Downtown Abbey Village in The Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace & Lunch

a good thing

a convenient way to see this little piece of england. sondra was great! Blenheim was amazing and the day was lovely.

NO respect for disabled people or local village residents.

This company has NO respect at all for disabled people or local residents in the quaint Cotswold villages that they bring their customers to. They park illegally in residential streets on double yellow lines, obstructing dropped curbs (so that disabled people can not cross the road). They park across residents’ driveways and even when an ambulance was attending a residence, their coach still parked up dead opposite the ambulance, blocking traffic flow. They park so near road junctions that vehicles have to exit the road junction on the wrong side of the road. This company is going to cause a terrible accident because of their illegal and inconsiderate coach parking in Cotswold villages.

Too much time on bus

The majority of the time was spent on a bus (6-7 hours). Cotswalds is touristy and the Blenheim palace was smaller and more boring than expected.

A day in the Cotswolds

A lovely relaxing day in the country. Time at two charming Cotswolds villages, and the tour at Blenheim Palace. Our guide and driver were excellent, helpful to everyone. The lunch at the pub was a little disappointing not being traditional pub fare. I would recommend doing lunch oyo as there were many, many dining options at Bourton-on-the-Water. All in all, a lovely day tour.

Unprepared & unprofessional

This tour is advertised as a tour of Blenheim Palace—which accounts for perhaps a quarter of the day. Much of the time is spent in two villages—Bampton and Burton-on-the-Water. We started with an aimless walk around Bampton, visiting a Downton Abbey filming site, followed by a lengthy wait for the bus to return. The lunch in Burton was good, and the village is charming, although we learned nothing about it from our guide, Jeff. Another company employee accompanied Jeff and pointed out places where the tour goes, once commenting that we usually go “here,” so it’s possible this was Jeff’s first time leading this tour. If so, one would think he would have notes or other documentation to assist with the effort. No such luck. Instead, little information of importance or depth was provided. Furthermore, English wasn’t Jeff’s first language, and it was sometimes challenging to understand him. At the first stop, the bus left without counting to ensure that all tour participants had boarded the bus. It’s standard procedure to count the numbers in a group, and it was concerning that this step wasn’t taken to ensure no one was left behind. After lunch, Jeff left with the group while my husband and I were still inside the restrooms. Had I not come outside in time to see the group walking about a block away, I wouldn’t have known where they had gone. Jeff wasn’t even aware that we were missing when we finally caught up with the group. This completely unprofessional behavior is inexcusable. The final straw was the tour company's miscommunication regarding the tour's ending point in London. We made arrangements based on the company's communication with us, which turned out to be incorrect. Those arrangements had to be altered because of the change in the ending location. I would not book a tour with this company again.

We booked this trip...

We booked this trip months ago. When we got to the bus station the tour guide said this tour hadn’t been running for months. Instead we were put on a tour of Warwick castle ( taudry), Stratford on Avon ( uninteresting) and Oxford where we had been before. YOU PEOPLE ARE TOTALLY INCOMPETENT!!! Will never use you again!

Great Experience with Cedric the Tour Guide and Driver Jim!!

Cedric and Jim were wonderful! Super friendly and informative. What a great day at the Cotswold and Blenheim Palace ☺️☺️☺️

Tiki Tiki trip😂👍

I loved it. Thanks to our guide Regeena and to our drived Jose. Such an amazing trip. I do recommend.👍

Blenheim Palace Impressive

Blenheim Palace was very nice. Lunch in Bourton on Water was good (roast chicken meal). The town was very cute. Those parts were the highlights of the day. Stop at Burford was waste of time as no time to do anything. Think locals not a fan of tourists. Even when spending money in pub, toilet had no toilet paper. On expensive tour, pre-arrangements should be made for toilets or skip the stop entirely.

Best tour ever!

This was by far the absolute best tour we’ve ever taken! Regina the tour guide was amazing. She was friendly, interesting, extremely knowledgeable and made the entire day fun. It was evident to us that she loves her job. We noticed that throughout the entire day she made sure that everyone’s questions were answered. She even made sure each person on the bus knew how to find their way back the their hotels at the end of the day drop off point. Mario the bus driver was super careful to be sure the entire trip was comfortable for all his passengers too. We give this tour an A+. It’s worth every penny of the cost and more. If you are looking for the best tour guide, best coach driver, and amazing history and scenery we highly recommend this tour!

Great Gardens of England

Amazing! We did a custom tour to the Chelsea Flower Show and all the great gardens of southern England. It was trip of a lifetime.

It was a wonderful experience !!

It was a wonderful experience!! Venues and host were wonderful! Would highly recommend for couples!!

Outstanding Tour Guide

We really enjoyed our tour to Blenheim Palace and especially Bourton-on-the-water with Saundra and Peter. Saundra was the best tour guide ever and was so great at her job. I would do it all again! She was knowledgable, well spoken and very endearing. I loved how she referred to our group as "my darlings". If there are other tours she does I would like to be on them. Peter was a great driver and got on well with Saundra. Great team. Loved our experience. Nice group of people on the tour.

Dreams do come true!

Seeing the Blenheim Palace in person was incredible. The grounds, the building, the furniture, artwork.. I could go on and on, but you have to see it to truly experience it. And the Cotswolds.. my lifelong dream. I felt that I could stay there. The serenity and beauty is truly captivating. The breathtakingly beautiful overgrown doorways, the friendly locals and the special kind of atmosphere. Last but not least was our lovely tour guide and driver. Amanda was very sweet and I enjoyed being in her group. A special thank you to her!

A Day In The Country

Great small tour which was led up by Dolly, who brought years of insight into all of her explanation throughout the day.

Excellent informative tour!

We took the Blenheim, Cotswolds tour with Golden Tours. Martin, our tour guide was informative and very pleasant. The driver was great too. We learned and saw enough to get a good taste of the area. I'm really glad we took this tour.

Wow! Excellent! Amazing tour.

Amazing tour. Take it, you will love it. Our tour guide and the driver were so knowledgeable and so nice and friendly. By the end of our tour the guide knew every one in the group and he took the time to mention EVERY one of our names and to thank us for being such a wonderful group. Tour guide spoke English, Mandarin, French, and Spanish, we were impressed.

Couch left me behind-even being on time

Booked a tour to Costwalds,on 25.08.2023. After visiting Bleheim Palace,meeting time was 12.30. At exactely 12.29 I saw the coach leaving.I waved to them but they didn't even look. At 12.31 I called customers service. Very poor service! I was lucky to find another coach to take me to the next point. Shame on you Cedric,the tour guide! Shame on you Golden Tour! According to the people in the couch, the guide didn't know I was not there,he didn't count the tourists and didn't tell that someone is missing! Very unprofesional! I was lucky to find another couch, otherwise I would need to pay for my return to London. Tour guide didn't even say sorry,or show some remorse! Definitely I will not use them. Date of experience: 25 August 2023

A wonderful day outside of London

Blenheim Palace was a place we greatly enjoyed seeing. The exhibit of Churchill memorabilia was particularly impressive. The small villages in the Cotswolds were quaint but overrun with tourists, this being a prime vacation period. The guide (Cedric) and driver (Kiernan) were an outstanding team that worked well together. Only compliant was that once booked with Viator we did not receive clear directions regarding were to meet the coach. That should behave been on the voucher. I needed to make calls when in London to get that information.

Great guide and driver.

Morton and driver were very personable and attentive to all our needs. He even visited everyone to make they knew how to get back.

Relaxed day trip away from the city

Had a great day with Jim and Morton at Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds. Loved Morton’s style of commentary - and they were both very friendly, relaxed and helpful. Though we were there in the busy summertime it was a great day trip to take while visiting London for a different experience. Highly recommmend

Spectacular

The exceptional bus operator and tour guide provide a delightful experience exploring the breathtaking palace and charming villages. Their expertise ensures a smooth journey, while their insightful commentary enriches the tour. The majestic palace mesmerizes with its grandeur and historical significance. In contrast, the picturesque villages enchant with their quaint beauty and warm-hearted locals. Together, this unforgettable journey weaves cultural discovery, natural beauty, and cherished memories into an amazing adventure.

Blenheim palace itself...

Blenheim palace itself was wonderful. Our guide Dolly was very knowledgeable and well informed. Both she and our driver were Outstanding.

Your brochure and...

Your brochure and advertisement said we would have a personalized guide, which we had one we had to download on our phone and it was poorly organized. You folfs also know that this trip always exceeds driver hours, yet after spending over $300 on this, we had to take an expensive cab ride to get us back to our hotel because it was well short of Victoria Station. The lunch of a flattened chicken breast deep fried, with a lettuce garnish, with a spoon dip of ice cream is what we were fed for almost $100 for 2. Did not include a drink. Bread. Kind of soured our taste in the trip. Eileen was great The driver was excellent.

Sightseeing

Seeing all the art on the tapestries n gardens Our tour guide was very good n helpful . Our lunch stop was a wonderful little town and lunch was delicious

Beautiful countryside, impressive Blenheim Palace and charming Bourton-on-the-water

The countryside on route to Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds is beautiful, and Blenheim Palace is most impressive, however just 1 hour to tour the largest private palace and gardens is not nearly enough. 2 to 3 hours would have been more reasonable at Blenheim instead of spending 2.5 hours in the charming Bourton-on-the-water. Very friendly and multilingual guide Cedric made a special effort to get to know the tour group.

relaxing trip , nice view

Nice routine for one day trip.Our guide Aileen is passionate and accommodating.Will definitely recommend it to friends.

Great tour. Very...

Great tour. Very enjoyable. The guide (Morton) and the driver were excellent. Bring a raincoat just in case, since it can start out sunny and be rainy in the middle of the trip.

Great tour to Blenheim and Cotswold

The tour was well paced and we travelled to Blenheim palace first Dolly , the tour guide provided a steady flow of interesting information on the drive Blenheim was spectacular and the Cotswold villages were picture book

A great day out!

A great way to get a taste of the Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace was fantastic, well worth a visit. We had a reasonable amount of time at all places. The bus was comfortable and parked in very close and accessible locations. Eileen was very knowledgeable and shared lots of engaging stories during the bus ride. Would recommend, a great day out.

Recommend for an English countryside experience

I was looking through the reviews and I'm guessing either reviewers didn't review the correct tour or this tour has changed since 2019. This tour is exactly as described, we drive from London to two towns in the Cotswolds and ends in Blenheim Palace with an optional lunch in one town in The Cotswolds. We really enjoyed our time. Our tour guide, Mark, was absolutely fabulous, we looks and talks like an English gentleman that is from the Cotswolds. It is a long-ish tour because, if there's traffic in London, it might take about 10 hours. We had an amazing experience with sufficient time in each location and a great drive by the countryside. We highly recommend it.

Amazing experience

International Friends & director Catherine Cooper have the best small group tour. Catherine made sure to check with each one of us to make sure we were have the best possible experience. Catherine was knowledgeable, entertaining & so very congenial. We didn’t want our time with Catherine to end. International has the best tours, guides/directors, drivers and more.

Terrible Bleimhein

The local tour operator cancelled the whole trip I need a refund. They Told us that due To unforeseen circumstances the tour to Blenheim was cancelled and they sent it to me by email the day before. We tried calling and no one answered we also tried calling Viator in the US but no one picked up. It has been a nightmare.

Must see!

Blenheim Palace is remarkable. So much history to enjoy. Visiting the Cotswolds was a pleasure. Our guide, Moreton was fantastic!

Great tour

Excellent guide; much interesting information about the area and the country. Had the privilege of playing the Willis organ at Blenheim.

Oxford, Cotswold and Blenheim day trip with lunch

We did this tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. The stops in Oxford and the Cotswolds are not long but having a lunch on the coach helped to save time for seeing things instead of searching for a bite to eat. Certainly, it would be better to have more time in Oxford and Cotswolds but you can only do so much in a day trip and this gave us a taste of places we were not going to have time to see otherwise. Our guide Simon and driver Peter were awesome. They made everything smooth. Simon had the perfect balance of sharing interesting and entertaining information without talking constantly and oversharing. He gave us tips to enjoy our stops that helped us make good use of the short time we had. Blenheim palace was absolutely wonderful and two hours was needed to see house and grounds which are beautiful and extensive. The only negative was unique in that our visit coincided with the artist Cattelan's works being integrated within Bleheim. His displays in the rooms were distasteful and took away from our once in a lifetime experience to see Blenheim. It was meant to offend and be provocative but was not expected. Wish we had a warning before seeing a model of Pope hit by meteorite and full taxidermy horse hanging from ceiling... The displays end October 27th so should not impact others visiting Blenheim.

Blenheim Palace Tour

Enjoyed our day with visits to Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Cotswolds. Lunch was a small box lunch, advise bringing your own snacks. Seemed to be some confusion between our tour guide and Blenheim Palace for entry procedures. Could have used more time there, but hard to see everything since so far from London.

Poorly organized. Very disappointed An the short time we had in both oxfords and bourton on water. Way too much free in

Not enough free time in Oxford and the Cotswolds. Too much free time at Blenhiem palace. Too much standing in the rain while he gathered us to talk. He could have used on the bus.

Disappointing

I expected the majority of the time to be spent at Blenheim since that is the first place listed on the tour package. Instead we were taken to Oxford first. The second stop was a small town in the Cotswolds which was very crowded midday and over-comercialized. When we finally arrived at Blenheim, we had the last two hours of the day to tour the Palace. The driver was great. The tour guy was crotchety. Lunch was a typical box lunch. Disappointing at best.

Excellent tour!

This was a well-timed trip with variety and plenty. of time at the various sites. Our host, Antonio, was very well informed, pleasant and provided enjoyable commentary and helpful suggestions. Our driver, Armando, was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed this. Last year we did the Stonehenge trip and enjoyed it as well. Highly recommend this company and the various packages they. put together for tourists.

Cotswolds Trip a Joke

We booked this Cotswolds trip 3-4 months prior to going on the tour. The date we attended was on 7/31/19. At the time of booking this trip didn't mention anything about visiting Oxford. When the tour changed, Golden didn't bother contacting us so we could cancel. We WASTED 1-2 hours walking around Oxford campus. Yeah, it's a nice campus, but Our interest was spending time in the Cotswold towns. The tour guide didn't seem very interested in the stop either. WASTE. Then... Once we finally got to the Cotswolds, we drove through them quickly, and didn't stop at the town that was promised on the posting (Stow-in-the-Wold). The driver and guide were worried about parking and traffic so they stopped at another town. The other town was OK, but we only had one our. I have to say, we PAY for a tour so your company can worry about traffic and parking. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. We did go to Blenheim Palace as promised but we spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME THERE. Two hours. This whole day was a waste and wasn't what was promised to us.

Excellent tour

Visiting Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds was amazing! The Cotswolds is a beautiful town/village that warrants a few days to visit. Blenheim Palace is gorgeous with fantastic gardens and the walk through the Oxford campus was delightful and educational - what a beautiful campus! Our tour guide, Susan, was extremely informative and cheerful and I appreciate that we had an opportunity to visit Churchill's grave site although it was not part of the tour. I would go on this tour again in a heart beat - I highly recommend it.

Wonderful tour!

I did not know we were visiting Oxford, so that was a plus. We had a great Blue Badge guide, Geoff, and an outstanding driver, Cody. Lots of interesting historical information. Drove through the Cotswolds and spent a couple of hours in Bourton on the Water. Very nice little village. Then on to Blenheim Palace. It was so interesting, especially the parts dedicated to it as Churchill's birthplace. The box lunch was fine. I enjoyed the tour very much. As a single woman, it allowed me to visit these three areas very easily.

Excellent Tour!

I did not know Oxford was included in the tour, so I was thrilled to visit that city and the colleges. I enjoyed the drive through the Cotswolds and our stop at Bourton on the Water. It was a pleasant town to stroll through. I very much enjoyed the magnificent Blenheim Palace, especially the parts dedicated to Churchill and his birth there. Our guide Geoff was an official Blue Badge Guide and he was wonderful. Our driver Cody was wonderful as well. The box lunch was fine. All in all, it was an excellent tour and I would highly recommend it!

Very pleasant time in Cotsworld and Blenheim Palace

Today was very bright to travel around. The weather is most important factor for travel. The other thing is how the guide lead the travellers and how well the driver drives well for a long journey. My guide, David, is full of knowledges and he answers all of our questions. Also, he is very kind, which makes me feel comfortable during the trip. The driver Koli tried to drive safely despite a long drive, which made me feel safe and comfortable. I was more interested in Cotsworld but Blenheim Palace was beyond expectation. It has very interesting and beautiful rooms with different kinds of concepts. And it also has stunning garden, which was good for taking a walk. So pleasant time. As for Cotsworld, it was also great to enjoy. Very beautiful and peaceful villages, where I want to live after retirement.

The charming countryside

Took the trip from London to Cotswold and Blenheim palace during my trip in November 2017. Boarded the bus from designated spot though it was a bit difficult to find. It was a comfortable journey from then on. We started early morning and stopped for breakfast in the first village. We then proceeded to see 2 other villages before reaching Blenheim palace. Bourton on the water was the best among the villages. I feel we could have a avoided one of the other two villages to have more time for Blenheim palace and the surrounding grounds. It was a great trip overall and exploring the countryside was a lovely experience.

Lovely day in the country

We enjoyed a great day visiting the Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace. While always wanting more time to explore all the beautiful sites on the tour, it was a great way to get a good taste of the three villages visited and the Palace.the bus was comfortable and the lunch provided was more than adequate. Ellis, the driver and Sue, the guide were excellent companions on the jiourney. We enjoyed their knowledge and sense of humour. This is a trip well worth doing for a pleasant day in the English countryside.

Good introduction to the countryside

The tour guide, David, was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Ali, the driver, was also really friendly and courteous. It was perfect for the short time I have in London. The places we visited had nice sceneries. Cotswold would've been difficult to get to without going with a car, so this was a perfect find for us. The pace of the tour was also pretty nice and relaxing. Lunchbox included was unhealthy and terrible though..

Great Palace, awful guide

Let me start from the beginning- the appearence of the guide is important, it shows professionalism - or a lack of. Our guide was disheveled and missing front teath. She lacked historical knowledge of the cotwolds. As we went from one village to the other she gave us about 5 minutes of information, let us off the bus and instructed to be back on the bus--NO guided tour! The Palace was wonderful-we had to use the audio guide--our guide did NOT enter with us. This was the most disappointing tour of our travels.

Review of Blenheim Palace and Cotwolds

Great day with David and Kirian, the driver. Except for the rain all day the tour went as planned. No one was late or left behind! Everyone was on schedule and followed time frame set by company. Lunch was ok. Not great but not bad either. Would book with them again.