London: Explore the Cotswolds from London with Private Black Cab
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
London, England
- 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover the beautiful landscapes and villages of the Cotswolds, without the self-drive stress and leave navigation to your guide on this comprehensive private day trip from London. Highlights include Churchill's grave, Chipping Norton, Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, and Burford, with the option to add one or two short photo stops.
- See the Cotswolds from London with a private driver-guide
- Capture photos at Moreton-in-Marsh, Bourton-on-the-Water, and more
- Private vehicle means space to spread out during a long day driving
- No need to navigate—picks up and drops direct to your London hotel
What's Included
- All transport and guiding fees are included in the cost of this tour.
- Gratuities
- Coffee and/or Tea
- Lunch
- Snacks
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
Please be ready 15 minutes before the start of your tour. Your driver/guide will contact you before the tour to confirm the pick-up details and will contact you once they are ready to collect you.
Itinerary
1
Woodstock
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Chipping Norton (Pass By)
2
Moreton-in-Marsh
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Blockley
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Chipping Campden
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Upper Slaughter (Pass By)
Lower Slaughter (Pass By)
5
Bourton-on-the-Water
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Burford (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 15 reviews
Joye_R, May 2025
The Cotswolds are a must see! It felt like a trip back in time. Lovely to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city to the quite of this beautiful countryside. Our tour guide, John, was fantastic! He is very knowledgeable about the Cotswolds. His suggestions were spot on and made the trip more enjoyable.
Deborah_H, Apr 2025
The day was wonderful. John gave us history and commentary throughout the entire trip on the areas we explored. My husband, father and I loved all the stops, especially the picturesque visit to Lower Slaughter. Our pub lunch completed the experience. Would definitely recommend it and would take any tour John hosts on our future visits!
Dennis_P, Sep 2024
Our guide Richard was excellent, knowledgable, and flexible! The car (a newer taxi model was super spacious and had great windows. The Cotswolds is a long-ish trip (depending on how far east you are in London), so take that into consideration. Highly recommend though and job well done by Richard!!
Christine_D, Aug 2024
Richard gave us an excellent tour of the Cotswolds and included history and fun facts from the moment he picked us up at our hotel in London through the moment he dropped us off. He was easy to talk with, modified the tour based on our interests, and kept everything moving at a beautiful pace. We enjoyed the restaurant he recommended for lunch and would absolutely seek him out for another tour.
Marzia_A, Aug 2024
Do not book this tour. The pick up car is a taxi. The guide has no knowledge of the area. He gives a very very vague overview. We were promised four different areas of the Cotswolds and was not taken to Bibery. They started driving us back to London and would not tell us that we are headed back. I had to keep asking where we are going. The guide did not give us a verbal itinerary. He did not tell us how long we will be spending at each location. He kept talking about himself and how he is an actor on PBS. The taxi car is extremely uncomfortable. The driver is sort of nice but his driving can be aggressive at times. I tried to get my money back from Viator and got very random responses. I paid for multiple sights and was told by guide and driver that we would go but at the end of the day we were not taken. I had planned for this day for many months and very disappointed. This was my twin daughter’s graduation gift and it went in shambles. I started getting afraid in the car but thank God my husband was able to track our location.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Dear Marzia_A,
Thank you for taking the time to write your review. Feedback about our tours is highly valuable to us, and we take all client complaints seriously. Having investigated what happened during your tour, we have the following comments.
Firstly, Viator (the company which you booked through) does not give us an option for a Black Cab or Taxi as part of their platform. The car option is the closest we can get to our offer. Most clients are very happy with the Cab as a vehicle choice, as this allows us to navigate the streets and roads of London at the start and end of the tour, using routes that only London Black Cabs can use. All London Black Cab drivers undergo rigorous and extensive background checks as part of their taxi license. They are also subject to more stringent rules and regulations than most other private hire vehicles or drivers on the UK's roads. Most of our clients find this new generation of electric Black Cabs to be very comfortable.
During the tour both the Driver and Guide commented that they felt your behaviour was unacceptable and reported your comments and your behaviour to our Duty Manager multiple times throughout the day. The comments you made at the start of the day, in the presence of our Driver and Guide, about the other guests staying at your hotel were unacceptable and had no place on any of our Tours. Had the Guide immediately reported the language you had used at the start of the tour to the Duty Manager, we would have terminated your tour and advised the Guide, who took offence, to report the incident to the relevant authorities. Additionally, throughout the tour, you repeatedly shouted at both the Driver and Guide. This behaviour and your language throughout the tour was flagged with Viator whilst the tour was still in progress. We have a zero-tolerance policy on discriminatory language and behaviour, and Drivers and Guides have the right to a safe working environment free from fear, hate, or discrimination.
The Guide assigned to you has been working as a guide for over 11 years and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Cotswolds, London, and a vast number of tourist sites across the UK. He works for numerous tour companies and regularly receives outstanding reviews from many clients. From our investigation, it was you who enquired about the other work that the Guide does as well as Tour Guiding, and in response to your questions, the Guide mentioned that he had been part of several historical documentaries which have been broadcast internationally, including on PBS. Most clients enjoy this fact, as his work in documentaries demonstrates the Guide's expertise and historical knowledge.
According to both our Driver and Guide, on multiple occasions, when the Guide tried to inform you about the locations on the tour, you told them that you weren't interested. In Bourton-on-the-Water, you informed the Guide that you wanted to explore the village independently, so the Guide stayed with the Driver.
In lieu of your comments about not being taken to Bibery, Bibery was not part of the booked itinerary, nor was Blenheim Palace. We amended our booked itinerary whilst the tour was in progress to take you to Blenheim Place, which you asked to see and which you were taken to as a courtesy. At Blenheim, you spent over an hour exploring the gardens, which meant that not every location on the published tour could be visited in the remaining time allotted. Additionally, you asked to visit Bibery, again a location that was not on the booked itinerary, which would have added at least an extra 2 hours to the tour. This was not possible as it was explained to you via email the day before when you asked for a 10:30 pick-up rather than a 09:00 one
'this tour only operates with a 09:00 start time with an 18:00 finish. This is due to the locations that we visit as part of the tour, and the timings of the Driver and Guide under UK working time legislation.'
In the email you received (quoted above) and the information the Guide gave you throughout the day, it was made clear to you that the tour would be returning to London by 18:00.
In your review, you mention that you did not visit multiple sites, but on the day you visited Blenheim Palace, Moreton-in-Marsh, Bourton-on-the-Water, and Lower Slaughter. This includes stopping in three areas of the Cotswolds as well as driving through multiple parts of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You also visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Blenheim Palace, which you requested to visit on the day of the tour.
The reason your refund request was rejected was due to the fact that the Driver and Guide facilitated your visiting the sites that you requested, which were possible given the time constraints of the tour. Both the Driver and Guide acted in good faith when altering the published tour itinerary so that you could visit Blenheim Palace, as we always try to give clients what they want, even if it means making reasonable changes to the tour on the day.
It seems to us that you possibly saw a different tour on Viator to the one which you eventually booked with us. We currently do not operate a tour that visits Blenheim Palace, Burton-on-the-Water and Bibery, however some of our competitors who also sell their tours through Viator do. You mentioned planning your trip for many months; however, we only received your booking on the 31st of July for a tour on the 12th of August. We therefore recommend that next time you book a tour, activity, or experience, that you check the published details available through the Viator website. Alternatively, you can always reach out to the provider to ensure that what you have booked aligns with your expectations.
In conclusion, we feel we engaged with you in good faith by amending the tour route and itinerary where possible. We also feel that our staff delivered your tour to the best of their ability against behaviour that was deemed to be unacceptable by the Driver, Guide, and myself, as the owner of this business.
Stacy_I, Jun 2024
Our guide was amazing. He was so accommodating even when I got hangry and wanted to eat lunch, he found a good place. He allowed me to shop and let me tell you, I like to shop. He was an encyclopedia of information about the Cotswolds, but had great info when we were driving out of London, he gave us all this information he went above and beyond and I highly recommend him and for some darn reason, I can’t remember his name so if you see this, please let me know your name and send me your information because I would like to send people to you as a guide and I may want to come back and use you .
Eugenie_M, May 2024
The individual doing the tour was very knowledgeable and added many specific insights . Very relaxed with shopping interspersed but also informative.
waterpolobill, Jun 2023
Informative. More than we expected. We will recommend the tour to all our friends. Both the guide and driver were delightful.
Response from Host, Aug 2023
We're thrilled to hear that the tour exceeded your expectations and left you feeling well-informed! It's wonderful that both the guide and driver contributed to your positive experience, and we're glad you found them delightful.
Thank you for your kind words and for considering recommending the tour to your friends. If you ever need more travel suggestions or have any other inquiries, feel free to reach out. Wishing you and your friends many more memorable adventures in the future!
Susan_T, Oct 2022
David was amazing, he was prompt for our hotel pickup. As a tour guide he had amazing commentary during the entire trip. He knew where to find the best picture. My family loved how much information he know, from the ancient to the current. I would highly recommend touring with David. If I ever have a chance to be back in the London area I wail ask for him specifically !
Response from Host, Nov 2022
We're really glad to hear this positive feedback about David's tour. We will make sure that we share it with him.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review.
All the best
Henry
From $594.86
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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