I 'm looking at a guided bus day trip from London in July. Maybe somewhere like Bath, Salisbury or Windsor. Is that something I should look at booking ahead? I would rather wait and plan for a fine day but am wondering if these types of tours may be all booked by then.

A took a day trip to Windsor/Eton with London Walks and only arranged to be at the tube stop at the last minute. However, this was several years ago.

What I liked about this London Walks tour was that the train trip to Windsor allowed us to stay after the tour ended. Had a nice dinner in Windsor and saw evensong at the Windsor Chapel (excellent) and then caught the train back to London.

I'm glad I went with a tour instead of by myself because I got the commentary of what we were seeing.

I'm sure if you enter "London Tours" or perhaps "daytrips out of London" in Google you will get several companies who take day trips. I would have taken a day trip by myself to Stratford upon Avon if the trains hadn't been short circuited by a train crash way out of the city. Definitely a fluke.

You can easily do 'Windsor yourself vis train from London - no need for a guide. If you want to go to a couple of places in one day a bus tour is probably best for one person (we drove but for one person that can be too much). And yes, you can book the tour the day before when you have a better idea what the weather will be. Your hotel concierge of bellman will reserve it for you.

Bath you can easily do on your own. Windsor - same. Hampton Court Palace - check. Salisbury/Stonehenge - yep. And each case, doing it on your own is cheaper.

If you really want a guided tour -- the the London Walks explorer days are wonderful and inexpensive. http://www.walks.com/

Thanks for the advice. I will check out transportation costs again. I must be misreading something. Return train fare from Hampstead Heath to Salisbury looks to be about £40. For comparison a Viator Salisbury,Stonehenge Bath day trip is only £44.

No youre not missing anything. That’s the walk-up fare. If you book ahead it can be significantly lower

If you go with www.walks.com you pay the ticket at a group rate so you do get a deal.

Wouldn't also Oxford qualify as a very nice day trip destination?

I didn't realize that London Walks had day trips. Their site is not up dated yet for 2010 though, but I'll keep checking back.
Yes I have been looking at Oxford. Havn't decided yet where to go.

The summer preview is up here: http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Ho...0/default.aspx

Just another ringing endorsement of London Walks. I have enjoyed my trips with them immensely.

The first thing I do when planning a trip to London, and I have my flights and hotel, is to look up London Walks and pick the ones I am interested in, including the Explorer Days.

The convenience (and incredibly low cost!) of just showing up at the right place and time, is ideal if you don't want your itinerary set in stone.

I keep a daily list of what I might want to do , then if I have free time, am near the meeting place and weather permits, I can count on an informative and fun tour.

If you want to go to Oxford, there is a very good coach service to/from London, every half hour or so, known as the Oxford Tube. I think the last time my daughter used it, it was around £14 return so good value.