Stonehenge and Blarney Castle Tour Recs

[CatieM80]

Hi! My family and I will be doing a Transatlantic Disney Cruise in September. Two of the stops will be Portland (Stonehenge) and Cork, Ireland (Blarney Castle). Any recommendations for independent tours to Stonehenge and Blarney Castle? Or should we just go through Disney?

 

The Disney excursions are so expensive and are really just transportation to and from the locations, as well as admission. They don’t include any kind of guided tour or meals though. However, we leave fairly early at both stops (3:45 PM at Portland and 5:45 PM at Cork), so at least we have the peace of mind that we will make it back on time. 

 

I would appreciate any guidance either way!

[John Bull]

Can only respond re Portland / Stonehenge.

 

You don't need a guide for Stonehenge, there re audio-guides - but it's well worth reading-up in advance cos f you don't understand the significance it's just a stack of rocks.

Stonehenge is almost 2 hours from Portland by coach, so four hours of your already-foreshortened day will be travelling.

Does Disney include a stop at Salisbury? Or it the timing too tight ?

(and if Disney offers Bath, that's even further !!).

By private car or van the drive-time to Stonehenge will be almost as time-consuming, plus the added complication of judging your timed arrival slot for pre-booked admission tickets (getting the timing right probably won't matter in September unless it's  weekend, but if you miss your slot there's a risk you'll be hung up waiting to enter if the place is up to its numbers. No timing issues for coach groups.)

 

There are several private tour operators in Portland/Weymouth, browse there threads for their contact details

 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Portland &type=forums_topic&nodes=148

I doubt Stonehenge would work out cheaper for two, but if you could put a RollCall group of about 8 together there'd be a handsome saving.

 

But I'd be inclined to consign Stonehenge (and include Salisbury) for some other time and from somewhere more convenient like London or Southampton, and instead consider those operators for something more local like Corfe Castle, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Or the Jurassic coast from Abbotsbury to West Bay, Bridport & Dorchester.

And round the trip off with a short drive up the steep Portland Bill for a panoramic view west over Portland Harbour, your ship and Weymouth Bay, and east over Chesil Bank, the "Fleet", and the Jurassic coast.

 

Or keep it simple & make it a lazy day using ship's shuttle into the nearby Victorian seaside resort of Weymouth & round it off with a brief visit to diminutive Portland Castle & the new D-Day museum, both a short walk from your ship.

 

JB  

Edited July 2, 2019 by John Bull

[fabnfortysomething]

cant recommend the companies have booked for our round British Isles cruise in 3 weeks as per cruise critic rules you cant recommend a tour you haven't been on!

 

however will report back on return

 

I can say we rarely book ships excursions as too expensive and don't like large coach excursions

[Sailor_Sally]

ecoach tours has reasonable trips to Blarney Castle from Cork .

[John Bull]

11 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

And round the trip off with a short drive up the steep Portland Bill for a panoramic view west over Portland Harbour, your ship and Weymouth Bay, and east over Chesil Bank, the "Fleet", and the Jurassic coast.

 

JB  

 

Mixed up my east and west. 

https://goo.gl/maps/zSDrXDQXiHmph948A

 

JB 

[CatieM80]

On 7/2/2019 at 9:08 AM, John Bull said:

Can only respond re Portland / Stonehenge.

 

You don't need a guide for Stonehenge, there re audio-guides - but it's well worth reading-up in advance cos f you don't understand the significance it's just a stack of rocks.

Stonehenge is almost 2 hours from Portland by coach, so four hours of your already-foreshortened day will be travelling.

Does Disney include a stop at Salisbury? Or it the timing too tight ?

(and if Disney offers Bath, that's even further !!).

By private car or van the drive-time to Stonehenge will be almost as time-consuming, plus the added complication of judging your timed arrival slot for pre-booked admission tickets (getting the timing right probably won't matter in September unless it's  weekend, but if you miss your slot there's a risk you'll be hung up waiting to enter if the place is up to its numbers. No timing issues for coach groups.)

 

There are several private tour operators in Portland/Weymouth, browse there threads for their contact details

 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Portland &type=forums_topic&nodes=148

I doubt Stonehenge would work out cheaper for two, but if you could put a RollCall group of about 8 together there'd be a handsome saving.

 

But I'd be inclined to consign Stonehenge (and include Salisbury) for some other time and from somewhere more convenient like London or Southampton, and instead consider those operators for something more local like Corfe Castle, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Or the Jurassic coast from Abbotsbury to West Bay, Bridport & Dorchester.

And round the trip off with a short drive up the steep Portland Bill for a panoramic view west over Portland Harbour, your ship and Weymouth Bay, and east over Chesil Bank, the "Fleet", and the Jurassic coast.

 

Or keep it simple & make it a lazy day using ship's shuttle into the nearby Victorian seaside resort of Weymouth & round it off with a brief visit to diminutive Portland Castle & the new D-Day museum, both a short walk from your ship.

 

JB  

Thanks for all of the good info JB! The Stonehenge tour with Disney does not include Salisbury. It would be about $387 for my family of 4 (the youngest is under 3, so no charge). It does include a snack on the drive. Which yes, that is such a long drive! We will be spending 3 days in London prior to the cruise, so would it be better to take the Stonehenge tour on one of those days? I don’t know if or when we will ever be able to make it back to England, so we really do want to see Stonehenge and have been reading up on it. 

[John Bull]

15 minutes ago, CatieM80 said:

Thanks for all of the good info JB! The Stonehenge tour with Disney does not include Salisbury. It would be about $387 for my family of 4 (the youngest is under 3, so no charge). It does include a snack on the drive. Which yes, that is such a long drive! We will be spending 3 days in London prior to the cruise, so would it be better to take the Stonehenge tour on one of those days? I don’t know if or when we will ever be able to make it back to England, so we really do want to see Stonehenge and have been reading up on it. 

 

There are a number of coach day-tours to Stonehenge from central London, and most include other sights.

Here's just one example from googling "Stonehenge from London tour"

https://www.goldentours.com/stonehenge-tours?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh_mAraSZ4wIVSYfVCh0ldgvTEAAYAiAAEgLae_D_BwE

 

Or by train from London Waterloo station to Salisbury, then the Stonehenge ho-ho.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

(advance tickets, available from about 6 weeks out, currently around £20 return)

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

(Adults £38 incl admissions)

 

I'll leave you to figure the costings, but bear in mind that you'll have a much more full and enjoyable day from London, but at the expense of one of your days in London.

 

JB 

[eurodl]

On 7/3/2019 at 10:48 AM, John Bull said:

 

There are a number of coach day-tours to Stonehenge from central London, and most include other sights.

Here's just one example from googling "Stonehenge from London tour"

https://www.goldentours.com/stonehenge-tours?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh_mAraSZ4wIVSYfVCh0ldgvTEAAYAiAAEgLae_D_BwE

 

Or by train from London Waterloo station to Salisbury, then the Stonehenge ho-ho.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

(advance tickets, available from about 6 weeks out, currently around £20 return)

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

(Adults £38 incl admissions)

 

I'll leave you to figure the costings, but bear in mind that you'll have a much more full and enjoyable day from London, but at the expense of one of your days in London.

 

JB 

 

Thanks for the links JB, very helpful.  We will be going next year and are doing some preliminary research.

[mahi mahi]

I second eCoach tours in Cork, used them for the second time in May. For 59 euros each we had a bus with an amazing, funny Irishman as our guide and driver.  We were able to get to Blarney in advance of the crowds then drive through the countryside to the lovely town of Kinsale.  All the while we were entertained by Ian and learned a lot of history.  We were picked up right at the pier and returned in plenty of time.

[tartanexile81]

On 7/2/2019 at 2:01 PM, CatieM80 said:

Hi! My family and I will be doing a Transatlantic Disney Cruise in September. Two of the stops will be Portland (Stonehenge) and Cork, Ireland (Blarney Castle). Any recommendations for independent tours to Stonehenge and Blarney Castle? Or should we just go through Disney?

 

The Disney excursions are so expensive and are really just transportation to and from the locations, as well as admission. They don’t include any kind of guided tour or meals though. However, we leave fairly early at both stops (3:45 PM at Portland and 5:45 PM at Cork), so at least we have the peace of mind that we will make it back on time. 

 

I would appreciate any guidance either way!

 

It seems a very long way to go for an hour or so's visit and I cannot imagine it would be of much interest to children. I know tourists like it but there is so much more to see that is more  suitable for a family - as per JB's post.  I would only consider it as a short stop-over en-route from London to Southampton.