London is a week on its own. Then the road north starts.
Which studio tour includes the coach out to Leavesden. What Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath really cost in one day. Whether Loch Ness is worth eleven hours out of Edinburgh. Reviews of every tour you can book in Britain.
The studio tour, the stone circle, an hour on the river and the long day north.
Four bookings a first British trip usually hangs off. What each one costs, and what the people who took it say.
01The one that sells outHarry Potter Warner Bros Studio TourLeavesden with the coach included, so you are not working out the train to Watford Junction at seven in the morning.
02An hour on the riverWestminster to Greenwich River Thames CruiseWestminster to Greenwich past the Tower and the Cutty Sark. The cheapest good hour in London.
03Three sights, one coachWindsor, Stonehenge, Bath, and Roman Baths Day TripWindsor, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths in a single day out of Victoria. Long, and it does what it says.
04The long day northLoch Ness, Glencoe & the Scottish Highlands TourGlencoe, the Great Glen and a stop on Loch Ness, back in Edinburgh for dinner. Eleven hours, most of it out of the window.
Most of Britain is walked, and the best of it happens after dark.
These cities are made of lanes, closes and courtyards that a coach cannot reach. Three kinds of walk, what it costs to join each one, and the city it suits.
London first, then whichever line runs north.
A capital that eats a week, Georgian crescents at Bath, two university towns an hour apart, Liverpool for the music, an Old Town built on a volcano and the Highlands at the end of it. Six places to start, and the best day out in each.
Britain kept its castles, and most of them open on the day.
Windsor is still a working royal house, Edinburgh sits on a plug of volcanic rock, and Eilean Donan is the one on the postcard. Three castle days carry more travellers than any other.
Britain’s most popular days out.
Every British tour we have reviewed →The days out that fill first, from a river cruise at twenty dollars to the studio tour people book a term ahead.
1
The London Eye Entry Ticket
Ride a glass capsule 135 meters above London for a slow 30-minute circuit with views of the Thames, Big Ben, Westminster, and more. Choose standard or fast-track entry, and download the free London Eye guide app before you go.
From · $39
Read our review →
2
Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour
from $117
3
Westminster to Greenwich River Thames Cruise
from $22
4
Magical London: Harry Potter Guided Walking Tour
from $20
5
Madame Tussauds London
from $36
6
Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transfers
from $144
7
Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Scottish Highlands Tour
from $62
8
Tower Bridge Entry Ticket
from $21
Everything north of Glasgow is further than the map suggests.
Glencoe is three hours from Edinburgh and worth the seat. Skye is a full day each way unless you sleep there. The loch, the viaduct and the single-track roads are what the long drive buys you.
Every Highlands day out →
What a day out in Britain actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. Close to half of the good British days come in under fifty dollars.
River cruises, cathedral entries, city walks and the combination tickets.
The full days out: Windsor and Stonehenge, the studio tour with a coach, Loch Ness from Edinburgh.
Private guides, small-group runs into the Highlands and the once-a-trip splurges.
The Thames, the lochs and a canal in Manchester.
A boat is the cheapest good hour in London and the only sensible way to look at Loch Ness. Take the river in the late afternoon when the light comes off the water, and the loch in the middle of the day.
Three things that only happen in Britain.
Cathedrals and old squares turn up all over Europe. A standing film set, a whisky still with the hills behind it and a household cavalry band on the Mall do not.
The Warner Bros Studio Tour
The sets were never struck. The Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express platform all still stand at Leavesden, twenty miles north west of London, and you walk them at your own pace rather than behind a guide. Entry is by timed slot bought in advance and school-holiday dates go months out. The real decision is transport: a coach transfer costs more than the train and removes every connection from the morning.
- 1Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 26,588 reviews
- 2Magical London: Harry Potter Guided Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 22,044 reviews
- 3Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transfers★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 17,586 reviews
A distillery still at work
Scotch has to be made in Scotland and sit three years in oak before anyone is allowed to call it whisky, which is why these tours end in a warehouse rather than a gift shop. Most distilleries run a short standard tour and a longer one that opens the casks. Book the driver at the same time as the tasting.
- 1Scottish Highlands Tour with Whisky Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 628 reviews
- 2Loch Ness, Scenic Walk, Glencoe & Whisky Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 393 reviews
- 3Ultimate Whisky Experience★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 305 reviews
The Changing of the Guard
The Old Guard hands the palace over to the New Guard with a full band and a march down the Mall, and standing to watch costs nothing. It does not run every day, the schedule moves with the season, and heavy rain calls it off. A guide earns their fee on position rather than commentary: they know which railing to be at an hour before it starts.
- 1Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard Experience★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 2,971 reviews
- 2Changing of The Guard Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 2,510 reviews
- 3Buckingham Palace Entry & Changing of the Guard Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 2,221 reviews
Four British bookings that will not wait.
Most of this country can be sorted the night before over a pint. These four run on timed entry, summer opening and a parade schedule that takes no interest in when your flight lands.
- 01Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio TourEntry is by timed slot and nothing is sold at the door. Half term and the school holidays go months ahead.
- 02Buckingham Palace: The State Rooms Entrance TicketThe State Rooms open to visitors only while the King is away, roughly July to September, and every ticket is dated.
- 03Stonehenge Admission TicketStandard entry runs on timed tickets and the circle itself is roped off. Anything that puts you inside the stones is a separate booking, early or late in the day.
- 04Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard ExperienceIt does not happen daily, the schedule changes with the season, and rain can cancel it outright.
It will rain. Britain has spent centuries building things to do indoors.
A grey forecast is not a lost day here. The national museums charge nothing to walk in, the galleries are warm, tea is served until six, and the distillery tour was always going to be under a roof.
By place - cities, coast and Highlands
By kind of day - walk, castle, boat or long drive
London, Bath, Oxford, York, Edinburgh: the run almost everybody does first.
StonehengeThe newest British tour reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Wimbledon Tennis Club and Westminster Walking Tour
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Best of London by LE GRAND – London’s Luxury Bus Tour
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Westminster Abbey Skip-the-Line Entry and Private Tour
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West Berkshire,UK: The Living Rainforest Centre Entry Ticket
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Westminster Walking Tour & St Paul’s Cathedral Entry
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Warwick, Oxford, Stratford & Cotswolds Day Tour
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Warner Bros. Studios and 1-Day London Hop-on Hop-off tour
Read our review →