Our verdict
Best overall
London: Sightseeing Black Cab Tour with Hotel Pick-up
A licensed cabbie, hotel pick-up and 3–4 hours of the big sights with photo stops. 5.0★ from 300+ reviews is rare in this category.
5.0★ · 320from £318 GetYourGuide →
Best value
Blue Badge walking guide, half day
From £229 for the whole group under the Guild’s 2026–27 rates — around £57 each for four. The best commentary per pound in London.
Best with kids
London: Private Family Guided Bike Tour with Child Seats
Private bike tour with child seats through the royal parks — kids set the pace, nobody gets bored at a monument.
5.0★ · 20from £213 GetYourGuide →
Skip it if
You're a couple on a budget
A good shared small-group walk costs £15–£35 each. Private only beats it on price from about four people up — check the calculator below.
Four ways to go private in London
| Format | Who leads it | Group | 2026 starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking guide | Blue Badge (Guild-registered) guide | Your group | £229 half day · £374 full day | History, architecture, first-timers who like to walk |
| Black cab | Licensed London cabbie | Up to 5–6 | ~£185 for 2 h (independent) · £250–£400 on platforms | Covering lots of sights fast, limited mobility, rain |
| Driver-guide | Blue Badge guide driving their own car | Small group | £530 half day · £760 full day | Combining London with Windsor, Greenwich or Hampton Court |
| Chauffeur / luxury | Driver plus optional guide (Rolls-Royce, executive car) | 2–7 | ~£360 for 2 h in a vintage Rolls | Celebrations, proposals, VIP visitors |
The black cab is the most London of the four: drivers have passed the Knowledge, the exam that makes them memorise the city street by street, and the cab itself is a sightseeing seat with big windows. A Blue Badge guide is the most knowledgeable: it is the UK’s top guiding qualification, and they can take you on foot into places a cab can’t follow.
Private or shared? Do the maths
Private vs shared — what does it cost per head?
Private tours are priced per group, shared tours per person. Slide the group size to see when private stops being a luxury.
For two people, a private walking guide costs around three to four times a premium shared tour. For four, the gap is under double. For six in a single black cab, private can actually come out cheaper per head than a premium small-group tour — before you count the hotel pick-up.
Which private tour fits your trip
- First time in London, three hours to spare: a black cab tour with hotel pick-up — Westminster, St Paul’s, the Tower and Tower Bridge with photo stops.
- History lovers who walk happily: a Blue Badge guide for a half day, ideally built around one big site such as the Tower of London.
- Families with under-10s: a private family tour — a bike tour with child seats, or a short cab tour themed on Harry Potter.
- Fans: Harry Potter, Beatles and James Bond cab tours exist, and the Beatles ones are some of the best-reviewed private tours in the city.
- A big occasion: luxury and chauffeur tours, including a vintage Rolls-Royce.
- Countryside in a day: a private Stonehenge, Bath or Cotswolds day trip — the only way to do two or three of them without a coach timetable.
Best-rated private tours, checked today
London: Sightseeing Black Cab Tour with Hotel Pick-up
from £318
See on GetYourGuide
London: Private Landmark Tour with Professional Photographer
from £84
See on GetYourGuide
London: Iconic London Taxi Tour – Private tour
from £279
See on GetYourGuide
London Tour in a Vintage Rolls Royce
from £360
See on GetYourGuide
4-Hour Private Tour of London in a Panoramic Black Cab
from £399
See on GetYourGuide
Private London Big Sights Taxi Tour
from £338
See on GetYourGuide
Tower of London and Tower Bridge Private Tour
from £327
See on GetYourGuide
London Harry Potter Private Black Cab Tour
from £318per person
See on HeadoutPrices and ratings checked 21 Oct 2026; they change daily.
What’s (usually) not included
- Lunch and drinks — cab and car tours stop where you like, but you pay.
- Congestion and parking — normally built into cab and car prices; check for day trips outside London.
- Language uplift — Blue Badge guiding in a language other than English starts higher (£258 half day).
- Overruns — a half day means up to four hours; going longer is charged.
Booking through a platform vs direct
Independent guides and cab companies often take bookings by email, settle on the day and give you exactly the route you want. Platforms such as GetYourGuide add instant confirmation, reviews you can read, one support desk and — on most private listings — free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, at a price that can be a little higher. If you book direct with a Guild guide, expect the full fee to be due if you cancel within 96 hours.
Either way, the questions to ask are the same: who exactly is guiding, how many people the price covers, what’s included, and what happens if it rains.
Questions people ask
How much does a private tour of London cost?
Is the price per person or per group?
Black cab or walking guide — which is better?
Can a private guide take us inside Westminster Abbey or the Tower?
How much should we tip a private guide in London?
How far ahead should we book?
Sources
- Guild of Registered Tourist Guides — guide fees 2026–27 (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Black Taxi Tours of London — tours and prices (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- GetYourGuide — private tours in London (partner feed)
Written and checked by the Private Tours London desk