Private Full-Day London Tour by Foot & Public Transport
Description
See London the way Londoners do — fast, fun, and full of stories. With your private guide leading the way, you’ll slip down ancient cobbled alleyways, skim across the famous Thames, and ride a classic red double-decker bus. Start in Westminster beneath Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then sweep along the Mall toward Buckingham Palace and far beyond. Along the journey, meet soldiers, heroes, and villains, uncover tales of scandal, power, rebellion, and empire, and hop between buses, Tubes, and boats to reveal both iconic sights and the hidden gems locals love. This is a hands-on adventure where London’s past and present collide at every turn. Expect lively storytelling, fascinating local insights, and plenty of time for photos, questions, and spontaneous discoveries. From grand landmarks to everyday London life unfolding around you, this tour captures the energy, humour, and character of the city. This tour is with a guide only. Private Transportation is not included.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Hear the stories about the Palace's famous residents through the ages and why it is, in fact, not a palace at all.
The best vantage points for the Queen's London residence, Buckingham Palace, can be found here along with stories about secret wartime tunnels underfoot.
We will see the residence of Prince Charles and Camilla adjacent to St James Palace
The residence of the Queen Mother and Princess Diana for a time, we will stop outside the Palace to discuss the royal intrigue that took place here.
Visit the "most beautiful park in London" for a stunning photo opportunity.
Arguably one of the most important churches in the land. Place of coronations, Royal weddings and burials, final resting place of Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton, Elizabeth I and Bloody Mary.
A formerly hidden bunker where Churchill and his cabinet met during World War 2.
See where the Prime Minister lives right here in the heart of the capital.
Pat the Queen's Horses and make the Wardens laugh... if you can. Another classic photo opportunity.
It doesn't get more iconic than Big Ben. Learn all about the history of this famous landmark.
The cradle of Western democracy and site of the famous Gunpowder Plot - stop here for an external tour of one of the most storied institutions in politics.
The mighty Thames - time permitting we can hop on a short commuter boat ride and see London from its famous water way whilst we discuss how this stretch of water helped build an Empire.
The heart of the capital where Londoners come to celebrate, mourn and protest in times of national importance.
We will stop here to establish it is not falling down and discuss how part of the bridge ended up in Arizona.
Stand outside one of London’s oldest pubs as your guide shares tales of literary legends, medieval Fleet Street, and centuries of ale-soaked history.
Pause outside Sweeney Todd's pie shop as dark legends and Victorian melodrama come to life.
The other most famous church in the land which hosted the stunning wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and which Churchill defended against all odds during the Blitz in WW2.
Here we will show you where a baker once left an oven on that destroyed the city in the Great Fire - it also killed all the rats which virtually ended the dreaded plague.
Another classic landmark spanning the iconic River Thames.
Legendary and infamous - most who walked in here never walked out. Enjoy an extensive exterior tour of this bastion of British history.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will meet you at the hotel's concierge desk. If there is no concierge desk then we will meet you at the front desk / lobby of the hotel. If you are at an Airbnb or alternative accommodation, your guide will be waiting outside the property 5 minutes before your tour start time.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(8)
The tour operator gave us information prior to departure date, which was very helpful plus we needed to make a change and they were fabulous and very quick to replay and give options. The guide, Joe was knowledgeable, fun, and accommodated chances since it was private and only the 2 of us. Definitely recommend this group.
Great experience from being contacted in advance from tour operator with changes and details. Our guide Joe was knowledgeable and allowed us to make some tweaks since it was a private tour. Definitely, would recommend them.
We loved seeing London with Tom. He was friendly, funny, super knowledgeable and young! We saw every corner of London and more than we could ever have found on our own, he even found us an authentic tea shop and introduced us to his market stall "mates". Top marks for an awesome day with an awesome guide!
I paid $1275USD for a private full day tour of London for my family of 6 including my 85 year old parents. The ad showed a Mercedes Sprinter van, they asked for the pick-up hotel and time which we provided. On the day of the tour our guide arrived at our hotel and asked us if we were ready to begin our full day walking tour of London. When we told the guide that we had booked a private tour in a van he replied, “that’s usually what happens but today the company told him it was a walking tour and no vans were available.” We call the tour operator who told us “that it was a walking tour” when I asked were in the ad did it specify a walking tour she was unable to provide an answer other than she would have her manager call me. They did not. Their ad clearly showed a Mercedes van and while it may not have explicitly said your by van, it did elude to that. It is clearly a case of false advertising. We cancelled the tour before it began and asked American Express to refund the charge. I am very upset that our plans for the day were ruined by an unscrupulous predatory tour operator and aviator should immediately remove them from their site or demand that they are clear in their ad. Even our hotel concierge said that $1275USD would not be an appropriate fee for anything other than by van even during peak season.
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are saddened to hear you were disappointed with your booking experience. We understand you are frustrated that you booked the wrong tour - we offer driving tours and guide only tours. You selected the guide only tour which has a lower price. There is no photo of a Mercedes Sprinter or any vehicle on any of our tour pages and never has been - perhaps you have confused us with another company. In addition, nowhere in the tour description does it indicate or imply that a vehicle is included. When our guide arrived to pick you up, we understand you were angry that he did not have a vehicle with him. You did not want to do the tour, you sent the guide away and asked for a full refund. It is clear you were upset with the rate you had paid and were impatient on the phone with our colleague. Rather than asking us to help out for your mistake, you insisted that our tour description and price somehow indicated there was a vehicle and that it was our fault that you were expecting one. Under these circumstances we were not able to issue you a full refund for cancelling the tour when the guide showed up and I understand this has frustrated you further. We are saddened that anyone should be upset after an experience with us and it is unfortunate that you were unable to join us and enjoy the tour you had booked. We wish you well for future travels and would advise for future bookings to read the tour description and inclusions/exclusions to ensure you are booking the right tour for your needs and budget.
We loved covering so much of London with Alex and his knowledge of the sites and the history. We saw most of the Must See London sites and look forward to a return to see more. It was a delightful sunny day to tour London on the Tube and on foot! Strongly recommend this if your time is limited and you want to see as much as possible in 8 hours!
It’s been two weeks since we visited London and a top highlight of our visit was Ollie. We booked a walking tour of London and had a group of nine ranging in ages from 17-77. The tour was amazing-so many fun facts about London of today and London of old. We walked over 23,000 steps - the weather was cool & rainy- despite the weather conditions it was the best tour ever. Ollie made the tour and has ruined us for any other tour guides. Our entire trip when we took a tour everyone commented that the guide was good, but he is no Ollie. We started in the morning visiting Hyde Park and all its splendor so many facts were shared. The stories and history brought to life what we were seeing. Had we gone to Hyde Park without Ollie we would have missed a lot. Then we visited so many landmarks Kensington Palace, Buckingham, monuments, Christmas markets, London bridge, watched a little football at a pub. At the end of the day, we all came away from the tour smarter, and with a new appreciation of London and all of her history. We had a diverse age group ranging many generations and we all agree that the walking tour was top of our list of favorite things. Request Ollie - you will not regret it!
Larry did a great job of showing us some of the highlights of London. He was able to accommodate our requests and fit in some of the most popular attractions while also showing us a lot of little things we would've missed trying to do on our own. My favorite parts were the small shops and random pieces of history around every corner which Larry could expertly point out- things you don't get in a larger tour group. He was able to recommend a great place for lunch and worked out the perfect itinerary for us to maximize our day while being flexible enough to let us move at our own pace. Overall an awesome experience!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We are delighted you had such a great time with Larry and hope we can welcome you back to the Big Smoke in the future!
This tour was AMAZING from start to finish. I can not recommend our tour guide Larry highly enough. His knowledge and personality made the tour. The tour covered all of the highlights of London and the insight we received made us appreciate every minute
