Location Transport

Day trip From London. Windsor + Oxford and back. - Train, Coach or Car?

Family of 4 from USA with good traveling kids 6 and 9. We want to see Windsor and Oxford all in one day - out and back from London. We love to self direct, and I love to drive - have driven a lot in France - and some in England so I'll have to get used to the left hand side. Love to drive the manual transmission 'euro cars' that we've rented in France in the past. But don't want to 'slog' through traffic all day long either. Love hopping on a train without much baggage. 1.Take train? Take transport out to Windsor from Central London and then on to Oxford and back that evening to London? Ability to take 'any train' if we adjust our schedule during the day? 2. Take a coach - with a stopoff at Windsor? Ability to take 'any coach' if we decide to adjust our schedule? 3. Rent a car (possibly combine for savings with another trip to Bath/Salisbury under another question) and do it on our own schedule with the ability to leave some 'things' in the car and take a picnic, etc and 'go where we want when we want. Is the route out to Oxford and back horribly congested? This will be a Wed. or Thurs. in mid August. Thanks so much for any advice!! Thanks All. Good Advice so far. Appreciate the advice on how to travel but this is intended to be a bit of a 'see a lot day' be a tourist, etc. and not a relaxation day. And yes I figure we'll be out from 9am to 10pm... I guess I was wondering if we could sort of go to Windsor 'on the way' to Oxford - and it's sounding more difficult (and not really 'on the way') than I thought. Can we pop in to Windsor, see the castle and move on - or should it warrant it's own day? Oxford vs. Windsor if you had to choose? We'll be near Russell Square in London. I lived for a short while in Oxford in 1980 as a kid and wanted to show my kids where. I've always wanted to see Windsor as well. Perhaps separate day trips for each. Sounds like the train wins.

Public Comments

1. I would not recommend making a day trip of Windsor and Oxford. It would be better to do one. Believe me both places are well worth devoting a whole day unto themselves! Windsor is anywhere from a 30-45 minute train trip, or a 50 minute to an hour drive (depending on where in London you are and how the traffic is). Driving onto Oxford is at least another hour and some change. By train it's roughly the same. And you also have to factor in with a car finding a place to park. It's a pain and a hassle and you will waster major amounts of time there. I think you need to sit down and think about which places you want to see most and what you most want to see and go from there. Vacations should not be about running to and fro trying to see every tourist-y item. They should be fun and relaxed. Take your time. Really see the sites. Personally I recommend Windsor. It's a very lovely jaunt, about 40 minutes from Paddington to Windsor, about 8 quid each for a same day return. If you want to look more into details of train times and costs, check out nationalrail.co.uk. Enjoy your trip!
2. Take the train; the roads are congested, parking places are expensive and difficult to find especially in Oxford. London Paddington to Windsor (change at Slough) frequent services 30 to 40 minutes travel time. Slough to Oxford (change at Slough) every 30 minutes - journey time just over one hour. Oxford to London Paddington every 30 minutes takes 55-60 minutes. Ensure you board a 'fast' Oxford train not the one that stops at all stations. Most rail companies in southern England currently allow 3 or 4 people travelling together to travel for the price of 2. If you are visiting both places on the same day buy off peak returns from London Paddington to Oxford plus a small supplemental ticket for Slough to Windsor and back to Slough. www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk www.nationalrail.co.uk
3. both places in a day?! pretty crazy in my opinion, but if you get up at the crack of dawn and don't mind getting back at midnight, go for it. if i were you, i'd get a train into london and get a bus from london to oxford.
4. Although the train journey times are quicker you will still be restricted by waiting for trains, travelling to and from the stations etc. As you don't mind driving then I would rent a car. Leave Russell Square for Windsor early. It is a straight route out via the M4. If you aim to be in Windsor for 8.00 am then you will need to leave Russell square an hour before, but after this time you will start sitting in traffic. I would get there early, have a cup of tea when you get there, do Windsor, move onto Oxford and drive back after 7pm again avoiding the worst of any traffic. (Windsor and Oxford in a day, easy, there is not a lot at Windsor)