April 6, 2015 ---- The only place I wanted to see in the United Kingdom was Stonehenge. It's one of the "Seven Wonders" that I have always wanted to see. At first I planned to stay in Bath and visit Stonehenge on a day trip from there, but there was a train track closure during the Easter holiday, and it was more complicated and expensive to rely on public transportation. Then I started searching for a tour company that does a day trip outside of London. I found that Premium Tours had many options for day-trippers. Also, it was very affordable and included all entrance fees to all sites on the itinerary. I generally hate to go with a tour, but Premium Tours really was different.
In the morning we had to get up super early to be at the Victoria Coach Station by 8 a.m. The tour actually had a pick-up service for those who stayed in the city center, but we didn't, so we had to go to the station by ourselves. It was like chaos at the coach station because of over a hundred people in a small space. There were many tours operating from there and it was kind of confusing which gate was for which tour. At the end when things were sorted out, we were on the coach and left the station by 8:30 a.m.
Our tour guide, Richard, and driver, Robert, were excellent. Richard was very caring, energetic and knowledgeable. I also liked the way the tour ran so that Richard would give us information about each site we were going to see while on the coach, and when we arrived at the destination, we were on our own with an audio guide provided by the site. It wasn't like a huge tour group walking together and cramping into one exhibit room, blocking other visitors.
Tips:
1. The tour is a full-day and there is no break for lunch or dinner, so it's better if you bring a cold lunch and snacks to eat on the coach. They give us about 2 hours to visit each site. Not enough time to go to a sit-in restaurant.
2. No smelly food or hot beverages allowed on the coach.
3. Expect to arrive back in London around 8:30 p.m. at the earliest. If the traffic is bad, it will take even longer and you will be super hungry. Bring lots of snacks!
Windsor Castle
Things to see/do: Listening to the audio guide and walk through The State Apartments, Queen Mary's Doll's House, The Drawings Gallery, St. George's Chapel
Bath
Things to see/do: The Roman Bath (You can also walk around the city and see the Bath Abbey, Parade Gardens, Avon River, etc.)
The Roman Bath
Bath Abbey
Fudge Factory
Parade Gardens
Avon River
Stonehenge
Things to see/do: Take a shuttle bus from the Visitor Center to the Stonehenge site. Walk in circle around the Stonehenge following the audio guide. See the exhibits at the Visitor Center.
