Heathrow to Southampton via stonehenge

Our flight will arrive early Saturday morning next June. Our cruise leaves on Sunday..upon arrival we would like to see Stonehenge on our way to Southampton, where we will spend the night before boarding our ship...what is the easiest option that includes tickets? Thanks!

Our flight will arrive early Saturday morning next June. Our cruise leaves on Sunday..upon arrival we would like to see Stonehenge on our way to Southampton, where we will spend the night before boarding our ship...what is the easiest option that includes tickets? Thanks!

You'll want to make your way to London Waterloo - easiest way is to jump on the Piccadilly and change in town. The Bakerloo line isn't calling at Paddington right now, so that route isn't as convenient as it normally is.

Once there, you can get a train from Waterloo to Salisbury. Takes about an hour and a half. There you'll jump on the Stonehenge bus (exit the station and turn left, and it stops about 50 yards away) which takes you to and from the site. Then return to Salisbury (I recommend visiting the Cathedral while you're there) then you'll catch a train to Southampton. This one takes about half an hour.

One further thing to add is to say - make sure you book the train tickets in advance - it'll be far cheaper. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ will give you ticket prices and the timetable, although may link you to the individual train provider rather than directly through the site when you try to book.

As you'll see from Brian's post, Heathrow to Salisbury is pretty convoluted by train - especially with luggage. If you choose to do this, you can leave your luggage at the Black Cat Tavern at the end of Salisbury station forecourt before taking the Stonehenge ho-ho, then collect it before taking the train to Southampton.

But if you're keen to see Stonehenge, three better options are

- National Express coach (bus) from Heathrow to Salisbury. Allow about 90 minutes after your flight arrival to clear Heathrow formalities. This will only work if your flight arrival time allows you to take the Heathrow to Salisbury coach at 10.50am (terminals 1,2,3) or 11.05 (terminal 5, or internal airport transfer from T4 to T5).

There are no suitable later coaches from Heathrow to Salisbury.

This coach arrives Salisbury 1.00pm. You'll need a short taxi ride from Salisbury coach station to rail station to drop your luggage & take the Stonehenge ho-ho. You're likely to get to Stonehenge by about 2pm - 2.30.

After the Stonehenge tour & exploring Salisbury & its cathedral you then collect your luggage from the Black Cat tavern & take the train to Southampton.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

- by private transfer. Operators like http://www.smithsforairports.com and http://www.westquaycars.com are used to Heathrow to Southampton transfers via Stonehenge.

And perhaps add Salisbury - that wouldn't involve extra mileage but of course would add waiting time.

Stonehenge and Salisbury are each worth about 90 minutes.

- or, since you have an early flight arrival, you are overniting in Southampton, and evenings are light until gone 9pm in June, consider going direct from Heathrow to your Southampton hotel by National Express coach or private transfer, drop your luggage, & take the train from Southampton to Salisbury then the Stonehenge ho-ho.

If you choose this option, check coach times Heathrow-Southampton or book a private transfer, check the convenience of your hotel from coach station & to train station (or name your hotel), & the latest Stonehenge ho-ho & admission times. No need for advance purchase of Southampton-Salisbury train tickets - bought at the station they're only about £11 return.

There is a cruise-bus from hotels around Heathrow to Southampton via Stonehenge. But it doesn't suit your needs:

You'd have to make your way from your Heathrow terminal to one of the Heathrow hotels, if your flight is delayed & you miss the cruise-bus you lose your money, the cruise-bus will be primarily for passengers sailing from Southampton on the Saturday so the journey is rushed in order to get to Southampton by about 1pm to 2pm.

If you choose an option that includes the ho-ho you can buy your Stonehenge tickets with your ho-ho tickets - this guarantees you'll not be delayed if Stonehenge is over-subscribed, regardless of the time you arrive.

If you choose a private transfer you should buy timed Stonehenge tickets in advance. You choose a half-hour time-slot - if you don't have an appropriately-timed ticket you may be delayed if Stonehenge is busy. Which it is very likely to be on a Saturday in June.

If you give your chosen transfer operator your flight arrival time they can advise on the most appropriately-timed tickets to purchase, but of course there's always the risk of a delay in your flight, your progress through Heathrow arrival formalities, or the traffic en-route (again, being a Saturday the road is likely to be very busy)

https://bookings.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge/sessions.aspx?tid=2&_ga=1.101124226.2022294654.1456392999

Not as complicated as I've made it seem :)

JB :)

You have been given excellent information. If I could offer another option. We did the reverse but would work for you too. After disembarking, took National Express from Southampton to Salisbury, did the Stonehenge HO-HO which works perfectly, and stayed the night in Salisbury a wonderful town to visit, then took National Express the next morning to Heathrow. All connections were very easy with cabs to and from bus stations, comfortable not very long bus rides and drivers handle luggage. At LHR bus connections are quite easy and convenient. Have a good trip.

We are booked on cruise July 22 but will fly into LHR on the 20th. Looking into a car rental one way to SOU the Southampton airport.Rates are lower to drop off at sou than in town of Southampton . Then we will tour Windsor castle and possibly Stonehenge on our way from Lhr to Southampton the first day. Not sure of travel times to drive this route tho

We are booked on cruise July 22 but will fly into LHR on the 20th. Looking into a car rental one way to SOU the Southampton airport.Rates are lower to drop off at sou than in town of Southampton . Then we will tour Windsor castle and possibly Stonehenge on our way from Lhr to Southampton the first day. Not sure of travel times to drive this route tho

Total driving time is theoretically 2.5 hours, but the 15 minutes from Heathrow to Windsor depends on the rental agency location & the traffic for that part of the route.

Windsor to Stonehenge is about 1 hr 20 mins.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Heathrow+Airport,+Longford,+Hounslow,+Greater+London+TW6/River+St,+Windsor+SL4+1QT,+UK/Stonehenge,+Amesbury/Southampton+Airport,+Southampton/@51.2193854,-1.437705,10z/data=!4m26!4m25!1m5!1m1!1s0x48767234cdc56de9:0x8fe7535543f64167!2m2!1d-0.4542955!2d51.4700223!1m5!1m1!1s0x48767ae3755ece95:0xcfd892208d8f8ae5!2m2!1d-0.608604!2d51.4845874!1m5!1m1!1s0x4873e63b850af611:0x979170e2bcd3d2dd!2m2!1d-1.826215!2d51.178882!1m5!1m1!1s0x487473b24bc48529:0x62d75785657f562c!2m2!1d-1.3577022!2d50.9514562!3e0

Windsor castle is worth a couple of hours & the town mebbe 90 minutes. Stonehenge allow 90 mins to 2 hours.

You're advised to pre-book timed tickets for Stonehenge - difficult to figure timings with your schedule.

Since your route from Stonehenge takes you thro' Salisbury, that city & its cathedral is worth a visit too but that'll take another 90 minutes or more & your day is pretty packed anyway - especially after an overnite flight, flight delays, airport & rental formalities, etc.

A taxi from SOU to central Southampton will cost £15 to £20, compared to £Nil to £10 from a city centre rental depot - though its worth checking the rental agency's opening hours for both depots.

What time is your flight scheduled to land?

And have you booked the car for 20th only, or for 21st as well?

JB :)

Upon consideration of our jetlag.. we are only going to go from LHR to

Windsor self tour and then drive to our hotel in Southampton. We have a car and hotel for 2 nites in Southampton.. On second day we will drive up from Southampton to Stonehenge and Salisbury for the day.

Even with the taxi fare from SOU to the cruise port, the car rental fare is much lower than turning in the car at city centre for some reason.

After the cruise we are looking at flights from SOU..the Southampton airport, and seems to be FLYBe is the airline to book on to Dublin or Scotland.. any experience on FlyBe? Thanks

Upon consideration of our jetlag.. we are only going to go from LHR to

Windsor self tour and then drive to our hotel in Southampton. We have a car and hotel for 2 nites in Southampton.. On second day we will drive up from Southampton to Stonehenge and Salisbury for the day.

 

Even with the taxi fare from SOU to the cruise port, the car rental fare is much lower than turning in the car at city centre for some reason.

 

After the cruise we are looking at flights from SOU..the Southampton airport, and seems to be FLYBe is the airline to book on to Dublin or Scotland.. any experience on FlyBe? Thanks

That's kinda why I asked about the second day ;)

Much more sensible to stick with just Windsor on Day 1. To the minimum of 15 mins LHR to Windsor, add about 1hr 15 for Windsor to Southampton. Plus up to a half-hour if you leave Windsor between about 4pm & 6pm.

Day 2 Southampton to Stonehenge takes about an hour, or 40 minutes to Salisbury then about 20 mins Salisbury to Stonehenge.

So decide which first, & book timed Stonehenge tickets to suit.

If Stonehenge first, can I suggest using the M3 then A34 then A303 to avoid a frequent bottleneck on the alternative route, the A36, heading into Salisbury up to about 10am.

Then Salisbury.

Then if you have the time, the mood, the inclination & the weather, back to Southampton across the New Forest rather than the main A36. For instance, the A338 Bournemouth road as far as Downton or Fordingbridge, then cut across the New Forest on the B3078 via Brook.

Bear in mind that in summertime we have light evenings in the UK. Tonight it won't be dark until around 9.30 to 10.00pm.

Or if you're not already committed to a Southampton hotel, consider one in Salisbury.

Windsor to Salisbury about 90 minutes.

Not such a wide range of hotels in Salisbury, but some good old-established ones like the Red Lion or the White Hart. Salisbury is an historic & laid-back city.

From a Salisbury hotel, on your full day you could even consider an early time-slot at Stonehenge & carry on to Bath, under an hour beyond Stonehenge.

On your sailing day, Salisbury to SOU is about 35 mins, a taxi from SOU to your ship 20 minutes.

Yes, I've flown Flybe from Southampton a couple of times.

First off, SOU is nothing like the zoo at LHR. It's a small one-terminal regional airport with two coffee shops. Very easy.

Flybe is a lot smaller than the major budget airlines, Easyjet & Ryanair.

They use a mix of jet aircraft & high-wing turbo-prop aircraft. (yes, turbo-prop is a bit 20th century, but fun - they fly under the clouds, great views. :))

I doubt any of their aircraft have more than about 120 seats.

Not the cheapest budget airline - and it's worth running a dummy booking to see the add-ons but they don't load the add-ons like Ryanair, the king of the add-on.

Like all budget airlines, the prices are flexible & tend to rise steeply for the last few seats.

JB :)

Have used this airline. It's fine for short hops, but as John Bull put not the cheapest.

Main issue you might have is going on from Sou with all your luggage, after a cruise, if not returning to Sou, as Flybe has a very limited luggage allowance partially due to the much smaller planes they use, also tight on hand luggage, with many small roll along not allowed in the cabin.

What about arriving Saturday morning, going to a heathrow hotel that the national express stops at...taking a taxi to Windsor....sightsee...take a taxi back to the hotel and then the next morning, take the national express bus to our cruise ship via Stonehenge? If so, what hotel would be a good choice?

What about arriving Saturday morning, going to a heathrow hotel that the national express stops at...taking a taxi to Windsor....sightsee...take a taxi back to the hotel and then the next morning, take the national express bus to our cruise ship via Stonehenge? If so, what hotel would be a good choice?

Yes, Windsor on Saturday with a Heathrow hotel would work - though for most hotels you'd need a Hotel Hoppa bus from airport terminal to a Heathrow area hotel. Hotel Hoppa's are over-priced for the distance, but that's not significant in the overall scheme of things.

Sorry, no experience of Heathrow hotels.

For a taxi between a Heathrow hotel & Windsor, general advice is to book a Windsor-based service rather than an airport-based one.

Try

http://windsorcabs.co.uk/

http://www.taxiswindsor.co.uk/

http://www.windsortaxis.co.uk/

But as per earlier posts, there's no Nat Express coach service to Stonehenge.

Nat Express to Salisbury, taxi from Salisbury coach station to rail station, ho-ho to Stonehenge & back, train to Southampton would work if you were transferring to a Southampton hotel.

But if you're sailing same-day it's only possible by taking a Nat Express bus at around 6.30am from Heathrow to Southampton, then switching to a train from Southampton to Salisbury, ho-ho from Salisbury station to Stonehenge & back, train back to Southampton. And that's all way too much grief.

Your main choices are

- Forget Stonehenge, & take a National Express coach from Heathrow direct to Southampton at £18 per person.

Or

- a private transfer from your Heathrow hotel to Southampton via Stonehenge.

Or

- the cruisetour bus which takes you from selected Heathrow hotels to the ship via a stop at Stonehenge.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_from_london_shared_bus.html The cruisetour ticket at £82 per person includes admission to Stonehenge - important because it allows admission when you arrive without having to figure a time-slot for Stonehenge. Your luggage is put into the coach lockers when you're picked up, & unloaded at the cruise terminal.

If you choose to forget Stonehenge & take a simple direct Nat Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton, a hotel handy to terminal 5 would give you an extra half-hour in bed.

If you choose the cruisetour bus, simplest to choose one of the tourbus's nominated Heathrow hotels.

JB :)

there is a tour company that will pick you up at heathrow and take you to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral and continue to transport you to Southampton hotel. i think about 8 hours total so have to arrive early AM. I do not remember the name nor the price, but we were looking at it for our August trip. Maybe google Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge tours? good luck.

there is a tour company that will pick you up at heathrow and take you to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral and continue to transport you to Southampton hotel. i think about 8 hours total so have to arrive early AM. I do not remember the name nor the price, but we were looking at it for our August trip. Maybe google Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge tours? good luck.

That's the cruisetour bus in my last post on this thread :)

Operated by International Friends, but tickets slightly cheaper via the London Toolkit website that I linked. Price is the same for pickups at central London hotels and Heathrow hotels, so better value from central London.

BTW, that London Toolkit site has a wealth of tourist info about London, the ports and airports.

JB :)

We used the International Friends bus that John mentioned. Picked us up right at our central London hotel that morning, comfy bus to Stonehenge, tickets included, and then on to Southampton in time to board ship. Easy transfer. Highly recommend.

We used the International Friends bus that John mentioned. Picked us up right at our central London hotel that morning, comfy bus to Stonehenge, tickets included, and then on to Southampton in time to board ship. Easy transfer. Highly recommend.

We used them in 2014, and while we were at Stonehenge someone went through our carry ons. Our driver said that he'd be with the bus at all times and that it would be locked. When we got back to the bus he was a distance away from it talking with other drivers. The bus was backed into a spot, and it was unlocked which provided easy access for anyone to open the back doors without being seen.

OK John Bull...another question if you do not mind.

What is the tipping policy? I have seen you discuss this in the past, but I do not remember how long ago. If we set up a tour with London Tool Kit or some other operator, what is the tipping policy? We do not want to get into trouble with the law....:rolleyes:

Thanks Doug

OK John Bull...another question if you do not mind.

 

What is the tipping policy? I have seen you discuss this in the past, but I do not remember how long ago. If we set up a tour with London Tool Kit or some other operator, what is the tipping policy? We do not want to get into trouble with the law....:rolleyes:

 

Thanks Doug

Hi Doug,

Tipping in the UK, or elsewhere in Europe, or even most places in the world, isn't the big deal that it is in the States.

Folk have been paid to do their job - a tip is a thank-you for doing it well, or doing it brilliantly..

Some folk tip generously, some tip moderately, some don't tip at all. So whether & how much a person tips won't offend, it's entirely up to the giver.

The average I guess for a coach driver is a pound a head, if at all. For a coach guide mebbe two pounds (or a fiver between two passengers) - perhaps a little more for a guide who makes your day, or zilch for a boring or unhelpful guide.

For a private tour or transfer I guess around 8%. Say £10 between you for a £125 private transfer from Southampton to central London, £5 for a £85 transfer to Heathrow.

In tourist areas like central London, restaurants add a service charge (usually 12% to 15%) to your bill - by law they must declare this on the menu, watch out for it cos it can make quite a difference. If I eat at a place which levies a service charge I don't add a tip, most Brits do the same.

Where there's no charge, a tip is at your discretion. Forget the levels in America, 10% is a good tip.

And again, poor service means no tip. But try to hide your American accent ;)

We don't tip bartenders, though if you & the hotel bartender spend a while sorting out the world's problems (can't expect taxi drivers & hairdressers to sort them all out ;)) it's quite normal to include him/her in the next round of drinks.

But again to stress, it's entirely up to the individual.

Which will doubtless be proven by others disagreeing with the figures I've suggested :D

JB :)

John Bull....I thank you sir....and if you ever need to find out where to find a good enchilada in San Antonio I'm your man

Doug

John Bull....I thank you sir....and if you ever need to find out where to find a good enchilada in San Antonio I'm your man

 

Doug

Glad to help, Doug.:)

I had a rather large chicken enchilada in Moab, back in June.

I've nearly finished it. :D

JB :)