Frequently Asked Questions

Our Cotswolds Day Tours operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays between mid-February and December, with extra tours on Thursdays and Saturdays between May and September.

The tour lasts approximately 7-8 hours.

Our day tour of the Cotswolds visits a selection of beautiful towns, villages and viewpoints that characterise the beauty of the area. Specifically, the tour stops at Dover’s Hill, Chipping Campden, Broadway Tower, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water. We also visit a secret off-the-beaten-track Cotswolds village, but you’ll have to join us on a tour to find out about this one!

Yes you do! This is a big part of our tours. Our job is to point you in the direction of the best bits of the Cotswolds so that you can go and experience them for yourselves, spending as little time in the minibus as possible! We spend 20–30 minutes each at Dover’s Hill, Broadway Tower, Bibury and the secret Cotswolds village, where your driver/guide will stay with you and tell you a few things about these locations. At Bourton-on-the-Water you have approximately 40 minutes of free time to walk around, and at Chipping Campden and Stow-on-the-Wold, where you have at least an hour in each town, your driver/guide will give you a map with a list of recommended things that you might like to see and do.

No. So that we can keep the cost of the tour affordable, we do not provide lunch or refreshments. We make several stops throughout the day that have shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants where you can purchase drinks, snacks and meals. You are also welcome to bring your own food and drink which you can eat while you're at one of the stops.

If you’re vegetarian – no problem! All restaurants, cafés, tearooms etc. cater for vegetarian diets. Veganism is increasing in popularity in the UK, so most eateries now also cater for vegans, or can adapt dishes to your needs. If in any doubt, please just ask before you order.

To our knowledge there is nowhere that caters specifically for halal or kosher diets in the Cotswolds, but feel free to bring your own food.

By law, all packaged foods in the UK are labelled to identify common allergens such as gluten, shellfish, nuts and dairy. Most restaurant/café menus are labelled too, or at the very least your server will be able to tell you which dishes to avoid or which dishes can be modified. If in doubt, please ask.

Yes, of course! Lunch and refreshments are not included in the price of the tour, so you may either purchase snacks or meals during one of our stops, or bring your own food and drink with you for a picnic. We only ask that you don't carry or consume hot food and drinks on board the minibus (it can be tricky to clean up spills, plus the smell can make some people feel unwell!).

A pub lunch IS included in the price of our Brewery and Pub Tour, but you're also welcome to bring or purchase other snacks. We highly recommend visiting the Purity Brewing Co. shop!

As a rule, we do not provide drinking water on our tours. Plastic pollution is a huge environmental issue across the world, and we do not wish to contribute to this problem by providing water in single-use plastic bottles. We encourage all our customers to bring their own drinking water – preferably in a reusable bottle – and to refill this throughout the day as required.

Most cafes, pubs and restaurants will be happy to refill your water bottle for free, if you ask. You can also download the Refill app to your mobile phone to find out where you can refill your water bottle for free.

We do carry some water on board the minibus in case of emergencies, for example if a customer feels unwell.

As parents ourselves, we do not consider that our tours are suitable for very young children - they get bored easily and may not appreciate the beautiful Cotswolds countryside as much as us grown-ups do! Children aged 3–16 are welcome to join the tour but, as parents, you should consider whether your child will enjoy the day and/or affect the enjoyment of other passengers.

Children aged 3–16 must have a child ticket, be seated in their own seat and wear the seatbelt provided, under adult supervision.

Please note that it is our company’s policy that children under the age of 3 may ONLY travel with us on purchase of a child ticket AND if you are able to provide (and fit) your own age-appropriate child's car seat. This must be secured using a three-point seatbelt (there are no isofix points on our passenger seats).

Please also see our FAQ, 'What are the rules about wearing seatbelts in the UK?'

Please note that our Brewery and Pub Tours are strictly for adults over the age of 18 only. Children under the age of 18 will not be permitted to travel or take part in this tour, and ID may required if you look under the age of 25.

Yes we do! Our small-group Cotswolds Day Tours visits the village once described by poet William Morris as 'the most beautiful in England'. The tour stops at Bibury for approximately 20-30 minutes where you'll have ample time to visit Arlington Row – arguably the most famous row of cottages in the Cotswolds – and stroll alongside the River Colne. Bibury is a very pretty village, but we actually think the 'secret' off-the-beaten-track Cotswolds village (which we visit earlier in the day) is prettier. You can decide for yourself and tell us what you think after we've visited them both on the tour!

Our tours depart from the following locations at the following times:

• Leamington Spa rail station (Sundays only): 08.40 - please be ready to depart 10 minutes before this time
• Stratford-upon-Avon rail station and accommodation providers*: 09.00-09.15 (time will be confirmed via email before your tour) - please be ready to depart 10 minutes before your given pick-up time
• Moreton-in-Marsh rail station: 09.45 - but please be ready to depart by 09.30
• Chipping Campden bus stop (outside The Noel Arms Hotel): 10.00am - but please be ready to depart 10 minutes before this time

If you would like to be picked up from somewhere that is not on this list, please contact us before making your booking. We will try to accommodate your requests, but it is not always possible, or may incur a surcharge.

If you are arriving from outside of the area to join the tour we do try and be flexible to meet train times but this is not always possible and pick-up times are always subject to change.

*Because we operate an accommodation pick-up service in Stratford-upon-Avon, pick-up times are approximate. Please be ready to depart 10-15 minutes before your assigned pick-up time.

We will pick you up, at no extra cost, from Leamington Spa rail station (Sundays only), Stratford-upon-Avon rail station and accommodation providers, Moreton-in-Marsh rail station, or Chipping Campden bus stop (outside The Noel Arms Hotel). See the FAQ above for more information.

If you are arriving in your own car, we recommend you join the tour at Stratford-upon-Avon or Moreton-in-Marsh. Address and parking information can be found here: https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/drivingdirections/.

For help getting to/from one of these pick-up points from further away, please see the following articles, How To Join A Go Cotswolds Day Tour From...

• Bath
• Birmingham
• Bourton-on-the-Water
• Bristol
• Cheltenham
• Coventry
• Gloucester
• Guildford
• London
• Oxford
• Reading
• Southampton
• Stow-on-the-Wold
• Worcester

For all passengers who are joining the tour at Moreton-in-Marsh, we pick you up from a central location, which is Moreton-in-Marsh rail station. This applies whether you are staying in Moreton-in-Marsh or arriving by train. We do this to operate our tours in the most efficient way possible - Moreton-in-Marsh is a very small town, and the station is within a few minutes walking distance of all local accommodation providers.

We provide a hotel pick-up service from Stratford-upon-Avon because it is a much bigger town and the accommodation providers are scattered over a much wider area, many not within easy walking distance of the town centre or a convenient central meeting point.

The Go Cotswolds minibus will pull up in the car park in front of the ticket office building. Moreton-in-Marsh is a very small station, and we have a big Mercedes minibus covered with Go Cotswolds logos, so you shouldn't be able to miss us!

The Go Cotswolds minibus will pull up in the car park in front of the ticket office building. Leamington Spa is a small station, and we have a big Mercedes minibus covered with Go Cotswolds logos, so you shouldn't be able to miss us!

Please note, we provide a pick-up from Leamington Spa on Sundays only.

Some of our customers stay, live or work in Leamington Spa. On weekdays and Saturdays, these customers can take a bus or train from Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon and we will pick them up from there. This makes our journey much more fuel-efficient and therefore releases fewer greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere. However, on Sundays, there are no trains or buses that will get customers to Stratford-upon-Avon in time for our tour departure time, therefore we provide a pick-up from Leamington Spa rail station at 08.40 on Sundays.

At the end of the tour, we will drop you off at the same place we picked you up. We can also drop you off anywhere along the tour route, or at any of our free pick-up locations (see FAQ above) if you prefer.

If you would like to be dropped off somewhere outside of our normal radius, please contact us before making your booking. We will try to accommodate your requests, but it is not always possible, or may incur a surcharge.

We always aim to return to Moreton-in-Marsh station by 17.00, Chipping Campden by 17.15, Stratford-upon-Avon by 17.30, and Leamington Spa (Sundays only) by 18.15 at the latest.

If you are booking onward rail travel, we would always recommend that you purchase a flexible ticket that allows you to take any return train as opposed to a specific booked train. We do our best to arrive back at the drop-off locations at the times mentioned above, but we can never 100% guarantee this.

Yes! In fact, this is a very popular option.

If you have your own vehicle, we recommend that you join the tour in Stratford-upon-Avon or Moreton-in-Marsh. Please see our article here for address and parking details: https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/drivingdirections/

If you are travelling by train from London or Oxford, the best place to meet the tour is at Moreton-in-Marsh station, while if you are travelling from Birmingham, you should head for Stratford-upon-Avon station (except on Sundays, when it may be more convenient for you to go to Leamington Spa). Please see our articles for more information on joining a Cotswolds tour from:

• >London
• >Oxford
• >Birmingham

A little. We don't like to talk too much as the minibus is driving along, because we're sure you'd much rather admire the beautiful scenery and get to know your fellow passengers! Your driver/guide will give you a little information between stops, but we save most of the talking for when we are off the minibus.

Yes you can! The Go Cotswolds minibus has a large boot (trunk) space, so we are happy to carry luggage during the tour. We kindly request you to let us know at the time of booking if you are bringing any of these larger luggage items.

Small handbags, coats and other small personal items may be kept inside the minibus, either at your feet or on the overhead shelf. All luggage and personal items are your responsibility.

Please note that although we do have room to store foldable wheelchairs and walkers, the Go Cotswolds minibus is not wheelchair accessible, so regretfully we can only accommodate wheelchair-users if they are able to get out of their chair to get on and off the minibus. Similarly, while we do have space for buggies and strollers, we do not consider the Go Cotswolds Day Tour to be particularly suitable for small children. Please see our other FAQs for more information.

We recommend you check the weather forecast on the morning of your tour and dress appropriately. If it is raining, a raincoat or umbrella is advised although we do have some umbrellas on board the minibus in case of unexpected showers. If it's sunny then make sure to bring sunscreen, water and a hat. Comfortable footwear is recommended as the tour involves some walking both on pavements and grass, but you won't need special hiking/walking boots.

Yes, plenty! There are public toilets available in Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water. These are well signposted but please ask your driver/guide for directions if you need them. Journey times between the stops are relatively short but we do recommend using the facilities prior to the departure times. Please note that you need a 20p piece to use the public toilet in Stow-on-the-Wold. If you purchase food or drinks from a cafe or restaurant you can also use their toilet.

On our Brewery and Pub Tour, toilets are available at Purity Brewing Co., and public and pub toilets are available at each of the stops on the tour.

Yes, because this tour is all about sampling some of the wonderful local alcoholic beverages our region has to offer, the Brewery and Pub Tour is strictly for adults over the age of 18 only. Children under 18 (even babes in arms) will not be permitted to travel on this tour at any time.

If you are, or look, under the age of 25, we strongly recommend that you bring a piece of valid, government-issued photographic identification, which clearly shows your face and your date of birth. For UK residents, we recommend you bring either your passport or photocard driving license, and for international visitors we recommend you bring your passport or government-issued identity card. According to UK law, children under the age of 18 are not permitted to drink or buy alcohol, so many licensed premises and shops operate a 'Challenge 25' policy. This means that if a vendor thinks you are, or look, under the age of 25, they may ask you for ID and refuse to serve or sell you alcohol if you are unable to provide it.

Please note that vendors may also refuse to serve or sell alcohol to anyone over the age of 18 if they suspect you are purchasing it for someone under 18, or for someone who has been unable to provide valid ID.

Yes! The ticket price of this tour includes a delicious lunch and a drink (either a pint of beer or a soft drink) at one of our favourite local pubs. Vegetarian options are always available, and we can also cater for other special dietary needs if you let us know in advance. Of course, you're welcome to bring or buy other snacks throughout the day as well.

You can find our Terms and Conditions, including our cancellation policy, at www.gocotswolds.co.uk/terms. In short, we will provide you with a full refund, less a £3 per ticket admin fee, for cancellations made more than 48 hours before the start of the tour. Alternatively, subject to availability, you may switch to a different tour date at no cost.

In short, no! Unless the weather is exceptionally severe and it would be unsafe to travel (e.g. heavy snow), our tours depart whatever the weather. We recommend you check the weather forecast on the morning of your tour and dress appropriately - remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! See our >blog post for more details.

We regret that we have no lifts or ramps so our minibus is not suitable for wheelchair users who are unable to get out of their wheelchair. However, we do have grab rails and a portable step to help people with mobility problems to get in and out of the minibus safely.

Our Cotswolds Day Tours include 7 different stops throughout the day. You will be getting on and off the bus quite a lot, and walking around at each stop, but how far you walk is up to you. Please consider whether this tour will be suitable for you, according to your disability. If in doubt, please just ask!

The Go Cotswolds minibus has a large boot (trunk) space, so we have plenty of room to store luggage, including suitcases, foldable wheelchairs and walkers, strollers and buggies - please just let us know at the time of booking if you wish to bring these larger items.

Guide/assistance dogs are welcome at any time - please just let us know in advance if you intend to bring a guide/assistance dog.

Please see our >Access Statement for more details.

Every seat on the Go Cotswolds minibus is fitted with a seatbelt and every passenger over the age of 3 is required by law to wear it at all times when the vehicle is in motion.

In terms of fastening and wearing seatbelts, UK law says that:

• Children under the age of 14 are the responsibility of their accompanying adult, parent or guardian.
• Children under the age of 3 should use an appropriate child restraint, or travel on a parent/guardian's lap where restraints are not available. (However, it is our policy that children under the age of 3 may ONLY travel with us if they are seated in an age-appropriate car seat, which must be provided and fitted by the parent(s)/guardian(s). Please see our FAQ 'Is a Go Cotswolds Day Tour suitable for children?' for more information.)
• Children aged 3–11 and who are less than 1.35 metres (4 ft 5 in) should use an appropriate child restraint, or use the seatbelt provided where restraints are not available.
• Children aged 12 and 13, or younger children who are taller than 1.35 metres should use the seatbelt provided.
• Children and adults aged 14 and over are responsible for themselves and should wear the seatbelt provided.

Go Cotswolds does not provide child restraints or booster seats and is not required by law to do so. If you wish to bring your own booster seat or child restraints, then you may use them if you have purchased a child ticket for the tour, but it's up to you to know how to use them properly.

Smoking is not allowed at any time while on board the minibus. According to UK law, adults over the age of 18 may smoke in outdoor public spaces (unless there are signs stating otherwise) and in designated outdoor smoking areas in pubs, bars and restaurants. Please be mindful of other people who may not appreciate your smoke. Always ensure your cigarette is completely extinguished before disposing of it in a litter or designated cigarette bin. Littering, including throwing cigarette butts on the floor, is an offence.

Lots of people mistakenly think that 'Cotswold', or 'The Cotswolds' is a single town or village in the English countryside. In fact, The Cotswolds is England’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a region covering over 850 square miles (2000 square km), which stretches in a southwesterly direction from just outside Stratford-upon-Avon to the city of Bath. It’s a range of rolling hills filled with over a hundred picture postcard villages made of honey-coloured Cotswolds stone that haven’t changed in hundreds of years. It’s the English countryside you see in the movies and can’t be beaten. Find out more about the Cotswolds by joining us on a tour!

Go Cotswolds tours are conducted in English only.

In short, no. Our small-group tours represent extremely good value for money, and while we do pay a small commission to a small number of selected tourism partners for selling tickets on our behalf, as a small business with limited capacity we are unable to extend this offer to all travel agents. If you are a travel agent booking our tour on your clients' behalf, firstly, thank you! You are welcome to charge your clients a modest finder's fee on top of the ticket price for administrating their booking, but we ask that you are transparent about this so that your clients do not feel ripped off if they realise that other passengers on the same tour paid less! We also ask that you obtain your clients' permission to send us their names, email address(es) and a contact telephone number so that we can contact them directly for matters relating to their tour.

To instantly guarantee your booking, we recommend that you pay for your tour in advance using the secure, online payment system on our booking page. Tickets can also be purchased in person at Stratford-upon-Avon Visitor Information Centre, or online at Viator/TripAdvisor and Get Your Guide.

For private tours, please contact us and we will be able to provide you with a quote and details of how to pay. A non-refundable deposit is required for all private bookings. Use the contact form on our website, telephone us on (+44) (0)7786 920166 or email info@gocotswolds.co.uk.

There’s a saying that “every time someone buys from a small business, someone does a happy dance”! It’s true! When you book your tour on the Go Cotswolds website, you are directly supporting a small family business. You are also guaranteed to get the best price for your tour, your booking is instantly confirmed, and you will correspond directly with the friendly, helpful company owners Tom and/or Lisa!

We also sell our tickets through TripAdvisor (and Viator, which is owned by TripAdvisor), and Get Your Guide. As the world’s biggest travel reviews and reputation site, it is beneficial for us to be listed on TripAdvisor, and to sell our tours via their site and affiliates to increase our marketing reach. Likewise, Get Your Guide is an increasingly popular global booking platform for tours and activities. However, did you know that TripAdvisor/Viator and Get Your Guide (both global, multi-billion-dollar corporations) take a huge 25% commission from sales of our tours? And, despite their ‘low price guarantee’, they often sell tours for a higher price than is listed on the operator’s own website, and pocket the difference as well as the commission. Tripadvisor will refund you the difference if you ask, but most people probably won’t ask…

Book directly with us for the best prices, to immediately guarantee your booking, and to imagine us doing a REALLY happy dance! We accept all major credit and debit cards via our secure payment processing partners Stripe and PayPal.

An automated order receipt email is sent when your booking is completed on our website. This email will be sent - usually immediately - to the email address you provided during the booking process. If you didnt receive this email, it could be because: 1) there was a spelling mistake in the email address you provided; 2) the email was sent to a different email address (e.g. you provided your work email address but are checking your personal email account), or 3) the email has been filtered into your Spam or Junk folder (this is a particular problem with Hotmail and AOL addresses). Please check carefully, but if you still cant find the email, just let us know.

Within 2 working days of the automated email, we will send you a second, personalised email to provide further details about your tour.

When you purchase your ticket via the Go Cotswolds website, our booking system will automatically send you an order receipt to the email address you provided during the booking process. This order receipt contains two 5-digit numbers: your Order Number (Order #) is a number generated by our system to confirm your payment, and your Booking Number (Booking #), which is generated to confirm your seats on the particular tour date you have booked. You won't usually need either number, but we do ask you to remember your Booking Number on the morning of your tour, just in case we need to confirm whether you are on the correct tour. You don't need to print out your order receipt, just remember the Booking Number or show us the Booking Number on your phone.

If you have booked through Viator (or TripAdvisor Experiences), you will receive a 9-digit booking reference prefixed by the letters BR. This is the number you should cite to Viator if you need to contact them. When we confirm your Viator booking, you will also receive a 5-digit Booking Number from us. This is the Booking Number you should quote if asked on the morning of the tour.

If you submit an enquiry via the contact form on our website, we will ask you to provide your email address and telephone number. These details are only ever used in relation to your query or booking. Responses to all enquiries sent via the contact form are sent to the email address you provide. If this email address bounces, or if you prefer a call back, we will contact you by phone instead.

For ticket bookings, immediately after your payment has been processed, you will receive an automated order receipt via email. Within 2 working days of your booking, we will follow up with a personalised confirmation email from a member of our team, which contains further details of your pick-up location, pick-up time and other useful details. After your tour, we will send you a copy of the group photo taken by your tour guide.

We collect your telephone number so that we can contact you before or during your tour; for example, to tell you if we are running early or late, or if we have arrived at your pick-up point and we cannot find you. The telephone number you provide at the time of booking should ideally be a mobile telephone number that you will have with you during the tour (it doesn't have to be a UK mobile, but it should be able to accept calls or SMS/WhatsApp messages from UK numbers). If you plan to purchase a UK SIM card, but don't have this number at the time of booking, please just let us know the number at a later date.

In line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we never sell or give your contact details to any third parties and we do not subscribe you to any mailing lists or use your contact information for any reason other than to communicate with you about your tour.

No! We’re travellers ourselves and have always been frustrated by tour companies' “minimum required to operate” policies, so when we started Go Cotswolds we said that we’d always run a tour irrespective of whether we have 1 or 16 people on a tour. As we're a small family-run business, there are a few occasions when we might not be able to operate a tour as scheduled, but we put our tour availability tour online to allow you to plan your travels.

Yes to all three - please follow and like us! You can find the links to our social media profiles in the grey bar at the top of the page. Were always adding pictures, information and news to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages, so please follow us or give us a like and when youre on a tour please share your pictures with us by using the hashtag #GoCotswolds!