Scotland Travel Information

Scotland Travel

Infectious Diseases

In Scotland, as in the United Kingdom, there are no infectious diseases that are not also found in Central Europe and these are:

  • AIDS, HIV
  • Lyme disease, as a result of tick bites
  • Intestinal infections, through contaminated food or contaminated water, including amoebas, lamblia, salmonella, shigella and worm infestation as well as all kinds of viruses and bacteria
  • diphtheria
  • Early summer meningo encephalitis, mainly as a result of tick bites
  • Hepatitis A and B, an infection with hepatitis B, is only possible in people who can come into contact with blood or those who have sexual contact
  • Polio, polio
  • measles
  • Meningococcal menigitis
  • tetanus
  • rabies
  • Typhoid fever, an infection risk only exists for travelers who come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food

Vaccination recommendations When traveling to Scotland and the United Kingdom, the same vaccinations are recommended as in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

  • Cholera, but only among travelers who can come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food
  • Diphtheria, a vaccination against diphtheria should always exist, also in the home country
  • Hepatitis A and B, vaccination against hepatitis B, is only required for people who may come into contact with blood or who have sexual contact
  • Polio, polio, a vaccination against polio should always exist, also in the home country
  • Tetanus, a vaccination against tetanus, should always exist, also in the home country

Compulsory vaccination There are no vaccination requirements for entry into Scotland, as for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Hazards/current warning notices

Foreign Office (AA) of the Federal Republic of Germany
Citizens’ Service
Telephone: 0049 – (0) 30 – 5000 – 2000
Fax: 0049 – (0) 30 – 5000 – 51000

Scotland Travel

Scotland: currency, shopping and exchange rate

The national currency of Great Britain and thus of Scotland is the pound sterling (British pound), or GBP for short.

The following banknotes are valid and in circulation in the country:

  • 5
  • 10
  • 20
  • 50 pounds sterling

Conversion rate

You can find a currency converter here:

www3.forium.de

Bank opening times

The ATMs, which work the same way as in Germany, are available around the clock and can be operated in German. In order to withdraw money with the EC card, however, you have to find one of the international ATMs, which are usually located in train stations or subway stations. You can also pay with a credit card in almost all shops and restaurants (from around 10 GBP also in most pubs). Since February 2006, in almost all shops you can only pay by entering your PIN number.

Bank opening times vary from bank to bank: in larger cities they are usually open a little longer and are often open on Saturday mornings. It is advisable to avoid lunchtime between 12 noon and 1.30pm as there are usually very long queues in the banks. You should also note the numerous bank holidays in the country (see public holidays) on which banks and public institutions such as post offices and libraries are closed.

  • Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 4.30 p.m./5 p.m.
  • Saturday: 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Sunday: closed

Shopping

Shop opening times
The opening times of shops in Great Britain are not required by law and therefore vary greatly for different regions and businesses. In the larger cities, the shopping centers and shops on the High Streets are usually open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. on weekdays and until around 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. In smaller districts or towns, however, the shops are often completely closed on Sundays. Groceries can usually be bought around the clock. Most supermarkets are open Mon-Sat until 8 or even 10 p.m., on Sundays mostly until 4 p.m. There are also very large supermarkets outside of the cities, e.g. from Tesco, Sainsbury’s or ASDA, which are open 24 hours a day. The typical corner shops, whose opening times are very individual, are also popular: In the big cities often around the clock, in more rural areas they are sometimes closed on Sundays. Since the repeal of various laws on serving alcohol, you can often buy alcohol late into the night with so-called off licenses. However, it is advisable to inquire about this beforehand, as many shops still have a curfew to sell alcohol. Cheap or country-specific goods,

Souvenirs
In addition to the shortbread biscuits in Bonnie Prince Charlie tins and knitwear made of virgin wool or cashmere, there are some other typical Scottish souvenirs. This of course also includes other textile souvenirs such as Harris Tweed or tartan fabrics. The days when wool sweaters or tweed jackets were sold at bargain prices are long gone, however, and you can be prepared for the fact that quality has its price. The sales in specialty shops and often also with the manufacturers themselves as well as with arts and crafts often offer good quality and relatively low prices. The usual souvenirs are easy to find. Not as famous as a bottle of Scottish whiskey or similar well-known products are jewelry and decorations made from heather, which are made in Scotland.

A real malt is of course also a well-tried souvenir and Edinburgh Crystal or Caithness Glass are also very popular. Also, leather goods, candy, wood carvings, candles, etc. are extremely popular. For slide or video evenings at home there is the corresponding traditional Scottish music in many shops and specialist shops.

There are also excellent antique shops in almost every major town in Scotland. Regent Street and Bath Street in Glasgow are particularly interesting in this regard, in Edinburgh corresponding shops are spread all over the city.

Units of measurement
Because of their island location, residents and a number of other countries have retained numerous non-metric units. The most important are shown here:

1 mile = 1,609,344 m
1 foot = 12 inches = 0.3048 m
1 inch = 25.4 mm
1 inch = 25.4 mm
1 gallon = 8 pints = 4.546 liters
1 Gallon (US) = 8 pints = 3.785 liters
1 yard = 3 feet = 36 inches = 0.914 m