Day Tour from LondonOxford Day Trip from London with the Cotswolds
This Oxford day trip from London, with the Cotswolds on the way, is a coach tour run by Day Tours London, sold on GetYourGuide for $105 on the cheapest listed day. It packs two famous places into 10.5 hours, leaving from Gloucester Road in the morning and returning around 6 PM. You get a live English-speaking guide, an air-conditioned coach and stops at Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water and 2.5 hours in Oxford with a guided walk. Food, tips and any college entries are not included. This page breaks down the timetable, what your money actually buys and which travellers should look at a different tour on the comparison of day tours from London. Compare it with the other day tours from London.
About This Tour
Day Tours London runs this full-day coach trip west out of London to the Cotswolds villages and the university city of Oxford. A group of up to 53 travels in an air-conditioned vehicle with a live English-speaking guide. The route stops at Burford for 30 minutes and Bourton-on-the-Water for an hour before 2.5 hours in Oxford, which includes a guided walk and free time for lunch.
The listing includes a guide and transport only. Food and drinks, tips and any entry tickets are extra, so budget for lunch on the day. The coach leaves Gloucester Road at 7:30 AM sharp and is back around 6 PM. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure, and you can reserve now and pay later.
$105 per person on the cheapest listed day, booked through GetYourGuide. The listing is marked likely to sell out.
10.5 hours, from the 7:30 AM departure to a return to Gloucester Road around 6 PM.
Opposite Gloucester Road Underground station, outside the Stanhope Arms bar near Tesco Express, 97 Gloucester Rd, London SW7 4SS. Arrive at 7:15 AM. There is no hotel pickup.
Air-conditioned coach, about 1.5 hours out and 2 hours back. Up to 53 passengers with a live English-speaking guide.
Included: the guide and transportation. Not included: food and drinks, tips, and any entry tickets. Free time in Oxford is for lunch.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, with reserve now and pay later available.
Check Dates and Availability
The listing is marked likely to sell out and the coach takes at most 53 passengers. Pick a date to see live prices, which start at $105 on the cheapest listed day.
Quick answer The tour in brief
This Oxford and Cotswolds day trip from London costs $105, runs 10.5 hours and carries up to 53 people by coach from Gloucester Road. The guide and transport are included, food, tips and entries are not. It is back in London around 6 PM.
Key takeaways
- You get stops at Burford (30 minutes), Bourton-on-the-Water (1 hour) and Oxford (2.5 hours with a guided walk). See the full day stop by stop.
- No entries, no lunch and no hotel pickup. Check what the price actually covers before you book.
- Oxford feels rushed to some reviewers. If it is the only place you care about, a direct train from Paddington runs to the city, see free day trips from London by train.
- Prefer fewer people or a different route? Compare the Cotswolds small-group day tour and the Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford day trip.
What the Price Actually Covers
The verified split of the GetYourGuide listing is short. Two things are included and everything else on the day is paid by you.
Included: a Guide and the Coach
The price covers a live English-speaking guide and transportation by air-conditioned vehicle, about 1.5 hours out of London and 2 hours back. That is the whole of it. The listing carries no entry tickets, no lunch and no drinks, and hotel pickup is not offered. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure and reserve now, pay later are part of the booking terms on GetYourGuide.
Because nothing inside the sights is paid for, the walking route in Oxford stays outside the colleges unless you buy a ticket yourself. Christ Church adult tickets cost £24.95 on weekdays in the summer vacation and £22.95 on weekdays in Michaelmas Term, with weekends about £2 more, and booking in advance saves £2 per ticket. The Bodleian Divinity School visit costs £3 per person and lasts 15 minutes, while Bodleian guided tours start from £12.50 for 30 minutes. Oxford University's museums, including the Ashmolean and the Pitt Rivers, are admission-free.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Live English-speaking guide | Yes | Guided walks in the Cotswolds and Oxford, recommendations at other stops |
| Air-conditioned coach transport | Yes | About 1.5 hours out, 2 hours back, up to 53 passengers |
| Lunch and drinks | No | Free time in Oxford is for lunch, your guide will recommend places |
| Entry tickets | No | Nothing is included, Christ Church from £22.95 weekday, Bodleian Divinity School £3, university museums free |
| Tips | No | Gratuities are listed as not included |
| Hotel pickup | No | You make your own way to Gloucester Road |
What You May Pay on the Day
Bring money for lunch in Oxford, where your free time is explicitly for eating, and for coffee or snacks in Burford and Bourton-on-the-Water. Add tips if you want to reward the guide. If you want to go inside a college or library, the tickets above are the main options, and the Christ Church Great Hall closes Monday to Friday 12:00 to 14:00, which matters when your free time lands in the middle of the day.
Dress for the weather, since Oxford is a walking tour with no indoor refuge built in. If the add-ons stack up, work out your own total before you compare this $105 fare with tours whose entry tickets are bundled in, such as the Leeds Castle, Dover and Canterbury day trip.
Sources: National Rail, Railcards
The River Windrush runs through the middle of Bourton-on-the-Water under low stone footbridges. Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
The itinerary below comes straight from the operator's listing, with the stated durations. Times in London are the ones the listing gives.
An Early Start in Kensington
You meet at 7:15 AM opposite Gloucester Road Underground station, waiting outside the Stanhope Arms bar facing the station exit, near Tesco Express. The postcode for maps is SW7 4SS. The coach departs at 7:30 AM sharp, so there is no slack if your Tube connection fails.
Leave extra time for the journey to the meeting point.
The Drive to Oxfordshire and a Break
The first leg is about 1.5 hours by coach to Oxfordshire, with a 20-minute break once you arrive. Use it for the toilet and a first coffee, because the next stretch is guided sightseeing.
The Cotswolds: a Guided Hour Through the Hills
The guide leads an hour of guided tour and scenic views through the Cotswolds, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty. The listing describes guided sightseeing and scenic views along the way.
Burford, 30 Minutes
Burford gets half an hour. Its High Street sweeps downhill to the River Windrush, and there is shopping and sightseeing time. It is enough for photos and a quick look, not for the Tolsey Museum or a sit-down meal.
Bourton-on-the-Water, 1 Hour
Bourton-on-the-Water gets a full hour, used as a photo stop, visit and shopping time. The listing does not include entry to paid attractions here, so the hour is yours for wandering. Bourton is often extremely busy at weekends and in good weather, so expect crowds on the riverside.
Oxford, 2.5 Hours with a Guided Walk
Oxford is the main stop at 2.5 hours, split between a guided walk past the college buildings and the spires, covering sites such as the Bridge of Sighs and Christ Church Cathedral, and free time for lunch and shopping. The guide points out the city's Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter connections and recommends places to eat. Two and a half hours is enough for the walk and a meal, but it is tight if you also want to queue for Christ Church at £22.95 to £26.95 or a Bodleian tour.
This is the stop reviewers say feels rushed, and they are not wrong.
The Road Home, Around 6 PM
The coach allows about 2 hours back to London and arrives at Gloucester Road Station around 6 PM. From there the Underground connects quickly to the rest of the city.
Oxford on a Day Trip from London
The colleges and streets you reach in the Oxford part of the day. Third-party video by Grant & Teresa. We did not shoot it and have no relationship with the creator.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The listing and its format set hard limits. Check them before you book, because a full coach does not bend for one traveller.
Families with Very Young Children
The tour is not suitable for children under 4. If your group includes a toddler, look at a different listing, for example the Warner Bros. Studio Tour from London, where young children enter free when added to a booking, or browse other day tours from London for a format that fits.
Travellers Who Want to Sleep in or Be Collected
There is no hotel pickup. You arrive at Gloucester Road by 7:15 AM for a 7:30 AM departure, and the coach will not wait. If you are staying near Victoria, note that several other coach tours on this site leave from Victoria instead.
Anyone Hoping for Entries, Meals or a Small Group
No entry tickets are included, so college and library interiors cost extra on top of the $105. No food or drinks are included and tips are expected to be arranged by you. And with up to 53 passengers, this is a big-coach format.
If 53 sounds like a crowd, the Cotswolds small-group day tour caps at 16 in a minibus for $112.98.
Travellers Who Need a Slow Day
The day runs 10.5 hours with stops of 30 minutes and an hour in the villages, and the walking tour in Oxford is on foot whatever the weather. No difficulty rating or wheelchair provision is stated in the listing, so travellers with mobility needs should confirm arrangements with the operator before booking rather than assume access.
Burford High Street runs downhill past timber-framed and stone buildings toward the River Windrush. Photo: Roger Davies, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Could You Do It Without a Tour?
Oxford is one of the easiest places to reach from London by train. The Cotswolds are the hard part. Here is the honest split.
Oxford Alone Is a Simple Train Day
Direct trains run from London Paddington to Oxford, and Chiltern Railways runs from London Marylebone. Rail fares are dynamic, so we do not quote one here. Once you arrive, the city is walkable and much of the best of it is free: the Ashmolean Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History all charge nothing, and Christ Church Meadow is free in daylight hours.
If Oxford is what pulled you towards this tour, the train gives you a full day instead of 2.5 hours, which fixes the rushed feeling reviewers mention. See the guide to free day trips from London by train.
The Cotswolds Are Where the Tour Earns Its Price
Getting to the villages without a car is slow. You can reach Moreton-in-Marsh or Kingham by rail and pick up the Pulhams 801 bus to Stow-on-the-Wold in about 20 minutes or Bourton-on-the-Water in about 30, running hourly Monday to Saturday and every 2 hours on Sundays. Reaching Burford by public transport means a train to Oxford and the Stagecoach S2 bus, about an hour in total.
Stringing Burford and Bourton into one car-free day is possible but eats hours in waiting. The coach tour solves that in one line, which is exactly what you are paying $105 for: the villages, the guide and the routing, not the entries.
If the Region Deserves More Than a Day
Many travellers find Oxford and the Cotswolds together want more time than a single day allows. Our pages on a 2 day trip from London and a 3 day trip from London show how to give each place a proper visit, using Oxford as an overnight base with the villages on the second day.
Itinerary
The operator's stated route, with the clock times it gives and phase labels where it does not.
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7:15 AM
Arrive at Gloucester Road
Meet opposite Gloucester Road Underground station, outside the Stanhope Arms bar near Tesco Express, postcode SW7 4SS. The tour departs at 7:30 AM sharp.
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Early morning
Coach to Oxfordshire
About 1.5 hours west by air-conditioned coach with the guide, followed by a 20-minute break in Oxfordshire.
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Morning
Guided hour in the Cotswolds
A guided tour with scenic views through the designated area of outstanding natural beauty, with sightseeing and scenic views on the way.
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Midday
Burford, 30 minutes
Free time for sightseeing and shopping on Burford's sloping High Street, which runs down to the River Windrush.
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Midday
Bourton-on-the-Water, 1 hour
A photo stop and visit with shopping time in the riverside village. Expect crowds at weekends and in good weather.
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Afternoon
Oxford, 2.5 hours
A guided walk past the colleges, the Bridge of Sighs and Christ Church Cathedral, then free time for lunch and shopping with the guide's recommendations.
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Late afternoon
Back to London
About 2 hours on the coach to Gloucester Road Station, arriving around 6 PM.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of the listing, drawn from its own terms and what reviewers say.
What we genuinely like
- At $105 on the cheapest listed day it undercuts most comparable coach days on the comparison of day tours from London
- Two Cotswolds villages with real stops, Burford for 30 minutes and Bourton-on-the-Water for a full hour, not just a drive-by
- A live English-speaking guide for the whole day, including a guided Oxford walk past the Bridge of Sighs and Christ Church Cathedral
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure and reserve now, pay later
- Gloucester Road is an Underground station, and the return lands you there around 6 PM
The honest downsides
- No entries, no lunch, no drinks and no tips are included, so the real cost of the day is higher than the $105 headline
- 2.5 hours in Oxford is short, and reviewers say the city feels rushed
- Up to 53 passengers makes for a big group and a long coach at each stop
- A 7:30 AM departure from Gloucester Road with no hotel pickup means an early start
- 30 minutes in Burford is barely a leg stretch
Who it's NOT for: Not for families with children under 4, travellers who want college interiors and lunch handled for them, or anyone who would rather have Oxford for a full day than half of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Oxford and Cotswolds day trip from London cost?
The listing starts at $105 per person on the cheapest listed day, sold on GetYourGuide by Day Tours London. That covers the guide and the air-conditioned coach only. Lunch, tips and entries such as Christ Church, from £22.95 on weekdays, are extra. Compare it with the Cotswolds small-group day tour at $112.98 before you book.
How long is the tour and what time does it leave London?
It runs 10.5 hours. You arrive at Gloucester Road at 7:15 AM and the coach departs at 7:30 AM sharp, returning around 6 PM. For the full stop-by-stop plan see what the day is really like.
Is food included on this Cotswolds and Oxford day trip?
No. Food and drinks are not included and tips are extra. The free time in Oxford is explicitly for lunch and the guide will recommend places to eat. Budget for meals at both village stops too, since Burford is only 30 minutes and Bourton-on-the-Water one hour.
Why do reviewers say Oxford feels rushed?
The stop is 2.5 hours, shared between a guided walk and lunch, which leaves little room for paid sights like the Bodleian tours from £12.50 or Christ Church. If Oxford is your priority, a direct train from Paddington gives you the whole day, as covered in free day trips from London by train.
Can I take this tour with young children?
The listing states it is not suitable for children under 4. No wheelchair provision or difficulty rating is stated, so travellers with access needs should confirm with the operator first. For other formats, browse the day trips from London comparison and its family-friendlier listings.
Is a small-group alternative to this coach tour available?
Yes. The Cotswolds small-group day tour runs a 16-seat minibus at $112.98 for 9.5 hours, skipping Oxford but giving more room in the villages, though children under 7 cannot join it. If you would rather keep Oxford and add castles, the Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford day trip runs the same 10.5-hour length from $106.26.
Do I need to book entry tickets in advance for Oxford?
Nothing is included in the tour, so tickets are your own arrangement. Christ Church releases tickets weekly and booking in advance saves £2 per adult, and the Bodleian Radcliffe Camera tours must be bought online in advance. The university museums, including the Ashmolean, are free. See what the price actually covers for the full split.
What Travelers Said
Amazing tour guide!! Thanks alot to Phoebe for her super clear instructions and her friendliness :)
every thing was good... we enjoyed.. guide Mr. James was excellent.
It was a wonderful excursion. The weather was great, the guide James was very witty and full of knowledge, and the driver John was friendly. We had a great time.
Loved this trip - it was a beautiful day with even better scenery. Knowledgeable and friendly guide and a smooth, ride there and back!
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