Bath at Beginning of London Trip?

I've done it both ways and prefer to go into London by Tube after the flight over. Including the time needed to find the Underground station and buy tix or Oyster Card, you can get to your hotel in about an hour and a half (or less) after clearing passport control. To take the bus to bath can take 4-5 hours, including time getting to the bus station, waiting for the bus, then the 2-1/2 hour bus ride to Bath. For me, that makes for a very exhausting day. From London you can take a train from Paddington Station and get to Bath in about 1-1/2 hrs. The train costs more, but I think it is worth it. Besides, you might meet somebody interesting to talk to on the train.

Agree with Rick, go to Bath first. At Heathrow you are already closer to Bath than you would be in London, so you might as well take advantage of your location. Instead of taking a bus all the way to Bath, it's just a 9 mile ride in a taxi to the Slough train station. From there it's about 15 minutes to Reading where you switch to a train going to Bath (takes 1 hour from Reading with trains leaving about every 30 minutes).

I did it as a day trip and I think it worked exceptionally well. We left London at 9:30 in the morning and returned about 13 hours later. We had plenty of time to see the city and many sights including Stonehenge. Staying an extra night would have been preferred but sacrifices must be made at times. I thought that was better than heading straight to Bath before London.

My daughter and I started our Great Britain trip in Bath several years ago. Although I think it's a good idea to adjust out of the city, it was difficult to make our way to Bath. First of all, we flew from So. Calif.--got very little rest. Then, we sat at the bus station exhausted and waiting for our bus. It's a long bus trip to Bath. Upon arrival in Bath, we had to figure out how to get to our B&B. We took the hop on & hop off bus and then walked, exhausted and with our backpacks on, searching for our B&B. I suggest taking a train to Bath, instead of a bus, and then get a taxi to take you to your hotel. Good luck and have fun!

Denise: Others have made the same point you have about the long bus ride to Bath. What works for me, when I want to go to Bath first, is: go downstairs for the Heathrow Express to Paddington station, get the fast train to Bath, and if you've booked the Holly Villa Guest House Keith McGarrigle will pick you up at the station. You can be in your room in 3 to 4 hours after your plane puts rubber to runway. Decompress in the country and return to the Big City at the end of your English sojourn.

I agree - start in Bath. It's a wonderful way to adjust after the insanity that is air travel. In two days, you can see everything, have a lovely tea at the Pump Room, see the Roman baths. When we went, my mom & I flew Virgin Air to Gatwick, got in our rental car and drove directly to Woodstock, a cute, little village that happens to house Blenheim Palace. We spent 2 nights there, then drove to Bath, and had the best time, spent 2 nights there too. From there we drove to Penzance, exploring the town and taking a ferry to the Scilly Isles. Then back to London for 3 more nights. Dropped the car off at Gatwick again, because we didn't really need a car in London.

Anyway, Bath is totally worth it, and would be a great start to your English holiday.

A couple on our recent RS London tour spent a few days in Bath before our tour began and loved it. They too flew from western U.S.

We start in London, it's so easy. Take the train into London, check into your hotel/B&B then out the door to sight see. It's a breeze to get to Bath from London, you can get a train from Paddington Stationits a hour and half trip. A train leaves for Bath once every half hour during the day. I would recommend going to London first then to Bath.

I've done both. SInce your time is limited, a day trip might be best. You can see a good bit of Bath in a day trip. Yes, you'll wish you had more time, but you'll feel that way no matter where you go.

When we started our trip in Bath, it worked fine. We got in really early in the morning, which can be difficult. It was pretty painless to jump on a train to bath. I would not recommend driving; you might be too tired. But the train is easy. If you do that, you will have the opportunity to stay overnight in Bath. You could stop in Stonehenge or many other places on your way back to London. So this option would also work very well. We found, though, that we didn't like ending our trip in London because we liked the smaller cities and towns better. In general, we prefer to start in the city and move to the smaller, more remote places. But if you are a big city person, you might prefer to end in London. It's a great city and there is tons to do. But Bath is fantastic so you will love that too.

After reading Rick's idea's on Bath, we tried to book it that way, but it put us staying in bath on a Friday and Saturday and the B&B prices were much higher. We were told that it was because it was a weekend. We changed our schedule and went to London first. We ended up in Bath later in our trip on a Monday through Wednesday.

There is plenty to do from Bath and you could take the train in from London and enjoy just Bath for the day and be thrilled. It's a great day trip or even for a few days.

With that being said, we took a tour with MadMax on Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock, and Castle Combe. It wasn't something we were expecting to do, but we are so glad we did. Our tour group max. was 16 and our tour guide was excellent. We had quite a few individuals on our bus that took the train in from London just for the day just to do this tour. The tour began at 8:45 and ended at 4:30pm. We had just the right amount of time at all locations. We took the 4:45 train back to London after our tour and found ourselves in London in time to get situated at our next B&B and go out and get dinner. What I liked is that we got to see so much in a day with a tour guide that was personable and knowledgeable. We saw more than we could have ever done by ourselves. Next time we want to do the tour of the Cotswolds and we will do it through MadMax for sure!

http://www.madmax.abel.co.uk/

We flew from CA to Heathrow and as long as you keep moving after you land, you'll be fine. Fresh Air is a great way to fight jet lag.