Tours from Bath - are we overdoing it?

Beth, you should be just fine. Many posters on this website recommend only two days or so in Bath. We too have spent 5 days and loved it. You tours easily make up for the other 3 days. We were there for the annual Jane Austen celebration. The Mad Max tours are highly rated. We did our day-tripping and touring in a rental car. We also included Stourhead Gardens, Castle Coombe and Lacock. We visited Stonehenge and Winchester Cathedral on the way to Bath from Heathrow. We stayed at the 3 Abbey Green B&B. It's 500' from the Roman Baths and many other areas that you can get to on foot. Great breakfast. Don't leave out Bizarre Bath - The Comedy Walk http://www.bizarrebath.co.uk/ It begins in front of the Huntsman Inn and takes a couple of hours of walking around and learning many untruths about the history of Bath. The Huntsman Inn is also about 500' from 3 Abbey Green. At about 300' from the B&B, you can have a very nice dinner at Sally Lunn's, which is reportedly the oldest house in Bath. Nope, you are not overdoing it IMHO. Go for it.

Hi Larry - thanks so much for the positive feedback! We've actually already booked with Athole House, which receives excellent reviews. It's a little outside the city center, which I suspect is why it isn't mentioned in the RS book. I did see Three Abbey Green and thought it looked lovely, but - our interest in Athole House won out for this trip.

I, too, feel that the day trips will more than adequately break up our days in Bath. We very much look forward to spending a full day and a half in Bath itself, in addition to visiting so many nearby sights.

Oh - should mention that I fully intend to check out the Bizarre Bath walks, and we'll plan to have a meal or tea at Sally Lunn's. Thanks!

Sounds good to me. There is plenty to do in Bath, so you may wish to eliminate one of the tours. I would eliminate the Stomehenge tour unless that is really important to you.

Thanks for your replies, Swan and Keith. Excellent suggestion, Keith. I figure we'll return around 1800, find a nice place to have dinner and have a leisurely evening, so a stroll around town sounds perfect.

We were on the fence about Stonehenge, Swan, but decided we really wanted to see everything on that tour as well as Stonehenge, so opted to leave it in. But I'm sure you're right - that there's plenty to do in Bath itself. We've actually been once before to Bath, just to visit the Roman Baths, walk around a bit and have a quick look at the Abbey, so it won't be our first time. But we were both enchanted and wanted to spend more time - so now we are!

I've never done three tours on a trip, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it, especially if you're back by dinner, giving you plenty of time to have a relaxing dinner and nice walk around Bath. I know nothing about those particular tours, but I love all the places they go to, including Stonehenge. I say go for it.

Thanks Carroll! I'm feeling much reassured thanks to all of your replies. I have driven in England before, but to be honest, I felt it limited our sightseeing a bit because I was never fully relaxed. I was either worried about getting back to a paid parking spot in time, or slightly stressed because of the driving itself. Mom and I both thought it would be nice to let someone else do the driving this time!