Southampton, Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor to Heathrow and Central London

 

Due to operational constraints caused by major changes at Stonehenge, this particular itinerary will not be available for the 2014 cruising season. However, we can offer you the following options for tours and transfers to London and Heathrow:

Option 1.
Travel to Heathrow and selected hotels in London via Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor - click here

Option 2.
Travel directly to Heathrow and hotels in London - click here

We hope to offer the itinerary below for the 2015 crusing season but a full assesment will be made once we feel that the major changes taking place at Stonehenge have had enough time to bed in.

Exclusive tour in a luxury touring coach with professional guide
A full day tour and hotel transfer with collection at your cruise terminal. This service is available on all dates when Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Oceania, Celebrity and Princess cruise ships are visiting Southampton. You will be driven in an air conditioned touring bus with a professional guide accompanying you throughout the day.  In a memorable day you'll see three world class destinations; Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor plus much else besides.

At the end of the day the coach will take you to the Central London Hotels in the districts listed below. See details of hotels served towards the bottom of the page. 

Joining Procedure At Southampton

Nearly all cruises at Southampton arrive between 5am and 6am in the morning with assisted disembarkation starting around 7am for Royal Caribbean, Princess, Oceania and Celebrity cruise ships. We will ask you to apply for a disembarkation slot of 7:30/7:45am or earlier. For all passengers on Cunard ships you must apply to self-disembark by 07:30/07:45am, assisted disembarkation with Cunard begins at 08:30am which is too late to join this day trip/transfer.The tour guide will be waiting outside the customs exit of the cruise terminal at 8am
There are 4 cruise terminals at Southampton, all slightly different but you will have a typical walk of about 75 yards to the tour bus where the driver will load your luggage into the hold. That is the last time you will see your luggage until you get to London. We will leave Southampton at 8:30 a.m.

We travel north from the port of Southampton straight into a lush green English landscape and head into the historic kingdom of Wessex. Our guide will be on hand to illustrate the history of this ancient landscape as we head into gentle rolling chalk downland and wooded valleys. Here, where five rivers meet we pass by the city of Salisbury and admire the tallest spire in the country.

Continuing past the Iron Age hillfort of Old Sarum we meander up the valley of the River Avon to the enigmatic monument of Stonehenge. With over 5,000 years of history literally at our fingertips, we will enjoy a comprehensive and eye-opening tour of the site with our guide. What was the purpose of this place? Who were the builders and what did they come here for? Is it a place of worship? A place of the dead? A calendar or clock? Our guide will present the facts and that which is still debated then leave you to absorb the powerful presence of this monument.

We will return to the coach to head west to the spa town of Bath, famous for it's Roman and Georgian history and for being the only hot springs in the country. As we drive through the counties of Wiltshire into Somerset we move from chalk into limestone. Thatched cottages sitting on timber and flint frames give way to stone houses with stone roofing.As we drive down into Bath, our guide will tell of the Romans and the historic baths they had built here. This outpost of the Roman Empire was known as Aqua Sulis where the Roman invaders merged their own goddess of healing, Minerva, with the Celtic God, Sulis.

We can see the Roman ruins and the hot springs before learning of the city's revival in the 18th century when the Georgian wealthy and famous came to see and be seen. We discover the crescents, circuses and terraces that were built at this time and see the Assembly Rooms and the beautiful Pulteney Bridge.

After lunch we drive east to Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. From it's beginnings in the Norman period this stunning castle has been a favourite of the Royal Family and our guide will bring to life the past adventures of the various Kings and Queens that lived here. See Queen Mary's Doll House, the elegant state apartments with it's collection of fine art, walk amongst the last resting places of Henry VIII, Charles I, George VI and The Queen Mother inside St George's Chapel.

Arrival in London + Heathrow -  Hotels With Drops

The bus will depart from Windsor at 5:00pm. 

We will drop passengers at all the major Heathrow hotels around 5:30 pm - Please specify your hotel and the Terminal if necessary when booking (eg. Holiday Inn Express Terminal 5). We also drop at Terminals 1-5. 

We then drive to Central London dropping off from 6:30pm onwards, the Central London hotel districts we drop are: Kensington, Bayswater, Paddington, Marble Arch, Mayfair, West End, Victoria, County Hall, Bloomsbury and Tower of London/London Bridge. Please specify your hotel when booking. 

Please note, on departure from Windsor, we may use other vehicles to ensure we complete the drop offs as quickly and efficiently as possible. If this does happen, our drivers, guides, or tour managers will organise this.

Flying From Gatwick, Stansted or Luton Airports?

If you are flying from Gatwick, Stansted or Luton Airports we can drop you at Victoria Rail or Coach Station around 6.30pm-7:00pm, where there are frequent trains and airport buses to each airport.

Guaranteed Departures - Please note this is a guaranteed cruise day trip transfer, and wil operate on all of the dates listed.

These dates are listed in the drop-down at the top right corner of this page. We will support other dates if 10 people have registered interest with us six weeks prior to departure. We find that using the Roll Call facility of Cruise Critic is a great way of getting a group of 10 registered quickly. 
Or, if you prefer the option of a private cruise transfer, available for 1 or more people, click here to request a quote. 

Booking Conditions And Payment

In order that we can guarantee your booking, you will need to make payment in full. However, all cruise transfer/tours which are booked from this webpage, are not subject to cancellation charges up to 42 days (6 weeks) prior to the the transfer/tour travel date. Within 41 days of your travel date, our normal booking conditions shall apply. 

The luggage allowance is 2 large cases per passenger plus hand luggage. We do not carry outsize items like bicycles, surfboards etc. Please inform us in advance if you have a wheelchair, mobility vehicle etc 

Admission Charges 2013 - Upgrade at the time of booking to avoid the queues!

Admission charges are not included in the price of the tour. Please see the orange box (top right) for various admission prices that are available if you pre-book at the same time as making your cruise transfer/tour booking.

At Stonehenge if you have an English Heritage or National Trust pass or membership entry is free. 

Important information regarding Windsor Castle

If you specifically want to visit Windsor castle, please note the restrictions below. This information is provided in good faith and has been sourced from the Royal Collection trust website <http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=34#visitor> We are not responsible for further updates and strongly recommend that you double check opening information on the link above if you are intending to go inside Windsor Castle. Where there is no Windsor Castle upgrade option, it is known to be closed and we will still visit Windsor as planned where the guide will orientate you around this beautiful town so you can enjoy the riverside cafes, shops and perhaps stroll along to Eton!