Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon and Cotswolds Tour from London

Vaugn and our driver Mirza were excellent hosts for the day. Golden tours have very comfortable buses and there was a good balance between “own discovery” time and guides tour. Vaugn has a very extensive knowledge of the area and it was a pleasure being in his company.

Great tour on Jan 5, 2020. Our driver Antonio did a wonderful job driving us to and from all the destinations safely and comfortably. Our guide Tom was one of the best informed, polite, and helpful we have ever had. He narrated the English history around Shakespeare and made it really interesting to us. The tour filled up the entire day but was not too taxing. It covered 5 different and interesting destinations. Highly recommended as a day tour from London.

We are so glad we took this tour. The bus left on time. When we arrived at Cotswold, it was raining and the driver, Antonio, gave us ponchos (nice ones too). Ruth, the tour guide was amazing and knowledgeable. We were given a nice boxed lunch, which was a nice surprise. We stopped in a few places in Cotswold. Then, we went to Anne Hathaway's cottage, William Shakespeare's school, and home. I highly recommend this tour.

The Tour Director and Driver were excellent. Visited two lovely villages in the Cotswolds. Also Ann Hathaway’s cottage and Shakespeare’s school, and museum. Enjoyed the visit and talk at the school. The packed lunch was a great idea which left me more time to spend at each location as we were allowed to eat the lunch on the bus. Highly recommended tour

This tour would likely have been better with a good guide. Our guide Dolly was an absolute catastrophe. She was rude, disorganized and made constant racist comments. These comments targeted the Chinese, Americans, Meghan Markle and George Washington (yes the first president of the United States). She told stories that were made up and demonstrably false. The “lunch” they advertise was cheese on a roll, so bring something with you. They don’t allow enough time anywhere to actually eat. We were rushed through the stops in the Cotswolds and ended up with too much time in Stratford-upon-Avon. As we were about to leave for the ride back to London we were held up for half an hour because our bus left to pick up another group whose bus had broken down. When the bus returned there were not enough seats for everyone and an argument broke out. The other group refused to get off the bus and we all sat there waiting for another coach bus to arrive and take that group back. What a nightmare.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed this tour. Our guide, Simon, was fantastic. He was efficient, knowledgeable, and entertaining. The Cotswolds is a cute and quaint area--definitely worth leaving London to see. The only disappointment about this tour is that it does not go to Holy Trinity Church, Shakespeare's place of burial.

Great time in Stratford-upon-Avon - wish we had more time there. Very interesting visit to schoolroom and excellent presentation

Our guide Ivan & driver Maurice were superb. We had the best time. Ivan was very helpful, caring and punctual. It was a day well spent. Stratford upon Avon visit was a dream come true. We enjoyed Shakespear's School the most!!

The journey takes few hrs to reach. It’s rich in historic building but too less time spend at Cotswold shopping area. I would would love to have more time. Rather than meal on board , i think it would be better to have meal outside and see the scenery. Generally it’s a place must go.

Pros:-Doug, the tour guide. He was engaging, knowledgeable, and hilarious. Having a good guide really makes the trip.-Small group - there was only 9 of us. This intimate feel allowed us to ask questions and make the most of our time (loading and unloading from the bus didn't take forever)-Time was well-managed for the most part. I wish we had less time in the location after Bibury since we only had 30 minutes in Bibury. I wish we had 45 mins in Bibury and 45 mins in the other Cotswold place rather than that hour.-Provided disposable rain jackets and headphones. We were fortunate, and it only rained lightly in Bibury for like 12 minutes.-Shakespeare & Anne Hathaway portions were wonderful. Stratford-upon-Avon was nice.Con:-Need better lunches - Eating a cold, meatless sandwich on a bus (in motion) was less than ideal.Tip: -Go to the bathroom before going on the tour. It's like a 2.5 hour drive and the bus had a less than ideal toilet for emergencies.-The meeting place is in a mall-like complex (tucked away from the street). It's not at the Victoria Coach Station.-Bring snacks like crisps, chips, cereal, etc (no hot foods allowed due to the aroma) because the lunch is sub-par (especially if you have certain dietary restrictions)