DAY 1
Arrival at London
- Your amazing holiday will begin upon your arrival in London where our driver will meet you and take you to the hotel
- After you have checked-in at the hotel, relax a bit. The remainder of the day will be yours for leisure activities
- Have a peaceful overnight stay at your hotel
DAY 2
Hop-on Hop-off London Tour
- Savour a hearty breakfast at the hotel
- Today, you will explore the city with a Hop-on Hop-off London Tour conducted on a double decker bus
- The tour will take you through all the main sights in central London with a live commentary and another route that will cover all the museums. Your ticket will include free walking tours and a cruise on river Thames. The major attractions of the tour will include Change of Guards at Buckingham Palace (daily through the summer), Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Eye, Downing Street, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus (no entrance included)
- In the evening, go up to Leicester Square where you will find many cinemas, restaurants, clubs and bars that makes London such a vibrant city at night as well as during the day
- Relax yourself with an overnight stay at the hotel
DAY 3
London – Car Pick Up – Brighton via Canterbury – Dover – Hastings (Approx. 270 Kms)
- Relish a delectable breakfast at your hotel
- Proceed to pick up your rented car and proceed for a self-drive adventure to the south of England.
- Drive through the county of Kent, known as the Garden of England, to the great historical city of Canterbury. Enjoy the medieval atmosphere of this fascinating city which is situated on Roman Watling Street, and offers so much for the lovers of history – the Pilgrim’s Way and Canterbury Weavers, a group of picturesque Tudor houses overlooking the River Stour which takes its name from the refugee French Huguenot weavers who settled in the area, are but two examples. It is of course dominated by its renowned Cathedral, a World Heritage Site. Before leaving Canterbury for the coastal town of Dover eat some amazing Whitstable oysters, probably the finest you will have. Arrive in Dover with its famous white cliffs which have been a gateway to England since Roman times. Here you can lunch on delectable Dover sole. At Dover Castle within its walls stands the lighthouse built by the Romans and the spectacular Constable’s Tower dates from the early 13th century. The warren of tunnels and secret chambers beneath the Castle, added to during the Napoleonic period, was used during the Second World War in the planning of the evacuation from Dunkirk. Visitors can tour these dimly lit Secret Wartime Tunnels and see the underground hospital and communications center. Continue your journey to Hastings, passing through the old charming town of Rye. Here you should explore by foot the cobbled Mermaid Street and the 15th century Mermaid Inn. At Hastings you can see the ruins of William the Conqueror’s first English castle (originally a wooden structure), which stands, above the Old Town with the seaside resort below. Nearby Battle is the remains of the great commemorative abbey built by William the Conqueror after the momentous victory in 1066 of the Normans over King Harold’s English army.
- Continue your journey to Brighton, where the English seaside tradition was invented, and where we have arranged your overnight accommodation.
- Have a comfortable overnight stay at the hotel
DAY 4
Brighton – Chichester – Portsmouth – Salisbury (Approx. 160 Kms)
- Dig into a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel and check-out
- Get ready to explore Brighton, with its piers and wide promenades, boasts elegant Georgian, Regency and Victorian architecture. Its labyrinthine lanes of the old fishing village contrasts with its lavishly planted open spaces and parks. A wide range of pubs and restaurants together with an array of quirky specialist shops in The Lanes makes for a very interesting visit. Try one of the locally produced white wines. Visit King George IV’s Royal Pavilion, a fantastic and flamboyant oriental pleasure palace.
- Leave Brighton for the flatlands between the South Downs and the sea, and enjoy the ancient city of Chichester. Visit its great Cathedral, completed in 1184. Continue your journey to Portsmouth and visit Lord Nelson’s splendid 3-masted flagship, HMS Victory, on which he sailed at the Battle of Trafalgar, which sits in dry dock and is now used as a museum ship. Whilst in Portsmouth visit the Mary Rose, the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world, and a firm favourite of King Henry VIII. Leave for Salisbury where we have arranged your overnight accommodation.
- Rejuvenate yourself with an overnight stay at the hotel
DAY 5
Salisbury – Stonehenge – Stourhead – Exeter – Dartmoor – Plymouth (Approx. 240 Kms)
- Take delight in an appetizing breakfast at the hotel
- This morning stroll through the picturesque city of Salisbury, where its Market Square and medieval streets (indicating the trades which once flourished there – Fish Row, Butcher Row, Silver Street) are lined by gabled half-timbered houses dating from 14th to 17th century. View magnificent Salisbury Cathedral, which boasts the tallest spire in Britain. Leave Salisbury and as you drive across Salisbury Plain you see the great stone circle of Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site. Believed to have been erected 5,000 years ago it is the most celebrated prehistoric monument in Britain.
- Later, from here your drive takes you to Stourhead House, whose idyllic Gardens are one of the supreme examples of English landscape. On to the charm of Exeter, with its crescents and terraces of red brick Georgian houses, and diamond-shaped Cathedral Close with the ancient Exeter Cathedral standing at its center. Continue your drive through small villages to the open moorland of Dartmoor, where ponies, sheep and cattle graze. In Devon enjoy a wonderful Devonshire Cream Tea before making your way to the historic naval port of Plymouth where we have arranged your overnight accommodation. Plymouth was the port of departure for Drake, Raleigh and Cook and the Pilgrim Fathers when they set sail for America.
- Overnight stay in Plymouth
DAY 6
Day free at leisure or day visit to St. Michael’s Mount – Penzance – Lands End – St. Ives from Plymouth
- Eat up a tasty breakfast at the hotel and check-out
- Today, you have a day free at leisure. You can chose to visit the English Countryside by driving.
- Drive along the rugged Cornish coastline, the part of England where the locals’ accents all sound like pirates. From as far back as the 14th century there are legends of pirate gangs who attacked ships as they sailed by this area. Pass smugglers’ coves and quaint fishing villages to St. Michael’s Mount. This amazing rocky island, with its medieval castle and 1,000-year-old legends and myths, is separated from the mainland by a 500-yard granite causeway. Stop ate Land’s End – the most westerly point of the British mainland – and then Penzance, with its wealth of good shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs. Try an appetizing meat and vegetable Cornish pasty. Beyond is Penzance Harbour whose inner dock shelters fishing boats and commercial vessels and where visiting yachts and the occasional tall-masted sailing ships lie against the granite quays. From here drive to the picturesque fishing harbour of St. Ives, a famous artists’ colony with its winding alleys, hillside terraces and colour-washed fishermen’s cottages crowded shoulder to shoulder. The Tate St. Ives exhibits modern art from the London Tate collections and sculptress Barbara Hepworth’s home is now a museum.
- Drive across Bodmin Moor as you return to Plymouth for your overnight accommodation.
- Have a pleasant overnight stay at your hotel
DAY 7
Plymouth – Glastonbury – Wells – Bath (Approx. 210 Kms)
- Get a kick out of an enticing breakfast at the hotel
- Today’s journey skirts Dartmoor National Park where ponies, cattle and sheep graze freely on the moor with nearby wooded valleys, cascading streams and small villages. Make a stop to try the real Cheddar cheese, named after the caves where it is ripened. Drive on to Glastonbury, which historical legend links with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and see the Abbey ruins, a famous centre of learning in the middle ages. Your drive now takes you passed the cathedral city of Wells, which has been used as the setting for several films.
- Later, to the historic and elegant city of Bath, a World Heritage Site, which in the 18th century became a fashionable spa town and where we have arranged your overnight accommodation. Admire the graceful Georgian terraces and villas, the Pump Room with its spa water fountain, where lunch and afternoon tea are served, and the elegant Assembly Rooms built for people to meet, dance, play cards, and drink tea. Visit the amazing excavations of the Roman Baths. These Roman ruins stretch out beneath the city in all directions and consists of four main features – the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman bath house and finds from Roman Bath.
- Have a relaxing overnight stay at the hotel in Bath
DAY 8
Bath – Lacock – Cotswolds – Windsor – London
- Indulge in a tempting breakfast at the hotel
- Leave the elegant city of Bath and enjoy your scenic drive through the Cotswolds, which offers the essence of rural England, as you see sheep on the hillside and pass through delightful small towns and sleepy villages boasting thatched cottages and ancient churches. The local honey-coloured limestone used in many buildings ensure the area’s magical uniformity. Visit the picturesque village of Lacock, comprising four streets laid out in a square. Numerous period dramas, such as Pride and Prejudice, have been filmed here. Amidst the interesting old houses is the George Inn and Lacock Abbey. On the drive to Windsor, stop off in Taplow Bucks for a delicious meal at the “Oak & Saw” village inn. Then on to the cobbled streets of Windsor and visit England’s largest castle, Windsor Castle which still remains today a favourite royal residence. Here you can tour the State Apartments, the magnificent St. George’s Chapel, and walk through Windsor Great Park. Across Windsor Bridge is Britain’s most famous school, Eton College, founded in 1440 by the young Henry VI. Try the traditional Windsor Brown Soup.
- Your drive continues back to London for your overnight stay.
- Have a snug overnight stay at your hotel
DAY 9
Departure from London
- Start the last day of your vacation with a gratifying breakfast at the hotel
- Check-out from your hotel and return your car
- Travel to the airport for your final departure
