bath/stonehenge excursion
 

will be in london and want to schedule a tour of bath/stonehenge. any comments on that----pro or con? also, suggest best way to accomplish---train or schedule with a tour operator. please suggest ones i should try.

At Bath you're so near Avebury that it'd be a shame to miss it. Not as famous as Stonehenge, but necertheless impressive while being more accessible and easier to wander at your own leisure.

It's been ten years since I was in Bath but it was a really beautiful city with amazing ruins from Roman times. Stonehenge was interesting but they don't let you get close enough to it for it to be meaningful to me. You park across the street and go through a tunnel and you can only walk around the perimeter.

HI phxtraveller,

Both are absolutely worth seeing. I did them on separate days. I bought a cheap day return ticket from London to Bath on one day, and did the special access tour with Astral Travel on another. In case you don't know what that is--they take you into Stonehenge after it closes and let you walk amongst the stones. The tour also included Avebury and the West Kennet Long Barrow, two other prehistoric sites. Astral Travel may also have a tour that includes Bath and Stonehenge together (I'm not sure of that) if you only have a day to visit both places.

Have fun!

Patti

Consider staying in Bath for a couple days. We enjoyed the Mad Max tours from Bath, which took us to Stonehenge, Avebury and to a couple quaint villages.

We did the Astral Tours Stonehenge/Salisbury tour from London and enjoyed it. The tour included a couple of other stops and lunch.

Noticed your name-are you by chance from Phoenix???? My family (from Phoenix) will be leaving on our trip next week. We scheduled a private tour of Stonehenge with Astral travels. We will also see Salisbury and Avebury. I've been very pleased with my contacts with them so far.

We did this combined excursion last September. I really wanted to see Stonehenge despite warnings that it was, well, stones. I was glad I saw it, but I would have preferred more time in Bath.

Bath was lovely. The tour, however, does not allow much time for walking about the town, which is really charming with shops, restaurants, etc. We opted to include lunch on the tour - what a mistake! We had an awful, quick lunch at a pub. It was dreadful! We went on to the Baths, and we were given headsets for a self-guided tour. (Same with Stonehenge.) After we toured the Baths, we had about 20 minutes to see the town. Essentially, taking an excursion to Bath does not add additional information, which is usually a key point for excursions.

So, in short, I suggest doing Bath on your own. Take a train from London, and go at your own pace.

As for Stonehenge, perhaps you can find an excursion which pairs Stonehenge with another site that is more compatible in terms of schedule. The problem with Stonehenge is that it is a bit more difficult to get there on your own.

I hope this helps - have a great trip!

Chels

Premium Tours in London: www.premiumtours.co.uk has a Stonehenge, Lacock and Bath Tour (#2) that includes free time in Bath (in addition to the baths, etc) and a private entry (for the group) inside the stone circle of Stonehenge for the sunset. Wonderful.