Day Trip from London to Oxford and Cambridge

Oxford and Cambridge lie in opposite directions from London, which makes seeing both in one day by public transport close to impossible; a guided coach day is the practical way to do it. For that two-city day, 3 tours are on our list. The Oxford and Cambridge tours on this page add up to more than 609 reviews, averaging 4.0 out of 5.

For this two-city day, 10 hours is the commonest length; on most tours roughly 4 to 5 hours of it go on the road between London and the colleges.

Guided coach day through both universities

The tours we describe share one pattern: a guide, transport out of London and a stop in each university town. One covers entry to Christ Church College and King's College alike, with a guide who also speaks Spanish. It is rated 4.1 out of 5.

Entry to the colleges varies between the tours we describe. "Visit Christ Church College, where Harry Potter was filmed", one English and Spanish day notes, and it also takes in the Bodleian Library and King's College Chapel. Another pairs a guided tour of Oxford with a visit to Cambridge.

The tours we describe share this guided format; that is why this table holds a single row rather than a range of formats. Of the tours shown here, the tour with the most reviews is "From London: Oxford and Cambridge Universities Tour", with more than 314 reviews, rated 4.1 out of 5.

Table data is indicative and comes from the GuruWalk catalogue. Each activity's current details, including availability, are the ones shown on its listing when you book.

Free hours in each city

Most tours leave about 1.5 to 2 hours of free exploring per city. In Oxford, the stops most tours make are the Bodleian Library and Christ Church; Cambridge's are the Mathematical Bridge and King's College Chapel.

Joining the coach in London

Boarding points in London vary from tour to tour, so read the meeting details before the day. Another fetches you from the city and returns you there.