buddymom

I will be travelling to London for the first time next May ( 2018). Definitely want to see Stonehenge and would prefer inner circle-- evening tour. I've read most of the forums, but wondering my best options.
Thinking about - Train from london to Salisbury - then taxi or tour bus to stonehenge.
Also-- have seen recommendations for Vics Taxi out of Salisbury but for one person travelling is that more expensive ? I do like the idea of getting more of a tour around the area then just stonehenge. I think the tours out of london would be annoying to me-- I'm a free spirit and don't want to be on a bus with too many tourists !

Also want to spend a bit of time in salisbury and sightsee--- as I've seen suggested for a day trip.
But, I'm thinking about staying overnight somewhere after seeing Stonehenge. Is it worth it to stay nearby --- maybe see Bath or somewhere else? Is one more expensive ?
Is Glastonbury too far to travel (the next day) ? - would then want to get back to London the second night
Any suggestions are welcome !!

janisj

With evening access -- you would do best to stay the night in Salisbury.

Glastonbury really isn't easy -- unless you decide to rent a car.

Assuming you want to use public transport, I'd do it this way: Late morning or early afternoon train to Salisbury. Explore the town. Then bus out to the stone for the evening inner access (book far ahead), stay the night in Salisbury, morning train to Bath, explore Bath all day then ear;y evening train back to London.

historytraveler

Not sure but believe you need to hook up with a tour company to do evening access, although you may be fine doing it independtly through English Heritage. There is a company out of Salisbury that does after hours tours. Salisbury is excellent for an overnight. janisj's suggestion is good. I agree that Glastonbury is difficult without a car. There may be tours to Glastonbury, but I'm not aware of any.

janisj

>>Not sure but believe you need to hook up with a tour company to do evening access,<<

Actually - One can book directly with English Heritage w/o a commercial tour. Hard to get bookings though.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/v...access-visits/

PMJ

I can't recommend the English Bus Tours highly enough. We did a small tour (8 in a small van) to Stonehenge, Bath, and the Secret Spot. Johnny was our tour guide, and he was both extremely knowledgeable and extremely entertaining. My husband and I have travelled all over the world, and this was by far the small best tour experience we have ever had. Check them out on Trip Advisor- lots of great reviews.

DeniseLMA

I took the evening tour last May. I booked it about two months in advance through English Heritage. It was well worth it. One thing to keep in mind, is that the visitor's center is closed in the evening. Wewsent in the afternoon to the visitor's center and returned for the evening tour.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn in Amesbury. It seemed to be the closest hotel. We were pleased with the Holiday Inn, no issues.

We rented a car in Salisbury for three days. We used it for Lacock, Salisbury, Bath and Stonehenge.

buddymom

Awesome !
thanks so much for the suggestions. I was also debating doing the overnight in salisbury then doing sunrise access for stonehenge-- but it sounds like the evening tour would work out well if I went with the english bus tours. is it hard to get around Bath on my own the next day? I don't really want to rent a car-- nervous about driving on left side on my own and trying to navigate.I will be travelling alone.

PalenQ

Bath is very walkable as most things are fairly close together - the Roman baths being quite near the train station and in the town center. The Royal Crescent area and other main sights are not far away. I've done Bath as day trips from London by train - if doing so or returning to London by train from Bath or for Salisbury-Bath (easily done by direct train in under an hour) check www.nationalrail.co.uk for various fares much cheaper than walk-up fares = www.seat61.com has sage advice on booking your own discounted train tickets.

Bath to me is the most overall harmoniously beautiful city in England I've been too - a Georgian architecture wonder:

https://www.google.com/search?q=bath...w=1745&bih=863

janisj

>>is it hard to get around Bath on my own the next day? <<

Not at all. The station is near the centre of the city . . . you do NOT want/need a car in Bath. It is congested, with difficult parking. You can walk anywhere.

buddymom

Thanks PalenQ -- really looking foward to Bath now also-- will definitely check out the discount train tickets !