British Studies at Oxford
Travel to Britain
When
British Studies at Oxford began the transatlantic travel market was a very different
beast, and the program was able to secure the best possible airfares by
means of group charters. But the market has changed out of all recognition
in the past 30 years, and students are now in a position to obtain better
deals on a personal basis than we could do as a group.
Travel costs in 2008 are going to be significantly more than in recent
years. The airlines are driving up prices by withdrawing flights and so
reducing the number of available seats. We expect fares to be in the region
of $1100-1500.
You and your family may have a travel agent you trust and have worked with
before. If that is not the case, or if you want to explore the options, here
are some ideas, though British Studies At Oxford does not recommend any
particular agents. You may want to draw to your own travel agent's attention
the various discount agents; your agent may impose a small commission on
tickets obtained through the discount organizations.
Discount Travel Agents
In the past few years, the cheapest flights are often available from travel agents who specialize in bulk purchases of airline seats at greatly reduced prices, and through these we often get seats at close to half the price quoted by the airlines themselves. Below are the names and telephone numbers of some we have used and others that are well known. It is worth shopping around and seeing if one agent will undercut another in order to get the business. Several insist in advertisements that they will never be undercut.
Cut-Rate Travel 800.388.0575
TFI International 800.745.8000 |
http://www.tfitour.com/
International Vacations 800.727.0352 | http://www.internationalvacations.com/
But as with most other activities, the internet is constantly changing the best way to do things. We now use www.sidestep.com and find that many of the better rates appear there.
Rail Travel in Europe and the British Isles
Britain and Europe have more extensive passenger rail networks than does America, and one of the best ways of exploring is to get a Eurail Pass or Europass and/or a BritRail Pass. Information about these can be obtained by following this link:
From Heathrow and Gatwick to Oxford
Getting from London and the main London airports to Oxford is relatively easy and inexpensive.
In the daytime, there are frequent trains from London to Oxford and, though less frequent on Sundays, from both Gatwick and Heathrow to Oxford. There are also direct coach routes (CityLink) from London and the two airports to Oxford at about half train fare. The BSAO staff use these coach services, finding them the most convenient way of reaching Oxford. These coaches stop in Gloucester Green, a walk of about two city blocks from St. John's; but once again, you will probably have luggage and a taxi would be in order. There are taxi stands at both the railway and bus stations in Oxford. Ask at the airports for directions to trains and buses.
Timetables for the coaches from the two principal airports can be found by following these links:
British Studies At Oxford will provide at no additional cost buses to the two principal London airports on the morning of Tuesday 5 August. The departure time for these buses is determined by the earliest reasonable take off time for those traveling back to the USA directly. Usually, the buses leave at 6:00 AM for Gatwick and 6:00 or 6:30 for Heathrow.
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