Post cruise itinerary Southampton Aug 25-7

Help.... how would you choreograph this? Off ship 8 am on Tues. 8/25.

I want to see Bath and Salisbury/Stonehenge. Flight to Iceland from Heathrow at 1pm on Thursday (need to be at airport 2 or 3 hrs before?)

Want to take public transportation between spots- train or coach (bus). Most efficient use of time/money. Where should we stay? Southampton, Bath or Salisbury? Thanks for all advise and insights!

Southampton to Salisbury to Bath to Heathrow is the way to do it. All by train, or perhaps from Bath to Heathrow by National Express bus.

You have the choice of Southampton to Salisbury/Stonehenge and back to Southampton same-day, or overnite in Salisbury then overnite in Bath, or stop off at Salisbury\Stonehenge on your way to 2 overnites in Bath.

Depends on your attitude to hauling luggage, your attitude to back-tracking, and combined fares and hotel bills. Back-tracking isn't as daft as it sounds because a day-return ticket Southampton-Salisbury is about the same cost as a one-way ticket, that journey is only about 30 minutes, and Southampton centre hotels are generally cheaper than Salisbury centre hotels and considerably cheaper than Bath centre hotels.

1. Book hotels in Southampton and Bath.

Drop your bags at your Southampton hotel then take the Train from Southampton to Salisbury, half- hourly service, takes about 30 minutes, costs about £11 day-return. Take the "Stonehenge Tour" hop-on bus from Salisbury station to Stonehenge (buy combined bus and admission ticket from the driver), on the HO-HO back to Salisbury also consider stopping at Old Sarum if the weather is fair, then get off in Salisbury city centre to visit the cathedral and the laid-back historic city centre, then HO-HO or local bus or taxi or 20 minute walk back to the station for a train back to Southampton.

Next day train Southampton to Bath, hourly service, goes via Salisbury, drop bags at Bath hotel, see the sights of Bath (easy on foot, hoho is a waste of time - cant go down the central streets and spends a lot of time stuck in traffic).

Next day early train or Pre-booked Nat Express coach to Heathrow. Note: buy a train ticket to Heathrow but the train doesn't go there - you get off at Reading, where an included shuttle bus takes you to Hearhrow. By contrast, the Nat Express bus is direct.

2. Go direct from ship to rail station, buy one-way tickets to Salisbury at about £10. At Salisbury station, store your luggage at the Black Cat tavern on the corner of the station approach. Same Stonehenge and Salisbury routine, return to Salisbury station, collect bags, buy tickets to Bath (hourly service) then two nights in Bath - or, if you want to feel really safe, one night Bath then early evening head for your last night at a Heathrow hotel.

3. Stop in Salisbury for your first night, with your second night in Bath.

Pros and cons to each, and I'll leave you to check hotel and rail / bus costs.

Sorry, can 't post links, I'm currently away from home with only an elderly I-pad which I don't get along with too well. Perhaps someone else can.

Typos are the fault of the silly touchscreen ;)

So is the "mad" icon at the top, must've clipped it with a finger

JB :)

Thank you! I was trying to stay in the same place for 2 nights- but wasn't working! I have already changed reservations- first I was staying in Salisbury, then Bath for 2 nights- and I was looking to see if Southampton was a better choice!

For flights to Iceland- am I expected to arrive 2 hours before at Heathrow or 3 hours before?

Thank you! I was trying to stay in the same place for 2 nights- but wasn't working! I have already changed reservations- first I was staying in Salisbury, then Bath for 2 nights- and I was looking to see if Southampton was a better choice!

For flights to Iceland- am I expected to arrive 2 hours before at Heathrow or 3 hours before?

Find your minimum Check- in time on your airline's website - you'll be surprised how late it can be, possibly as little as 45 minutes before your flight. Don't work on that minimum because of potential delays en- route , thro' security etc, but about two hours will be fine. Airports, ESP Heathrow, tend to err deeply on the cautious side with their SUGGESTED check-in times.

There are too many imponderables for me to suggest which of the various alternatives would work best for you - two nights in Bath would probably be the most expensive option, two nights in Southampton would bite deeply into your time in Bath, but places to see in both Salisbury and Bath close around 5pm to 5.30 and you have the early evening to return to your chosen hotel. Restaurants, pubs etc usually serve food until around 8.30 to 9pm.

Do choose a hotel in the city centres and handy to the rail stations.

JB :)

Help.... how would you choreograph this? Off ship 8 am on Tues. 8/25.

I want to see Bath and Salisbury/Stonehenge. Flight to Iceland from Heathrow at 1pm on Thursday (need to be at airport 2 or 3 hrs before?)

 

Want to take public transportation between spots- train or coach (bus). Most efficient use of time/money. Where should we stay? Southampton, Bath or Salisbury? Thanks for all advise and insights!

While not a public transportation trip (until mid-way), we just returned from a similar trip. We picked up a car at the Southampton port. On our drive to Bath (staying at Apsley House), we stopped at Salisbury and then Stonehenge on our way to Bath. Using Bath as a base, we spent a full day in Bath. The drives were not very long.

If you did a similar itinerary, you could likely turn in the car in Bath and perhaps continue with pre-arranged public transportation. You would have to be comfortable with driving. I found that a GPS was essential to our drive.

Bob

While not a public transportation trip (until mid-way), we just returned from a similar trip. We picked up a car at the Southampton port. On our drive to Bath (staying at Apsley House), we stopped at Salisbury and then Stonehenge on our way to Bath. Using Bath as a base, we spent a full day in Bath. The drives were not very long.

 

If you did a similar itinerary, you could likely turn in the car in Bath and perhaps continue with pre-arranged public transportation. You would have to be comfortable with driving. I found that a GPS was essential to our drive.

 

Bob

we are hoping to rent a car in southampton for bath & wales - perhaps 10 days or so -

would appreciate any advice re which company you used, make & size of vehicle,

drop off options before going to london for 4 or 5 days, gps rental - is it installed in car ?, etc.

we are hoping to rent a car in southampton for bath & wales - perhaps 10 days or so -

would appreciate any advice re which company you used, make & size of vehicle,

drop off options before going to london for 4 or 5 days, gps rental - is it installed in car ?, etc.

Not ReturnCruiser, but a few thoughts:

Car rental agencies (in the UK we tend to call them "car hire") near the port include Hertz, National, Europcar & Alamo.

The major odd-one-out is Avis, which is out at Southampton airport. That's a £20 taxi ride, on the other hand it's away from city traffic & close to the motorway network which gives you an easier start to the day.

All have depots in London and at London's Heathrow airport.

Heathrow can be a useful drop-off depot - it's on the western side of London (the side you'll be approaching from) and has excellent transport links to the centre, which avoids you having to drive in the big bad city ;)

Trusting you're savvy enough not to consider keeping the car during your time in London. :eek:

We've found that including GPS (we Brits call them sat-nav) is poor value for longer car rentals. Good screen-mount sat-navs can be bought in shops from about £70 (UK cover) or £90 (full European cover), here's a couple of examples

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/phones-broadband-gps/sat-nav-systems/sat-nav/tomtom-start-25-uk-5-gps-sat-nav-with-uk-roi-maps-10016013-pdt.html?srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~~~Exact&mctag=gg_goog_7904&s_kwcid=AL!3391!3!45243041735!!!g!67778449902!&ef_id=VTE@twAAAGx9dWl2:20150627212244:s

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3684117.htm

Being portable they can also do route-planning from your hotel room etc.

Take care of the packaging, instructions & receipt, then sell the thing for half-price in London or via e-Bay in the US. Or keep it for some future European adventure.

There are no tiny lanes where you're going if you keep to tolerably sensible routing, but smaller vehicles are much easier to handle & park on our sometimes-crowded island and cheaper to run since gas is something over double the price in the US (currently £1.18 per litre, I'll leave you to do the maths).

But assuming you'll be touring you do need a vehicle with a boot (trunk) capable of taking your luggage - crime's not a big problem but possessions on show in a parked car are a big temptation. Consider at least some soft-sided luggage (sports-type bags) to make best use of trunk space.

Unless specified, most rental cars in the UK & elsewhere in Europe are shift-stick. If you want automatic, specify it.

A US driving licence is normally all you need - not an international licence, which is sometimes required when the renter's licence isn't in English.

JB :)

On GPS (Satnav) which I think is essential for any visitor who wishes to drive.

I note that Hertz charge 100GBP for the use of a satnav and as JB says above, you can easily buy one for a lot less and sell it or keep it after.

As well as the people JB suggests, Halfords (a chain of car parts stores) have a good range from 50GBP and they will usually set it up and show you how it works. http://www.halfords.com/technology/sat-nav/car-sat-nav?sort=price-low-to-high I note that they have a shop in the West Quay Retail Park.

An alternative is to use an app on a smartphone like CoPilot. This works reasonably well but if you buy it in the USA I think you would have to pay extra for the UK map. IMHO it is not as good as a dedicated satnav.

Of course, if you have one already, you can probably buy the maps and bring it with you.

On GPS (Satnav) which I think is essential for any visitor who wishes to drive.

 

I note that Hertz charge 100GBP for the use of a satnav and as JB says above, you can easily buy one for a lot less and sell it or keep it after.

 

As well as the people JB suggests, Halfords (a chain of car parts stores) have a good range from 50GBP and they will usually set it up and show you how it works. http://www.halfords.com/technology/sat-nav/car-sat-nav?sort=price-low-to-high I note that they have a shop in the West Quay Retail Park.

 

An alternative is to use an app on a smartphone like CoPilot. This works reasonably well but if you buy it in the USA I think you would have to pay extra for the UK map. IMHO it is not as good as a dedicated satnav.

 

Of course, if you have one already, you can probably buy the maps and bring it with you.

thank you for all this info !!!!:)

tried to respond to your quote but it does not include yours

but just wanted to thank you one more time for all your advice:)

you make it all sound so easy !!

but we shall definitely request automatic !!:D