Visiting the UK: do I need to rent a car?

Do you need to hire a car for your UK vacation? Join us as we weigh up costs, journey times and more.

All cities and most mid-size towns have rail access.

Trains, for the most part, run frequently but are relatively expensive compared to other countries. A train from Newcastle to London, for instance, will set you back £60 to £90 ($75 to $112) per person if booked on the day. The journey takes three hours and 15 minutes. 

Coaches and buses

As with trains, all major cities have regularly serviced schedules by several large coach companies.

It may be a little more challenging to get around in the countryside as local services are much slower and less frequent. Some remote areas have as few as one or two buses per day.

They are, however, an affordable way to travel – especially if you book in advance. Newcastle to London costs as little as £11 ($14) per person for a one-way ticket.

Planes

Every city and town has private-hire cab options – and larger towns also boast black cab-style flag-me-down rides. These can be very handy for short journeys or trips to and from an airport. 

However, they can quickly get expensive on longer journeys. Don't expect to tour the UK by taxi unless you're rich enough to buy a private island.

The case for hire cars

The obvious benefit of a rental car is that you enjoy unparalleled freedom. A train can only take you where the rails take you – but with a car, you can explore every nook, cranny and isolated village.

Then there are the costs. Sure, a rental car may have a higher daily ticket price than a coach journey – but remember that public transport costs scale fast when you travel as a group.

Those ticket prices might not look too bad. But double or triple them and it can get very pricey very quickly – especially if you're planning to visit more than one or two destinations.

A normal-sized rental car will comfortably seat four adults and a moderate amount of luggage. The more seats you fill, the more affordable the journey becomes per head.

Example itineraries from Newcastle

Now let's look at a few example trip itineraries. We'll consider journey time, give an estimated cost and explore whether they can be tackled on public transport. 

One-day trip: Newcastle and Hadrian's wall

We start our day trip in Newcastle City Centre for the Tyne Bridge, Newcastle Cathedral and St. James' Park – our local football stadium. We then head out for Hadrian's Wall: a World Heritage Site and 1,900-year-old monument built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

The fastest public transport option here is a train-and-bus combo. Expect an outbound journey time of one hour and 45 minutes, door to door. This is quite slow for a 27-mile journey – but your boredom will be tempered somewhat by the price. Each way costs around £10 to £12 ($13 to $15) per person. 

Do the same journey by car and you'll enjoy a tiny drive time of just 30 minutes and an estimated fuel cost of eight pounds ($10). It looks like it's round one to the car.

Three cities in three days: Newcastle, Edinburgh and Manchester 

First leg

Starting from Newcastle International Airport, we head to Edinburgh.

The train offers the quickest route. Book in advance for cheap tickets at £25 to £30 ($31 to $37) – but be warned they can be pricey if purchased for peak travel times.

A coach won't cost more than £40 ($50), even if booked at a busy time on the same day. However, it will take a bite out of your schedule with a travel time of two hours and 30 minutes.

Second leg

We head from Edinburgh to Manchester for the second leg. The coach is out of the running pretty quickly with a journey time of more than five hours. So, we head to the train station again.

There are plenty of daily departures from Edinburgh to Manchester. Ticket costs range from £45 to £120 ($56 to $150). Try to avoid peak travel times to bag the lowest prices. 

Third leg

The coach is back in the running for the final leg, as a direct trip from Manchester to Sunderland can be done in around three hours and 40 minutes. Tickets typically cost less than £30 ($37).

So, which wins out – public transport or a hire car?

If you book ahead and bag the cheapest tickets, the trip will cost around £100 ($125) per person and take about 9.5 hours.

Stick to the car for this one and your fuel cost will total around £170 ($212). Expect a solid 8.5 hours of drive time.

One-week tour: the Lake District, York and South West England

As we move out of cities and into the countryside, the car really starts to pull ahead.

A train and coach itinerary would be pretty full-on, taking more than 12 hours to get into Devon. Take a car and the journey will be 1.5 times faster.

You'll start to make savings on fuel costs too. Those long-distance train rides tally up to more than £250 ($312) per person each way. 

Do you need a hire car to visit the UK?

It looks like the car won two out of those three rounds. But in reality, of course, it all depends on where you're travelling, what you want to see and how many people are in your group.

Generally speaking, trips from big cities to big cities can be easily done by train or bus – and relatively cheaply too.

But if you want to explore the countryside or travel long distances in a group, a hire car is miles ahead.

So, if you're planning to pack in some sightseeing while you're in the UK – or you're the type of person who likes to get off the beaten track – then a rental car is the most sensible option.

MVH Rental has been providing reliable and cheap car rentals in Newcastle for decades. Need a car for your vacation? Expect a friendly, flexible service as standard – as well as a great price.

We are located minutes from Newcastle International Airport and also offer minibus hire for larger groups.