London to Southhampton transfer with Stonehenge

[Quencups]

Hi everyone.....Anyone taken this?....any info is appreciated 🙂

[rjm11]

what company are you looking at? I've looked into a bunch for next June... Some say they arrive in Southampton at 2:00- that seems too late for my comfort since sail away is 5:00. I'll probably go with a private version so that I can control the time a little more. And with 4 of us it's not a ton more. Of course if you are transferring a day or more before the cruise then it won't be an issue.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

There are several companies wh do this.  I would not do it outbound unless your are spending the night in SH prior to boarding, or on inbound if you have a flight before 6:00pm

 

we just got off the Dawn Saturday and we used express taxi, a subsiderary of Pink Berry Inc.,  we did not do a side tour, just straight service from LHR to SH, Holiday Inn and from pier to LHR.  Very good service.  Good communication.  Central office called to give us update on driver’s arrival.  When disembarking we were set for pick up at 9 but got a call at 8:15 to confirm, we said we were actually ready and he said driver would be there in 20 minutes.  We got off the ship just as he was walking from his car.  Professional, safe, comfortable.

i found them through the wonderful site londontoolkits.com, so much info there.  Lots of options.

 

 

Edited July 10 by MagnoliaBlossom

[John Bull]

I think you'll find that there's just one operator who offers this 

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/london-heathrow-to-southampton-via-stonehenge.html

They're a long-established & reputable London coach tour operator, and they added this and other cruise tour-transfers about 6 years ago.

You'll find plenty of Cruise Critic members who've happily used this & their other cruise tour-transfers, and nobody has missed a sailing - like reputable independent operators worldwide they know that their reputation would be in shreds if that happened.

They quote arrival at the cruise terminals 1.30 - 2.00pm, but generally arrive around 1.00pm

 

Many CC members recommend flying in at least the day before and, as well as central London hotels, International Friends' pick-ups include Heathrow area hotels but not airport terminals - they're aware that flight arrival times and the time taken to clear airport formalities are too unreliable.

But there's absolutely no need to travel from London to Southampton the day before your sailing - the norm is for folk to do so on the morning of their sailing, whether that's by car, by van, by train, by a scheduled bus, or by tour-transfer.

 

International Friends are promoted by tour agents, which might have led @MagnoliaBlossom to believe that several coach operators offer this service.

 

JB 🙂

 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I always fly in at least a day early, not because I doubt the service of the car company, but the unreliability of air travel these dats.  Plus, it allows me a day to rest and acclimate a bit before embarkation.

[Quencups]

Thank you all for your responses! much appreciated!! 🙂

[Quencups]

12 hours ago, John Bull said:

I think you'll find that there's just one operator who offers this 

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/london-heathrow-to-southampton-via-stonehenge.html

They're a long-established & reputable London coach tour operator, and they added this and other cruise tour-transfers about 6 years ago.

You'll find plenty of Cruise Critic members who've happily used this & their other cruise tour-transfers, and nobody has missed a sailing - like reputable independent operators worldwide they know that their reputation would be in shreds if that happened.

They quote arrival at the cruise terminals 1.30 - 2.00pm, but generally arrive around 1.00pm

 

Many CC members recommend flying in at least the day before and, as well as central London hotels, International Friends' pick-ups include Heathrow area hotels but not airport terminals - they're aware that flight arrival times and the time taken to clear airport formalities are too unreliable.

But there's absolutely no need to travel from London to Southampton the day before your sailing - the norm is for folk to do so on the morning of their sailing, whether that's by car, by van, by train, by a scheduled bus, or by tour-transfer.

 

International Friends are promoted by tour agents, which might have led @MagnoliaBlossom to believe that several coach operators offer this service.

 

JB 🙂

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this info....We will be using this tour 🙂

[SSAtlantic]

We are booking a transfer to Southampton with a stop at Stonehenge with Radio Taxis ( formerly West Quay Cars)

We will purchase our entrance tickets separately but for 5 of us, it is cheaper than International Friends. We can control our timing and leave Stonehenge when we want instead of waiting for a full coach. They are also willing to let us change our plans and go straight to Southampton if the weather is awful with a reduction in fare. Our trip is in October so I will report back. 

[John Bull]

Duplicate post

 

Edited July 13 by John Bull

[John Bull]

12 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

We are booking a transfer to Southampton with a stop at Stonehenge with Radio Taxis ( formerly West Quay Cars)

We will purchase our entrance tickets separately but for 5 of us, it is cheaper than International Friends. We can control our timing and leave Stonehenge when we want instead of waiting for a full coach. They are also willing to let us change our plans and go straight to Southampton if the weather is awful with a reduction in fare. Our trip is in October so I will report back. 

 To be sure of entry when you arrive you need to book on-line and quote a 30-minute arrival slot. If you miss that slot, or choose to buy at the gate, you risk having to wait until the number of visitors drops below the maximum. That restriction doesn't apply to tickets bought with coach tickets, including International Friends, or the local Salisbury-to-Stonehenge ho-ho bus, which all have "anytime" tickets.

 

By buying on-line you get a 15% discount on-line discount - if you pay at the gate the price is the same as International Friend and the ho-ho.

If you are 2 adults & up to 3 children aged 5 to 17 an advance family ticket will save you more.

 

Liaise with Radio Taxis to fix a 30-minute arrival slot at Stonehenge.

Especially if this is from a flight arriving at LHR, can I suggest you aim to visit Salisbury & its cathedral first (perhaps a 60 or 90 minute stop), then back-track about  9 miles / 20 minutes to Stonehenge. This will give you the flexibility you need to arrive at Stonehenge within that time window. If all goes well you'll have a little longer in Salisbury, if you're a little way behind the clock you can foreshorten your time in Salisbury, if you're seriously delayed (flight, airport, traffic) you'll have wiggle-time of up to about 2 hours by heading direct to Stonehenge and skipping Salisbury or if time allows fitting it in later.

 

JB 🙂

[SSAtlantic]

Thanks for the suggestions John Bull. We do plan on purchasing our tickets online and are aiming for the earliest entry time. We will have arrived 3 days earlier so will be picked up at our hotel. 
We are looking forward to our brief time in London. Unfortunately, 3 of the 5 have work constraints keeping our stay short. 

[Quencups]

On 7/12/2024 at 9:04 PM, SSAtlantic said:

We are booking a transfer to Southampton with a stop at Stonehenge with Radio Taxis ( formerly West Quay Cars)

We will purchase our entrance tickets separately but for 5 of us, it is cheaper than International Friends. We can control our timing and leave Stonehenge when we want instead of waiting for a full coach. They are also willing to let us change our plans and go straight to Southampton if the weather is awful with a reduction in fare. Our trip is in October so I will report back. 

Thats sounds good as well....Please let me know after your trip is you would be so kind 🙂

[Quencups]

3 minutes ago, Quencups said:

Thats sounds good as well....Please let me know after your trip if you would be so kind 🙂