This tour brought me so much joy! I originally wanted to do the cs Lewis/jrr Tolkien tour but I…read morewasn't in Oxford on the right day for that. I signed up for the literary tour and I turned out to be the only one on the tour. So My guide took me by so many places that were relevant to Lewis/Tolkien. What an unexpected delight! There was plenty of other literary history too! It was the highlight of my trip to England!

This tour is definitely worth it! Our guide actually went to Oxford, so his understanding is an…read moreinsiders'. I won't tell you all the things I learned and spoil it for you, but I can't keep quiet about two of them: First, students are NOT primarily lectured to as in most American universities. Instead, they have maybe one lecture a week on a topic. The rest of the week they spend discussing with a professor in their college (Oxford is comprised of 38 colleges). Is it any wonder most students leave there with knowledge firmly in their heads, rather than "I forgot. I learned it for the test and then forgot it"? Second, why is the grass in the courtyards so amazing? Because only professors are allowed to walk on it! Can you imagine what would happen if we told American students that they were not allowed to walk on the grass, but their professors were?!

What: 3 hour private tour of Oxford University. We were interested in a campus tour of Oxford…read moreUniversity and since Oxford doesn't offer that and there is no actual "campus" since it's made up of multiple schools and buildings, we did the next best thing. Arron was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable, funny and full of stories and interesting insights on college life and the application process as he is a current student. We highly recommend this company!

"It takes one to know one"…read more That playground taunt easily applies to my experience with Footprints Tours, an organization through which you can make advance reservations for free walking tours of Oxford. Why? Because I, too, lead a free walking tour albeit elsewhere on the planet. As someone who leads tours and cares greatly about tour quality I recognize a great tour when I come upon one. Chris, my Footprints Tour guide provided exactly that. He was animated, interesting, kept things moving, and told interesting stories. A couple of days later I saw another guide leading a tour - assumedly from a different company - and after hearing what he said at a particular stop all I could think was "I'm so glad we went with Footprints and so glad Chris was our guide". The tours are supposed to run 2 hours. Chris went a bit over which was my sole criticism of the tour. Attention spans are short and that two hour maximum is at the outer edge of how long people will engage for. Assuming you book with Footprints Tours you'll arrive at the stated location and find a ton of tour guides assembled. But walk into the Oxford Tourist Information Center to check in and they'll promptly tell you which guide you are assigned to. People who lead these free tours do conclude with an "ask". That is: a donation is sought and assuming Chris' tour is the standard, it is definitely earned. I understand the worth of someone talking - actually, "performing" - for two hours and I happily made what I felt was a generous cash donation. You'll likely be inspired as well. After I'd booked my free Footprints Tour I had begun to think perhaps a paid tour would be better and momentarily thought of canceling. I'm so pleased that I didn't. The Footprints Tour led by Chris (on June 22) would be quite difficult for anyone to top. Excellent.

Though Salter's Steamers runs boat tours and boat taxis they also rent boats for you to do the work…read moreyourself. I advance-booked a 3-hour (half-day) punt with a 5-person capacity at a cost of £50 for a party of 2. Given the effort punting requires I wished I'd had a party of 5. I'm certain there's other places to rent punts to traverse the Thames but Salter's Steamers is easily found beside the Folly Bridge beside which sits a popular pub which you'll be immensely grateful for when you, bathed in sweat, finish punting. Getting in and getting going was simple and the guy manning the little waterfront hut was adequate in explaining how to proceed. I was thankful he threw in an oar at the last minute as it helps immensely if one person punts while the other rows. I imagine anyone providing punts offers pretty much the same service as Salter's Steamers did. There wasn't anything to like or dislike though I'll say that reserving in advance as I did was probably completely unnecessary and a little map would've been nice. It'd be almost impossible to get lost but understanding where one is headed and visually seeing the distances between points would be a welcome inclusion. It's Oxford and it's the Thames; punt away!

HIGHLY recommended! I decided on a whim to take the boat taxi from Abingdon to Oxford one day after…read morework. It was a 2 hour trip through multiple locks up the Thames. I absolutely loved every minute of it. Bonus... they sell beer too! Tourist or just wanting to leisurely enjoy a nice afternoon in the river... do it!

Being in Oxford it seemed impossible not to visit it's one of main attractions - 11th century…read moreOxford castle. You can get in by booking a tour - £11.50 , but it's money well spent! Our tour guide first was dressed in themed costume, full of stories and quite articulate! First we visited the tower (you have to be comfortable with climbing steps, otherwise there is an option to wait downstairs). We were not lucky to get the full view due to the weather, but still could see quite far, which gives you the feel of the importance of the tower at a time. The tour gives an incredible insight into the castle's history. It lasts about an hour and after you are free to do some exploring yourself.

Our tour guide, Esther, gave a fantastic tour of the castle and prison. The stories were very…read moreinteresting and I enjoyed learning about everything dating back 1000 years. Would definitely recommend taking a tour of this place, it's a memorable one for sure.

If you like cottages, English villages, countryside and history, this is the "must" tour for you!…read moreOur guides Robin and Charlottes, were wonderful and charming, driving us around and providing so much insightful information regarding past and present intelligence on history of different villages and cottages. Our base location, the "Secret Cottage" property is darling and a dream setting! The food and beverages coordinator Chrissy, is the most gracious and kind host! We were served three meals: Late continental breakfast, huge lunch and afternoon sweets/tea. This is a great way to spend the afternoon in the countryside, a hour away from London! Book this tour! It is seriously worth it! If you see Robin the guide, tell him that Gary, the "American" sent you!

It was a very rainy day when we took this tour, but the food, scenery and wonderful tour guides…read moremade up for it in a big way! This was the perfect combination of activities and just the right size for a tour. We had an informative and very fun day. For anyone thinking about touring in the Cotswolds, this tour is a 'no brainer'!

Bourton on the Water is a small, cute, and picturesque village that was a relatively easy walk from…read moreour Hotel in Lower Slaughter. Unfortunately, we arrived on a Saturday during a Bank Holiday weekend on a very nice warm and sunny day. The place was packed, which made appreciating this place's beauty somewhat challenging as we were dodging our fellow tourists and long lines of cars at selected crossings. A few tips: 1. Do try the ice cream, which is local and delicious. They also make a dog-friendly style. 2. We had a relatively quiet and relaxing lunch at the Dial Hotel, which we considered somewhat out of the way. 3. The Cotswold Pottery shop a few blocks off the river walk is worth a visit and a look. 3. The local foot paths off the main area provide a scenic and peaceful respite.

A charming little town in the Cotswolds. My family enjoyed walking around and had a lot of great…read morepictures. Although the tour guide said the place gets a little crazy during the summer season. Definitely avoid that...

This relatively small train station is an easy walk to Downtown or the local Co-op. We came…read morearrived from Paddington in the early afternoon and only required minimal directions to get to our Hotel. We had printed out our tickets ahead of time for our return journey back to London. So all we had to do was figure out which side of the tracks we needed to be, wait in the enclosed seating area, and wait for our train. The architecture was mixed and somewhat unremarkable.

Moreton-in-Marsh is a small town in the Cotswolds, so its railway station is small compared to…read morestations in larger towns like Oxford. There is no self-service ticket machine in this station, so if you purchased tickets online and hope to use a self service ticket to print them out, you won't be able to do that here. I printed out all the tickets I purchased online months ago at Paddington Station since I knew I would not be able to do that. There is anagent from whom you can purchase tickets at certain times, so it's good to know their office hours. The ticket office also has information brochures on places of interest in the area. This station is only a few minutes from High Street, so it's very convenient for travelers or sightseers who might want to check out this town. If you don't have a car, you can take the bus going to towns like Stow-on-the Wold or Burton-on-the Water from this station.

We had a birthday celebration to attend among the local gentry, and needed a place for 3 nights. We…read morechose the White Hart Hotel based on convenient location and availability, but had no idea the food was going to be so good! Our room was simple but had all the conveniences necessary - plenty of storage, a modernized bathroom, and just that picturesque feeling of being in a real English country inn from the 17th century. The food, however, was off the charts good - some Mediterranean gems like gnocchi, some Spanish influences - definitely not standard pub fare!. Service was extremely friendly, competent, and management was always ready to assist. Have no idea if we will return to Oxfordshire any time soon, but the food at this cozy inn is a serious draw!

Lovely hotel right in the middle of town. Very nice staff, very convenient location. They were so…read moreaccommodating when we need to change the rooms. Very helpful. Parking on site and free wireless internet were both great additions as well.