Stonehenge & Bath day tour
Sep 19th, 2005, 07:30 AM
#1
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Stonehenge & Bath day tour
Hi,
was wondering whether anyone's been on the Stonehenge & Bath (History & Mistery) Full day Tour with Astral Travel. would appreciate your opinion on the tour. Also would we be missing much of the STonehenge experience if not opting for the Special Access to Stonehenge.
Thank you
was wondering whether anyone's been on the Stonehenge & Bath (History & Mistery) Full day Tour with Astral Travel. would appreciate your opinion on the tour. Also would we be missing much of the STonehenge experience if not opting for the Special Access to Stonehenge.
Thank you
Sep 19th, 2005, 08:08 AM
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cheriek, I can't give you any information about a full day tour but I can tell you that the special access to Stonehenge is worth the extra cost and effort.
Without the access you must stay on a walkway and behind a simple barrier. Besides being able to walk among the stones if gives some wonderful photo opportunities. My husband considered it one of the highlights of our trip. Deborah
Without the access you must stay on a walkway and behind a simple barrier. Besides being able to walk among the stones if gives some wonderful photo opportunities. My husband considered it one of the highlights of our trip. Deborah
Sep 19th, 2005, 08:13 AM
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Sorry, I didn't do the Astral Travel Tour, but I did Premium Tours, tour #2, Stonehenge, Lacock & Bath with a private viewing of Stonehenge at sunset (or sunrise...I did the sunset) where you entered the stone circle and touched the stones. Excellent.
http://www.premiumtours.co.uk/tours/
http://www.premiumtours.co.uk/tours/
Sep 19th, 2005, 02:26 PM
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We did the Stonehenge and Bath tour with a bigger company (sorry, I cannot recall the name now) and saw the mini-bus from Astral, and wished so much that we booked Astral instead. If I were to do it all over again, I'd take the tour from a smaller company like Astral. I recall getting to Stonehenge, and the Astral tour was already leaving - they got there way ahead of us, and it just seemed more personalized.
Sep 19th, 2005, 04:41 PM
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I took that exact Astral tour a few years ago. Found it a good trip; not too many people (smaller vans) and we had an outstanding guide. We may have just lucked out that way. At any rate, it was interesting, not too rushed, etc. As good as any I've taken. Time for lunch in Bath--adequate time by yourself there.
Sep 19th, 2005, 05:03 PM
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Hi-
I did that trip a few years back. I like Astral Travels because they only go with small groups. The van seats were a bit cramped, but otherwise ok.
I think you can save a little money by reserving in advance online. I also did their "Stones and Bones" tour back in 1999 and liked it very much.
I have photos and descriptions on my website if you're interested:
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Click on the link in the middle of the page and then go to the London trip.
I did that trip a few years back. I like Astral Travels because they only go with small groups. The van seats were a bit cramped, but otherwise ok.
I think you can save a little money by reserving in advance online. I also did their "Stones and Bones" tour back in 1999 and liked it very much.
I have photos and descriptions on my website if you're interested:
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Click on the link in the middle of the page and then go to the London trip.
Jun 3rd, 2006, 08:14 PM
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I have not taken the "History and Mystery" tour, but my family and I did take Astral's "5000 years in a day" tour, and we were disappointed. All Astral personnel refer to the tour as "Stones and Bones," which I felt was dismissive. Our tour guide gave us similar treatment, disappearing when he should have been giving us guidance at Old Sarum and Avebury, nor was he present to answer questions during lunch. If Astral had coordinated the time of the visit with Salisbury Cathedral we could have had a guided tour of that facility.
Fortunately, one member of my family is extremely interested in Stonehenge, so we had booked a second tour. This was Premium's Stonehenge, Lacock & Bath tour which, as another poster has stated, is excellent. It may seem strange that a 50-passenger bus tour could provide a more intimate experinece than a 15-passenger van, but this was indeed the case.
Fortunately, one member of my family is extremely interested in Stonehenge, so we had booked a second tour. This was Premium's Stonehenge, Lacock & Bath tour which, as another poster has stated, is excellent. It may seem strange that a 50-passenger bus tour could provide a more intimate experinece than a 15-passenger van, but this was indeed the case.
