Small-Group Day Trip to Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor from London

My family and I had been looking forward to this excursion as this was an annual family trip. We were excited to see some of London and some of the monuments. We arrived on time yet the pick up person was about 10 minutes late. No big deal but reading the explanation of what was included in this trip. we were under the assumption that you would have much more time at each place. Well that turned out to not be true. Stonehenge was cut down to 50 minutes whereas the description says an hour and a half. So by the time you take a few fun pictures, a few family pictures and admire the sheep, It’s time to head back. mind you the bus ride to the stones is about five minutes so you had to catch a bus down there and the bus back. We didn’t even get to experience whatever the alcohol they give you as a free taste as we didn’t have much time there. We load onto our little bus and then we’re told it’s about a two hour ride to Bath, which is fine. We get there and that time was cut to about an hour 20 but the description said two. After he showed you a few of the things and actually seen “the bath“ you were free to roam the city, but riding on a bus for so many hours, you spent most of your time searching for a restroom and a snack. Thankfully, we did grab something quick there because after that, we were stuck on this bus for four hours to Windsor Castle. That was because there was a bad accident or some sort of traffic thing going on. With that being said we missed our entrance time into Windsor Castle. We arrived at Windsor Castle about 5:30 PM. To which he said we could go outside and see that and walk around and because of parking/driving restrictions the bus driver has to park for at least 45 minutes, etc. etc.. we spent and hour at the CLOSED castle and pet a few nice folks dogs and that was it. So we spent a full day of about 12 hours with the same group of people that tried to make the best of the situation. After being on this bus for about four hours to get to Windsor, he told us of a pub that we could use the restroom. Now mind you it takes longer for women than men and my daughter, and wife had to use the restroom so thankfully, my son was keeping an eye out where the tour guide was going because he left while they were still in the restroom. That really ticked my wife off because we just spent four hours that I didn’t want to on the bus, whereas he couldn’t have waited five more minutes to let people relieve themselves. It’s just disappointing that because we drove so far out and wasted pretty much a full day in a car only to spend three hours out of 12 seeing these sites one of them which you couldn’t even get into. Because we were in traffic so long, coming back the bus driver had to pull over and get gas as well. If you have gotten this far reading this review, I appreciate it. I guess my final words would be do not book this tour. Do separate tours to visit Stonehenge and the castle. Bath is nothing to write home about. The best thing there was this bagel place right by the fountain. I do know some things were out of our tour people‘s control, but reading the description, it was understood that we were going have much more time to visit each place, which was not true. It was expensive and rushed

We really liked all the sites we visited but the day was too rushed. We suggest that the tour be cut back to two sites, maybe just Stonehenge and Windsor and, since it’s further, a full day for Bath.

Cameron was amazing and knew so much about the areas we were. Visiting! He was the best! Also Matt the driver was awesome! Great teamwork! Susan Withrow

This was a wonderful experience. Nick was an amazing guide, very informative and helpful. Brian was a great driver and with Nick created a great day. It's a lot of bus time, but we had a ton of room and Nick and Brian made it a great day, even on longer drives.

Jenny was our guide (fantastic) John was driver (decent) The tour started about 10 minutes late but we were all told to be 10 minutes early so a 30 minute swing not a great start. We held off on eating and coffee as we had a 2 hour drive. (Bad idea) We drove through city, Jenny did a nice job commenting on statues and sculptures before giving us some quiet time. She mentioned air and they turned on air conditioning. It wasn’t very cold but it was still early so not entirely unpleasant. I am a beefy guy and weigh about 250lbs. Fortunately I am with my wife and adult kids so being wedged into these seats with my wife is fine but if it was a stranger it would be very uncomfortable. Mandatory seatbelt country so they must be worn. They are tight and quite uncomfortable. Additionally the buckle curves in and is digging into my hip and butt. It’s uncomfortable. Jenny laid out the Stonehenge history about 25 minutes or so before arrival. Some fun and interesting facts. Upon arrival, we got about 40-45 minutes on site if that. There were a couple minutes for restroom break and entry bracelets. The site was very busy so the buses to Stonehenge took about 10-12 minutes, when arriving we went to a site where Jenny gave more awesome details for a few minutes, she set us off and we barely had time to make it around the outer perimeter before rushing back onto the buses to hurry back to our coach. It drops in the gift Shop that our whole group had to skip, as well as the snacks or food options as we were already late to get back. If we had just chosen to skip the Stonehenge monument, I’m not sure we could’ve got through the food lines. Back on the buses and it’s extremely hot. Everyone asking for air and it’s running at 15 degrees and making lots of noise but it is not cold. It is painfully hot and muggy and it appears there is nothing they can do. I am writing this on way to Bath. Right now the advertised “comfortable” coaches is far from accurate. It is 80-81 degrees today so certainly not hot enough to overwhelm a functioning air conditioning unit. So we stopped in the town of Bath. Very quaint nice little area to explore but we unfortunately were here immediately following the university graduation so everything was over the top busy and slow. Jenny took us on a short guided tour but unfortunately with such short stop times, it can eat up time to explore. We had about 90ish minutes at this stop. Many of our tour group did not pay for entry into the Roman Baths. They were the smart ones. I like history well enough but most of the location was a disgusting pool of untreated water from back in the day. Some of the architecture was neat for a few minutes but really we tried hard to just get through the museum so we could get out and get something to eat before loading up to the next location. We went to a few of the locations recommended by Jenny but they were either too busy or too slow to make eating there a possibility before loading up to head to Windsor castle. We wound up getting a couple of sweet buns from Sally Lunns buns. We also grabbed cookies from across the way at Bakervee. We had to reduce our food to fast food bagels in order to have time to eat before getting on the bus. The lack of eating, the rush between stops, the headache from no food, the lack of air conditioning really set in and all 4 of our travel group were now at each others throats. Additionally, the others on our tour were experiencing the same degree of discomfort and frustration. We all held out hope that John (our driver) would be able to pull off something with the air conditioner. We are now back on the van and it’s worse. There is nothing they can do but just apologize to try and ease our misery. Jenny did get John to open his window which has been a bit better as long as we’re moving on the freeway. It’s not the worst heat ever but this trip was described as a luxury coach with comfort stressed. Between the heat, traffic, and some hard braking, comfort is far from what we experienced. Windsor the temperature and exploring area was nice. We got about 45 minutes of exploration on our own and it’s Tuesday so apparently the castle is not open on this day for entry. Had awhile to share our last day ideas with Jenny and she was great. Really don’t want to rain down negativity on the company as Jenny was really great. But with the air issue, limited time at each stop, and a few of the complications, this didn’t really live up to what I’d have hoped for a 1,000 dollar expenditure for 4 adults. Basically you’re paying for a driver for the day with minimal time at the locations. The initial drive is a little less than 2 hours, on site for less than an hour. Then about an hour to Bath with around 90 minutes there, then about 2 hours to Windsor with around 60 minutes on site. Now we are heading back which should be an hour or so. If the AC had worked, I think I’d still have been a little disappointed with the time available to explore but I’d have been more flexible as the rides would’ve been more comfortable. Hope this helps.

Gabriel was a great knowledge tour guide! Brian drove us safely and efficiently. Size of coach was great however charging pots did not work.

I am so glad we booked the trip we did. There are a lof of options to take a tour to see Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor. The smaller bus and group (16 max) made the whole process feel less overwhelming and the ride was very comfortable. Our driver, Dominick, was very friendly. Our tour guide, Mag (I know I'm spelling it incorrectly, but it sounds like Madge and is short for something else) was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and approachable and answered all of our questions. We had ample time at each stop. Don't forget Windsor is a working castle so access to what you see is limited. But still amazing. Stonehenge and Windsor met my expectations. Bath was a little disappointing. The tour we took did not include access to the Roman baths because of the day of the week we took our tour. Our lunch at the Abbey Deli was really good. Specific to Bath, the one side of town is cute. But Bath specifically... The pictures people post are so quaint and cute and, generally speaking, it is. But it's busy and there is a whole shopping area. I get it, people live there, but don't be surprised by how modern and touristy it is versus the pictures people post.

The travel was very smooth, very interesting, and very educational. The driver/guide was personable and knowledgeable. She immediately learned everyone's name, and related to everyone extremely well.

Maj and Toby were excellent. Enjoyed all the sites. Comfortable vehicle.

We never kept to the schedule he told us at the beginning. Nowhere near enough time at either Stonehenge or Windsor. Could have skipped bath and had enough time at the other places. Had less than an hour at Stonehenge, couldn’t even walk all the way around it and not enough time for audio tour. Bath is a lovely town but would gladly have skipped it to get more time at other two spots. Barely got to Windsor before they were closing each of the places so nowhere near enough time there either. Skip bath and add an hour to each of the other places and this would have been fine.