My brother and I will be spending 4 days (4 nights) in London in May. We know that we want to see Stonehenge and were considering a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. I have read a lot of advice about t
My brother and I will be spending 4 days (4 nights) in London in May. We know that we want to see Stonehenge and were considering a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. I have read a lot of advice about taking trains/buses and organizing this myself, but have just about come to the conclusion that considering all of the travel time and schedules, we would be better off just booking a coach tour for this day. I have found several with Golden Tours and Premium Tours/Viatours, but can't seem to decide. Would these pretty much be comparable or is there much of a difference? I've found one that includes only Stonehenge and Bath, which would give us more time in each location, a concern for me with a tour like this. I really wanted to find one that journeys through the Cotwolds, but I'm afraid those would be just cramming too much into one day. Any advice?
First trip to London? If so, I might forego the field trip and focus on London—there is more than enough to occupy your time. Also, if your 4 days of the trip are not full days (i.e. if one is an arrival/departure day), then stick to the city.
You can reach Salisbury, nearest city to Stonehenge, in 1.5 hours by train from London Waterloo station, then a 25 minute bus ride to the stones. Salisbury is a cool town, worth exploring, if you would consider this journey on your own. But a day tour isn't a bad idea...just a bit rushed if it includes Bath and Stonehenge...and a bit "touristy" (but you can't escape that).
I think for a day trip a coach tour would be just the thing. I have no experience with any of them but I think your instincts are good, to choose the one with just 2 destinations and more time in each place. The worst part of most organized tours is being hustled around and rushed so that aspect alone would make it the best from my perspective.
Of course your time in London is short. You already know that. But seeing a bit of the countryside is as worthwhile as another day in the city. And the hardest part of travel anywhere is learning all the logistics of getting places so for 1 day I see no point even trying to figure it all out. Just let someone else do it for you.
Wow, thanks for such quick feedback! To answer your question, it is my second trip to London and my brother's first. I first went with a tour group and it was a very rushed, hop off, take a picture, hop back on kind of trip, but that didn't ruin it for me. It was still very enjoyable, but this time I want to take my time a bit more and see more than just that main "must sees." I did not see Stonehenge or any of the countryside last time, so I am excited about seeing a bit of England that is outside London. Also the rest of our trip consists only of larger cities, so I thought it would be a nice change of pace. How would you compare Salisbury to Bath? I have read up on Bath and am really interested in going there, but if Salisbury would be just as neat (and save us some travel time), maybe we should consider that instead.
And we originally planned only three days in London, but added the fourth specifically to accomodate an excursion like this. We are totally aware that we won't have as much time as we would like in any location, but will at least get a feel for it!
Oh, and we arrive in London at 7:00 am our first day, so we will have most of the day. I don't plan on packing a lot into that day, however, since we will be exhausted.
I've been to both Salisbury and Bath several times. Salisbury is a nice town and the cathedral is beautiful. But Bath has more going for it, I believe, and if you have time for just one then make it Bath. It has a mutitude of things to see, Roman overlaid with mainly Georgian architecture and a beautiful setting on the River Avon. With the exception of the Royal Crescent all the main attractions are within a few minutes walk making it an efficient as well as fascinating place to see. There are a lot of visitors, to be sure, but don't let the crowd deter you. It's well worth your time.
