Southampton to London and day trips.

[retird]

We are doing a TA from Miami to Southampton in April 2014 and plan to stay in London for a week post cruise. I was researching and found that Viator offer an excursion from cruise ship to Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Windsor and then to our hotel in London (about 9 hours.) at a very reasonable price. The tour is actually conducted by International Friends. They also offer day trips from London during the week we are there for a good price. Has anyone ever used them and have any comments... Also does anyone know if you can actually go and see the inner stones on such a tour or do you have to book a private tour, or have they stopped allowing tourists from getting near the stones.

 

Thanks, Les

[John Bull]

Yes, the tour offered by Viator is operated by International Friends, an established & reputable tour coach operator. You can have confidence booking direct if it's cheaper than via Viator.

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

There are many many other operators offering coach tours from London, here's a couple that are frequently recommended:

 

http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/

 

http://www.goldentours.com/

(but avoid this company's London ho-ho)

 

To actually go amongst the Stones at Stonehenge you have to book a slot before or after general admission times. You will be off the ship too late for that morning's pre-admission slot. Numbers for those times are severely limited. Be aware that at those times the visitor centre isn't open & audio sets aren't available. Not sure you can even get a coffee.

Folk who book such times usually book a guide, the Stones aren't an amazing sight & if you don't have a guide or audio guide you'll be sorely disappointed. A number of local guides have been recommended on this board.

 

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

 

IMHO unless you have a deep interest in the subject, best use of your time would be to include Stonehenge in one of the ship-to-London transfers.

 

Six days is way more than most folk can manage in London but it has a great deal to offer and, especially if you venture out of the city for a day or two, you'll still find yourselves having to make decisions what to skip.

 

Here's a useful site for logistics to & in London

http://www.londontoolkit.com/mnu/london_transport.htm

 

 

JB :)

[NorbertsNiece]

I took some tourists to Stonehenge this summer and there was no need to pre book.... we just turned up and paid at the turnstile. We were able to get close enough to the stones to appreciate them.

[Pet Nit Noy]

I took some tourists to Stonehenge this summer and there was no need to pre book.... we just turned up and paid at the turnstile. We were able to get close enough to the stones to appreciate them.

 

I think you'll do the readers of this board a favor if you clarify what you mean by "get close enough to the stones to appreciate them." Readers may assume they'll be able to touch the stones and walk among both circles. Our experience was that unless we were on the special dawn and dusk tours run by a limited number of tour operators, we weren't allowed inside the barrier. However, the barrier is reasonably close to the outer circle -- not touchable close but close enough to observe the details explained in the excellent audio guide.

 

Edited to add: John Bull, our ranking expert on this Board, seems to be saying much the same thing.

[John Bull]

 

Edited to add: John Bull, our ranking expert on this Board, seems to be saying much the same thing.

 

You've read my mind. :)

 

And just to clarify on booking tickets, yes you need to pre-book for those dawn or dusk out-of-hours up-close-and-personal tours. Limited to max. 26 people total for each occasion and they usually book-out very early.

But no need to pre-book for a regular visit.

If admission isn't included (perhaps some tours, certainly the ho-ho from Salisbury & the cruise-bus tour-transfers) you can buy your tickets on the bus at the same price, avoiding a possible line at the ticket office.

 

 

JB :)

[sparky-elpaso]

You've read my mind. :)

 

And just to clarify on booking tickets, yes you need to pre-book for those dawn or dusk out-of-hours up-close-and-personal tours. Limited to max. 26 people total for each occasion and they usually book-out very early.

But no need to pre-book for a regular visit.

If admission isn't included (perhaps some tours, certainly the ho-ho from Salisbury & the cruise-bus tour-transfers) you can buy your tickets on the bus at the same price, avoiding a possible line at the ticket office.

 

 

JB :)

 

Is this how close you get on the regular tour? Or is this road for the special early or late tours? Thanks.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Is this how close you get on the regular tour? Or is this road for the special early or late tours? Thanks.

 

You're looking at the loop path from the visitors' center/ticket booth to/around the circle. Memory tells me the photograph shows how close a regular visitor will get at about audio guide stop #2, the closest distance. The distance between visitors and the stones varies somewhat. I'd estimate the range to be about 10 at the closest point to 20 feet away at the farthest point.

 

There are some marker stones that are not part of the circle, but are believed to have had a function when the circle was used. At this point on the path, you are farthest away from the stone circle.