You don't need a car in the UK. In fact in London with the hassles of finding parking and the Mayor's 'congestion charge' programme to keep vehicles out of the CBD, its no fun at all having a car.

So you will probably use public transport; local trains, buses and the famous London tube. Londoners love to moan about the Tube but for most Aussies the frequency of underground trains and indeed buses is a bit of a revelation even if things do not always go to plan.

London is often used as a base from which to explore Europe by Aussies on UK working holiday visas. In the past that largely meant heading off on a Contiki bus tour, eurail pass or combi van. These options are still good but the last 10 years has still a proliferation of low-cost airlines like Easyjet (star of the TV show 'Airline') and Ryanair (the most profitable airline in the world).

These carriers with their cheap (sometimes insanely cheap) fares have revolutionised European air travel especially from the UK where many of them started. It makes a cheap weekend or longer in Venice, Spain, Poland or the south of France available for everyone.

Eveyone seems to have a friend who got an airfare to paris or Dublin for 10p or so and such fares are not just myths but be careful. These fares never include tax or indeed for Ryanair, luggage, which you will discover is at an additional charge later in the booking process. The airports that these airlines use are often relatively obscure and expensive to reach from the city that they are supposed to serve and Ryanair's approach to customer service is, well, confrontational when things do not go to plan; they often appear on English versions of A Current Affair.

But its not just Europe that is accesible from the UK. London is an excellent base for flights to the middle east, Africa, North America and even South America and there are a range of specialist travel agencies and overland companies that specifically target the travelling community (i.e. Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans). Many of them advertise regularly in TNT magazine.

One of the best has been around for over 10 Years and has become a favourite of UK based Antipodeans. Global Village has two offices in central London and specialises in overland trips to Africa & the Middle East, the Trans-Siberian Railway and multi-stop flights worldwide. Check their website out: