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Self-Guided Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle Tour
3.6
8 Ratings
Greater London
Explore Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle on a self-guided tour. Enjoy special timed entry and an extended visit to these historic royal residences.
Duration:
10 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Buckingham Palace - Meet your tour representative in Victoria, London. They will escort you to Buckingham Palace (10 min walk), special timed entry ensures a breath-taking visit to the official residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837. Open for just 8 weeks a year, viewing the State rooms is an opportunity not to be missed! Marvel at the splendour of the rooms, used on official occasions by The King to entertain her guests. Be dazzled by the beautiful ballroom and throne room, before ending your royal tour with a walk through the stunning South Garden. At 1:30pm make your own way to the original meeting point in Victoria for the Windsor Castle tour departing at 1:45pm. - Windsor Castle - Departing from Central London, your driver will take you straight to Windsor Castle for an extended visit. Upon arrival at Windsor Castle audio guides are available in different languages. Steeped in history, Windsor Castle perches proudly on a lush wooded hill overlooking the Thames. Dating back to Norman times, with sweeping landscaped gardens and turreted Round Tower, it’s easy to see why it’s the King’s favourite weekend residence. Enjoy a fascinating through–the–keyhole peek at the lavish State Apartments, home to priceless artworks by Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci, and visit St. George’s Chapel, the atmospheric final resting place of former monarchs including Henry VIII. You can visit Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, a truly incredible structure complete with working lifts, running water, electricity, and wine bottles, all in miniature! This tour finishes at approximately 5:30pm in Kensington. Please note: this tour is unescorted - St. George’s Chapel - Visit St. George’s Chapel, the atmospheric final resting place of former monarchs including Henry VIII. You can visit Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, a truly incredible structure complete with working lifts, running water, electricity, and wine bottles, all in miniature! Please note: St. George’s Chapel is closed for visitors on Sundays.
What's Included
- Entry to Windsor Castle
- Entry to Buckingham Palace
- Multimedia guide in multiple languages
- Transportation to Windsor by air-conditioned coach
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Food and beverages unless stated differently
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Guide
Additional Information
Visit Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle on this unescorted tour! Meet your Golden Tours representative at 9:30am (departure 9:45am) in Victoria who will escort you to Buckingham Palace (10-minute walk). Buckingham Palace – Special Timed Entry With Audio Guide. Special timed entry ensures a breathtaking visit to the official residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837. At 1:30pm clients will make their own way to our offices in Victoria for the Windsor Castle tour departing at 1:45pm. Departing from central London, your driver will take you straight to Windsor Castle for an extended visit. Steeped in history, Windsor Castle perches proudly on a lush wooded hill overlooking the Thames. Dating back to Norman times, with sweeping landscaped gardens and round tower, it’s easy to see why it’s the King’s favourite weekend residence. This tour is unescorted.
- Once booked, this tour cannot be cancelled
- You must meet the Golden Tours representative outside King’s Gallery to be able to enter Buckingham Palace.
- To join the Windsor Castle tour you must go to Bus Stop 1 Bulleid Way in Victoria.
- St. George’s Chapel is also closed to visitors on Sundays as services are held throughout the day. Worshippers are welcome to attend the services.
- During peak periods, additional vehicles without Wi-Fi may be used.
- Buckingham Palace tickets purchased from Golden Tours cannot be converted into a 1-Year Pass.
- For safety reasons, pushchairs are not permitted in the State Rooms. They must be checked in and reclaimed at the exit. Baby-carriers are available for loan.
- A one-way system operates along the entire visitor route for safety reasons.
- Please note: the tour itinerary and order may change.
- Clients that require mobility access must book directly with Buckingham Palace on (+44) (0)303 123 7324
- Use of mobile phones are permitted in the Palace garden. Mobile phones must be switched off elsewhere on the visitor route.
- 25 and 26 December – Castle completely closed.
- Photography is not permitted inside Buckingham Palace.
- Clients that require mobility access must book directly with Buckingham Palace.
- Our vehicles are modern, comfortable, and kept to the highest standards of cleanliness, including a deep clean every day.
- Windsor Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A walking tour of the town will take place instead
- 30th August - 1st September 2024, planned protest activity may take place near to Windsor Castle. Please allow extra time when entering the Castle.
Location
The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.6
(8 Ratings)
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Jamesg529
Aug 15, 2023
Must do adventure in London - Fantastic tours! Jim, our tour guide, was wonderful! Self guided tours we had plenty of time to see the sights, highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Barbarahj3088ud
Jul 31, 2023
Trip to Windsor castle - Jim gave us many insights and historical features of the Royals, their homes and English culture. Very enjoyable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Denikak2023
Jul 30, 2023
Buckingham Palace was an amazing sight to see! - Loved the Buckingham Castle self guided tour. It was interesting and easy to follow. The Windsor castle was portion of our tour was good but the castle tour itself was confusing and we went on a Sunday so didn’t get to see inside St Paul’s Chapel which meant we finished the tour much earlier than expected and then had to wait around to leave. Our driver Jim was friendly and helpful, made the trip a memorable one. Thanks!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Harry_s
Aug 18, 2018
Not as crowded as the Vatican - I thought that the self guided tours in both locations was the way to see these fabulous places. But I would not do them on the same days- not enough time. HUGE crowds at each location so the group entry appeared to save a lot of waiting in line to buy tickets. But you are packed almost as tight as the underground at rush hour. Windsor - you have to hoof it a fair distance up a hill -not close to the entry to the castle. Perhaps 3/4 mile - and then every castle is a defensive uphillPhotos not allowed in either interior buildingThese palaces are fabulously incredible ( probably in an off-season) . Buckingham is more frilly - Windsor has more of a military feeling - but the finery and art will wear you out The bus met near Victoria Coach Station - but dropped us off a bit west due to traffic and their timing - that was less than appreciated.
Review provided by Viator
Uberscott
Aug 26, 2023
Golden Tours Needs Better Instructions - We did the Golden Tours Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle self-guided walking tour. Golden Tours provided very specific instructions where to meet for the Buckingham Palace portion of the tour. Once the guide checked us in and the specific entrance time arrived, we could enter, get the audio guide and take the tour at our own pace paying attention to the departure time to Windsor Castle. Golden Tours provided the departure time and address for Windsor Castle and you are left to navigate to the location for departure. This proved somewhat challenging and took longer than was expected. Golden Tours needs to provide a map or precise instructions to get to the bus terminal. We have taken other tours that provided a map and very clear instructions which Golden Tours could learn from.
The bus transportation was really good except about half of the seat back monitors were broken and did not work which is a huge negative, but the driver was excellent and got us to and from without incident.
We really enjoyed seeing how the Kings/Queens lived throughout history. It should be noted that both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are huge, so bring your walking shoes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z4430tfcristinac
Jul 15, 2023
Two italians at London - time is too limited. It would be appreciated in the coach the explanation in other languages ​​also through the display on the backs of the seats
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rosemerryso
Sep 15, 2018
Drop point - Tour should drop passengers back to the nearest station where we depart, instead of 3 stations away.
Review provided by Viator
Gary
Jan 31, 2018
The tickets are non refundable and they are not tickets - we bought so called tickets from Golden Tours only to discover they are coupons, that need to be transferred to a ticket at Buckingham Place. This would mean standing in two line ups and possibly missing part of your day. Buyer Beware .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
