South/West England
 

We are visiting England second week in Sept. for 9 days. Has anyone tried booking a tour on arrival in London? How successful was it and who do you recommend?
We had planned on renting a car but with gas at $8.00 per Gal.(U.S.) I think not! Or should we book our tour stateside?
Thanks
Cape Cod

I am renting a car in England this weekend, and from what I'm reading, gas price is about 86 pence per liter, which is about $6.2/US gallon. While expensive, it's not quite $8.

Thanks for the gas price info - sounds better than what was already quoted to me from someone returning from England. They probably fluctuate like they do here in U.S.

Where are you looking to go on your tour and for how long?

Remember that the distance travelled between places in England is much smaller than you are used to or expecting. Although petrol prices are a lot higher per gallon here in the UK you may not use as much as you expect unless you plan on covering a lot of ground in your 9 days.

Why a tour? If you were/are planning on renting a car, why not just find an area to base yourself in...do a little research and take day trips! You get to see so much *more* and can go at your own pace!!!! I was just in England the beginning of this month for a concert in London. After the show we headed out to the country where we picked up a rental car and drove around the Cotsowld for 5 days. Only had to fill the car up once and that was when we were returning it! Just a thought!!!

Even if the petrol was $10 a gallon, I think you'd have a hard time finding a group tour that would be "cheaper" than hiring your own car and paying for the gas. So if you're suggesting that you're looking for a tour to save yourself money, I think you're headed the wrong direction.

Now we're back to a car rental - did you guys rent from U.S. or England? We are only interested in south/west (Cornwall, Bath, St.Ives area, etc.)
Any recommendations as to lodgings in this area that would be centrally located?
Appreciate all your fast responses.
Thanks
Cape Cod

Try Peter Waugh of Peter Waugh Car Rental (peter-waugh.co.uk, I think). And/or try Ian at Baldocks (don't have the website handy). Both have the best prices I've seen for rentals, both are small and very friendly.

As far as places to stay, I don't have any specific recommendations (the places I've loved in that area are no longer in business as B&B's), but please let the fodors folks know whether you like hotels or B&B's and if B&B's, do you like luxurious or "cozy"? Ancient or modern? Hotel amenities or you're willing to share a bath? And, how much do you want to spend per night (per person or per room) or per week?

I'll be staying at Calendar Cottage in Crewkerne (about an inch-and-a-half southwest of Bath on my AA map of Britain - near Yeovil) in July. The pictures look great, the people were very friendly when I called to make a reservation, and the written confirmation was extremely nice, and included pamphlets about the area, etc. But, I've never stayed there, so I won't know until July whether it's actually any good!

As others have said, I think you're making a great decision to go ahead with a car. You can see so much more, and - in the grand scheme of the vacation - the gasoline cost won't be nearly as bad as you think. (I think we only filled our minivan 4-5 times last year, and we drove from London to Edinburgh, explored vast areas of Scotland, and drove back to London.)

Have a great trip!

Gayle

Many people have good experience in using AutoEurope.com. It's not a rental agent, but a online broker of most of the major car rental agencies in Europe. It's a one-shop booking place, with all rates clearly stated, and often with free class upgrade.

My 3-day booking from Bristol International airport cost US$133 including tax, economy upgraded to compact, manual, no a/c. I think it's very reasonable. The actual rental agent this use in this case is <b>Europcar</b>.

Hi again!!!! You can take the train from London into either Bath and rent from Hertz which is right at the station (we just did this)or Plymouth, which has car rentals places at the station and is a bit closer if you are considering Cornwall. We based ourselves in a small village (rented a cottage) just outside Looe and were able to explore (day trips)
so many of the beautiful areas Cornwall has to offer. I can give you more info if you'd like!
p.s.~I'm on Cape Cod too! :-)

Back to the discussion of fuel prices - I was checking Europcar's website to see what car will be in my booking class (CCMN). If its website is correct, I'll be getting a Seat Ibiza 1.9T.

While diesel is a bit more expensive in the UK than petrol (unlike on the continental), this car's fuel economy is 6.5L/100km in the city, and 4.1L/100km highway, according to Seat's website. This converts to 36/57 MPG! While it has only 100hp, it has 177lb-ft of torque, which is plenty for a car this size (slightly smaller than a VW Golf, I believe). With such fuel economy and the relatively short driving distance as suggested by others, one really don't need to worry too much about fuel prices.