London in 4-5 days

I would omit the Cotswolds since you have such a short time.

To do justice to Stonehenge, make it a whole day. You can get tours from London, but some of them pack in a variety of other destinations along with Stonehenge. From what I've read, if I were signing up for a tour I'd go with Pat Shelley (whose name is misspelled in this URL). https://blog.stonehenge-stone-circle.co.uk/tag/pat-shelly/

You can also go on your own if you take the train to Salisbury, then the bus (which also lets you get off at Old Sarum if you so desire). Once you arrive at Stonehenge, there's the large visitor centre with indoor and outdoor exhibits, a free shuttle to the stones or else you can walk all or part of the way, a large gift shop and a good cafe. The audio guide you wear around your neck is included in the entry fee. You can also walk all the way to Woodhenge and Durrington Walls if you're really dedicated. Make sure you dress for the weather because the henge is very much exposed to wind and rain.

I have not been to the Roman Baths in London -- you're referring to the Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, is that right? Not too far from there is the Museum of London, which also has a lot of Roman artifacts and a portion of the Roman wall.

Ah dang, do you think a t shirt and shorts/jeans would be insufficient for Stonehenge? I'm traveling light, and don't really want to pack anything long sleeve.

What do you think about taking a tour to Stonehenge vs. going by yourself?

I mean the Roman Baths in Bath. It's westward. I don't think there's any time for it.

I think I will just take 1 day out of London to visit Stonehenge and spend the remaining days in London. Should I add any other major attractions in London to my list?

Any other recommendations?

Yes DO the following:

USE the search engine on this Website and type in London Pass. Lots of intel on it.

USE Google Maps to see how close some of your must sees are:

Then use the tfl.gov.uk website to see how to get to them.

If you are comfortable with where you've booked your accommodation then don't change it.

Understand and accept that via the London Underground it will be a 20-30 trip into "central" London and by central I mean from Farringdon station to Westminster. But if you wanted to see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge a tube ride from Farringdon to Tower Hill is 10-15 minutes.

Westminster is where Parliament Square is located so that means Elizabeth's Tower, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and nearby Churchill War Rooms.

By using Google Maps you can see it's an easy stroll up Birdcage Walk through St James Park to Buckingham Palace.
OR walk up Whitehall passing the Horse Guards up to Trafalgar Square OR walk over Westminster Bridge to the London Eye.

From the London Eye you could walk along the Thames Path over to the Globe Theatre and then on over to Tower Bridge. Cross it and visit the Tower of London.

Check London Walks www.walks.com to see if you can secure a spot on their Cotswolds, or Stonehenge tours. Might not be able to at this late date but doesn't hurt to look. If there is that will take up a day.

Be sure to get an Oyster Card on arrival. It will be your friend.

Lastly if you've not been to San Francsico in July and seen tourists freezing in shorts and sandals....British Comedian Eddie Izzard does a brilliant take on that reality....travel light but ALWAYS have a rain jacket at minimum wherever you go. Mother Nature doesn't cater to tourists beliefs that its sunshine everywhere in the world during Summer months.

Thanks Claudia.

Yes, I checked Google maps and none of the attractions appear to be particular "close." It looks like my current Airbnb is about 30minutes walk from the Tower of London, or 24 min by bus (according to Google Maps). Most of the attractions appear to be a 30-40min walk, or about 20-30min by public transportation.

It seems the Oyster card comes with the London pass?

I may consider renting a car to drive to Stonehenge.

You are as/more likely to get < 60 degrees F and rain as you are to have warm and sunny, anywhere in the UK at any time of year. I never travel to UK/Europe without at least one fleece pullover and a rain shell. They take up hardly any space, and I need the fleece for the airplane over anyway.

Lastly if you've not been to San Francsico in July and seen tourists freezing in shorts and sandals....
Having worked in Frisco, I've seen a lot of July-August tourist in shorts and newly purchased Fisherman's Wharf sweatshirts. We figured they're from LA (where LA meant anywhere south of the Grapevine).

Having just returned by air from Hawaii, I can testify to needing something long sleeve in the airplane. It also is good to have a lightweight SPF shirt in the event you get some sunshine in the UK.

@Edgar if they had tans they were from LA.

And SF isn't Frisco.

Ah I'll make sure to bring a small jacket mostly because of potential wind. I'm generally good in shorts and a t shirt even in high 50s F weather.

I live in the Bay Area actually. I've seen those said tourists in SF who appeared to be freezing.

Anyone want to chime in on the London pass? It includes a few attractions on my list, a hop on hop off ferry down the Thames, and also a hop on/off bus tour (I assume I could use this as a mode of transportation?)

For the London Pass, you have to do the calculations yourself. Add up the cost of all the things you are definitely doing and possibly doing, and compare it to the cost of the Pass.

As for weather, do be prepared for anything. If you're fine in shorts and a t-shirt when it's 50 degrees F, raining, and with 1000% humidity, you're all set. I'm not, so I'm sure to bring rain gear at all times (it really can rain at any time, and it can stop raining at any time, in the UK), as well as a cotton sweater, as well clothes for the warm and dry weather too. When I visited London in April 2018, I had the 50 degrees with rain for 3 of my 5 days (unfortunately, the middle three, when I wasn't jet lagged and wasn't getting to a station!). When I visited London again in September 2018, I had 75 degrees and no rain (the rain hit - hard - when I got to York). It really is unpredictable, so bring whatever you need to cope with that range and variation (sounds like you need much less than I do).

I just did some math and I think the London Pass may actually be worth it, surprisingly, since paths are almost never worth it for me.

Besides the Harry Potter studios, should I make a 1 month in advance booking for any of these other sites?

Do you guys have any recommend a Thames River cruise?

Just chiming in about your idea "I may consider renting a car to drive to Stonehenge." This would only make sense, IMO, if you were staying overnight in the area and wanted to drive around exploring. The public transport connections are very good (train London-Salisbury, then take the Stonehenge-Old Sarum bus), and the road traffic jams approaching Stonehenge are legendary.

Not to mention the traffic getting out of London and back, and you'd probably want to rent out of Heathrow so you'd have to get yourself from your hotel to Heathrow to pick up the car. If I understand correctly, you're traveling alone, is that right? Which means no passenger to help with navigation, so your chances of getting on the wrong route are not insignificant.

Anyone want to chime in on the London pass? It includes a few
attractions on my list, a hop on hop off ferry down the Thames, and
also a hop on/off bus tour (I assume I could use this as a mode of
transportation?)

Using the hop on/hop off bus tour as a form of transport to get around London is a really, really, really, really bad idea. Unless you like taking hours to get anywhere. The HoHo bus goes round in a big circle very slowly.

Tube, walking and ordinary public buses are way quicker and cheaper.

To Stonehenge, train from London Waterloo to Salisbury then the bus to Stonehenge will almost certainly be quicker and cheaper than getting to a car hire place, pick up a car, pay the London congestion charge and try to navigate your way out of the huge city.

Farringdon is not a bad location.

There is a lot more to Bath than the Roman Baths.

You have virtually no chance of scoring a Harry Potter studio ticket this late in the day, for one of the busiest periods of the year. By all means check for cancellations. Or see if Golden Tours have tix available for their bus tour which includes entry to the studios.

Yes, I'm traveling alone.
And ah, I won't rent a car then. I was considering a 1 day rental just for Stonehenge, but I forgot to factor in the time to return the car and the traffic (that's otherwise a non-factor for train travel).

I think I'll just skip HP Studios this time around. I think I have enough to do in London for 3+ days and the remaining day at Stonehenge.

We just got back from 7 days in London and there is so much to see/do, you will have no problem filling your days. If you want to do Stonehenge and Bath, maybe consider a day trip that goes to both, as they are not that far apart. We did a Premier Tour from London, with a semi-private, sunset inner circle viewing at Stonehenge (it was amazing). Tour stopped in Bath and we also visited the Roman Baths (really cool) and lunch in a pub in Lacock (Cotswolds-type area). I recommend it. Not cheap, but very enjoyable. Have fun!

@ferrin
When you say the tour stopped in Bath, do you mean that you were dropped off in Bath and had to make your own arrangements to get back to London?
Was it this tour? https://www.premiumtours.co.uk/category/stonehenge-tours

You asked about the Thames cruise Hop On Hop Off tour. I recommend it as it gives you a new perspective on the city. It isn't particularly faster than the bus, but does avoid traffic. We did not have a London Pass, so I don't know how ticketing works for the boat. We purchased a cruise only ticket at the Westminster Pier to ride to Greenwich. Quite a number of folks disembarked at the London Eye and also Tower of London, so I'm guessing they were using a London Pass.

As far as the location for your Air BnB, I'd want to stay close to where I want to visit to avoid long commutes/walks.

just did some math and I think the London Pass may actually be worth it,

No, not for the length of time you'll be there. We used the London pass and we were there for an entire week. We just broke even.

Don't even try to leave London for a day trip. You just don't have enough time. The exception would be to take the ferry to Greenwich. That would be an afternoon's trip and worth it to see the Prime Meridian and the great museum they have there. You could also see the Cutty Sark.

Thanks Rebecca for the breakdown.

I am a little confused about the Thames Clipper Riverboats. Is this the one that's covered by the London pass? https://www.londonpass.com/london-attractions/thames-river-boat-cruise.html

I already purchased the 3-day London pass. I did some rough calculations, and I think it was worth it in my situation. But really, I just didn't want to spend too much time buying passes separately.

Also, I'm somebody who gets bored easily, and I can't really stay in the same place for too long. So I feel like I can pack more things compared to the average person.

I looked at the Premiumtours website. It looks like they one tours that in Stonehenge, Bath, and the Cotswolds/Windsor Castle all in a day. That sounds a bit rushed? The reviews for them aren't great.