Family of Five: Daytrip to Bath
 

Hi All, I was wondering if anyone knows how to get to Bath in a frugal way? I am trying trains, tours etc, but all are rather dear IMO. We were thinking of renting a car, but it is approx. 100 miles to Bath, and I don't think my DH is up for that as a day trip. Is there a 2-4-1 deal on the trains anywhere that I am not aware of? Any and all advice is appreciated.

Hi Judy - For a group of 5 the cheapest option is hire car, I'm afraid.

From London it's an easy drive - motorway (M4) pretty much all the way.

By train it's expensive - and about to become more expensive as rail fares are due to rise :(

Steve

You don't give the ages of the family members, but there is something called a Family RailCard, which costs £20 (increasing to £24 in 2008), which gives one-third off adult fares and 60% off children fares, see http://www.family-railcard.co.uk/

Even with "cheap day returns," 1/2 price tickets for departures after 9:30 a.m. (Does anyone know if they are still available?) it likely would be less costly to rent a car from one of the more competitive agencies.

That might still be true if you were to take the tube to LHR, and pick up a car there. Then you would be able to quickly access the motorways which you could take to Bath with very little left hand drive local driving.

If you do take the train, the local day hop on hop off bus with tour guide stops at the train station. But, if the cost of that becomes a consideration, we found that the walk from the station, despite its being uphill, was not so far as to prevent us from staying on foot.

Can I make a suggestion. I think you would go to Bath for two reasons. 1. the Roman baths. 2. the Jane Austin "atmosphere". Unless you have another very specific reason to go to Bath, especially with a family (by family I thought you meant with children under 18) I would consider other day trips closer to London or getting those two things above another way. 1. Roman London. There are a few places to get a sense of this. A. The Museum of London (with real ruins in the basement), B. the Guildhall, with a recently discovered Roman theater underneath that you can view, and C. the British Museum with a section on that time. 2. Jane Austin "atmosphere". There are homes from that era in London certainly and you may even be able to track down a specific "home" museum of that era. Or consider Charles Dickens or Sherlock Holmes or some of the other literary London heritage. www.walks.com, the website of London walks could inspire you whether you take one of their themed walking tours or not. Or for a family I would recommend day trip to Greenwich or Windsor Castle or Hampton Court Palace to be more family friendly than Bath. Just my opinion.

I could not agree more w/ laurie_ann's well stated post.

Bath is really a wonderful place to visit -- but there is no way for a family of 5 to get there economically except by rental car. Once there, a family ticket (assuming your kids are under 16) to the Roman Baths will be $60, or $77 combined w/ the Costume museum. Then the H-o-H-o bus will cost nearly $100.

But in London - the British Museum is free, the Museum of London is free. And for 18th/early 19th century ambience, walking through Hampstead, across Hampstead Heath and visiting Kenwood House is free.

Steve, I think you are right BTW. We will have access to a computer in our flat, and we are about 1/2 mile to the Waterloo car hire. Laurie, my son was watching Samantha Brown and was enamored with Bath. I just am an Austen NUT. My husband and I have been to Bath before, but my daughter son and her husband, have not. I think perhaps we will see how things go and be flexible. Laurie, you gave some great advice, and I thank you for it. Ron, my "babies" and her Navy spouse are wonderful thirtysomethings. Jeff, I was looking for the cheap day returns, did not find them. Janisj, well you go girl... you do know your stuff!

OOPS - now see the "family" is all or mostly adults. No family discounts on the train or to the Baths. Full price entry to the Roman Baths/Costume Museum would = $140+, H-o-H-o = $100+

But it is still a LOT cheaper than taking a guided tour from London. If you go on a weekend, driving out of London would not be that difficult. Just make sure the pick up location is open on weekends -- many city centre agencies are not open Sat afternoons nor all day Sunday.

Your problem might be that you're not looking in the right places for fares. Or rather you're looking for the wrong fares.

There aren't any cheap day returns on this route. Cheap tickets are available after 0930 on weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays

The cheapest deals involve buying single tickets in each direction separately, in advance. The very cheapest (£8.90 each way) are those offered by South West on their rare and slow trains from Waterloo: the next cheapest (£9.50) are from the cheapo site operated by the main operator (every half hour: 90 mins), First Great Western, at www.firstminutefares.com.

Walk-up fares are £48 return off-peak: Bath is just far enough away from London to need advance booking and some ingenuity to find reasonable fares.

Thanks Flanneruk... I am thinking you are correct about Bath. Maybe they will want to do Hampton Court and Windsor Castle instead,,,I can always hope!

Hi Judy, You might consider taking a coach (bus with bathroom) to Bath. We did this from Gatwick to Bath this summer and it's a nice way to travel and fairly economical. We took National Express (I can't remember if there are others) http://www.nationalexpress.com/
It's nice when you don't want to drive! Bath is really a cool place, and the city gives free tours every day. That said the Museum of London is fabulous, with great Roman finds and very good displays. Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace are both easily accessible by train and a short walk.

Hi,

As it happens, I am planning an overnight trip from London to Bath in January. I went to the First Great Western web site, and when I tried to book an advance ticket for pick-up from one of the automated kiosks at Paddington Station, the reservation system would not accept the booking.

Customer service at FGW told me that in order to place an online order, you must have a UK billing address.

Judyrem, I don't know where you live, but if it's not Britain, walk-up train fares to Bath seem to be the only rail option.

Have fun, whatever you decide to do.

If you're still considering Bath (although you've gotten some good alternate suggestions), we have gone from London to Bath on a day trip. It's not a difficult drive so keep it on the list of possibilities!

RMoskal, I will take a look at the National express coach...thanks for the info. Goddessintl, I had a feeling about that. clz, it is still in my "possibilities". I guess we will wait till we get there and see how the weather is!

I dont think that you can beat Bath for the Jane Austen experience. In London your overwhelmed by other more modern buildings and structures, ive been twice in the last two weeks and i am reading pride and prejudice atm and i wasnt inspired.
But as with both places there is so much to do. Bath with its historical sites and museums, London with its shopping capabilities and fine dining.
What were you planning on doing in bath?
Your travel style might depend on that.