Stonehenge from London

How to get to Stonehenge from London - tours compared with public transport

Stonehenge special access tour from London — A variety of tours visit Stonehenge from London

The world famous Stonehenge is situated around 90 miles west from central London and is well within a comfortable day trip.

You are spoilt for choice with any number of tours going to Stonehenge from London, a comfortable two hour bus ride away with a guide to point out sites of interest.

If you wish to travel independently, there are trains running direct from Waterloo to Salisbury, the nearest town with a railway station to Stonehenge, nine miles to the south.

From here you catch the Stonehenge tour bus, an independent bus service running directly to the Visitor Centre. There is no public bus service running to Stonehenge.

How to get to Stonehenge from London Stonehenge tours from London Stonehenge from London by public transport Stonehenge Special Access tours

Tours that take your Stonehenge experience further...

A popular tour combines Avebury with Stonehenge

If you have a real interest in Stonehenge, Salisbury is the best place to get a specialist Stonehenge guide.

A Stonehenge private walking tour of not only Stonehenge but the Stonehenge landscape provides a more informed insight into Stonehenge covering features of Stonehenge like Durrington Walls/Woodhenge where the most recent archaeological discoveries were made.

About 24 miles north of Stonehenge is Avebury, another World Heritage Site with even larger stone rings to Stonehenge and unlike Stonehenge, has free access to the stones themselves.

Avebury and Stonehenge tour from London.

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How to get to Stonehenge from London - a tour or public transport

Salisbury train network — Salisbury train connections

There is no universal best option to visit Stonehenge from London. However, a tour is going to be both a cheaper and faster way of visiting Stonehenge from London than visiting independently. So for most visitors a tour bus is the ideal solution.

Many travellers are just not compatible with coach tours and prefer the independent approach with the flexibility to see things at your own pace, pause a while and ponder and generally decide their own schedule. The key point to make though is that with Stonehenge you will be paying a price premium over a tour for this flexibility.

Independently from London you take the train from London's Waterloo Station to Salisbury, nine miles from Stonehenge. From there you need to take the Stonehenge tour bus which takes you directly from Salisbury to Stonehenge Visitor Centre. There are no public buses to Stonehenge itself. See below for more details.

If you have a real interest in Stonehenge or want the ultimate Stonehenge experience you will want a private guided tour that also covers the Stonehenge landscape. This can be quite affordable using a local guide from Salisbury.

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Stonehenge tours from London

Every day there are a wide range of tours available to Stonehenge from London. There are Stonehenge only tours that just go to Stonehenge from London and return. This is the cheapest way of visiting Stonehenge from London.

However it is two hours on the coach in each direction plus two hours at Stonehenge.

The vast majority of people make a day of it, combining Stonehenge with one or two other attractions, and two day tours are increasingly popular, with an overnight stay included.

The most popular tours that include Stonehenge are the Stonehenge and Bath and Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle tours, but there are many others. (See table at foot of page.)

Stonehenge Tours - full list of tours from London

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Stonehenge from London by public transport via Salisbury

Travelling independently and using public transport to get to Stonehenge you need to get to Salisbury, the closest town of any size that has a railway station with frequent schedules to London. Trains run from London Waterloo direct to Salisbury, every thirty minutes from 6.30am and the fastest train takes 1 hour 22 minutes.

Salisbury is well worth a minimum half day's visit in its own right and combined with a visit to Stonehenge makes an excellent day out.

A dedicated Stonehenge hop on, hop off bus shuttles between Salisbury and Stonehenge with stops at other attractions in the area like Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral.

There are no local scheduled public transport buses to Stonehenge.

Unless you are a large group, Salisbury is also the place to travel to and get a local guide to give an enhanced visit to Stonehenge, visiting and experiencing aspects of Stonehenge very few visitors do.

How to visit Stonehenge via Salisbury from London

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Stonehenge Special Access visits

How close you can get to stones at Stonehenge during public opening hours

During normal opening hours you cannot walk up to the stones themselves.

The nearest you will get to the stones is about 10 yards, the monument being roped off by a low barrier, (see picture below).

However it is possible to walk up to and among the stones at Stonehenge outside public opening hours. These are called Special Access visits (sometimes known as Inner Circle Access). During these sessions of one hour duration, only 26 people are allowed onto Stonehenge going beyond the barriers and walking amongst the stones.

The fact that these Stonehenge Special Access visits are outside public opening hours mean that they are at dawn or evening. Given that Stonehenge is two hours' drive from London, this obviously provides logistical issues in getting there.

The Special Access Visits are also immensely popular, demand far outstrips supply and they are often sold out months in advance.

We have dedicated pages for people independently wanting to partake in a Stonehenge Special Access visit and also a page on scheduled Stonehenge Special Access Tours from London.

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