— tours
Private Cruise Excursions and Port Transfers
— private shore excursions
Private Cruise Excursions in the UK
Best UK Tours provides private cruise excursions and port transfers for passengers sailing into Southampton and Dover. Rather than joining a coach shared with half the ship, you step ashore and into your own vehicle, with a driver-guide whose only job that day is looking after you. The route and the pace are yours to shape, whether that means a full day among England’s ancient wonders or a relaxed transfer to London with sightseeing along the way.
Every excursion is private to your party and planned around your ship. We arrange your pickup to suit your docking time, your guide adapts the day as it unfolds, and if you find yourself lingering over lunch in a cathedral city, nobody is waiting on the coach. It is a very civilised way to spend your time ashore.
The tours below are the shore excursions our cruise guests ask for most, and each one can be tailored to your interests and your sailing schedule. Get in touch to start planning your day ashore.
Southampton Cruise Excursions & Private Shore Tours
Private Cruise Transfer with Sightseeing on the Way
Full Day Cruise Excursion – Stonehenge, Winchester, or Salisbury
2-Day Stonehenge, Bath & Windsor Cruise Excursion
3-Day British Odyssey Cruise Excursion
— from ship to shore
How Pickup at the Port Works
Your written confirmation names the terminal or other meeting point, the planned pickup time and the contact route if the ship is late.
James’s car can take up to four large cases and four soft carry-ons. A minivan may take more, but the passenger and luggage details must be checked against the actual vehicle before booking. If you are turning the transfer into a sightseeing day, the confirmation should list the stops and final destination.
A late docking can reduce or change the route. Waiting time and any revised itinerary depend on the confirmed terms and the time still available, while a return-to-ship excursion remains planned around the published all-aboard time.
— sailing from southampton
Cruise Excursions from Southampton
Southampton is Britain’s busiest cruise port, and for sightseeing it is remarkably well placed. Within comfortable reach of the terminal you will find some of southern England’s most celebrated places:
- Stonehenge, the prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain
- Winchester, England’s ancient capital, home to King Arthur’s legendary Round Table
- Salisbury, where the cathedral holds an original Magna Carta
- Bath, with its Roman Baths and honey-coloured Georgian streets
- Windsor Castle, and London itself
Our full-day cruise excursion takes in Stonehenge, Winchester or Salisbury, or all three if your time ashore allows. If your cruise begins or ends in Southampton, a multi-day tour opens up far more of the country: the two-day excursion pairs Winchester, Salisbury and Stonehenge with Bath and Windsor Castle, while the three-day British Odyssey continues into the Cotswolds, Oxford and Stratford before delivering you wherever you need to be. If Southampton is your port, our Southampton cruise excursions page sets out how a day ashore works in both directions, whether you are joining a ship or leaving one.
— sailing from dover
Shore Excursions from Dover
Dover sits on the Kent coast beneath its famous White Cliffs, with the medieval bulk of Dover Castle looking down over the harbour. The castle and the cliff-top walks are practically on the doorstep, the cathedral city of Canterbury is an easy drive inland, and London is well within reach for a day ashore.
Our listed cruise excursions start from Southampton, but we arrange private days out of Dover on a bespoke basis. Tell us where your ship docks and what you would love to see, and we will build an itinerary around it. Contact us to plan a Dover shore excursion.
— your day, your way
Private Excursions and Ship Excursions Compared
The excursions sold on board do a good job for what they are: organised, dependable and easy to book. The trade-off is that they follow a fixed route at the pace of the whole group, and the most popular tours can involve a fair amount of coach time and queueing.
A private excursion suits travellers who want the day on their own terms. You choose the stops, linger where something catches your imagination, skip what does not interest you, and have a guide to yourselves for every question along the way. At the end of the day you are dropped back at the terminal rather than walking from a coach park.
Plenty of our guests use both across a single cruise, saving the private days for the ports where they most want to dig deeper. If Southampton or Dover is one of those ports, we would love to show you around.
— FAQS
Frequently Asked Questions
What to do in Southampton from a cruise ship?
Southampton itself is a pleasant city with a long maritime history, but its greatest gift to cruise passengers is what sits around it. Within a day ashore you can walk the landscape around Stonehenge, see King Arthur’s legendary Round Table in Winchester, visit an original Magna Carta in Salisbury, or go further afield to Bath, Windsor Castle or London. A private driver-guide lets you combine two or three of these in a single day without watching the clock for a coach.
Are cruise ship excursions worth it?
Often, yes. If you want a straightforward look at a headline sight with everything arranged for you, the tours sold on board do the job well. A private excursion earns its keep when you want more than the standard route: your own pace, your own interests and a guide to yourselves, with a day that flexes if plans change. In a port like Southampton, where so much sits within reach, having a car and driver-guide of your own means seeing considerably more in the same time ashore.
What is the best way to get from Southampton cruise port to London?
By road, if you have luggage and no wish to change trains. There is a rail link from Southampton Central, but it means getting to the station first and manoeuvring cases through a busy terminus at the other end. A private car collects you at the ship and drops you at your door, and it can take in Stonehenge or Windsor on the way. Our Southampton cruise excursions page covers the options.
How far is Southampton cruise terminal from London?
Roughly 80 miles, which is about two hours by road in ordinary traffic. That is comfortably short enough to break the journey, which is why so many of our guests turn the transfer into a day of sightseeing rather than a straight run up the motorway. Ships do not always berth to the minute, so we plan the day with room to breathe.
Can we see Stonehenge or Windsor Castle on the way from Southampton to London?
Yes, and both sit close to the natural route north. Stonehenge is a short detour onto Salisbury Plain, and Windsor is barely off the road into London, so either can be added without turning the day into a marathon. Our cruise transfer with a difference was designed for exactly this, turning a travel day most passengers write off into a proper day out.
Do you meet us at the ship when we disembark?
What happens if our ship docks late?
Will we be back at the ship in time for all-aboard?
That is the first thing we plan around. For any excursion that returns to the ship, your all-aboard time sets the shape of the day from the start, and we work backwards from it rather than hoping the afternoon behaves. You are dropped back at the terminal itself, not at a coach park with a walk still to do.
How do I get from Dover cruise port to Dover Castle?
Dover Castle overlooks the harbour, so it is a short journey up the hill from the cruise terminal rather than an expedition, and taxis are usually available at the port. If you would like more than the castle, we can build it into a private day ashore that also takes in the White Cliffs and Canterbury, collecting you at the terminal and returning you in good time for your ship.
Do you run shore excursions from Dover as well as Southampton?
We do, though Dover days are arranged individually rather than listed as fixed products. The castle and the White Cliffs are on the doorstep, Canterbury is an easy drive inland and London is within reach for a day ashore. Tell us where your ship docks and how long you have, and we will build the day around it.
— What our tour clients say