Following an Evan Evans tour link, I read that Astral seemed to be a better bet. Astral spends 3 hours in Bath (not long enough, I know, but this is a first trip to England and I am trying to get a taste of things I might like to see for longer periods later)>

Has anyone done Bath/Stonehenge with Astral? (Inner Circle Tours seem not to be operating mid June; I think it is a Solstice).

Or, has anyone recently done a day trip with Astral?

Thanks. Fodors.com has provided me with invaluable advice and helped me make decisions that are going to make my time in England much more meaningful.

I love astral. I have taken three of the tours and been very happy. I do think after seeing the countryside that 3-hours will seem enough at Bath, which I enjoyed, but it seems like a "big city" after all the quaint villages. I have done Stones and Bones and also one that goes to Glastonbury (different years).

My hubby and I took that tour last year and were very happy with it! Sure you can spend more time in all the places, but we didnt feel like we were rushed at all. We saw what we wanted to see.

The guide was fantastic and there were only 8-10 people on the tour, which was nice.

I would recommend them!

I ended up taking a train from Paddington to Salisbury, then a bus to Stonehenge. The connection was easy. Then I took a train from Salisbury to Bath.

Coming back, you need to get an Apex ticket a week in advance for about 19 pounds. Otherwise you could end up paying around 30 pounds for the Bath to London (Waterloo) connection. For some reason, that is a very expensive train.

Benefit of this was an early start (7:10 from Paddington) and more time in each place.

I took the Bath/Stonehenge Astral tour--it was great. All aspects, but mainly a wonderful, very well informed guide. Don't know if we were just lucky or they are all that good. I actually emailed the company when I got home to compliment our guide. I'd definitely do an Astral again.

Hi,

I am just providing a different perspective. I recently took a 'Stones and Bones' Tour from Astral (Salisbury, stonehenge, and Aversbury). In all honesty I disliked seeing things like this and will never take a tour again. There were limited time periods (half an hour, 45 minutes, etc) in many places. Some I could have seen in less time - others I would have preferred hours. I would have rather walked and found those places on my own. The guide constantly regurgitated ten thousand unconnected historical facts. If you have never done a tour/or seen the area perhaps in may be worth it.

Actually I should not be so critical of the tour also see the above posters who endorsed - perhaps I am just not a tour person.