looking at diff companies for day trips from London

We used to do the coach tours - on our first few trips to the UK. Found out that you really don't need the companies. You can do all of those locations on your own- and enjoy them more that way. Transportation is easy- the trains are very regular and you can get discounted tickets if you purchase in advance (though that does tie you to a specific trai at a specific time). Take the train to Bath from Paddington station, do a (free) tour conducted by a local guide, catch a Madd Maxx 2 hour tour to Stonehenge from the center of town. Brighton is a short train ride from Victoria station and very easy to wander around on your own. Dover is also very easy- and you can choose faster trains from Charing Cross station or slightly slower ones from Victoria. The castle there is veyr nice. We haven't done Oxford, but I imagine it is easy, too. We did a 'tour' to Paris on the Eurostar quite a few years ago. Hated the tour, hated the city. You might have better luck. The only tour company I'd even consider now (after more than 20 years and 40 trips) would be London Walks or Madd Maxx. Haven't used them before, but have read really good things about them on this board and TripAdvisor.

London Walks are great if you MUST be on a tour. All the spots you mentioned are accessible via public transport and could be explored without a tour.

I took several London Walks in the city last month and was very impressed with them. I also agree that you don't need a tour company for Bath, Oxford or Brighton. I thought Stonehenge was disappointing and I haven't been to Dover. Actually, I haven't been to Oxford either. I had planned to take a day trip when I was in London last month, but just never had the time. When I was researching, I came up with two good websites for an independent visit: http://www.visitoxfordandoxfordshire.com/ http://www.ox.ac.uk/visitors_friends/index.html I can't imagine a day trip to Paris. It's 6-7 hours just for the train to/fro. If you really want to see Paris, skip the day tours (or at least some of them) and go to Paris for 3-4 days. If you book 120 days in advance you can get very good fares on the Eurostar.

I've taken a number of the explorer days offered by London Walks over the years (Salisbury and Stonehenge, Oxford & Cotswolds, Cotswolds, Brighton, Rye & Battle, a couple more) and all have been well done. Generally you meet at a train station in the morning, take the train to a the location and have a 2 hour walking tour. You then break for lunch which is on your own (the guide will often recommend good local pubs) and reconvene for a second afternoon tour before returning by train. The size of the group can really vary. In some cases, London Walks included a bus to get between the morning and afternoon locations (e.g. Salisbury and Stonehenge). I also agree that you can arrange a day trip on your own with some basic planning. For example, you can easily take the train to Bath and then join up with a walking tour there as well as visit sights on your own. For Paris, consider doing an overnight if you can.