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Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Bath Day Tours
A Comparison Of Operators And What To Expect





Tours
Outside London
Day Tours
Guide To Tours

Tours that visit:
Stonehenge
Bath
Stratford Upon Avon
Cotswolds
Oxford
Windsor
Canterbury & Leeds
Paris
Multi Day Tours
Cotswolds + Bath
Edinburgh+Highlands
Paris
Most Popular Tours
Bath & Stonehenge

Windsor, Bath
and Stonehenge

Stonehenge
Afternoon Tour £33

Lunch in Cotswolds
Independent Trips

Bath
Stonehenge
Windsor
Salisbury

Avebury
Lacock
Glastonbury

Oxford
Cotswolds
Stratford
Hampton Court

Paris
Tour Operators
Premium Tours
Evan Evans Tours
International Friends
Anderson Tours

Car Private Tours
Minibus Private Tour











The Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge tour is the most popular day tour from London. There is a good choice of operators running tours throughout the year covering this combination, most of them on a daily basis.

This page aims to shows you what to expect from the day and is a good reference in itself in what to look for when comparing any day tour from London. We compare large coach operators, minibus operators and private tours.
 Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath Touring Bus
The Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath tour is one of the longest of the tours available, a very long day whichever provider you select. The tour will involve an early start from your hotel and a broad duration of twelve hours before you return.

Time is the enemy on the Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge tour. This tour, like all tours that cram three major destinations in one day have no time to loiter.
An Overview of Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath Tour Options
Company Evan Evans Premium Tours International Friends Private Tour
Vehicle Full size coach Full size coach 16 seat minibus 8-16 seat minibus
Guide Blue Badge Guide Blue Badge Guide Driver/Guide Driver/Guide
Adult Price £69 £65 £84 £475 12 seat bus
£525 16 seat bus
Pickups 07:40 - 08:40
Leave 08:45		 07:15 - 08:15
Leave 08:15		 07:30 - 08:00
Leave 08:00		 08:00
Finish 19:30 20:30 19:00 20:30
Admissions Windsor Castle, Stonehenge
Roman Baths @ Bath		 Windsor Castle, Stonehenge
Roman Baths @ Bath		 Windsor Castle, Stonehenge
Roman Baths @ Bath		 None
Link Evan Evans Premium Tours International Friends Private Tour
Hotel Pickups
The major large coach tour operators all do hotel pickup runs from a long list of hotels. Chances are if you are not staying at one of these hotels, there will be one close by.
Evan Evans starts picking up at 07:40 on various hotel pick up routes that end at Victoria Coach Station an hour later. Scheduled departure time is 08:45, it only takes one bus to have problems and there is a delay.
Premium Tours start picking up about 07:15, again congregating at Victoria an hour later, with a scheduled tour start at 08:15

International Friends run 16 seat minibuses so the logistics are much more streamlined. Starting from a point north of the centre, the bus has a maximum of 3 pickup points in the major hotel districts on the journey through Central London.

If you have a small group, a private tour will pick you up from your hotel and you will be off and out of London right away.

Windsor Castle
The logistics of this tour means first stop is Windsor Castle which opens at 09:45. Your coach operator will aim to have you there close to this time.
During weekdays, traffic congestion may add 10 minutes to the broadly hour long journey.

The large coach operators will park in the official coach park, its a 15 minute walk to the castle from here.
The minibus operators will drop you off and pick you up right by Windsor Castle.
The acid test of whether you have a suitably qualified Blue Badge guide is whether the guide accompanies you and provides guiding in Windsor Castle.
Only accredited Blue Badge guides are allowed to provide guiding within the castle. If you haven't a blue badge guide then you use the audio tour device that comes with admission. You will normally have around 90 minutes within the castle, about the minimum it takes to go around - so don't hang around.
The minibus and private tour operators do not have blue badge guides, so you use the audio tour device that comes with admission.

The private tour allows over 3.5 hours in Windsor. As its a private tour you customise your time. The most popular choice is to visit the Queen's Farm shop, Eton or Runnymede prior to the visit to the Castle, then 2 hours in the castle so you can view Changing of the Guard and 30 minutes to grab a snack/coffee or wander the Old Town.

The scheduled tours you will shepherd you immediately back onto the bus for the journey to Stonehenge

Stonehenge
Its about a 75-90 minute drive to Stonehenge, mostly down freeway/motorway grade roads.
Like all the places visited, the guide or driver/guide will give you a thorough briefing of each place you visit prior to arrival.
By the time you get to Stonehenge you should be well versed on Stonehenge and the Neolithic people who built it.

The longest you will get at Stonehenge is 60 minutes which is time enough for most people. The guide or driver/guide will often cut this to 45 minutes if the tour is behind schedule.

The guide or driver/guide will not normally accompany you into Stonehenge, with the notable exception of private tours.
You get an audio tour device with admission that takes about 40 minutes to follow around the monument.

Its lunch time when you are at Stonehenge. There is just a small coffee bar at Stonehenge that sells ice cream, pizza slices , cakes etc.

Bath
Its now about a 75 minute drive to Bath from Stonehenge. This is the only leg of the tour where you do not spend much of the time cruising on a motorway/freeway. However its definitely not down country lanes.
The exception is the private tour that uses this leg to take you on some of the best of the English countryside, travelling through quaint villages with thatched cottages, even down single track roads with scope for a few photo stops.
At Bath, the standard tour involves admission to the Roman Baths with about 30 minutes free time to stroll around the town or grab a snack.

The minibus based tours will take you on a 15 minute orientation tour so you see the best of 'Georgian Bath', the Circle, Assembly Rooms, Royal Crescent etc.

Premium tours do a special torchlit tour of the Roman Baths.
Premium spend slightly longer in Bath, as do the private tours.

The trip back to London
There are strict controls on how long the drivers of these tours can drive each day. This tour is right up against these limits. The vehicles have speed limiters by law, limiting speed to 100kmh hour (62 mph) maximum. This and the tight schedule means its very hard to make up lost time if the tour gets behind. A major part of the guides job is to make sure the bus keeps to time.

The journey back to London is a 2.5 to 3 hour journey. Don't expect any scheduled comfort stops along the way.
Unlike the morning, there is not a comprehensive hotel drop off facility. Chances are you will have to make your own way back to your accommodation by public transport, unless you have a private tour. Many tours will offer a drop by Gloucester Road Underground Station in Kensington on there way back into London.
If you plan on getting back to your hotel from here, anything else more appropiate will be a bonus if it comes along.

A last word
We have tried to be as frank and impartial as possible on this page.
We may have highlighted a few things you may not have wanted to hear, but ...
For most people the tour is a highlight of their trip and very enjoyable with memories that last a lifetime. Yes, it is a long day and yes, the tour is fast paced but at the end of the day you will have visited three world class attractions with quality guiding and a value for money price.

The tours
The tours we have been using as a reference on this page are:
Evan Evans - Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath
Premium Tours - Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath
International Friends - Harvest of History Small Group Tour
FCMBS - Custom private day tour visiting Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath.
Summary of Most Popular Guided Tours From London
Including Stonehenge
Stonehenge Afternoon Tour PR £25 Full Size Bus Afternoon Tour To Stonehenge only
More time at Stonehenge. Daily.
Stonehenge and Bath AN £49 Full Size Bus Admission Stonehenge + Roman Baths at Bath. Daily.
Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath EE £69 Full Size Bus
 Admission Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Roman Baths at Bath - Daily
Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath PR £65 Full Size Bus Admission Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Roman Baths at Bath - Daily
Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath IF £84 Minibus
 Admission Windsor, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. Monday + Saturdays.
Salisbury - Stonehenge - Avebury IF £74 Minibus
 Admission Stonehenge+Salisbury Cathedral. Tour Avebury. Wednesdays
Lacock - Bath - Stonehenge IF £74 Minibus
 Admission Stonehenge+Roman Baths at Bath. Walking tour Lacock. Tuesdays.
Stonehenge - Glastonbury - Avebury IF £74 Minibus
 Admission Stonehenge, Glastonbury Abbey.
Free time Avebury.
International Friends - Fridays.
Anderson Tours - Mon,Wed & Fri
Stonehenge - Glastonbury - Avebury AN £65 Minibus
Salisbury - Stonehenge - Bath EE £44 Full Size Bus No admissions within package.
Daily
Stratford - Stonehenge - Bath PR £72 Full Size Bus Admission Stratford, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. April to October
Windsor - Stonehenge - Oxford PR £72 Full Size Bus
 Admission to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Walking tour Oxford + T.
Windsor - Stonehenge - Oxford EE £44 Full Size Bus No adm Windsor Castle+Stonehenge.
Inc walking tours Oxford+Windsor. Daily
Oxford - Cotswolds - Bath - Stonehenge IF £159 2 day MiniBus
with hotel		 Tours of Cotswold Villages, Oxford, Stonehenge and Bath with hotel.
Including Special Access Tours Stonehenge
Stonehenge - Lacock - Bath PR £85 Various Special access admission at Stonehenge plus Roman Bath
Stonehenge - Salisbury or Avebury AN £75 Various Special access at Stonehenge plus either Avebury or Salisbury
Cotswolds, Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwick Castle
Windsor and Oxford AN £45 Full Size Bus Admission Windsor Castle + Christ Church College Oxford. Mon to Fri.
Oxford & Cotswolds AN £65 Minibus
 Guided tours of Oxford then afternoon Cotswolds Tues & Thurs
Oxford - Cotswolds - Stratford IF £74 Minibus
 Guided tours of Oxford, Stratford, Burford, Boutron On Water. Thursdays.
Cotswolds + Lunch - Stratford PR £69 Full Size Bus With lunch in Cotswolds and Cream Tea and Walking Tour at Stratford
Oxford - Stratford + Afternoon Tea EE £69 Full Size Bus Waking Tour Oxford. Admission Shakespeare's Birthplace,
Tues, Sat Tea @ Anne Hathways
Other Days Warwick Castle
Oxford - Stratford - Warwick Castle EE £69 Full Size Bus
Oxford - Stratford - Warwick Castle PR £65 Full Size Bus
 Tour Christ Church Oxford and Shakespeare's Birthplace + Warwick
Blenheim Palace & Cotswolds EE £44 Full Size Bus No admissions within package.
Fri, Sat & Sun (April - September)
Stratford - Stonehenge - Bath PR £72 Full Size Bus Admission Stratford, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. April to October
Oxford - Cotswolds - Bath - Stonehenge IF £159 2 day MiniBus
with hotel		 Tours of Cotswold Villages, Oxford, Stonehenge and Bath with hotel.
Canterbury, Leeds Castle & Dover
Leeds - Canterbury - Dover EE £69 Full Size Bus Admission Leeds Castle+Canterbury Cath. Visit Dover. Not Sun or Mon.
Leeds - Canterbury - Greenwich PR £62 Full Size Bus Admission Leeds Castle+Canterbury
Greenwich tour + river cruise.
IF - International Friends (Uses 16 seat minibuses)
AN - Anderson Tours		 EE - Evan Evans Tours
PR - Premium Tours