★★★★★
Khalid took us to the entrance of each site, explained where to go and where to meet him again, and left us to it. Comfortable drive from the hotel and back.
Gail R. · Two travellers · August 2025
Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral Private Tour from Southampton
Hotel or terminal pickupStonehenge entry extraPriced per vehicleYour group only
The one that brings you back. Five hours in a private car from your hotel or terminal, an hour at Salisbury Cathedral and its Magna Carta, ninety minutes at Stonehenge, and a return to Southampton in time for a ship that sails this evening. It is priced for the vehicle rather than the seat, which changes the arithmetic completely once there are two or three of you.
Your five hours, and what the fare buys
Collected where you are
From your Southampton hotel or your cruise terminal, any time between half past eight and noon.
Salisbury Cathedral, one hour
Britain's tallest spire, and the best preserved of the four surviving original Magna Carta exemplars in the Chapter House.
Stonehenge, ninety minutes
Long enough for the visitor centre and the walk out to the stones without hurrying.
A driver who guides
Gary, Khalid and Oliver are named repeatedly by travellers taken through the New Forest and told what they were passing.
Priced per vehicle
One fare for up to three travellers, so a couple pays what a lone traveller would.
Back in Southampton
The only featured day here that starts and finishes at the port.
Why an out-and-back day is a different product
Most of what is sold out of Southampton is a transfer with sightseeing attached: it ends in London or at Heathrow, eighty miles from your ship. That is exactly right on the day a cruise finishes and exactly wrong on a day in port. This one solves the other problem.
Five hours, door to door, with the vehicle waiting while you walk each site. Collection runs from half past eight to noon on weekdays and Saturdays and from half past nine on Sundays, so you can shape it around an all-aboard time rather than around a coach timetable.
The trade is the admissions. This fare buys the car and the driver, not the tickets, so budget for Stonehenge — timed and tiered, with no single published adult price — and for Salisbury Cathedral at £12.50 booked ahead or £14.50 on the day. That is the honest comparison against the coaches, and it is worked through on the Stonehenge guide.
How the day runs
- 08:30 to 12:00. Collection from your Southampton hotel or terminal at a time you choose. Sundays start from 09:30.
- Across the county. Some drivers route through the New Forest and tell you what you are passing.
- Salisbury Cathedral, 1 hour. The nave, the spire and the Chapter House with Magna Carta.
- Onto Salisbury Plain. The short run north-west to the stones.
- Stonehenge, 90 minutes. Visitor centre, shuttle and the stone circle.
- Back to Southampton. Returned to the port or your hotel.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
Book this if
Your ship is in port for the day and sails again this evening, or you are staying in Southampton and want the stones without a ten-hour coach. Two or three of you makes the per-vehicle price work; a party of four or more should ask about the larger vehicle.
Book something else if
Your cruise has ended and you are heading to London anyway — the post-cruise coach covers the same stones with the entry ticket included and drops you at your hotel. And if you only have two hours, the Titanic walk stays in the city.
What the fare covers
In the fare
- Bottled water
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Private transportation
- Space for 2 Large Cases plus 2 Small Bags or Space for 3 Medium Cases plus 2 Small Bags
Not in the fare
- This excursion does NOT include entrance fees
- Larger vehicle. This may be available at extra cost, please enquire.
- Does NOT include pick up or drop off outside the Southampton area
- Gratuities
Where you are collected, and what the operator will not do
Collection is from your Southampton hotel or your cruise terminal, which is the point of a private car. What the operator will not do is collect from or drop off outside the Southampton area, so this is a Southampton booking rather than a Hampshire one.
The vehicle takes two large cases plus two small bags, or three medium cases plus two small bags. A larger vehicle may be available at extra cost and has to be arranged with the operator in advance. Which terminal you are on is set out on the cruise port page.
Know before you go
- Admission is not in the fare. Buy the Stonehenge ticket online before you travel; booking ahead saves up to fifteen per cent and the entry is timed.
- Sundays change the order. Salisbury Cathedral admits visitors only from 12.30pm and the Magna Carta Chapter House from 1pm, which is why one reviewer was collected later than planned.
- Check the cathedral calendar. One traveller arrived on Good Friday to find the Chapter House shut; the cathedral publishes its own closures.
- The fare buys up to three. The listing also carries an extra-charge figure without saying what triggers it, so confirm the total for your party before you book.
- It is not sold as a guided tour. The drivers guide anyway, but what you are buying is a car, a driver and the timings.
- Stonehenge closes earlier than you think. Last entry is 4pm from late March to early September and 3pm the rest of the year.
What travellers said about this day
★★★★★
It is not sold as a guided tour and Gary made it one anyway. He drove us back through the New Forest and pointed things out the whole way.
Daniel N. · Couple · September 2025
★★★★★
Oliver collected us later because Salisbury Cathedral does not open until the afternoon on a Sunday. In hindsight that hour would have been better spent at Stonehenge, where the queues were long.
shoreland · Two travellers · July 2025
Frequently asked questions
Is the Stonehenge entry ticket included?
No. The operator excludes entrance fees at both stops in its own listing, so buy them yourself. English Heritage prices Stonehenge by time slot, so book that ticket online before you travel.
Does it come back to the ship?
Yes, and that is the reason to choose it. It starts and finishes in Southampton, which none of the coach days out of this port do.
How many people does the price cover?
The fare buys the vehicle for up to three travellers rather than a seat each. For a larger party ask the operator about the bigger vehicle, which is offered at extra cost.
Which comes first, Stonehenge or Salisbury?
The operator's own running order puts Salisbury Cathedral first and Stonehenge second. On a Sunday that order is forced by the cathedral's 12.30pm opening.
Is there a guide, or just a driver?
It is sold as a private transfer with two stops rather than a guided tour. In practice the drivers guide throughout, take scenic routes and explain where to go at each site — which is what travellers write about afterwards.
Can I be collected from a hotel rather than the port?
Yes, anywhere in the Southampton area, and the operator will not collect from outside it, so confirm your address when you book. If you are heading to London rather than back to a ship, the post-cruise coach covers the same stones and ends at your hotel.
Other ways to spend the day
The day that brings you back
Five hours, your own car, and Southampton at both ends. Weigh it against the rest of the Southampton cruise private tours before you decide.
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