4 days after cruise in south hampton

[oskidunker]

Looking for somewhere to stay or go for a few days before we fly home. Someone suggest a B and B in dover which I am looking into. Not sure if it is worth it to spend 4 nights in Dover or go somewhere else.Would fly out of Heathrow at the end.

 

Is a day trip to France possible if I stay in Dover?

[helpthejuggler]

A day trip or longer to France is possible from Dover. You could even go from Southampton itself.

 

With 4 days you can see many things.

 

4 days in Dover would probably be a poor use of your time though.

 

London may be worth considering.

Bath, Winchester, Windsor, Cotwolds are also possible.

Edited January 25, 2014 by helpthejuggler

[Bobocasey]

We spent 3 or 4 days in that part of England pre cruise. Stayed in Salisbury, did day trips to Bath, Stonehenge, Portsmouth, and visited Windsor castle. Used the train and buses. Really easy to get around to see the sights.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Bobocasey

[John Bull]

You've not booked flights yet?

 

If you want to visit France post-cruise, then it's best to concentrate on France instead of England - a day trip from Southampton to France is barely possible & IMHO not worth the effort.

Dover is only 90 minutes from Calais, France by ferry - but Dover is 150 miles from Southampton and no direct rail link.

 

If the last port-of-call is Le Havre, or even Cherbourg or Zeebrugge (Bruges) or Amsterdam, you can jump ship there (with permission, usually not a problem) & head straight to Paris, or wherever you want in France.

 

Or fly from Southampton to Paris.

Or train from Southampton to London, & Eurostar train to Paris.

Or take the ferry from Portsmouth (40 minutes from Southampton) to Le Havre or Ouistreham (Caen), & train to Paris.

Or pick up a rental car from the ferry port & drive Normandy, or Brittany or Loire Valley or wherever, ending in Paris.

 

Then fly back home from Paris.

Home to Heathrow pre-cruise & Paris to home post-cruise is no more expensive than a Heathrow return ticket if you buy a multi-city (also known as open-jaw) ticket. That's a single booking for both flights via the same airline or airline alliance.

 

If you want to concentrate on England - and don't want to spend your post-cruise time in London - then Southampton is an ideal base for visiting the places mentioned by Bobo & the juggler plus many other places by train.

Or renting a car in Southampton would give you more freedom.

Heathrow is 90 minutes & easy from Southampton by car, bus or train.

 

Consider your main aim, & we can fill in some more detail.

 

JB :)

[oskidunker]

Flights not yet booked. Am staying two nights in south Hampton before the cruise.have been to France before,not interested in big cities,would like to see some of the English countryside wife likes churches. Cotswolds sounds interesting. Not sure of the logistics historical sites of interest. Any ideas or suggested itinerary would be appreciated along with nice hotels thanks for info on Dover won't do that will flying out of heathrow will be buying senior discount card for the bus so that could be used for some transportation but open to other ideas

 

 

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[John Bull]

Not so sure about a bus discount card - National Express discontinued seniors' rates a few years back when the Govt withdrew the subsidy. And discount / free bus passes for local buses I believe are only for residents.

 

Rail discount cards can be bought for £30 & give 1/3rd off fares.

No residency/nationality limitations, details at

http://www.railcard.co.uk/

Whether they're value for money will depend how much you use the trains, and they might not apply to "cheap day-return" tickets, which are available on many routes and are usually return tickets for about the same cost as a one-way ticket.

 

Here's a few threads about day trips from Southampton (ignore Glastonbury being in red, I used Glastonbury to narrow-down my search for appropriate threads)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727159&highlight=glastonbury

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1914433&highlight=glastonbury

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1874363&highlight=glastonbury

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1876431&highlight=glastonbury

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1585209&highlight=glastonbury

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1370048&highlight=glastonbury

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1424698&highlight=glastonbury

 

Anything else you need, come back & we'll try to fill in the gaps

 

 

JB :)

Edited January 27, 2014 by John Bull

[Scriv]

If the wife likes churches, how about Winchester? We have the lovely cathedral and some really small ancient churches well worth a look plus lots of other sights and it is very near to Southampton.

You could stay in Winchester or stay in Southampton and visit by train. Train service is excellent.

Just a thought....

Edited February 4, 2014 by Scriv

[LHT28]

We have the same dilemma next year

Thinking after spending a few day in Southampton to take the bus to Poole or Portsmouth then the ferry to Jersey for a few days ( no time constraints)

Then fly to London before flying home

 

Option 2 take the bus to Weymouth & tour around the area

 

Getting to Dover you have to go to London then transfer to the bus/train to Dover

 

Might be something to consider

 

One question for the locals

Are the over 60fares on National express just for residents?

http://www.nationalexpress.com/waystosave/seniors-travel.aspx

Edited February 4, 2014 by LHT28

[Scriv]

Re the over 60fares on National Express, you have to buy a senior card first to qualify which is sent to your home address.

 

It does not say if that needs to be a permanent UK address. I have had a look on the site and in the T & Cs and can't see anything more, but I suggest you contact them via their 'Contact Us' link on their website which you have quoted and ask.

 

They are usually very good at replying to queries.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Scriv