Travel mode logistics

Hello trvlr,
I like to take the Gatwick Express from the airport directly to Victoria Station in London. You don't say specifically where you'll be staying in Kensington, but your hotel should be a short taxi or Underground ride away. (South Kensington station, for example, is one tube stop away from Victoria.) Do I understand correctly that you have only three days in London? And does this include the day you need to meet your ship at Southampton? You're not going to find easy public transportation to Stonehenge, though you can arrange a day tour from London (along with Bath or Salisbury; I question whether you could do all 3). But with only three days in the city, I wonder if it is really worth all that effort. You can barely scratch the surface of London in three days, and while Bath is worthwhile, the 1.5 hours each way to get there will eat up much of your precious time. You have to add up the individual costs of train travel to compare to rail pass rates, but in your case I'm going to guess that a pass will not be necessary unless you plan on seeing nothing of London itself.

Thanks for the advice. No, fortunately, there would be three full days in addition to getting to Southampton. Best way to make that trip?

You can take a train from Paddington station to Bath (try to buy the discounted tickets- you have to get them about 12 weeks in advance- as the walk-up ticket price is rather expensive). From there you can take a Mad Maxx tour out to Stonehenge (you can get the tickets in Bath). Don't know about including Salisbury. In Bath there are free tours given by locals or you can get paid tours, too. We enjoyed the river cruise- you get a different view of the city's architechture and some of the surrounding countryside. You can tour the Roman Baths themselves on your own, if interested.

It's just as Toni says: "You can tour the Roman Baths themselves on your own, if interested." There seem to be more interpretive signs at the Roman bath in Bath than at all the Roman baths in Rome! :)

This has been 17 years ago, but we were staying in Kensington and signed up for a bus tour that took us to Bath, Stonehenge and Salisbury. It was an all-day tour, and I don't remember the name of the company. Basically, we met the bus close to our hotel, it drove to Bath, and we had time to tour the baths, the cathedral and have lunch. We then went onto Stonehenge, We were supposed to go on to Salisbury but work was being done on the cathedral, so that part was cancelled. We enjoyed the tour.

trvlr: there is a very comprehensive website with the info you want for getting to S'hampton by train, bus or private driver. www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton Taking into consideration the number in your party, the need for taxi to train/bus station in London, taxi to dock in Southampton from train/bus station, a private driver can sometimes be the best deal, with London hotel to the dock in Southampton service, plus the driver handles your luggage.

My preference would be the Gatwick express downtown. Then take the underground to the closest tube station, walk to your hotel. Even with a little walking, it's likely to be quicker (and cheaper) than wading through London traffic in a taxi. For Salisbury, Bath and Stonehenge I'd go with a bus tour out of London as described above. I think it beats getting to Bath first and connecting with a tour there. I'm not sure about getting to Southampton pier. I've never been there. No railpass is necessary. I have heard that a roundtrip airport ticket can work for two for one discounts (that are advertised with rail tickets). Haven't used it but it may be worth checking into.

Thanks again for the helpful insider info! Good news about the possibility of using the round trip ticket for the two us. Will ck it out and post the answer. Will also ck out Mad Max...