Car Rental in London or Southampton

We will be spending about a week in London prior to our British Isles cruise leaving from Southampton in May 2018. We are interested in doing a trip to see Stonehenge prior to the cruise. We are wanting to know what the best way to do that would be. Should we look into renting a car in London and driving ourselves to Southampton via Stonehenge? Or is it better to take the train from London to Southampton and then renting a car for the day to drive to Stonehenge? The travel to South Hampton and Stonehenge would be on a Thursday. TIA!

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If you pick up your car in one place and drop it off in a different place, they often charge you extra. Find out how much is extra charge and compare to train prices for all of you all.

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You could also look at one of the transport companies which includes a Stonehenge stop on the way between London and Southampton. Makes it easy to do. You won't need to stay long at Stonehenge. It is a been there done that kind of place.

You can check http://www.londontoolkit.com for your traveling options

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We did explore the transport option but with 4 of us that became pretty pricey. Also we want to do it the day before the cruise rather than the day of departure which then excluded one of the companies if not all.

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We did explore the transport option but with 4 of us that became pretty pricey. Also we want to do it the day before the cruise rather than the day of departure which then excluded one of the companies if not all.

 

 

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Yes, the International Friends cruise tour-transfer buses, advertised on London Toolkit and well-received by cruisers, operate on sailing day.

Can be done if there's another ship sailing that day (and there very probably will) - you just ask the driver for your bags to be stowed separately (or they'll be taking their own cruise on that ship :p), then disembark the coach at the pier, collect your luggage from the driver before the baggage handlers whisk them away, and jump in a taxi to your Southampton hotel.

Save http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/

and check it out next Spring.

But, as you say, with 4 of you the cruise tour-transfer bus will be pricey.

The alternatives:

By car.

Especially if you've not driven in the UK before, London is not a good place to learn a different car in a different city in a different country with different rules and a different side of the road.:eek:

Can I suggest you rent from a depot at Heathrow airport. It's 16 congested and potentially confusing urban miles from central London, on the fringe of the city on the Southampton / Stonehenge side. Public transportation from central London to Heathrow is fast, simple and cheap by bus or tube or the Heathrow Connect train or (if you book at least 3 months early to avoid price hikes close to the date) the Heathrow Express.

All the major players have depots there, including Hertz, Alamo, Europcar, National & SixT who have depots close to the Southampton cruise berths (Avis are at Southampton airport, a £20 taxi ride from the port).

Heathrow is right by the M25 London orbital motorway, and a few miles along that motorway you branch onto the M3 motorway heading for Southampton etc.

Of course if you're not the driver, fighting central London's roads isn't your problem. :evilsmile:

To be sure that your admission to Stonehenge isn't delayed you need to book a timed slot, a 30-minute window for arrival. Timing can be difficult from London, especially since you need to collect the car etc.

I suggest you figure your arrival time at Stonehenge (or ask here closer to the day) and add 90 minutes.

If your timing worked out (ie you get there 90 minutes early) just carry on 15 to 20 mins to Salisbury & spend some time in that historic city centre and its magnificent cathedral, before heading back to Stonehenge to arrive during your 30 minute window.

You might even consider staying the night in Salisbury instead of Southampton. Then a 40 minute drive to Southampton next morning. Just a thought.

By Public Transport.

Via Southampton

National Express ( http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx ) bus from London Victoria or by train ( http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ ) from London Waterloo, to Southampton coach station or central rail station.

Stow your bags at your hotel, then by train to Salisbury (half-hourly service, journey time about 35 minutes, buy return tickets for about £10 pp).

Then ho-ho bus ( http://www.thestonehengetour.info/the-stonehenge-tour ) from Salisbury station to Stonehenge - Stonehenge admission tickets bought from the driver don't have to be for a timed arrival, they'll get you in at any time.

Ho-ho back to Salisbury, spend the rest of the day there, then train back to Southampton.

By Public Transport

Direct

National Express buses to Salisbury are very infrequent and the drop point in Salisbury not convenient to the ho-ho.

So take the train from London Waterloo.

At Salisbury station, store your bags at the Black Cat tavern (about £5 per bag) at the end of the station approach, and take the Stonehenge ho-ho.

When you return to the station, collect your bags and take the train to Southampton central.

If you choose to stay at a Salisbury hotel, drop your bags the before taking the ho-ho. Next morning take the train to Southampton central for your cruise.

Brew a jug of coffee, google for more detail of the options, and krunch the numbers.

Come back here if some of the detail eludes you

JB :)

JB said "London to Heathrow is fast, simple and cheap by bus or tube or the Heathrow Connect train or (if you book at least 3 months early to avoid price hikes close to the date) the Heathrow Express."

From May next year the new Elizabeth line (aka Crossrail) will be open and it will be easy to get to LHR from most parts of London by tube, with maybe one change using whatever card you used on your travels in London without pre booking. Heathrow Express is not happy because the new line will take away a lot of their business.

No one-way drop fee for our upcoming Hertz rental out of LGW with return to Southampton West Quay. I can't recall if we received this tip from John Bull or Bob+++:cool:.

JB said "London to Heathrow is fast, simple and cheap by bus or tube or the Heathrow Connect train or (if you book at least 3 months early to avoid price hikes close to the date) the Heathrow Express."

 

From May next year the new Elizabeth line (aka Crossrail) will be open and it will be easy to get to LHR from most parts of London by tube, with maybe one change using whatever card you used on your travels in London without pre booking. Heathrow Express is not happy because the new line will take away a lot of their business.

Not quite, I'm afraid. The service next year simply replaces Heathrow Connect from Paddington. The routes through to the West End and the City are scheduled for December 2019.

When the new card readers are introduced, the contactless options (including Oyster) will be extended to Heathrow Express too, as I understand it.

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Another recommendation for International Friends and also Golden Tours. I love to drive, but I would never consider driving in London. Plus, there's a hefty City tax for driving within a certain radius plus high parking fees in London. Let someone else do the driving so you can enjoy the scenery. ;)

Yes, the International Friends cruise tour-transfer buses, advertised on London Toolkit and well-received by cruisers, operate on sailing day.

Can be done if there's another ship sailing that day (and there very probably will) - you just ask the driver for your bags to be stowed separately (or they'll be taking their own cruise on that ship :p), then disembark the coach at the pier, collect your luggage from the driver before the baggage handlers whisk them away, and jump in a taxi to your Southampton hotel.

Save http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/

and check it out next Spring.

But, as you say, with 4 of you the cruise tour-transfer bus will be pricey.

 

The alternatives:

 

By car.

Especially if you've not driven in the UK before, London is not a good place to learn a different car in a different city in a different country with different rules and a different side of the road.:eek:

Can I suggest you rent from a depot at Heathrow airport. It's 16 congested and potentially confusing urban miles from central London, on the fringe of the city on the Southampton / Stonehenge side. Public transportation from central London to Heathrow is fast, simple and cheap by bus or tube or the Heathrow Connect train or (if you book at least 3 months early to avoid price hikes close to the date) the Heathrow Express.

All the major players have depots there, including Hertz, Alamo, Europcar, National & SixT who have depots close to the Southampton cruise berths (Avis are at Southampton airport, a £20 taxi ride from the port).

Heathrow is right by the M25 London orbital motorway, and a few miles along that motorway you branch onto the M3 motorway heading for Southampton etc.

Of course if you're not the driver, fighting central London's roads isn't your problem. :evilsmile:

 

To be sure that your admission to Stonehenge isn't delayed you need to book a timed slot, a 30-minute window for arrival. Timing can be difficult from London, especially since you need to collect the car etc.

I suggest you figure your arrival time at Stonehenge (or ask here closer to the day) and add 90 minutes.

If your timing worked out (ie you get there 90 minutes early) just carry on 15 to 20 mins to Salisbury & spend some time in that historic city centre and its magnificent cathedral, before heading back to Stonehenge to arrive during your 30 minute window.

You might even consider staying the night in Salisbury instead of Southampton. Then a 40 minute drive to Southampton next morning. Just a thought.

 

By Public Transport.

Via Southampton

National Express ( http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx ) bus from London Victoria or by train ( http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ ) from London Waterloo, to Southampton coach station or central rail station.

Stow your bags at your hotel, then by train to Salisbury (half-hourly service, journey time about 35 minutes, buy return tickets for about £10 pp).

Then ho-ho bus ( http://www.thestonehengetour.info/the-stonehenge-tour ) from Salisbury station to Stonehenge - Stonehenge admission tickets bought from the driver don't have to be for a timed arrival, they'll get you in at any time.

Ho-ho back to Salisbury, spend the rest of the day there, then train back to Southampton.

 

By Public Transport

Direct

National Express buses to Salisbury are very infrequent and the drop point in Salisbury not convenient to the ho-ho.

So take the train from London Waterloo.

At Salisbury station, store your bags at the Black Cat tavern (about £5 per bag) at the end of the station approach, and take the Stonehenge ho-ho.

When you return to the station, collect your bags and take the train to Southampton central.

If you choose to stay at a Salisbury hotel, drop your bags the before taking the ho-ho. Next morning take the train to Southampton central for your cruise.

 

Brew a jug of coffee, google for more detail of the options, and krunch the numbers.

 

Come back here if some of the detail eludes you

 

JB :)

JB, this is amazing, thank you so much! I had read that the car rental from Heathrow would be the far better option than central London and we were thinking about doing that but I had not considered a train from either London to Salisbury or Southampton to Salisbury. That sounds amazing and far less difficult for us. I will be going through all the details and pricing it all out as suggested.

If you pick up your car in one place and drop it off in a different place, they often charge you extra. Find out how much is extra charge and compare to train prices for all of you all.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Forums mobile app

kerryincork, I hope you can give me some help. We are trying to find a taxi driver/guide that we used last year name Michael Twomey. We met him in Cork and had a wonderful day with him. Do you know of him and/or can you give me a contact number? I'm sorry to intrude on this thread!

I found a Martin Twomey...:

http://www.martintwomey.ie/aboutus.htm