Is it necessary to pre-book the daily side trips in London before travelling or can most of them be arranged after arriving at the hotel? Is the cost the same if you book them in London as it would be with a travel agency prior to trip? Could we travel to Bath on our own without much problem? Thanks for the advice.

Almost no tours need to be booked from home - except maybe the Astral tour inside the ropes at Stonehenge. And most will be cheaper in London since you can pick up discount coupons in most of the Toutist Information centers. And besides you don't want to be out on a bus tour to Bath or somewhere on what turns out to be the stormiest, coldest day of the whole trip - wait until you are there and know better what the weather is.

getting to Bath could not be easier - just go to Paddington Station for the train . . . .

I just returned from London on Monday. We tried to book a daytrip to Canterbury/Dover the day before the tour, and the tour was sold out. (Golden Tours) We took the tour to Stonehenge/Bath instead (that tour was also quite full). In retrospect, I would rather have gone to Bath on my own. We did not have enough time to see the town during the tour (about 30 minutes free time after lunch), and I do not think the tour guide added that much above and beyond what one learns on the audio tour of the Roman Baths or Stonehenge. Bath was so charming that I could have spent a few hours walking about.

Hope this helps,

Chels

Hi
Bath is easy for an independent day trip. Train station in Bath is easy walk from the town center. Trip is 80-90 minutes. Every major sight within Bath is within walking distance.

Steinbicker book "Daytrips London" has a good walking route and even a map of Bath, plus suggestions about trains and such.

I have a file on London with daytrip info--if you'd like to see it, email me at [email protected]

You can travel to Bath very easily on your own without any pre-arrangements. All the sights tourists regularly visit from London are easily done by yourself. I would not book ahead anyway because you are never sure about weather and given a choice most all places are more fun on a nice day. As Janis said Stonehenge is a little out of the way but easy to get to from Salisbury by bus if you don't want a tour (train to Salisbury from Waterloo Station).

Any site you are interested in can be gotten to by train very easily. For times and prices check www.thetrainline.com
In the UK the word "return" means round trip in case you get confused by that.
"Cheap Day Return" tickets are usually available to most locations.