a little planning ahead might be required.

Cambridge has excellent direct train services to London, from where you can get trains to most parts of Britain. For travel along the East Coast to Places like York and Edinburgh you can use local services to Stevenage and Peterborogh to connect with the Long Distance Trains.

See this website for more details http://www.britrail.com/

In Cambridge you might want to consider investing in a Visitors pass for local attractions.

http://www.localsecrets.com/visitcambridgecards.cfm

Te Local Bus Company has "Megarider" passes for Local Bus Travel. These can have up to a 4 week validity and can be purchased when you are there.

http://buymymegarider.com/

Jonathan

[Jonathan Hansen]

What country are you coming from?

If it's the U.S. you may not want to consider any currency exchange. When i travel to the U.K. i can freely use my Bank of America ATM card and local 'Barclays Bank' ATM Machines with no extra charges outside of the currency conversion fee, which is minimal.

Visa and Mastercard Credit Cards are widely accepted, but check with your card issuer regarding fees. Some are better than others.

If you wanted to open a local bank account, many banks offer basic accounts with an ATM card that don't require much in the way of credit checks. You don't get any overdraft facility and you'll need a couple of forms of I.D. Ask them when you get there.

If you do open a local bank account, consider a service like paypal to transfer money at reasonable cost.

Remember that bringing a lot of cash into the country could cause problems. You might want to just use your current overseas account and ATM for the first couple of weeks until you figure out the best way to go in your circumstances

Jonathan

Jonathan

[Peter Parker]

UK has very good railway and bus system (First Capital Connect) all over the country. You can use it easily at very nominal charges. Moreover, for accommodations visit www[.]brettward[.]co.uk/canb/holiday[.]htm and www[.]information-britain[.]co[.]uk/counties[.]cfm?county=34. You find some nice accommodation for your 4 month stay in Cambridge-UK.

Have a comfortable stay in Luray VA Accommodations

[Jonathan Hansen]

Just to clarify, First Capital Connect operate the trains between London and Cambridge (and nearby towns). Other companies operate trains i other parts of the country. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ will give you more details about the whole country.

Buses in the Cambridge Area are operated by Stagecoach, and like the trains different companies operate in different areas (First Bus being one of them, part of the same company that operates First Capital Connect).

For details.of bus services in the UK use http://www.traveline.org.uk/