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Driving in England
 

Driving on wrong side of the road. Also watch out for the Rotaries (circles)

Driving in U.K.
 

From the movie THE WORLD FASTEST INDIAN a New Zealander arrives to the states and bought a car to go to the Great Salt Lake - after just about causing a accident the salesman said the best way to determine if driving in the right lane is to HAVE THE DRIVERS SIDE NEAR THE CENTER OF THE ROAD looking into the rear view mirror is adjustment also

Driving on the wrong side of the road is not recommended in any country.
There are no Rotaries (circles) in the UK.

If you are a confidant driver and can handle everything The Villages throws at you, you'll have no problem adapting if you take things carefully.

If you're a nervous wreck in TV and panic at the roundabouts, take a coach trip.

jacksonla
 

I lived in South Africa for 5 years. I had a post-it note on the dashboard for the first 8 months with an arrow and a note to self "keep left". I only once almost had an accident and that was when I returned to the states.

Are you from the 617? We’re the only ones that still call them ‘Rotaries’ (at least in my travels)

We lived in Japan and my biggest problem was remembering to stay on the left side of the road when making a turn. If a car was in the right lane obviously that made it easier but with no car there to remind me I would say to myself ’left side, left side’.

For our first trip, I bought a video game steering wheel that clamps to your desk. I practiced with that for a while driving a left side simulator. It really helped.

Use iMaps or other nav app. I'd say all new cars allow you to connect to the dashboard screen. Following the blue nav line on the screen the "wrong" way around roundabouts is very helpful.

Several people suggested having an involved navigator next to you. That's a good idea, but a distracted one is worse.

Although I had an Embassy driver, occasionally I tried my hand driving on the left; not too bad until I hit traffic circles. This was in Botswana. I’ll stick with the right side drive and, as Greyhound use to say, leave the driving to us

Opposite side driving...
 

"Far Right; Near Left" -- when turning/joining another roadway. We kept repeating that for about all three years while living on Okinawa.
We took a tour of Ireland and were happy the tour bus seating was high because the hedgerows will make it difficult to impossible to see beyond the edge of the narrow road. That and the driver having to focus on driving the narrow roads with on-coming traffic can become tiring. We marveled at the drivers passing on-coming buses or trucks on roadways we would think are barely one and a half lanes wide. Prior to leaving home, study on how/where to park because as another said, that will be a task unto itself.

As much as you want to see large parts of these countries, you, as the driver, will miss so much sightseeing and enjoying the country. The passenger(s) get the benefit, although they may be helping with directions. With the differences in the cars, driving on the left, different road rules, unfamiliar areas, and narrow roads, I would highly recommend finding a trip with a driver so all travelers can enjoy the experience 100% and see so much more. Well worth the money and reduced stress.

Remember: "When your right your wrong". We drove about 1500 miles years ago in Ireland and Scotland and there were some harrowing experiences. Sheep, loose chippings and the round abouts were the biggest problems. There were no gps/navigation in those days so my wife was the navigator. Good luck! Never again.

If I had to do a check-in and focus so much on driving and the stress, much of my holiday would not be enjoyable! Find a trip with a guide or hire a driver - someone who knows the areas. Then you can really enjoy the sites. Too much grief, in my opinion!

Driving in the UK
 

Jim,

My wife and I did a 3,000 mile driving trip in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland last year and it was amazing! We flew into London, picked up our car there. I opted for a manual because I like to drive a stick. We got lucky and got a new (5 miles) Kia SUV with a great navigation system. The trick to driving on the other side of the road is to be very intentional at the start of every day. I found that I you got started going the right way it was pretty easy from there. Sitting on the.left side of the car and shifting with your left hand is a constant reminder. One thing we did constantly is walk up to the wrong side of the car to get in.

We had no incidents or trouble navigating. We just followed the GPS. One thing you should do is book the ferry's in advance. Make sure you get there early. The ferry's are a great part of the adventure.