I took three day trips during my last London visit and enjoyed them all so much--Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, and Greenwich. We took trains to Windsor and Hampton Court and rode a boat on the Thames to Greenwich and back (that will probably be out for you in January--ha, ha!). Going to Windsor was probably my favorite day trip (if I had to pick) b/c the town itself is so charming and seeing a castle that the Royal Family still occupies was exciting to me. Have a great trip!

Hi. Try Ryanair.com and Easyjet.com for cheap flights from London and rest of Europe.

I have taken several day trips with a company calle Astral Travels--including Stonehenge--- that were terrific. Try their website for descriptions. They have mini buses that fit about 15 people maximum.

gtrekker - I went to London last January. I'd also recommend Windsor Castle or Hampton Court Palace. Both are wonderful.

The weather is cold but not unbearable. The usual mix of rainy days and sunny days. Just be flexible in your plans and do the museum trips (and other indoor stuff) when the weather is not great.

We had a sunny, brisk day (in the high 30s) when we went to Hampton Court and it was beautiful to walk around the gardens with so few tourists around.

Stonehenge is great to see, but really only takes about an hour to see it, including the audio guide. If you go down there, spend some time in the town of Salisbury, which is a cute town with a beautiful cathedral. It is about 10 miles from Stonehenge, and it is the train station you get off at if you take the train to get to Stonehenge.

Have fun!

Karen

I am planning a couple of day trips. One to Stonehenge (also visiting either Salisbury or Bath) and one to Oxford.

The tours that do these areas seem to also do several other places on the same tour. That doesn't sound reasonable to me. Is there enough time do any of them justice if you do 3-5 places in one day?

For example, Astral Travels does Oxford, Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, Ann Hathaway's Cottage, The Cotswolds, Warwick Medieval Castle in a single day. Much as I would love to see all that, I am afraid I would be seeing it all at 70 MPH.

I would appreciate comments from people that have take the trips.

Keith

Yikes, teh Oxford/Stratford/Warwick tour does indeed sound like there would hardly be any time to get of the bus!

On the other hand, Stonehenge itself is barely an hour's visit, so it makes sense to visit Salisbury or Bath while you're out there. Or take the Astral "Inner Circle" tour that spends hte day loking at Avebury and other Neolithic sites, then visits Stonehenge after-hours.

If you're interested in Oxford OR Warwick, you can easily do these yourself by train without signing up for a tour. And Stonehenge is accessible by bus fro Salisbury, so you could take the train there and be able to set your own pace.

Here are some of my favorite daytrips: Oxford, Canterbury (really nice if you had read The Canterbury Tales in high school), the seaside town of Lyme Regis (setting of the movie "The French Leutenent's Woman"), Bristol and Bath, Warwick Castle. You're spoiled for choice given the excellent train system in the UK.