London, Oxford, Exeter--what is doable?

Both Oxford and Exeter are easy train trips from London. Oxford is about an hour from London, Exeter is a little over 3 hrs. Depending on how much time you want to spend at the colleges Oxford could be a day trip from London, but it's also a nice place to spend an overnight. Exeter is too far for a day trip but could be an easy overnight trip from London.

It's not clear from your post, so ignore me if you're already doing this:

Most visitors to universities like Oxford are going for tourism, not as potential students. So, be sure to contact the universities before your visit to arrange the kind of visit your son will need - meeting with current students, access to residence halls (which seem to be off-limits to casual visitors), etc. When you contact the schools, they can advise you on how long a visit you will need, and you can then decide how to plan the trip.

To find train travel times and prices in the UK, use National Rail: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ Note that trains are much cheaper if bought in about 12 weeks in advance as non-refundable tickets. Confusingly, these bargains are called Advance tickets; other tickets can be bought in advance, but will have different prices (you can see the range on the website).

For London to Oxford, coaches (Brit-speak for long distance buses) compete with trains; they take longer, but cost much less. There's Megabus, Oxford Tube (again a confuser - not a tube, but a coach), Oxford Bus Company, and more.

Probably the easiest way to do it is to go form London to Oxford; then, do not return to London but continue to Exeter and then return to London - all done by train. On www.nationalrail.co.uk - click DETAILS & it will tell you where to change trains on the Oxford to Exeter trip. PS. If you want to see the sea, just buy on the day a train ticket to Dawlish or Teignmouth as they are very near to Exeter.

You may find it more convenient to base yourselves in Reading = a town just NW of Heathrow. So, take Railair coach link to Reading and check into a hotel. You would then be able to buy on the day an off peak return to Oxford for £9.40 for the 26 minute journey. On another day, buy an off-peak return to London (Paddington) for £18.70 return for the 30 minute trip. Exeter is further = 1 hour 33 minutes on fastest trains. Buy a return on the day is expensive at £71.40. For this trip - if going from Reading, it is best to pre-purchase
Advance Singles for around £20 each way on specific trains. (If going from Oxford to Exeter, it may work out cheaper to split the ticket at Reading - or Bath if using the westerly route).

You do not have to return the same day with return tickets.http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

Thank you all so much for your help! It sounds like we can manage it if we plan to go from Oxford to Exeter, stay overnight in Exeter, and then return to London from there. I really appreciate the help, especially the links to the train schedules. Cheers!

Check out:>https://www.visitexeter.com
https://www.ox.ac.uk/visitors/visiting-oxford?wssl=1

A little terminology note, in the UK "schools" are up to the age of 16 then pupils leave and go to colleges for further education, get an apprenticeship or traineeship or go to university (at 18).

If going Oxford to Exeter by train, travel via Reading if you can. This should be only one change. Travelling the other way will be a minimum of two (Didcot / Bristol) with only a few exceptions.

Thank you all again for your helpful replies--it was especially helpful to have the link to make the train reservations. After looking at travel times and prices, we decided to omit Exeter (my son tells me he's applying there no matter what, so we don't need to see the campus) and check out Reading instead. And sorry for using the American term "schools"--as an American, I would feel like a phony saying "uni," but if my son goes to college in the UK, I may need to get used to the British terminology! Thanks again.