My daughter would like to see Bath, Stratford-Upon-Avon, etc. during the week I'm visiting her in London. Is there a bus tour that would cover those areas (& others), or should we just take the train and do it ourselves? Checking to see if the RSC is performing while I'm there.

I highly recommend the day trips done by www.walks.com They use public transport and you get a walking tour in the morning, time for lunch and your own wandering and then another tour in the morning. They are very affordable and I always send my guests on them when they come to visit!

It's also fairly easy to visit Bath and Statford Upon Avon by public transportation. I don't know what the et ceteras are.

London Walks out of town day trips that bikerscott mentions are really great. But for them to go to the places you want during your specific dates - you'd have to be very lucky. They are not daily like their in-town tours. For instance the Stratford day trip is only offered once between now and the end of April.

Bath is easily done as a day trip by train from London. Same for Stratford-upon-Avon, or Oxford, or Cambridge, or Canterbury or lots of other places.

Or, you could go to Bath in the morning, spend the day/night there, then take a morning train to Stratford, spend the rest of the 2nd day there and take a late train back to London. The only problem is Bath > Stratford is not a straight forward journey - 3+ hours w/ several changes. You'd almost be better off taking two different day trips since Stratford-u-Avon is only 2 hours by train from central London.

I've done day trips to Bath, Oxford, Canterbury, Winchester, and the like by train independently. Went to Stratford by organized tour out of Oxford so can't help you there. I guess it depends how much guidance you want -- tour vs. getting a map/catching a tour at the Tourist Info centres.

Took a day trip from London to Bath with LondonWalks (train). I really enjoyed it, but there were a lot of people in the group. I also took a full day trip from London to the Cotwolds (including Stratford, Oxford, etc.) with International Friends tour group that I liked a little better because it was on a small passenger van that could navigate the small Cotswolds roads and limited the number of participants (there were 10 including husb. and I). International Friends also has tours of Bath, etc. - more expensive that London Walks though - can't beat them for the money.