A Proper London Christmas, From the Back of a Black Cab
Two and a half hours, your own black cab, and a guide who knows exactly which corner gives the best view of the angels. We collect you from your hotel and drop you back warm.
Bookings open for evenings from 12 November 2026.
Every December, central London hangs its lights and then fills its pavements. The trick is to see the first without fighting the second. That is what a private black cab is for: your own driver-guide, your own route, and a warm seat between the big displays.
Two and a half hours is enough to see Regent Street, a section of Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, and Covent Garden properly, with time to hop out where the streets are pedestrian and the photos are best. Your guide plans the order around traffic on the night, tells you what you are looking at, and gets you back to your hotel before anyone’s feet complain.
Duration
2.5 hours
Private group
Your party • Up to 6 guests per taxi
Suitable for ages
All ages welcome
Times
4pm and 7pm
Pace
Door to door
Perfect for
Families with children and grandparents • Couples on a December trip • First-time visitors who would rather not walk it
Meeting point
Your central London hotel or address (Zone 1). Other pickups on request.
Bringing grandparents, children or a group of friends? Book one, two or three private taxis for the same tour. Each taxi has its own driver-guide and takes up to six guests.
| Taxis | Maximum guests | Total price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 taxi | 6 | £365 |
| 2 taxis | 12 | £730 |
| 3 taxis | 18 | £1,095 |
The price is £365 per taxi. Groups of 11 or 12 can choose two taxis or three for more room. For example, 12 guests can travel in two taxis at £730, with six in each, or three taxis at £1,095, with four in each. You decide who travels together.
Count everyone in your group, including children and infants. Book two or three taxis at least 72 hours ahead. Some departures may need longer notice; checkout shows the available dates. Online sale is limited to 3 taxis per departure.
More than 18 guests? Email us about your group and we’ll help arrange your tour.
Check dates, fares and booking options for this tour.
Check dates and booking detailsThe route includes Regent Street, a section of Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, and Covent Garden. Your guide plans the order around traffic and crowds, so you see each display at its best and skip the queues.
The Spirit of Christmas angels are back for their tenth year: 300,000 LEDs floating over John Nash’s grand curve. Best seen slowly, which is handy, because that is how London traffic moves in December.
The route includes a section of Oxford Street. Harry Potter has taken over the lights this year, with 5,000 stars overhead. No wand required.
Carnaby has pressed rewind to the 90s. It is pedestrian, so this is a stop-and-stroll while your cab waits round the corner.
Giant gold bells, mirror balls, and the big tree on the West Piazza. Time for photos, and possibly a mince pie.
Bond Street’s Crown Jewels, the tree in Trafalgar Square, and whatever your guide reckons you would otherwise miss. Ask anything. Your guide has been waiting all year to tell someone.
Displays and road closures change through the season, so your guide adapts the order and the stops on the night.
When each West End display switches on, so you can plan the evening around what is already lit.
| Display | Switch-on 2026 | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnaby Street | “Press Play on Christmas”, a 90s theme | Carnaby | |
| Regent Street | Tenth year of the Spirit of Christmas angels, 300,000 LEDs, lit until 5 January 2027 | Regent Street | |
| Oxford Street | Harry Potter theme, 5,000 stars | Oxford Street | |
| Knightsbridge | Details to follow | Visit London | |
| Marylebone | Details to follow | Marylebone Village | |
| Covent Garden | Gold bells, mirror balls, and baubles; tree on the West Piazza | Covent Garden | |
| Bond Street | Crown Jewels theme, 93,000 LEDs | Bond Street |
Checked on 4 November 2026. Organisers change dates; follow the source link before you plan an evening around one display.
Warm, private, and nimble. A London black cab is built to turn in a famously tight circle, so your guide can duck down side streets, pull in for photos, and loop back if someone missed the angels the first time. The heating is on. The windows are big. The company is yours.
Any night from 12 November 2026 to 4 January 2027, at 4pm or 7pm.
Three seats across the back and three rear-facing fold-down seats make a cosy compartment for up to six. Babies and infants are welcome on laps. Children aged 3 and over need their own seat.
Choose your pickup spot in Zone 1, usually your hotel. We collect the address after checkout.
£365 per cab
Up to 6 guests, so about £61 each when you fill it. One price, no booking fee, and free cancellation up to 72 hours before you set off.
Bigger group? Choose up to 3 cabs at checkout, or email hello@tallyho.com for more.
Included
Not included
There’s room for up to six seated passengers in the rear compartment, with your driver-guide separately at the front.
Our driver-guides never supply or carry baby seats, child car seats, or booster seats. Children under three can travel on an adult’s lap in the rear passenger compartment of a licensed taxi. Children aged three and over need their own seat and seat belt.
Tell us before booking if you’re travelling with an infant or need mobility assistance, so we can confirm the seating arrangement for your party.
Carnaby Street and Covent Garden are pedestrian, so expect two short walks. Bring a coat and comfortable shoes; the cab is heated for the rest.
Displays and road closures change through the season, so your guide adapts the order and the stops on the night.
Season runs 12 November 2026 to 4 January 2027. Closed 24, 25, 26 and 31 December and 1 January.
Instant confirmation
From £365per taxi
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The big West End displays switch on between 4 and 12 November 2026 and stay lit into early January. Our tours run every evening from 12 November 2026 to 4 January 2027, except 24, 25, 26, and 31 December 2026 and 1 January 2027.
The calendar above lists each display with its switch-on date.
Regent Street’s angels, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, and Bond Street are the displays most people come for, and the route includes the first four with Bond Street and the Trafalgar Square tree when the roads allow.
Your guide knows which corner gives the best view of each, and when the crowds thin out.
The 4pm tour starts at dusk, so you watch the lights take over the streets; the 7pm tour is fully dark and a little quieter. Weekday evenings are calmer than weekends.
A private black cab takes just your group, collects you from your hotel, and can stop for photos; a bus tour runs a fixed route to a timetable with other passengers.
In a cab your guide can change the order to dodge traffic, duck down a side street, and loop back if someone missed the angels the first time.
Up to 6 guests per cab, and everyone counts, including babies.
Our driver-guides never supply or carry baby seats, child car seats, or booster seats. Children under three can travel on an adult’s lap in the rear passenger compartment of a licensed taxi. Children aged three and over need their own seat and seat belt.
Tell us before booking if you’re travelling with an infant or need mobility assistance, so we can confirm the seating arrangement for your party.
Your central London hotel or address (Zone 1). Other pickups on request.
We email after booking to confirm the address, and your driver-guide meets you at the door. Drop-off is back where we collected you, or somewhere central on the route.
Yes. Carnaby Street and Covent Garden are pedestrian, so your guide parks nearby and you walk in for a closer look and photos.
Bring a coat and comfortable shoes. The rest of the time you are warm in the cab.
The tour goes ahead in rain. You are under cover in the cab for most of it, and wet streets reflect the lights, which is good news for photos.
You can book online until 24 hours before your start time. December evenings go first, so book early if your dates are fixed.
Free cancellation up to 72 hours before departure. Within 72 hours of departure, or if you do not show, the full price is charged.
The lights stay on through Christmas and New Year, but our tours do not run on 24, 25, 26, and 31 December 2026 and 1 January 2027.
Book 23 or 27 December, or any other evening up to 4 January 2027.
From £365 per taxi
Settle into a black cab for London’s grand sights and unexpected corners, with stories and photo stops along the way.
The sights you’ve come for. The places you didn’t know to ask about.
Tell our team who’s coming and what you have in mind. We’ll help shape the day.
Plan with our teamRupert, our AI assistant, can help with tours and the practical details.
