We will be in London in July. Since we will be there for 31/2 days , I am not sure if we would have time to do Bath. Never been to Bath. I understand to get reasonable train Tix, I need to prebook train but if I do it last minute, can we take the bus as it is more reasonable? I am looking at a possible monday. Thanks
The National Express is fairly cheap, but she journey can be quite long if there are a lot of stops. You may still need to pre-book it if you are travelling at a popular time.
This is one reason I always enjoyed using a BritRail pass. The flexibilty and not having to worry about pre-booking. I understand that they are not quite the bargain they used to be, however. We never had problems getting seats to Bath- no reservations ever. Just budget a bit more and for the tickets and don't worry. Or plan to go when you have more time and can commit to pre-booking/point-to-point tickets.
I just checked the prices at National Rail if you bought them the day ahead for a return ticke (round trip) it was £24.50.
With only 3 1/2 days (assuming you haven't been to London before), I would not go to Bath. There's just too much to see in London. That said, Bath is a great day trip from London. If you decide to go, I would strongly recommend you not take the bus -- you don't want to waste 3 1/2 hours each way when you have so little time. Take an early train, or don't go.
I did an unplanned Bath trip last September....dropped into Paddington Station the day before, purchased a ticket( no problem at all getting one) and was on my way to Bath bright and early the next morning. While I agree with other posters that you could spend your entire 3.5 days in London, Bath is a great day trip and I would recommend it.