London, Windsor Castle & Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace
Description
Discover two of the British monarchy’s most striking palaces on this return day trip departing from central London. Step back in time and discover a fascinating side of the British monarchy on this thrilling day trip departing from central London. You’ll get to visit Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite weekend residence, and Hampton Court Palace, known for being the main home of Henry VIII. The tour will be led by one of our friendly, professional, and knowledgeable guides. Highlights of the day: • Entry to two of the most iconic royal English landmarks • The Tudor Palace and the current King’s weekend home • See Queen Mary’s incredibly detailed dolls house and St George’s Chapel • Return transport on a comfortable coach • Cancelled bookings up to 24 hours before travel receive a full refund
Tour Options
Itinerary
The preferred weekend residence of our current King Charles III, Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Also a favorite castle of Henry VIII, the place is now his tomb along with Queen Victoria, the Queen Mother and many more royals. Wander through the stunning State Apartments and take a look at St George’s Chapel, where Harry and Meghan married. Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is a must-see, with hot and cold running water, electricity and tiny items made by 1,500 of the finest craftspeople of the 20th century.
Step inside St George’s Chapel, located on the sprawling grounds, where notorious King Henry VIII and his favourite wife, Jane Seymour, are buried, as are Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. St. George's Chapel is one of the finest examples of gothic architecture in England. It has been the setting for many royal weddings and is the burial place of ten sovereigns. The Chapel is dedicated to the patron saint of the Order of the Garter. Britain's highest Order of Chivalry. *St. George’s Chapel is closed to visitors on Sundays as services are held throughout the day. Worshippers are welcome to attend the services. These occur at the following times: 08:30 – Holy Communion 10:45 – Mattins and Sermon 11:45 – Sung Eucharist 17:15 – Evensong
This 17th-century historic masterpiece building is situated in the High Street, only 100 metres from Castle Hill. Prince Charles married Camilla Parket Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Guildhall in 2005.
You will be welcomed to the magnificent Hampton Court Palace by one of the expert Palace Hosts who will introduce you to Henry VIII’s riverside residence and set you on your way to explore the spectacular State Apartments, Tudor Kitchens and glorious gardens. A royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, Hampton Court Palace was built in 1515 by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, favourite advisor to King Henry VIII. Once the most powerful man in the English court, second only to the King, Cardinal Wolsey fell out of favour with Henry after he failed to negotiate an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry his latest obsession, Anne Boleyn. After Wolsey’s death in 1530, Henry VIII took charge of Hampton Court, turning it in to a hotel, a theatre and a huge private playground, using it to demonstrate his enormous wealth.
Upon arrival to Hampton Court Palace, guests will now receive a warm welcome and introduction from a guide in periodic costume.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- You must bring the e-ticket provided to gain entry to this tour.
- Our vehicles are modern, comfortable, and kept to the highest standards of cleanliness, including a deep clean every day.
- During peak periods, additional vehicles without Wi-Fi may be used.
- Windsor Castle is a working royal palace and planned closures/disruptions may be subject to change.
- When the State Apartments are closed the Precincts, Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Drawings Gallery will remain open.
- Windsor Castle closures: 25 and 26 December – Castle completely closed.
- St. George’s Chapel is usually closed to visitors on Sundays as services are held throughout the day. Worshippers are welcome to attend the services.
- Windsor Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A walking tour of the town will take place instead.
- Signature Tour Option: Take advantage of the best views on the bus with our premium seating option and a knowledgeable live guide. Plus, enjoy a lunch pack. Once at each location, you will have access to Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle, giving you a complete and immersive experience.
Reviews(126)
We loved our tour to Windsor castle and Hampton court palace! The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and we got to see a little bit of London on the way. We felt like there was more than enough time at both locations, and we were able to see exactly what we wanted to. We would definitely book this tour again!
Thank you for your kind review. We are delighted to hear you enjoyed your tour to Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace and that the guide’s knowledge and timing made the experience so enjoyable. It is great to know you also appreciated seeing parts of London along the way. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again soon.
It was a nice bus we rode on to Windsor.. but really I wish we had just taken the train. Then we could have stayed longer. ALSO -- the Henry VII's Hampton Court part of the day was cancelled. They did not/ have not yet refunded that portion of the cost. Had we gotten to go on to Henry's Court it might have been more worth taking this tour instead of the train.
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that your experience did not fully meet your expectations. We understand your comments regarding the time spent in Windsor and your preference for a more flexible schedule. We have checked our records and can confirm that the Hampton Court Palace portion of the itinerary took place as scheduled. If you believe there has been any misunderstanding regarding this, please email us at customerservices@goldentours.com with your booking reference so we can look into this further for you. Thank you for taking the time to share your comments, which we will review as part of our ongoing efforts to improve the guest experience.
Experience did not disappoint. Seeng history up close and personal is amazing. If you enjoy history, make sure to see these two castles.
The tour changed itinerary and we went to Windsor later in the day which prevented us from having ample time to see the entire castle as the queue was already 1 hour to enter when we arrived. In addition the bus dropped us off at a different location upon returning to London.
We are sorry to hear that the revised itinerary impacted the amount of time you were able to spend at Windsor Castle. During peak travel periods, crowd levels and attraction queue times can occasionally affect the overall visitor experience, and we understand your disappointment at not having sufficient time to explore the castle fully. With regard to the return drop-off point in London, we would kindly like to clarify that, due to legal working hours restrictions for our drivers, this tour concludes within a short 2–3 minute walk of Gloucester Road Underground Station rather than Victoria. Gloucester Road Station is conveniently located in Zone 1 and offers excellent transport connections across central London: • Victoria Station is only three stops eastbound via the Circle or District Line • Piccadilly Circus is just five stops via the Piccadilly Line These arrangements are implemented to ensure compliance with UK driver safety and transport regulations while still providing guests with a convenient central London return location. We truly appreciate your feedback and thank you for travelling with us.
To walk the courtyards, rooms and halls of Hampton Court Palace where Henry the VIII, Anne Boleyn, Cardinal Wolsey and others walked was absolutely overwhelming…Mark was our Tour Guide and Claude was our Coach Driver…Mark gave us a wealth of information and pointed out little things that the group may have missed…but he also gave us an plenty of time to meander on our own…but the pièce de résistance was Windsor Castle!!! we were actually charmed to the fact that the royal standard was flying when we arrived…King Charles III was in residence!!! Of course, we didn’t actually expect to see him, but the fact that he was on the property was exciting! I was able to capture The Guard change just as we were getting ready to depart…just Thrilling!!!
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re delighted you enjoyed exploring Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle, and that Mark’s knowledge and guidance helped bring the history to life. It’s great to hear Claude ensured a smooth journey as well. How exciting that you experienced Windsor Castle with the Royal Standard flying and even caught the Guard Change—what a special moment! We really appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again soon.
This is a great way to see both sites on one day. Easy meet up place, nice transportation, a couple hours at each place. You are free on your own to go and see what you want, so not forced to follow along a predetermined tour. The Bus Driver (Elviro?) was polite and on time. The problem for me came in with the tour guide (Dolly). She gave back history and stories on the way to the sites, and then after we disembarked the bus and before we were set free to go explore. Unfortunately, she continued to pepper her commentary with personal opinions and bordering on racist remarks. For instance, there were some people in the way of the bus, walking down the middle through a parking lot, and she asked “is it the Chinese?“ On the way through London she was explaining how the area used to have Russian lettering all over the place because the Russians had bought everything up, but now everything is written half in Arabic. She stated that “the Arabs have bought everything up and come here and act like this is their home.“ she clearly does not like King Charles, and made numerous comments about some of his policies and things that he is changing. I don’t feel like these are appropriate comments and opinions to be regaling tour members with. I certainly didn’t want to hear it and was personally offended by some of the comments. I’m sure with a different tour guide I would’ve given this experience five stars.
First we booked our trip on 5/11 and it was rescheduled for 5/9. This messed up our 3 day London Pass for 5/8 through 5/10. We lost a day to use our pass and ended up having to pay for other entries that would have been included into the 3 day pass. Dolly our tour guide was slow and wasted a lot of time. She said we couldn’t bring in water to both places and you could have done that. Cost us extra to get water we already had. Some of the things she was telling us were also incorrect. She is a lovely person, but maybe should retire. Last thing was they didn’t drop us off at the same place as the pickup. We had to find our way back. Both pickup and drop off were located far from our hotel and they could have used a large van instead of a bus.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that several aspects of your experience did not meet expectations, particularly the schedule change and the inconvenience it caused with your London Pass. We understand how frustrating that must have been. We also appreciate your comments regarding the guiding, information provided, and the drop-off arrangements. While we’re glad you found the destinations themselves enjoyable, it’s clear that the overall experience fell short in important areas. Your feedback has been noted and will be reviewed carefully with our operations team to help improve communication, logistics, and guiding standards going forward. Thank you again for your honest review.
Great way to see both palaces in a day!
Thank you for your review! We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the experience and found it a great way to see both palaces in one day. We hope to welcome you on another tour again soon!
Staff and tourist guide were Great.
Thank you for your kind feedback. We’re delighted to hear you had a very good tour and that both the staff and tour guide were great. We truly appreciate your comments and hope to welcome you again soon!
Eileen our tour guide was such an enjoyable, engaging, and knowledgeable person. Coupled with the history of the tour was an amazing experience for us.
Thank you for your lovely review! We’re delighted to hear that Eileen’s engaging, enjoyable, and knowledgeable guiding made such a positive impact on your day. It’s wonderful to know that the history shared throughout the tour created an amazing experience for you. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again soon!
