Bath and Stonehenge Tours: 2 great tours + our review!

Very few tours to Stonehenge are allowed in the inner circle. If that’s not incredibly important to you, you’ll still have an excellent time admiring from afar. If seeing the stones up close and personal sounds exciting, be sure to book the Inner Circle Tour!

Choose between a larger group (75 guests) with a lower price and a smaller group (50 guests) with access to the inner circle of Stonehenge. The larger group tour takes you to Stonehenge first and then Bath, while the inner circle tour does the opposite route and starts later.

Why We Think It’s Great:

These tours are a great way to get out of the city for the day and see these historic places without having to rent a car. Plus you get the chance to learn more about these places and try to come up with your own ideas as to how and why Stonehenge got there.

While it is a very long day, both Stonehenge and Bath are very kid-friendly. There are fun photo ideas and things to explore at Stonehenge and the Roman Baths offer audio guides tailored to kids and interactive elements that they can touch! These tours require a total of about 6 hours in the coach so keep that in mind when deciding if it’s right for your family and timing it in your travel schedule.

Our Experience:

We weren’t able to snag tickets for the inner circle tour, but still had a fantastic time viewing from the outside, which isn’t really that far away! We were surprised by how close the path gets when you first walk up to Stonehenge – you’re no more than maybe a few hundred feet away at the closest point.

Trip tip: you’ll approach Stonehenge from the west, and this is the closest point. If you want great photos of the stones up close, you’ll get better lighting in the afternoon. If you want to have fun with creative photos (like the illusion that you’re holding Stonehenge), you’ll want to take advantage of the morning light.

When you first arrive, you can choose between walking to the stones, 1.5 miles from the visitor’s center, or taking the shuttle. We waited in line for about 15 minutes, and the shuttle ride took about 5 minutes. They’re not on a schedule, so taking the shuttle could be quicker or take you longer.

We took the trail back, which is about a 30-minute walk and much more pleasant than the cramped shuttle ride! Pay attention to how much time your guide gives you to explore and try to be efficient with your time. Our guide gave us an hour and a half, so the 50 minutes it took to get to and from the stones alone left us almost no time to check out the exhibits at the visitor’s center.

Trip tip: there is very little shade along the trail and no shade when you reach the stones, so be sure to bring sun or rain protection along with you.

Leave time at the end for the exhibits if you want to join the speculation about Stonehenge’s creation and purpose. There are many theories out there, from aliens to giants and everything in between. I was most persuaded by the idea that it could be a calendar, but your guess truly is as good as the next speculator!

Next up for us was Bath, and for this tour, we had about 3 hours total in the city. This was our first chance to get something to eat (so be sure to bring snacks for the ride!). We were allotted almost an hour to explore the Roman Baths before a walking tour of the city. The walking tour was optional, so we opted for a portion of it before breaking off to explore on our own.

Tour guides don’t go into the Roman Baths with you, but an audio guide is available for you to get as much or as little information as you wish as you walk through different areas of the bathhouse. We loved the different interactive elements along the way. Rather than plastering “DO NOT TOUCH” everywhere, there are durable replicas and other interactive pieces with “Please do touch” placards so you don’t have to fight your (or your kids’) defiant temptation!

The city of Bath leaves a lot left to explore, whether you do so via a walking tour or on your own. You’ll find charming parks, riverside picnickers, the Jane Austen Centre, and plenty of shops to pick up sweet treats or souvenirs.

Keyword Highlights:

Things to Note:

• These are large group tours with 50-75 people
• 24 hour cancellation policy
• Food and drinks are not included in the price
• Your bus may not have a restroom on board
• This tour is not wheelchair accessible

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