Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to
cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts
and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to
find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday
of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost £169.15 at Booking.com. A week
later, the same room cost £118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to
avoid—or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such
as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city,
date and category.
STAYAWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your
destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station,
but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of
your holiday.
Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay
in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central
Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was £95.95. A room just a tube
journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was £75.75. And at Farringdon, a double
room cost just £62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities
such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at
weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a
self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on
the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic
O’Neill Flat on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, available for £420 for five days in
late September, with room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE London’s ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted
the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you
rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or
car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are
Newcastle (casual members pay around £1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for
up to 30 minutes, or £5 per day). (358 words)
1.
The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may
__________.
A. help travelers pass time
B. attract lots of travelers to the UK
C. allow travelers to make flexible plans
D. cause travelers to pay more for accommodation
2.“Farringdon”
in Paragraph 5 is most probably __________.
A. a hotel away from the train station
B. the tube line to Covent Garden
C. an ideal holiday destination
D. the name of a travel agency
3.The
passage shows that the O’Neill Flat __________.
A. lies on the ground floor
B. is located in central London
C. provides cooking facilities for tourists
D. costs over £100 on average per day in late
September
4.Cardiff’s
program allows a free bike for a maximum period of __________.
A. half an hour B.
one hour C. one hour and a half
D. two hours
5.The
main purpose of the passage is __________.
A. to tell visitors how to book in advance
B. to supply visitors with hotel information
C. to show visitors the importance of self-help
D. to offer visitors some money-saving tips