Before you go

The kit I actually use for Leeds.

Short list, honest picks. Each link is an affiliate one — if you buy through it I earn a small commission. None of these are paid placements; the editorial pick is the same whether you click through or not.

Stay connected — eSIMs

Skip the airport SIM kiosk. Activate before you fly, land with data already on. The four below are the ones I've actually used.

Airalo
200+ country eSIMs from a single app. Pay-per-GB, activate in 5 min.
Holafly
Unlimited-data eSIMs for 130+ countries. Best for video-heavy travel days.
Saily
By the NordVPN team — eSIMs with built-in privacy + ad-block. Tighter pricing on EU plans.
Nomad
Per-country and regional eSIMs. The best UX of the lot — instant QR install on iOS.

Travel cover

Don't fly without it. Heymondo and SafetyWing are my defaults — the others are listed because the right cover depends on the trip.

Roaming + pocket Wi-Fi

Old phone or sharing across devices? Pocket Wi-Fi is the niche-but-real fallback.

Skyroam Solis
Pocket Wi-Fi puck — daily-pass roaming when you need shared connection across multiple devices.

Airport transfers

Pre-book the airport run — a vetted driver and a fixed price beats a taxi queue after a flight.

Welcome Pickups
Pre-booked airport transfers — a vetted, English-speaking driver, meet-and-greet at arrivals, flight tracking, a fixed price. Skip the taxi queue.

Car rental

Heading beyond the city? One search compares the major rental suppliers — up to 70% off, free cancellation on most.

VIP Cars
Compare car-rental deals across the major suppliers worldwide in one search — up to 70% off, free cancellation on most. Worth it the moment the trip leaves the city.

City tours & sightseeing

Hop-on-hop-off sightseeing buses — the quick way to get your bearings on day one before you strike out on your own.

City Sightseeing
The open-top hop-on-hop-off bus — one all-day ticket, multilingual audio, every major sight on the loop. The fastest way to get your bearings on arrival day.

Disclosure

Every link on this page is an affiliate link. If you buy through it I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. The editorial picks above don’t change based on payout — they’re the products I’d recommend regardless. Where I haven’t personally tested a product, I say so in the note.

Got a better pick? Tell me.