The London Practical Guide: Money, electrics, emergencies, water, manners & customs

The things that derail a trip are rarely the big ones. You planned for those. It is the small, assumed, nobody-told-me things — the socket that won't accept your charger at midnight, the card that gets declined because the machine expects a PIN you've never set, the 999 call you needed to make and weren't sure was right — that produce the moments of genuine friction. This page covers all of them.

Electrical Sockets and Voltage

The United Kingdom uses a socket unlike almost anywhere else on earth: the Type G, a large three-pin plug in a rectangular configuration. It is arguably the safest electrical plug design in the world — the pins are partially insulated, the socket has protective shutters, and it is very difficult to electrocute yourself accidentally. None of this is any comfort when you arrive with American, European, or Australian plugs and nothing to put them in.

Buy a UK travel adapter before you leave home. The ones sold in airport departure lounges are the same product at three times the price. One universal adapter covering the UK Type G is sufficient for most travellers. If you are bringing multiple devices, a travel power strip with a single UK plug on one end and multiple USB and standard sockets on the other solves the problem entirely from a single adapter.

UK mains voltage is 230V at 50Hz. American devices are built for 110–120V. Most modern electronics — laptops, phone chargers, camera batteries — are dual-voltage and will handle 230V automatically. Check the fine print on the charger itself: if it says "Input: 100–240V" you are fine. If it says "Input: 120V" only, it will not work and may be damaged. Hair dryers, electric shavers, and certain other appliances are the most common culprits. A UK-purchased travel hair dryer costs less than a replacement for a blown one. A "step-down" converter might prevent your cherished appliances being damaged.

The British electrical plug is perhaps the safest in the world. Finding an adapter, especially a step-down converter-adapter, might take longer than you think.

Money — What to Bring, How to Pay, What Not to Do

The currency is Pound Sterling, abbreviated as GBP and written as £. It is not the euro. It has never been the euro. This continues to confuse a surprising number of visitors. Euros are not accepted anywhere in the UK, and any establishment that offers to take them is doing so at an exchange rate that makes it a terrible deal for you.

London is one of the most cashless societies on earth. Contactless card payment is accepted almost universally — in supermarkets, pubs, taxis, market stalls, museums, and most street food vendors. Many businesses have become entirely cash-free since 2020 and will decline to serve you if you offer a note. You can visit London for a week and never need to handle a banknote.

That said, carry a small amount of cash — £40 to £60 — for situations where it is needed: some church collections, some market stalls, car park machines, the occasional tip. Withdraw it from a cashpoint (ATM) inside a bank or supermarket, not from a standalone machine on the street, and emphatically not from a currency exchange desk at the airport. The airport exchange desks offer rates that range from poor to predatory. If your bank card has no foreign transaction fee — Wise, Revolut, Charles Schwab, and Monzo are among the best options — the ATM rate will beat any exchange desk in the country.

When paying by card in a restaurant, the correct phrase is "Can we pay, please?" The machine will be brought to the table. You tap or insert your card at the machine. You do not hand your card to a member of staff and let it disappear to a back room;it might be cloned. If someone takes your card away from you, that is not standard British practice and you should say so.

Tipping is customary in restaurants — 10 to 12.5 percent for decent service, the full service charge if it is already on the bill and the service merited it, nothing extra on top of a service charge already added. Tipping in pubs is not expected. Taxi drivers expect rounding up to the nearest pound or a modest tip on longer journeys; they do not expect American-style percentages.

The British Pound Sterling comes in £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. Coins are pence: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p. There is also £1 and £2 coins that are useful as all sorts of machines expect these. All money with images of late Queen Elizabeth II on them are still valid tender for the foreseeable future but are gradually being replaced with notes and coins with the image of King Chales III.

Medical Emergencies

The National Health Service treats genuine emergencies regardless of nationality. If you are in a life-threatening situation — a serious accident, chest pains, a severe allergic reaction, a stroke — call 999 and an ambulance will come. You will be treated, no matter where in the world you are from. You will not be asked for a credit card in the emergency room. The NHS does not operate that way for emergency care.

For non-emergency medical issues, do not go to a hospital Accident and Emergency department unless it is genuinely urgent. A&E departments in London can involve waits of four to eight hours for non-critical cases at weekends. Instead, use an NHS Urgent Treatment Centre or a walk-in clinic. The NHS website lists every walk-in and urgent treatment centre near your location.

The NHS 111 service — call or go online to 111.nhs.uk — connects you to a nurse-led triage service that will assess your symptoms and direct you to the right level of care. If you are unsure whether you need A&E, a walk-in clinic, a pharmacist, or simply rest and fluids, call 111 first. It is free, available around the clock, and will give you a clear answer.

Travel insurance with medical coverage is strongly recommended for all visitors. The NHS will treat emergencies, but follow-up care, repatriation, and anything beyond immediate stabilisation for non-EU, non-reciprocal agreement visitors will be chargeable. Check whether your home country has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK before you travel — Australia does; the United States does not.

Pharmacies — called chemists in the UK, not drug stores — are found on almost every "high street" - it's what the British call a main road with shops on it. The two big chains are Boots and SuperDrug. Pharmacists in the UK are qualified to advise on and dispense a wide range of treatments without a prescription, including some antibiotics. If you have a minor ailment that you would normally see a doctor for at home, the pharmacist is your first port of call here.

Emergencies of Any Kind

If your passport is lost or stolen, report it to the police on 101, then contact your country's embassy or consulate in London. Know your own country's consular address before you travel. The US Embassy is in Nine Elms; the Australian High Commission is in the Strand; the Canadian High Commission is in Trafalgar Square.

Water

Tap water in the UK is safe to drink. In London, it is treated to the highest standards and delivered to every tap in the city. It is hard water — high in calcium and magnesium — which gives it a slightly chalky taste and is why the inside of your kettle will accumulate limescale if you stay long enough. It will not make you ill. You do not need to buy bottled water. Carry a refillable bottle and fill it from any tap.

Manners and Customs

The queue is sacred. Joining a queue in the middle, walking past a queue to the front, or failing to join the queue at all and expecting service when others are waiting are all treated as serious social transgressions. This applies everywhere: bus stops, museum entrances, coffee shops, supermarket checkouts. The queue is not a suggestion. Things get ugly quickly if you jump the queue.

Escalators. Stand on the right, walk on the left. This is the rule on the London Underground and in most public spaces with escalators. If you stand on the left, someone will say "excuse me" with a politeness that conveys the exact opposite. Move to the right before the situation arises.

Apologising. The British habit of saying sorry when someone else walks into them is not self-abasement — it is a social lubricant that keeps nine million people moving through a dense city without constant confrontation. It will feel strange for approximately two days and then entirely natural.

Directness and irony. "Not bad" means quite good. "Quite good" means good. "Interesting" very often means the opposite. "I'm not sure that's entirely right" in a meeting means "you are wrong and I am being kind about it." Read the room, and when in doubt, ask.

Personal space. The British are not a physically demonstrative people with strangers. A handshake is the standard greeting in a professional context; a wave or nod is fine in a casual one. Do not hug people you have just met unless they initiate it. As for kissing someone you have just met - don't.

Pub kitchens. Pubs close their kitchens and often stop serving food, earlier than restaurants. If you want to eat in a pub, go before 8:30pm.

Restaurant etiquette. If you want the staff's attention in a British restaurant you do so with a hand gesture when making eye contact. It is acceptable to say "excuse me" as they pass you. Do not shout out across the floor as this disturbs the other patrons and annoys the staff. There is no telling what the waiting staff will do to your order if you shout out at them.

And the most important custom of all: say "please" and "thank you", always. The bus driver. The barista. The museum attendant who tells you the lift is out of order. London is a city of millions of transactions a day, and the ones that go well do so partly because both parties acknowledge each other as human beings. It costs nothing and returns more than you would expect.

Do You Really Need Travel Insurance for London?

The NHS provides emergency treatment, but it does not guarantee everything will be free. Depending on your situation, overseas visitors can still be charged—especially once care moves beyond the immediate emergency stage.

If you’re travelling with a GHIC or EHIC, you’ll get access to medically necessary state care, but that comes with limits:

• No cover for private treatment
• No cover for getting you home (repatriation)
• No cover for cancellations, delays, or lost belongings

In practical terms: you’ll be looked after—but you’re still financially exposed.

Where Travel Insurance Makes the Difference

Most problems travellers face aren’t major emergencies. They’re the frustrating, expensive situations around the edges—missed connections, extended stays, follow-up treatment, or needing to change plans quickly.

Without insurance, those costs fall directly on you. With it, they’re handled.

It’s not about expecting something to go wrong. It’s about not having to deal with it alone if it does.

Typical Situations Where Insurance Helps

• Flight delays forcing an unexpected overnight stay
• Follow-up treatment after an emergency visit
• Lost or delayed luggage requiring replacement essentials
• Cutting your trip short due to illness or family emergencies

What It Could Cost Without Insurance

• Short hospital stay: hundreds to thousands of pounds
• Medical evacuation or repatriation: potentially tens of thousands
• Last-minute flight changes: significantly higher fares
• Replacing lost belongings: entirely out of pocket