The Stonehenge Tour (Salisbury Reds)

Who they are

The official sightseeing bus between Salisbury and Stonehenge, operated by Salisbury Reds, the city's bus company, a brand of Go South Coast Ltd. It is the simplest way to reach the stones without a car, especially if you reach Salisbury by train from London. The website does not say since what year the service has run.

How it works

It is a hop-on hop-off bus with two departure stops in Salisbury: the railway station and stop U on New Canal, in the centre. It reaches Stonehenge in about 30 minutes and returns in 40 via Old Sarum, the city's former fortified site, where you can get off and board the next one. The full loop takes 1 hour 11 minutes, and the company reckons about five hours to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum and the cathedral in comfort.

There are summer and winter timetables. With the winter one, in force from 7 September 2026, the bus leaves the station every hour from 10:05 to 14:05, and returns from Stonehenge every hour from 10:55 to 14:55, plus two last buses at 16:05 and 17:15. In summer, from 28 March to 6 September 2026, there is one more departure at 15:05 and the last return from the stones is at 18:15. Around the summer solstice the service changes: in 2026 it finished earlier on 20 June and did not run on the 21st, when Salisbury Reds laid on special buses for the celebration.

Tickets and what they include

There are three tickets: bus only; bus with admission to Old Sarum and Stonehenge; and the all-inclusive, which adds admission to Salisbury Cathedral. The bus is valid all day, with unlimited hopping on and off. The combined tickets include Stonehenge admission with an assigned time, priority access to the visitor centre and the shuttle to the stones; the Stonehenge audio guide is paid separately, and the cathedral tower tour is not included. Cathedral admission is valid up to 48 hours after the bus day.

It is bought online, at Salisbury station, at the tourist office or on the bus itself; on the bus, payments of more than £100 are made in cash. Anyone with a free English Heritage ticket needs only the bus ticket.

Languages and conditions

On board there is commentary in ten languages, including Spanish, as well as English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. To change the date you must notify customer service at least 24 hours ahead; refunds are at the company's discretion and carry a handling fee. If the e-ticket does not arrive within two hours, they ask you to write to [email protected]. The customer service phone number is 01202 338420.